This is going to get expensive isn't it?

[Briarbabe]

Just looking around at all the pipes, the tobaccos, the racks, the smoking dens...

I know my nature, I'm a collector. The books I can live with, I won't tell you about my yarn stash, I'm too embarrassed to admit to how many bottles of nail polish I own. Why? Why can't I pick up a cheap hobby, just once in my life? Be honest with me fellas, this is gonna cost me isn't it?

 

[Ocelot55]

Truth is, you can spend as much or as little as you like.

You could get an estate Grabow for a buck and smoke Carter Hall, or you could buy a $16k Bo Nordh and spend a bunch on some vintage tobacco.

You just have to ask yourself if you are more of a smoker or a collector. I'm a bit of both so, yeah, this is an expensive hobby for me, but not nearly as much as some other hobbies.

 

[Fatman]

Doesn't have to be terribly expensive, I enjoy my corn cob pipes as much as my briars and meerschaums

 

[Anonymous]

Don't think about getting a pricey pipe until you know more and have developed you preferences.  You can buy a cob or two.  
They smoke nicely and match almost any outfit.  

There are estate pipes available from reputable sources.  I'd avoid ebay for now.   One is  Viking Club Pipes who is known well here and even offers a discount for using the code BoBMember.  At the moment he has a number of nice pipes that are less expensive than the cheap basket pipes in shops.  His descriptions of what they are is spot on.  He has an unusual number that are in the $20 range right now; so, it'd be a good time to stop by there.

 

[Briar Spirit]

Nah, doesn't have to cost you that much mate, as already said above, all depends on what you want from pipes, are you in it for the enjoyment of the tobacco or do you want it to be something else to collect. I'm a far simpler soul, it's all about the baccy to me when I smoke but I do enjoy a more spiritual side when working with Briar, hmm, bet that didn't help at all, sorry mate, look at it this way, gather a fair rotation of cheap but good quality pipes and get yourself some good baccy to sip, see where it leads you. :sunny: 

 

[Anonymous]

Advice : Don't start "spending money" on pipes until you've developed a good sense of what works for you (and that you like for longer than a couple of weeks) as far as size (chamber diameter included), shape(s), quality range, stem material and (it can matter) country of origin. That way you don't end up with a bunch of pipes you kind of wish you'd saved the money you spent on. Once you have that figured out, you'll likely be a lot happier (in the long run) with each really good (as you define it) one than with three or four OK ones.

A lot of people go nuts with pipes. But resist the example of the nuts with 200 of them that they hardly ever smoke and 50 tobaccos they'll never get a real handle on because they never stick with one (in an un-ghosted pipe) long enough to get to know it more than superficially.

& Welcome aboard !   

:face:

PS : The lady in the picture is Mrs. Yak. Not me :lol: 

 

[the rev]

Welcome, the the board. Can be expensive, doesn't have to be.

rev

 

[Briarbabe]

Truth is, you can spend as much or as little as you like.

You could get an estate Grabow for a buck and smoke Carter Hall, or you could buy a $16k Bo Nordh and spend a bunch on some vintage tobacco.

You just have to ask yourself if you are more of a smoker or a collector. I'm a bit of both so, yeah, this is an expensive hobby for me, but not nearly as much as some other hobbies.

There is a $16K pipe?
Well of course there is...

Isn't the very nature of hobbies to be expensive?

 

[the rev]

the reason I am a pipe maker is the pipes I wanted were too expensive for me to buy, so I made them. Of course my tastes have changed, now the pipes I want to have, are beyond my ability, so I have to become a better pipe maker

As far as this hobby is concerned there is great advice on this thread. Try different tobaccos and different shape pipes, don't go crazy. It can be expensive, but if you are going to go the expensive route, do it slowly enough that you can make sure you will love the thing you paid too much for

rev

 

[skaukatt]

That's the great thing about this hobby. You can be perfectly happy with whatever pipe and tobacco combo you fancy at whatever the cost. Doesn't have to be expensive but to be honest, with all of the beautiful works of art being produced, particularly these days, it is hard not to let it get that way! But again, it certainly does not have to.

Lou

 

[Harlock999]

They're all lying to you.
Many of us live in mud and straw hovels as a result of this ”hobby”,
as some euphemistically refer to it.

 

[Briar Spirit]

They're all lying to you.
Many of us live in mud and straw hovels as a result of this ”hobby”,
as some euphemistically refer to it.

Ha-ha, I just spat coffee everywhere reading that, now that was funny. :cheers: 

 

[pepesdad1]

They're all lying to you.
Many of us live in mud and straw hovels as a result of this ”hobby”,
as some euphemistically refer to it.

 Harlock hit the nail on the head......quick answer...Yup!

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

For me it was expensive at first, when I was still figuring out what kind of pipe I wanted...and I wanted them all...

But as time passed, for me, it has become more about the tobacco than the pipe. I have many very nice and several rather expensive pipes, but in reality I probably smoke four of them on a regular basis - those four being dictated more by the blends that I have quasi-dedicated each pipe to, rather than anything else.

 

[Dutch]

Two of the most frequently used abbreviations on the pipe smoking boards are PAD (Pipe Acquisition Disorder) and TAD (Tobacco Acquisition Disorder.) I'll let you come to your own conclusions as to why they are referred to as disorders. Some keep it simple, and just call it a money pit. :lol: 

Then again, some folks buy their first pipe, never finish the first bowl, and never pick up a pipe again. It's not as easy to learn to enjoy as a cigarette or cigar, and it's certainly not for everyone. If you do find that you enjoy it, you may find a lot of enjoyment and relaxation from your pipe and tobacco collection.

 

[Briarbabe]

They're all lying to you.
Many of us live in mud and straw hovels as a result of this ”hobby”,
as some euphemistically refer to it.

I have a $600 spinning wheel, a yarn/fiber stash that could pay for a new car, and I'm pretty sure my book collection could be called a crime against nature from all of the trees I've killed. It's a little cramped, but this refrigerator box works out pretty well.

 

[Briarbabe]

the reason I am a pipe maker is the pipes I wanted were too expensive for me to buy, so I made them.  Of course my tastes have changed, now the pipes I want to have, are beyond my ability, so I have to become a better pipe maker

As far as this hobby is concerned there is great advice on this thread.  Try different tobaccos and different shape pipes, don't go crazy.  It can be expensive, but if you are going to go the expensive route, do it slowly enough that you can make sure you will love the thing you paid too much for

rev

As someone who is quite the DIY enthusiast (Who needs a plumber/mechanic/contractor? That's what YouTube was created for!) learning to make my own pipes immediately came to mind. There are some amazingly beautiful pipes out there, as a woman I can think of some pipes I'd love to see made a bit more feminine, I smell a niche in the market just waiting to be filled.

Speaking of the a fore mentioned and PAD I bought the tackiest corn cob pipe the other day, but I love it. It's so over the top I just had to snatch it up...now if only that USPS would move a little faster.

 

[Anonymous]

If I had it to do over again I go to MarsCigars.com and buy a few different sizes/types of cob pipes to figure out what I like. As far as a pricier pipe, I'd buy a Peterson first based on my favorite cob configurations.

Buy a pack of Carter Hall or Sir Walter Raleigh then a 50g tin of Dunhill Navy Rolls, Early Morning Pipe, Flake, My Mixture 965 and Royal Yacht tobacco. Dunhill has a good easy to navigate offering. If Aromatics was my speed, buy Dan Tobacco Milonga as a basis. Branching out from there.

This is just my opinion though. The above should cost about $200.

 

[Briarbabe]

Then again, some folks buy their first pipe, never finish the first bowl, and never pick up a pipe again. It's not as easy to learn to enjoy as a cigarette or cigar, and it's certainly not for everyone. If you do find that you enjoy it, you may find a lot of enjoyment and relaxation from your pipe and tobacco collection.

I have passed by my pipe and picked it up to give it a loving fondle and a quick whiff too many times to count already today, waiting for the evening when the kiddos are in bed and I can go outside to the fire pit and relax with my pipe. I think I already know where this is headed for me...

 

[Dutch]

Then again, some folks buy their first pipe, never finish the first bowl, and never pick up a pipe again. It's not as easy to learn to enjoy as a cigarette or cigar, and it's certainly not for everyone. If you do find that you enjoy it, you may find a lot of enjoyment and relaxation from your pipe and tobacco collection.

I have passed by my pipe and picked it up to give it a loving fondle and a quick whiff too many times to count already today, waiting for the evening when the kiddos are in bed and I can go outside to the fire pit and relax with my pipe. I think I already know where this is headed for me...

The great thing about pipes and cigars, is that you can enjoy them without it being an addictive process. You could smoke your pipe three times a day, or once every three weeks, and you would not experience withdrawals. IMO, if cigarettes with their addictive additives had never been invented, the tobacco industry would not be under fire by the medical community and the insurance companies.