how did you get started smoking pipes?

[Dr.Watson]

I have always held a fascination with pipe smoking. My favorite fictional character is Sherlock Holmes. Watching those Basil Rathbone images with his pipe is just incredible. Additionally, I have struggled with stress of late and the relaxation that comes with smoking a pipe appealed as well. Obsession is an easy distraction and obsessing over pipes is a welcome distraction. I visited El Fumador in Sewickley, PA and purchased some baccy and ever since the ritual has become a necessity.

[SmokinJohnny]

Got started around 1981 when I was working in a shipyard in Tacoma, WA. Loooots of ship fitters smoked pipes then. Pipe aroma filled the ships and shops more than welding fumes it seemed. I was sort of captured by it and was invited by a group who met at the Tinder Box every Sat morning to chat and try different store blends. Some sort of ritual they had. Anyways, the Tinder Box guys set me up pretty well with a starter kit and a few sampler blends. Those were some good times. Norse Gold and Captain Spice turned out to be favorites and I stayed a steady puffer for three or four years then it sort of died off. But, occasionally I lit up a bowl of Captain Black or something for a number of years.

One pipe that was popular with ship fitters wasn't a really a pipe but more of a torpedo looking thing that screwed together. You filled it with pipe tobacco and puffed it like a stogie, keeping your hands free to work. They were made of briar wood with metal hardware. Have not seen anything like them since my ship yard days.

I'm back to regular pipe smoking once again after all these years and really enjoying it. It seems I'm enjoying it now more than I ever did. I live in Wisconsin now and there is a couple tobacco stores near me that sell pipes, tins, and bag bulk blends. They just aren't like the Tinder Box days because the attendants aren't usually puffers. They seem to lack patience and can't offer much advice when choosing a blend or picking out a pipe. "it's a good seller" or "it just came in" is about all they seem to know.

[CaptainJeebes]

I remember seeing all of these old men smoking pipes and looking like badasses. The smell was even better. I smoked cigars for like a year and started running our of money in college. I saw how much pipe tobacco was and wanted to try it. Now I do both...I smoke cigars when im with friends mainly and smoke pipes alone. Reason is pipes is a long ritual of setting up and my cigar buddies dont understand so i prefer alone. I like it...

[AcworthAl]

I started in college in Portland, OR around 1961. While window-shopping downtown I stumbled pass a Tobacco Shop. I walked in and was fascinated by the smell and the look of all the pipes. I remember I bought a pouch of Mixture 79, I cannot remember what pipe I purchased. I stopped smoking the pipe, and returned to cigarettes. Then in the 70’s I began buying pipes and started smoking Balkan Sobranie. Stopped again. Finally in 2008 I began buying new pipes and repairing my old pipes. This time I have really enjoyed the variety of tobaccos and a nice assortment of pipes, from Corn Cob to Danbark, from a small Poker to Churchwarden. Smoking a pipe is the most relaxing thing I do, it as close to prayer as one can be, without saying one.

[DeadFrog]

Two things kind of got me into pipe smoking. The first was my love of LOTR. When the movies came out I wanted a replica for display. I ended up buying a smokable reproduction from Vauen in Germany. The second, was that my grandpa always smoked a pipe and I loved the smell. So it wasn't long before I took my LOTR churchwarden out of it's case and loaded up a bowl. I smoked the same pipe for several years and have just really gotten into the hobby over the past few months.

[brianwalden]

I was in pep band in college. A few of us thought it would be fun to get corncobs for one of our road trips following the hockey team. We each got a MM Legend and split a big bag of bulk drugstore cherry tobacco. I had no idea what I was doing. When someone pointed out I needed a tamper I found a twig and used that. I smoked very hot and wet and bit a hole through the stem before I could even finish my portion of the tobacco. Somehow I enjoyed it enough to want to pick up the hobby a few years later when I had my own apartment.

[gglen]

hmmmm I got started when I saw that most of the guys at my local shop smoked them during the winter months. Got my first one for Christmas and absolutely loved it. Now I switch frequently between my pipes and cigars.

[laney1566]

Both my grandfathers smoked pipes, cigarettes and chewed. Growing up I was always around pipe smokers. I had Great Uncle that smoked a pipe regularly. Looking back, I remember my Grandfathers smoking corncobs. My Great Uncle smoked Falcon and Medico. I think they all smoked Half & Half. At least my Great Grandfather did. Anyways.........
I used to sniff the pipes on their racks when no one was looking. When I was 17 I went into a drugstore and bought a Dr. Grabow and a Mastercraft pipe along with some Captain Black tobacco and never got carded. I guess all that to say...It's a family tradition.

[sounds7]

Smoking a pipe has been a proud tradition in my family for generations. My Grand father smoked pipes as did my father. I took to it about about 21 years of age and it was one of the better decisions I made during those times except for maybe choosing my career and my wife.