Puff Cigar Discussion Forums

foxtrot7 · 12-08-2007, 05:01 AM

I introduced myself in the new members area but I figured a little bacground on me would be a good idea to get to know the pipe smoking members and visa versa. This might be a wee bit long but I did have to wait 24 hours before I could post

(Don't know how well that policy works for spam but it is a GREAT lesson in patience.

I actualy started smoking a pipe when I first joined the army. Just a cheapy walgreen's special. I smoked for about a month when I was out drinking with my squad (as every good private should). And my squad leader bet me 100 bucks to smoke a bowl of Coppenhagen. I got so sick I couldn't touch another pipe without it sending me gagging from memory. I smoked marlboros for 6 years and rolled my own for 2. Then last week picked up a pipe.

Another cheapy $20 from a store I bought my rollie gear from. This pipe almost made me quit again. Decent looking pipe with no logos except for ITALY stamped on it. But it smelled like a satanic blend of terpentine and cheap middle eastern inscence. I spent a whole night scrubbing the crap out of it with rubbing alchohol trying to get the stink out. I thought I got it out and lit up a bowl. Flashbacks of coppenhagen induced vomiting came back. I immediately rolled up a ciggarette instead. So the next day I was at a job Interview in Scottsdale when I left the building I noticed Ye Ole Cigar and Pipe Shoppe. I popped in to see what they have. I live on the west side and our selection of B&M shops are limited to discount ciggarette stores and one store that is part drug paraphinalia, part hookah, part ***** store.

This shop was amazing. Smelled great, large selection and very knowlagable staff. I talked with the guys a bit and they informed me of alot of my errors with pipe selection and cleaning and what to look for in a pipe. I was about to pick up a Jirsa that was marked down from 99 to 60$ when I spotted a Calabresi in a bargin basket tucked under the shelves on the floor. It has no finish to it, and the grain looked great. It had this no one wants me appeal. It's simplicity was entrancing.

I wasn't there to buy I was just looking. Even if I was to buy the pipe is only to ween me off of the niccotine addiction of cigaretes then quit the pipe and smoking altogether. But I found myself at the register with wallet in hand. The pipe was only 40$ but the guy said he is gonna give me 10% off and tossed a bunch of pipe cleaners and tamper in for free as well. He also noticed I had a pouch of Sir walter Raleigh and gave me a sample of his house blends and I will probably never buy another pouch of tobacco from a grocery store or drug store again. Regardless of his motives, the shop can add +1 to their return customers.

Now my wife and kids have been on a crusade to make me quit smoking. Bless them. My kids (2yo and 4yo) say things like "ew daddy smoking ikky poop. dont smoke poop its a gonna make you sick". My wife, who is working on her nursing degree, cites the medical studies (which I think is bs because the average person inhales more carcinigens from rush hour traffic exhaust than tobacco) and makes me shower and brush my teeth before a kiss.

So I get home and pack a 1/3 bowl and smoke it on the porch. The wife loved the smell and told me its ok to keep smoking pipe just no more cigs. Score! But I should still quit I keep telling myself. My kids say "mmm dady smoke yummy chocolate pooop" but I shoo them back into the house for fear they might think its yummy to smoke. Do as I say not as I do; I hope my kids grow up much smarter than their dad.

The next few days are enlightening. I am loving every puff. No toungue bite, the bowl stays relativly cool, and the blend is just wonderfull. The pipe is taking a darker color from the oil in my hand and the heat of the bowl, and seems to be developing a personality. Cake is starting to form alot quicker than I expected.

Last night the most horrible thing happened however. I work graves and did not get much sleep because the kids were a bit rowdy. I am gathering my things getting ready to go out the door (not fully awake yet) and lost grip of my pipe. It was like slow motion watching the thing drop and the whole time I was thinking "Not the bit, not the bit, NOT THE BITNOOOOOO!" Bit broke with a broken piece stuck in the shaft. I haven't been this depressed in a LONG time. I feel silly for letting a 36$ pipe get to me like this, especialy since I can get a new bit, but it is such a nice pipe and I abused it.

I am hoping that if I split my christmass bonus with the wife she wont mind me make the road trip to Scottsdale to pick up some nessecities and come back home with my pipe fixed, another calabresi for good mesure, and the Jirsa I should have bought when I was there in the first place (heres to hoping its still marked down).

Anyway thats enough hot air outta me. Glad to be here. Looking forward to getting to know you all.

Steve

IceChant · 12-08-2007, 05:59 AM

I'm sorry to hear about your pipe, hope you'll find time to fix.

12-08-2007, 10:14 AM

Welcome, sorry to hear about your rough start with the pipe. I hope you can get your stem fixed in short order. In the meanwhile this is the perfect time to explore the world of cobs.

dogsplayinpoker · 12-08-2007, 10:38 AM

Definitely look into corn cob pipes. They are an affordable investment and almost a necessity for the newbie trying to find a tobacco they really "get".
After 15 years of never breaking a pipe, I snapped a bit off the other day while applying some carnauba wax. It hurt, it hurt BAD!! lol
Fixing the bit should be cheap and easy for a good shop. Good luck and welcome!

Mad Hatter · 12-08-2007, 11:08 AM

Nice intro. What was your occupation in the army. I was an artillery forward observer..... dismount, baby. Welcome to the forum

Bruce · 12-08-2007, 11:14 AM

Check out this site:

http://www.iwanries.com/Category_C518.cfm

They may have a decent pipe for the amount it may cost you to repair your broken pipe.

Your story reminds me of my Army experience a little bit. I tried smoking cigarettes.....really tried hard as the guys who smoked got more breaks than the guys who didn't. But everytime I lit up, I got sick.....really, really sick. Looking back, I'm glad that that happened.

But I did bring my pipe with me when I was deployed overseas. The only problem was that this was a time that the Army had a huge drug problem (early70's). During a surprise inspection my BC confiscated my Iwan Ries pipe, stating that it "could" be used to smoke hash out of. I was pissed as this was my first real pipe, and it was a nice one at that too.
So I stopped smoking pipes all together after that, and did not come back to pipe smoking until 30 years have passed.

Good luck with your pipe. If you still want to repair the one you have, LMK and I will link a couple of pipe repair services here for you.

Bruce · 12-08-2007, 11:22 AM

Hey Madhatter:

What type of guns in your Battalion? I was in a 175mm SP unit stationed on the border with East Germany during the "Cold War" (1973 to 1976).
Wasn't a gunbunny........ran the Battalion Aid Station...........Combat Medic.

I don't think the 175's are around anymore. Those were some really big guns.....pretty wild during fire missions!

DubintheDam · 12-08-2007, 11:23 AM

Great intro, I dropped my first pipe too, don't drive a scooter with a $100 pipe hanging out of your mouth is the moral of the story.

Judd's on ebay is selling this [SIZE=2]Calabresi,[/SIZE] if it helps, I just picked one up for $13.

3hrs to go!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Judds-NEW-Unsmok...QQcmdZViewItem

CigarDoc · 12-08-2007, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce

Hey Madhatter:

What type of guns in your Battalion? I was in a 175mm SP unit stationed on the border with East Germany during the "Cold War" (1973 to 1976).
Wasn't a gunbunny........ran the Battalion Aid Station...........Combat Medic.

I don't think the 175's are around anymore. Those were some really big guns.....pretty wild during fire missions!

Combat Medics rule! I'm a doc in the 82nd right now, going to 160th SOAR when I get back stateside after this deployment

IHT · 12-08-2007, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foxtrot7

This might be a wee bit long but I did have to wait 24 hours before I could post

(Don't know how well that policy works for spam but it is a GREAT lesson in patience.
IHT - welcome to the pipe forum, long intros are great. i get sick of the short 1 sentence versions, as that's not an intro at all.
yes, the 24 hour waiting period is great to keep spammers away

I actualy started smoking a pipe when I first joined the army. Just a cheapy walgreen's special. I smoked for about a month when I was out drinking with my squad (as every good private should). And my squad leader bet me 100 bucks to smoke a bowl of Coppenhagen. I got so sick I couldn't touch another pipe without it sending me gagging from memory. I smoked marlboros for 6 years and rolled my own for 2. Then last week picked up a pipe.
IHT - lot of ex-army guys here. i got out and still work for the army as a defense contractor.

Now my wife and kids have been on a crusade to make me quit smoking. Bless them. My kids (2yo and 4yo) say things like "ew daddy smoking ikky poop. dont smoke poop its a gonna make you sick". My wife, who is working on her nursing degree, cites the medical studies (which I think is bs because the average person inhales more carcinigens from rush hour traffic exhaust than tobacco) and makes me shower and brush my teeth before a kiss.
IHT - next time she says something, tell her to read this.
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/...urcetype=HWCIT
btw - my wife is a nurse as well. she just quit after 20 yrs of cigs, but had to due to her working not allowing smoking on work property.

It was like slow motion watching the thing drop and the whole time I was thinking "Not the bit, not the bit, NOT THE BITNOOOOOO!" Bit broke with a broken piece stuck in the shaft. I haven't been this depressed in a LONG time. I feel silly for letting a 36$ pipe get to me like this, especialy since I can get a new bit, but it is such a nice pipe and I abused it.
IHT - that's happened to me twice. slow motion with a brand new tin of tobacco, slid off my chest of drawers right onto the carpet.
the other time, it was a new (to me) Nording. i didn't watch the stem break, but i was still highly pissed/upset about it. it's still broken, i need to ship it back to Denmark for anew one.

Anyway thats enough hot air outta me. Glad to be here. Looking forward to getting to know you all.

Steve

reply in the quote.
welcome to the pipe forum here.

btw - how in the hell did you find clubstogie for their pipe forum??

Mad Hatter · 12-08-2007, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce

Hey Madhatter:

What type of guns in your Battalion? I was in a 175mm SP unit stationed on the border with East Germany during the "Cold War" (1973 to 1976).
Wasn't a gunbunny........ran the Battalion Aid Station...........Combat Medic.

I don't think the 175's are around anymore. Those were some really big guns.....pretty wild during fire missions!

We had 155 Paladins. Occasionally worked with heavy mortar teams. Everybody was mech, except for us. I worked at battalion level on a COLT insertion team. HHB 1/10 FA 3rd Brigade 3rd ID. I know my unit had been station in Germany during the cold war, but in the late 90s it was Fort Benning, Kelley Hill. Fire support always got along with you medics. Slice unit bastard children and all that. Glad to know you served too Bruce.

dls · 12-08-2007, 12:09 PM

Welcome to the jungle!

Seems there's a lot of military/ex-military folks around here. Interesting.

IHT · 12-08-2007, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Hatter

Slice unit bastard children and all that. Glad to know you served too Bruce.

if you haven't noticed lately, the entire Army is now going to a "brigade-centric" army. all the brigades are now like "plug and play" units. no longer Army/Corps/Divsion style in deployments and construct.
it's all brigade combat team based.