Quality over Quantity

[Cody V]

I believe I am going to cut back on buying pipes. Now that I have over a weeks rotation, I am going to strive for quality over quantity. Take all of the money that I would allocate every month to pipe and tobacco purchases, and save it for something big. The NASPC 2010 pipe. I shall have it in 3 months, and if the produciton limit has been reached I will purchase something else.





......Who wants to start taking bets on how long I can last? 8)

 

[velveteagle]

Good luck Cody V.. I have a rotation also.. I just have a hard time staying off of ebay.. But alas.. What you say makes sense.. There are some great pipes out there ready to break in.. Building up the tobacco is not a bad idea for the future.. So many great blends out there.. :cheers:

 

[LAEarl]

I try to stay off of ebay buying. I find enough good deals in my local junk,,,err I mean Antique stores that I have acquired a nice rotation. I am focusing of bring up my tobacco acqusitions

 

[Cody V]

Ebay is the devil! I must do my best to avoid it. I have a decent stock of baccy that will last me a while. If I maintained my current rate of pipe acquisition, I would end up with tons of pipes. Yes, I got a deal on them, but I would have so many that they would mean nothing. Now, if I happen to run across a Dunhill for 5 bucks at an estate sale, you had better believe I'm going to grab it! I think the 2010 pipe is worth the wait, just look at it...



Beautiful!

 

[velveteagle]

Wow.. Someone really did some special work on that.. I am sure you will enjoy it when you get it.. :cheers:
Chuck..

 

[Anonymous]

Agree with your thinking Cody!!!
Good luck, and Yea EBAY is the devil.
JUST SAY NO>>>>>>>>YEA RIGHT! :cheers: :cheers:

 

[jabuhrer]

Cody -

I think you're right on, and I can totally relate. I'm in my mid 20's (I noticed you are too) and honestly I feel that I can only acquire so many new pipes (and tobacco blends, for the matter) and still be able to fully appreciate them. I've only been smoking for a couple of years. Sometimes I can look at pipes I'm interested in buying, and start making a list...but the truth is that I simply haven't been smoking long enough to be able to really "know" and appreciate more than a handful of pipes during the brief time that I've spent with them. So I can't help but think that if at this point I had a collection of, say, a couple dozen pipes, it would probably be somewhat of a waste.

I seem to feel the same way about tobacco blends. When I first started smoking, I sampled everything. A bowl or two of this, a bowl or two of that, etc. Being a newbie, I didn't have a "base" to go by, and there was no way that I could appreciate the subtle differences between blends...it was all just up in smoke! I was lucky enough to have an old timer give me some good advice: he said "give each blend at least a two ounce try." At first I thought that it didn't make a lot of sense to spend a week or two or more smoking a blend that I didn't like from the first puff. But I tried it, and learned one of the biggest lessons I've learned in pipe smoking so far: it takes time for your pipe, your taste buds, your nose and your brain to fully "get" a blend and appreciate it's subtleties. And that's harder to do with the remnants of the last blend you tried still lingering in your pipe and your brain! Eh, sorry to ramble, just thinking out loud.

 

[bruins]

I seem to feel the same way about tobacco blends. When I first started smoking, I sampled everything. A bowl or two of this, a bowl or two of that, etc. Being a newbie, I didn't have a "base" to go by, and there was no way that I could appreciate the subtle differences between blends...it was all just up in smoke! I was lucky enough to have an old timer give me some good advice: he said "give each blend at least a two ounce try." At first I thought that it didn't make a lot of sense to spend a week or two or more smoking a blend that I didn't like from the first puff. But I tried it, and learned one of the biggest lessons I've learned in pipe smoking so far: it takes time for your pipe, your taste buds, your nose and your brain to fully "get" a blend and appreciate it's subtleties. And that's harder to do with the remnants of the last blend you tried still lingering in your pipe and your brain! Eh, sorry to ramble, just thinking out loud.

hey rambler, thanks for rambling. that's just the advice i need. i'm trying too many tobaccos, sometimes even in one sitting, wondering why i can't find 'the' great tobacco. that might be why.

btw, it's just like an 'old' guy to tell a young guy to slow down and stick with something for awhile. sheesh.

 

[MisterE]

Oh I know ´bout ebay- One tends to win more when you really shouldn´t be spending...

It´s all fun and games until you get your credit card statement!!

 

[Hunter5117]

Just my opinion, but I think pipe quality is a very subjective thing. Yes, I enjoy buying a pipe that is visually appealing, in fact I guess I would not buy one that is not. But, it doesn't have to be a high-priced one to make me happy. I have a few high-ends, and more than a few mid and lower grade pipes. Some bought new, many were estates. I have acquired some inexpensive but really great smoking pipes like Stanwells based on recommendations from the fellow BoBs here.

Mostly it is about the smoking. My neighbor smokes one pipe at a time, a Dr. G or whatever he buys at Walgreens, and once it is burned out he gets a new one. I don't know anyone who enjoys his pipe more than he does.

PAD can be a harsh mistress for sure. I have done well to stay away from Ebay lately. I am sure it will come back and bite me again sometime soon. You almost gave me a recurrence with your post, that is one VERY handsome pipe, I debated at the NASPC website for more than a few minutes before I passed on ordering one. I am very sure you will enjoy it once it arrives.

 

[Cody V]

I seem to feel the same way about tobacco blends. When I first started smoking, I sampled everything. A bowl or two of this, a bowl or two of that, etc. Being a newbie, I didn't have a "base" to go by, and there was no way that I could appreciate the subtle differences between blends...it was all just up in smoke! I was lucky enough to have an old timer give me some good advice: he said "give each blend at least a two ounce try." At first I thought that it didn't make a lot of sense to spend a week or two or more smoking a blend that I didn't like from the first puff. But I tried it, and learned one of the biggest lessons I've learned in pipe smoking so far: it takes time for your pipe, your taste buds, your nose and your brain to fully "get" a blend and appreciate it's subtleties. And that's harder to do with the remnants of the last blend you tried still lingering in your pipe and your brain! Eh, sorry to ramble, just thinking out loud.

hey rambler, thanks for rambling. that's just the advice i need. i'm trying too many tobaccos, sometimes even in one sitting, wondering why i can't find 'the' great tobacco. that might be why.

btw, it's just like an 'old' guy to tell a young guy to slow down and stick with something for awhile. sheesh.

I need to do the same Bruins. There is just so much out there, I must try them all!

 

[velveteagle]

Most of my pipes came from ebay..It was catch up time for rotation. I kept the ones I liked and gave away about four others which were too small for me. Taking my time now with testing blends I have bought or been gifted. It takes a tin worth to really judge each one. Life is about the simple things and enjoyment. No more rushing to figure out a blend or pipe.. Keeping the pipes clean is important to me. I will search by reading from the Brothers which handmade pipe will work best for the flake blends which I seem to lean towards for my sit down smoke time. The ebay pipes are on the go pipes. Making a simple list of Love , Like, Poor tobaccos. I have a pipe that is going to be made by a grand artist in Africa later this year or early next.. I think that may work for the flake pipe. Until then I will continue to smoke my sit down flakes out of my Big Head Meer.. No matter what anyone says I seem to get a nice long burn and no cross over taste from it.. Keeping an open mind to others who have been here much longer than myself is a key to learning more. I am just going to keep it simple and enjoy each blend nice and slow.. Such great Brothers and information to share here.. :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
Chuck

 

[Joseph76]

I'd rather have 4-5 stunners than 40-50 mediocre pipes, so I also believe in quality over quant.

 

[Skip48]

Very nice pipe, wouldn't mind having that one.

Skip

 

[greasemunki85]

lol I hear ya Cody.
I have to slow down, I have 2 kids, that need Christmas, so Im putting off any pipe buying till after the new year, that is unless Mrs Curley, gets a wild hair and decides to buy me a Nording Ive been wanting.
I am on vacation this week, so the plans on aquiring some new baccy' is on the agenda- Tobacco Corner Piccadilly - VA flake w/ vanilla - wonder if its like MacBaren vanilla flake...
I was buying some cheep basket pipes, and smoking them, and then decided to stop, and save up a bit more, and wait a bit more to buy some nicer pipes.

 

[beaupipe]

Solid logic and I think many are traveling down the path of cease or reduce these days. I just sent off 20 pipes for resale, which leaves me with 15 pipes I smoke regularly and about 20 more stashed in a drawer that have sentimental value but are rarely--if ever--smoked. The pipes I got rid of were all nice--Castello, Tsuge, Viprati, L'Anatra, Ser Jacopo, Tao, a few Stanwells--but I just never reached for them anymore and I didn't see the point in having them here gathering dust anymore.

I read somewhere that a noted collector (I think it might be Fred Hanna) imposes on himself an arbitrary limit of 40 pipes. If he sees something he simply must have, it becomes a trade-off. The collection may change, but it doesn't grow. I'm way too disorganized, lazy, and undisciplined to do that kind of thing, but I do like the idea.

 

[Raid]

Quality over quantity for me it is. Over the years i've had various AD's with vintage hand tools, straight razors, old motorcycles etc etc and finally i've always ended to keep only what i really need and sold out the rest. I've been smoking pipe for only few years now and i think i don't need another AD with pipes. There are so many nice pipes out there but i already know that i can't have all of them.
Currently i have 6 pipes in my rotation and i think 10 would be the absolute maximum. I want to learn to know those that i have. Quality doesn't doesn't have much to do with the prices but rather something i like.

Things could be worse: I have a friend who collects phone booths. He currently has nine standing in his back yard. Sort of an AD that is really difficult to explain to wife (or anyone else, for the matter)

 

[Harlock999]

I'm new to pipe smoking, (gave up a decades long Marlboro addiction about five years ago) but I'm a long time collector of "stuff". Whether it was collecting rocks, coins and stamps as a kid, or old records and guitars as an adult, I can't help wanting to build a collection of stuff. At my age, (42), to find something new to get excited about and to want to spend time researching and learning about is fantastic. I would love to be able to stay off ebay, but I doubt it will happen. If I can curb my impulse spending and limit acquisitions to pieces I really desire I'll be satisfied...I think. The best thing for me is making a mental "list" and trying to stick to it, like, "ignore that Dunhill bent bulldog and try to find a nice poker for the collection". But man, I'm a sucker for nice ring grain on a bent, blasted anything...

 

[Amenhotep04]

I see it as a false dichotomy. Why does it have to be one or the other? I understand the desire to buy just about anything. That impulse, especially on Ebay can be financially and socially destructive. But I see nothing wrong in buying, collecting, and acknowledging the aesthetic attributes of lots of high quality pipes.

I really see the initial stages as a learning process. People try to learn more about pipes, and it's difficult to do if you don't buy them or acquire them in some manner. There's plenty of information out there to be had, and much of it is worth reading. The attributes of the pipes that interest me change periodically, and I've got enough pipes (30 something) to roll with the changes. And I still add a pipe from time to time.

I think you have to try the differences in grain, stems, weight, as well as what kind of tobacco, how to pack it, how to smoke etc. to get a feel not only of what you like, but of what you don't like.

Smoking a pipe is a process that is continually changing.

Just roll with it.

:farao:

 

[Anonymous]

Well Said there.

At a stage I had almost 100 pipes!
A while ago I was left with 12, now I'm up to 40 something again. Times change, tastes change, so the process remains dynamic always, that is what I love about this pass time, and lets not start talking about the cellar!!!!
The most progressive smoker, collector out there would be Muddler, I have learnt much from him!
:cheers: :cheers: :cheers: