Is there ever a new pipe that you won't smoke??

[jacko]

Hi folks

New to pipe collecting and I'm wondering if there is ever a time you would purchase a pipe and not smoke it? Sounds counterintuitive to me but wondering what your thought on the matter are?

Thanks!

 

[TallSmoke]

A lot of pipe smokers have pipes they purchase simply for the artistic value of the piece. Especially some of the high end pipes. They are beautiful pieces of work. Some pipemakers are true and pure artisans. Though they would surely function, the value of the pipe would diminish, so the buyer keeps it unsmoked.

It might seem odd to buy something that should be smoked often and just look at it instead. It does to me, but I am a poor man. All of my humble pipes get smoked!

 

[Muddler]

Some collectors buy purely for investment purposes & with an intention to trade the pipe again. I've seen it happen with the buying of pipes from up-&-coming pipe makers. Personally, it leaves rather cold but then I'm a pipe smoker first & foremost.

 

[Sasquatch]

You still don't get it. Do you, Jack?

Huh? The beauty of it.

A pipe is made to be smoked.
That's its meaning, its purpose.
Your life is empty because you spend it...
...trying to stop the pipe from becoming.
And for who? For what?
Do you know what a pipe is, Jack,...
...that doesn't get smoked?

It is a cheap gold watch, buddy.


With apologies to the late, great, Dennis Hopper. (And made all the funnier because the original poster's name is Jack.... serendipity!)

 

[TallSmoke]

Took me a second, there, Sasquatch. Dennis Hopper playing retired cop "Howard Payne" from the movie "Speed." He's talking to officer Jack Traven about the nature of the bomb!

And for a second I thought you knew this guy and was going off on him!

Good stuff! :lol: :cheers: :lol!:

 

[Dmntd_1]

I'm wondering if there is ever a time you would purchase a pipe and not smoke it?

In a word... No!

 

[SmokeyTweed]

I was with you on that one Tallsmoke, i thought i was witnessing a row starting up!

I've seen a lot of nice pipes and when i do i ask to myself "I wonder how it smokes?"

If i did have a super high-grade pipe the only thing i wouldn't do is smoke untested blends or walnut! :twisted:

 

[Anonymous]

Having accumulated a few classics in years past that were in exceptionally choice condition, I had them restored to pristine condition and set them aside, boxed up (light gradually deteriorates vulcanite). Most have since been presents to friends ; the last of them is an "in case worse comes to worst" salable.

:face:

 

[Anonymous]

3 gold dot Savinelli G. d' oro................. :evil: :twisted: ....... it's a long story! :affraid:

 

[rickf28]

If I buy a pipe I buy it to smoke. If its to beautifu, expensive ect to where I wouldnt want to smoke it then I jut wouldnt Buy it.

I know many people who buy pipes that they wont smoke and that is 100% ok with me.....I wont buy a car, bike, pipe, i cant use and tobacco I cant smoke...But this is just me.

Now on th other hand...If i recieve a very nice pipe via gift inheritance or similar and it holds great sentimetal value (such as grand dads pipe for example) then it may just sit ad never get smoked.

So as of right know. If I purchase it with my hard earned money then it will get uses. I dont buy for resale.

Rick

 

[Doc Manhattan]

I only buy pipes to smoke, and if I don't smoke 'em, I keep them around to gift at the right moment.

I can't afford the kind of pipes that are resaleable investments after changing hands at retail, so I just puff and enjoy.

 

[hobie1dog]

It's like buying an exotic car that is so rare you can't bring yourself to drive it in fear that it may degrade in value with each mile.

Some people view things that aren't functional as worthless. And as soon as you die, someone else WILL use it and think nothing of it.

 

[Wet Dottle]

Yes, I've bought a few pipes that I never smoked. There were different reasons why they weren't used, but sometimes it still happens. Here are some of them:

Sometimes a shape looks great in the pictures, but not so great in person.

There were a couple with poor drilling and fit in general, the kind of thing that I thought wouldn't bother me, but in the end it did.

There were a few that I bought specifically because they were good bargains and I knew I could turn a profit later on.

Once, I thought I was a fan of this particular pipe maker and bought a pile of his pipes before changing my mind.

 

[Nitschke066]

I have everything from high grades to cobs and I'll put fire to any and all of them. In my opinion, if you're looking for an investment call a broker. As Rick Newcome said in 'In Search of Pipe Dreams'...I am a pipe collector because I am a pipe smoker.

 

[jacko]

Thanks for the feedback folks, I was anticipating this type of response.

 

[ftrplt]

I have to admit that I own a dozen or so "unsmoked" pipes. Several are Meers that I haven't gotten to yet. The briars are mostly new/unsmoked that, for some reason, I just haven't wanted to break-in yet. I do have two "collectors." Both Sasieni's...one a circa 1921 single blue dot small billiard and the other a circa 1936 small 1/8th bent rusticated bulldog (Joel's copy of a DH PO shape). Both stay in their leather pouches; I doubt I'll ever smoke them. FTRPLT

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

The other evening I was driving on an expressway and and a white sports car that appeared to be a Vet, both in my rearview mirror and as it passed me, turned out to be a Maserati. As the driver was going 80, I couldn't get next to it to see a sideview.I can't imagine buying a car such as this and not driving it. For me the pleasure is in the use, not in preserving its pristine state.

I feel the same about pipes. I have 4 or 5 highgrades; my admiration for them comes in smoking them.

 

[Zeno Marx]

I've never purchased a pipe with the intention to never smoke it, but I do understand why people would buy a pipe as they would an art piece and never smoke it. I have taken months to find the right occasion and mood to smoke a new pipe, but I also do this with music. I'm very picky like that. I've also experienced a short moment of "guilt" over smoking certain pipes, as I question whether I should be the first to smoke it. That usually happens with new/old stock and thinking, "It existed this long without a smoking, so why now?" That notion never lasts, though. It merely occurs to me at some point in that first smoke.

BUT...I have dreaded smoking a new pipe when I purchased it from certain shops. I remember a shop out of Dallas that sent out catalogues (all black/white except their shop name in red). I can't remember their name right now. This was from the early-90s. I absolutely HATED how they cleaned and prepared the inner-bowl with some kind of proprietary black coating that was supposed to help the new smoker break it in. The taste of that stuff was often foul, and it was difficult to get it out of the pipe. I tried everything from using rubbing alcohol to rub it off. I tried various homemade pipe cures to mask that flavor. I even used sandpaper to try to sand it off. Nothing helped. I'm not sure who thought that stuff was a good idea...unless the idea was to cover any small burn-outs or pitting within the bowl. They did it to every pipe in the catalogue. After a handful of gorgeous, uniquely beautiful pipes, I stopped buying from them. It was saddening to see all those great pipes go through this preparation process. I still cringe when I read any store or estate website talking about "coating" the bowl. Sorry, but I DO NOT need any help breaking in my pipes. If you must, cut the old cake out, but leave the rest to the next smoker. Just my opinion. So, yeah, certain things being done to a pipe can strongly discourage me from smoking a pipe sooner than later.