Why A Pipe

[chevy5759]

Morning Fellas,

I'm feeling reflective and in the mood for sharing this morning. I'm sure it has to do with the tree that went through the roof of our equipment shed last night which will require vast amounts of effort on my part today removing the tree and replacing tin.

My Uncle Garland was a Methodist Minister and scholarly type that was fluent in seven languages. His study was dark with beams in the ceiling, smokey and shelves and shelves of books, manuscripts and a wall of pipes. The wall was full of all types of briar and Meerschaum pipes with several stands full on his desk as well. When I was a young boy I still remember the first time I went into his study and smelled pipes. I knew then that I would smoke pipes. I asked him about the different styles and bowl shapes he had and why he had so many. He told me they will call your name. He died a few years later and I have no idea what my Aunt did with all of his pipes. I kept meaning to ask her and it kept slipping my mind. She passed several years ago and that was the end of it.

I wish I could thank my Uncle for the adventure he started me on as a young boy and he was right, pipes do call your name. I think of him often.

 

[Falconer]

My dad was a cig/cigar/pie smoker. When I was little I remember wanting to hang around him more when he smoked his pipe.
1. It smelled better
2. I enjoyed watching him go through the process of loading, lighting. smoking, cleaning.And there was interesting tools invloved and leather pouches. Just cool stuff for a kid to observe.
3. He was more relaxed, Taking time to smoke a pipe seemed to take away some of the daily stress

So at 16 when all my friends thought it cool to smoke bogies, I picked up the pipe. Everyone made fun of me saying I looked stupid smoking a pipe at 16. But I stuck with it. I smoked cigs and cigar off an on too over the years but always smoked a pipe. Now just the other day my 27 year old daughter came over. I was on the deck smoking and she said, "Wow dad I miss that smell. It brings back found memories of my childhood. I loved being around when you lit ip your pipe." :heart:

 

[Muddler]

I had two great influencers with regard to the pipe - my grandfather (until he had a major stroke & was bedridden - he died when I was 12) & my flyfishing mentor, Jack (who passed on 15 years ago). But I would probably not have started on the pipe had my wife not bought me one when I wanted to give up cigs. That was in 2003. Haven't looked back. Obviously, the big leap forward was when I discovered pipe forums & US etailers. Until then I'd been a Borkhum Riff boy because that's what Jack smoked.

 

[chevy5759]

I had two great influencers with regard to the pipe - my grandfather (until he had a major stroke & was bedridden - he died when I was 12) & my flyfishing mentor, Jack (who passed on 15 years ago). But I would probably not have started on the pipe had my wife not bought me one when I wanted to give up cigs. That was in 2003. Haven't looked back. Obviously, the big leap forward was when I discovered pipe forums & US etailers. Until then I'd been a Borkhum Riff boy because that's what Jack smoked.

You are right there Muddler, I never thought to ask him what tobacco he smoked. My introduction to pipe tobacco was "give me the stuff that smells the best". It was nasty and burned like a Banshee. I paid and paid for it. It was only later that I discovered it didn't have to be that way and gave up those kind of blends.

 

[Anonymous]

Both my Grandfathers smoked pipes. My one Granddad gave me his Dr. Plumb panel billiard when I was 19. It came in an ostrich leather pouch with some stale Rum & Maple baccy in the pouch.
Needless to say I was at Art school so we partook in smoking the good stuff in his pipe, and the lumber was lost, lets say one of our trips. I felt real bad and with my student allowance bought my very first pipe, which I still have today.
It is a GBD second rho and I have dedicated it lat blends.
I smoked a pipe on and off for 20 yrs but got real serious 5 yrs ago. Pesky cigs still remain a problem.

What I would give for a Dr. Plumb Panel from the 70's......... still to no avail.

One of the biggest mentors I have is Muddler. He is a tobacco and pipe genius and I owe much of my passion and understanding of this art form to him.
He has helped me get my cellar off the ground which has grown leaps and bounds ever since.
David Peterson from the Virtual smoking Lounge in Michigan.
Jan Pietenpauw
And ........ last but not least, all of you, The Brothers of Briar!! :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

 

[Smokntaz]

I love the room note of pipe tobacco. My first attempt was back in HS and it was a horrible experience. Fast forward a couple of decades. Took up smoking cigars a couple years ago and thought to my self why don't I give the briar another shot. The rest is history! :cheers:

 

[Harlock999]

No one I know, or knew, smoked a pipe, and I never would have considered it until a random search on ebay brought me to a pipe so alluring that, before I knew it, I was hooked. I smoked cigarettes for years and was happily nicotine free for the last 4-5 years. I think the one addiction that is stronger than nicotine for me is the collecting addiction. And if I'm collecting pipes, I have to smoke 'em don't I? Now it's something I really look forward to; the whole process of choosing a blend and a pipe, and the acquisition of knowledge to help me better enjoy the process...I'm sold! irat:

 

[flytyer]

I started smoking cigars again about 2 years ago. It was actually reading online about pipe smoking that convinced me to give it a try. I bought a cob
and enjoyed it...then my first briar pipe...if it wasnt for this site and others i wouldnt have a clue how to smoke a pipe. Now i enjoy a pipe more than cigars.

Joe

 

[pipedirector]

My grandfather was a pipe smoker. I remember finding old empty tins of Prince Albert tobacco in the garage of my grandparent's house. I vaguely remember my dad smoking a pipe for a short while when I was little. I think my mom made him quit because she didn't want him smoking inside.

I've been a pipe smoker for about two years now, after buying a Stanwell on eBay. I enjoy it way more than cigars and it's cool to have a collection of pipes.

Matt

 

[beebiz]

When I was a little boy, I can remember my Granddaddy smoking a pipe after every meal. I don't know what kind it was. I just remember it being a wooden pipe with a black stem and the overall length of it was only about 4 inches. When not in use, it sat on the mantle over the fireplace. When he got ready to smoke it, he would allow em the honor and privilege of retrieving it from its lofty perch! I can remember standing on my tip-toes on the brick hearth, stretching with all my might, feeling blindly for it, and finally being able to grasp it. As I was en route to deliver it, I'd smell the bowl. The association that my nose made was that it smelled like my Granddaddy!

This year, I began growing some of my own tobacco in protest of all of the ludicrous tobacco tax hikes. I quickly learned that the methods for safely and quickly shredding tobacco for stuffing in a cigarette tube are almost non-existent for the private sector... financially speaking, that is. But, I could rather safely and quickly chop/shred the tobacco in such a way that it was suitable for smoking in a pipe. So, I began researching pipes and pipe smoking. This brought me to BoB.

One of the first things I learned is that the makeup of true pipe tobacco is a world apart from the makeup of the blends that go into commercially available cigarettes... ergo, all tobaccos are NOT created equal!! Thanks to you, my brothers, I have also learned that not all pipes are created equal. Again, thanks to my brothers here, I am learning to enjoy a pipe so that every bowl is less work and more pleasure!!!

Now, if I could just figure out a way to completely kill that godawful cigarette monster inside me, my world would be wonderful... and a lot better smelling to boot!! :twisted:

Robert

 

[chevy5759]

It's funny, but I never had the urge for cigarettes or cigars. I tried them a few times in High School and College but they just didn't do anything for me. But I will go ape sh***t if you mess with my Copenhagen snuff.

 

[bluedigital]

I used to smoke cigs way back in the day. during my last two years in high school and then for probably a year or so after which I decided to quite. I never knew anyone who smoked a pipe but I simply adored the smell when someone would light up a pipe. I had always been wanting to try it and about 2 years ago I decided to give it a try as a "stress reliever" Pipe smokers always seemed so laid back and relaxed. I started on a cob with some MB Vanilla and then progressed to Mixture Modern. Something was lacking in just having these blends available to me and my enthusiasm dwindled. But having discovered the BoB and more importantly Piet, the spark was reignited. Soon after I was gifted by a huge array of Baccy to sample from Piet & Muddler, my boundaries were demolished and the journey began. The BoB has really broadened my experience with Pipes and Pipe smoking so thank you guys.

 

[Anonymous]

I used to smoke cigs way back in the day. during my last two years in high school and then for probably a year or so after which I decided to quite. I never knew anyone who smoked a pipe but I simply adored the smell when someone would light up a pipe. I had always been wanting to try it and about 2 years ago I decided to give it a try as a "stress reliever" Pipe smokers always seemed so laid back and relaxed. I started on a cob with some MB Vanilla and then progressed to Mixture Modern. Something was lacking in just having these blends available to me and my enthusiasm dwindled. But having discovered the BoB and more importantly Piet, the spark was reignited. Soon after I was gifted by a huge array of Baccy to sample from Piet & Muddler, my boundaries were demolished and the journey began. The BoB has really broadened my experience with Pipes and Pipe smoking so thank you guys.

Cool BD!
Listen bro, will be sending you some more stuff to try soon, give me a gap tho'
See it as an early xmas gift!

 

[bluedigital]

Super cool bro, I cannot thank you enough for all you have already sent me. I am more than halfway through all the samples and loving em!

 

[Anonymous]

Super cool bro, I cannot thank you enough for all you have already sent me. I am more than halfway through all the samples and loving em!

Dang BD, you going big there Brother!!! :cheers: :cheers:

 

[Handsome Dynamite]

The summer of '08, my friend got me a cigar. By that time he was my closest friend and nearly every night of that summer we smoked cigars and walked around the town. I left for college, he left for the Marines. I continued smoking cigars, then winter came and since I had to smoke outside, I picked up a pipe one day at a local tobacco store. I got ripped off, I still have the pipe, but hate it. But it did start me on a journey. Eventually I got my friend into smoking a pipe when he was on leave. That's really the story of how we both became pipe smokers. I was the best man in his wedding, and even though we smoked cigars that day, I got him a pipe for his bachelor party present. And the rest is history.

 

[bruins]

we had this ******* old man neighbor who was always getting pissed off at us kids, playing, yelling, ramping our bikes in the road near his house, whatever we did he didn't like it. he was just a grouchy old man who couldn't be pleased. but he'd sit on his deck and smoke his pipe in the evenings. i particularly remember it in the fall and so somehow associate pipe smell with the grander of that time of year and running in the woods and throwing the football in the street, the cold air biting your lungs. those childhood memories kind of interested me in the pipe. so i guess i have him to thank, but he's still and *******. actually he's dead.

 

[Anonymous]

we had this ******* old man neighbor who was always getting pissed off at us kids, playing, yelling, ramping our bikes in the road near his house, whatever we did he didn't like it. he was just a grouchy old man who couldn't be pleased. but he'd sit on his deck and smoke his pipe in the evenings. i particularly remember it in the fall and so somehow associate pipe smell with the grander of that time of year and running in the woods and throwing the football in the street, the cold air biting your lungs. those childhood memories kind of interested me in the pipe. so i guess i have him to thank, but he's still and *******. actually he's dead.

Say it like it is bro!!!!!:lol!: :lol!: :lol!: