A couple of personal musings on pipes

[BrSpiritus]

Right now since I am in the US awaiting my report date to Alaska and my wife is at our home in the Philippines I don't have to worry about the "Wife Factor". Should be interesting when I get back in September and she gets to experience living with a full on pipe smoker.

My musing is how tastes change. When I first picked up a pipe at 25 I was into aromatics and I never got into the whole pipe thing... who slows down long enough to enjoy a pipe when they are that young? Times have changed in 10 years, I'm married and live half the year in Philippines where life is slower and I have all the free time I could want. Although I still like an aromatic, I'm more interested in the "refined" ones like Peterson. I have also develped a taste for English tobacco which I did not have before, with my personal favourite being SG Squadron Leader. I wonder if I will ever settle with 3 or 4 types of tobacco in my daily rotation or if I will simply have a lifelong quest through the palette of tobaccos available.

BrSpiritus

[dmkerr]

Whoa! Just thought of another about tobacco, thanks to BrSpiritus' comment about changing taste!

I normally don't cellar more than about 3 pounds (and that's rare) of a particular tobacco unless it has stayed with me more than 3 years. Tastes change. Who wants a dozen pounds of Penzance in their cellar just about the time they decide latakia no longer rings their chimes? If you really like Penzance now, by all means buy as much as you like. But I'd get the tins. Easier to sell or trade if your taste changes.

And I'm not picking on Penzance - it's just an example. I currently have about 10 oz of a blend that hit me hard on first tasting and that now I'm pretty blah over. I'm aging it as an experiment to see if it improves but it could very well be that I'll have 10 oz of tobacco that sits there and collects dust.

[SmokinJohnny]

Originally Posted by laney1566

Agreed......Penzance!!! I rest my case

I'm still learnin. Never heard of it. Checked out the reviews. Stinky and goopy. Drove wife out of room. It must be good! Gotta try it!!!! (in garage).

[MickeyFinn]

Standing around the campfire last night tapping the ash out of my oldest MM cob the part between the bowl and stem split. Lost a good friend in that pipe, tossed it into the fire to be added to the smoke. A fitting passing for a great pipe I bought last year. Not a single aro smoked in it just good VA.
Dave
The Harpoon IPA soften the loss of the pipe.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by SmokinJohnny

[Penzance is]Stinky and goopy.

It is neither. Rather, shall we say, "a smokey pungency and unrivaled richness of body?"

Originally Posted by MickeyFinn

The Harpoon IPA soften the loss of the pipe.

Yes... IPA has softened many cruel blows.

[CrankyChris]

The quality of the pack is often more important than the quality of tobacco. The Frank method does me right almost all of the time.

[SmokinJohnny]

It is neither. Rather, shall we say, "a smokey pungency and unrivaled richness of body?"

I quoted what I read on the review forum. Your definition sounds more reformed. Worth a try at any rate.

[Mad Hatter]

Originally Posted by SmokinJohnny

I quoted what I read on the review forum. Your definition sounds more reformed. Worth a try at any rate.

Moo is nothing if not "reformed"

[Piper]

Originally Posted by dmkerr

For those who buy pipes off the internet and are clenchers as I am... no matter how beautiful the pipe is, no matter how well it smokes or how prestigious it is, all is lost if the pipe isn't well balanced.

I totally agree with this observation. When I was getting back into pipes after a number of years, I saw two beautiful Dunhill pipes online for a pretty good discount. Both were Group Six. I knew they'd be large but I had no idea how large until they arrived. They are absolutely beautiful to look at but the bits are so thick and the bowls so heavy that I have to take the pipes out of my mouth frequently just to give my jaw a rest. (Not that I plan to give them away--so, please, no offers to relieve me of them!) Big pipes also seem to take longer to break in. Still, I'm in no hurry and the pipes do look fine.

[brianwalden]

Ok, here's another attempt at a deep thought... I'm an absolutist. I like to be able to say, for example, that X is the right way to fill a pipe; Y is the best pipe lighter, and Z is the best pipe or tobacco maker. I'm quickly learning that, outside of the limits physics places on us, there's pretty much nothing absolute about pipe smoking. It's all relative. Of course, this is basic. Anyone who's smoked more than a few bowls has learned that the cut and moisture of tobacco affects the way you fill a pipe, the weather conditions affect which lighter best lights it, and your favorite pipe maker depends a lot on what qualities you're looking for in a pipe. And anyone who's read more than a few threads on this board knows that one man might prefer his tobacco almost soggy while another smokes it bone dry; one prefers aromatics while another only naturals; some people can't get enough Latakia in his blends while others shy away from it. So far this applies to many things in life, not just pipes and tobacco.

But pipe smoking takes this relativity to the extreme. The man who likes his tobacco dry will almost always have a few he prefers wet, the man who decries aromatics as all aroma and goopiness will almost always have a one or two he keeps on hand, and the Latakia lover almost always enjoys switching to a bright Virginia or a cool Burley from time to time. I'm finding that even smoking the same tobacco in the same pipe results in a different smoke each time. Case in point: this Altadis Black Cavendish I've mentioned elsewhere. I've smoked three bowls. For the first I got almost no flavor whatsoever from it (whatsoever is a funny-looking word isnt' it?); my second smoke I found the flavor to be pleasantly mild, what I'd expect out of a decent aromatic; and as I smoked it last night the sweetness came through almost sickeningly strong - it would have been great as a quick smoke but I packed it the Frank way and it was like sucking on a sugar cube for an hour and a half.

I guess I'm beginning to realize that each smoke is it's own unique experience - like a snowflake, if you want to get sentimental about it. Maybe that's why I'm enjoying falling into this hobby so much. I'm bound from conception until death by the absolutes in this world. An hour with a pipe is an escape (relatively speaking, of course) from all that. My mood, the pipe, it's condition, my location, the tobacco, it's age, it's humidity, the weather, the way I fill the pipe, the time of day, the current state of my palate, the company (or solitude) I share, the way I light and tamp, etc. and etc. All combine to create a once in a lifetime smoking experience. There's no right or best or perfect in the world pipes, just each individual experience and each individual's opinion of that experience.

[dmkerr]

On a much less heavy note than Brian's musing, ever notice how you save up for a particular pipe (or for you wealthy people, how you spring for a pipe immediately) buy it and gaze lustfully at it for a week or two, only to find another pipe for sale you like better? Someone else improved on the lines you loved in the first pipe, balanced it better, improved the grain, enlarged the bowl - until you scream in frustration?

As for Brian, I do agree that each smoking experience is unique. On the other hand, it's also comforting to find a blend or two that deliver essentially the same flavor and experience, when you've ended a hard week and are more into the old jeans than the new suit. Still, like a good piece of music, there's often something new within the familiar. And that's what keeps the excitement going. And as I mentioned above, no matter how many times you think you've found the perfect pipe, there's always another (or several) out there you'll prefer. Maybe pipesmoking is like golf. We keep playing because we can't master it.

[Dgar]

I like to smoke

[SmokinJohnny]

On a much less heavy note than Brian's musing, ever notice how you save up for a particular pipe (or for you wealthy people, how you spring for a pipe immediately) buy it and gaze lustfully at it for a week or two, only to find another pipe for sale you like better? Someone else improved on the lines you loved in the first pipe, balanced it better, improved the grain, enlarged the bowl - until you scream in frustration?

Absolutely! the crown of our collection lasts two weeks. There is no end to it.

[dogsplayinpoker]

Originally Posted by dmkerr

Maybe pipesmoking is like golf. We keep playing because we can't master it.

It can't be like golf...all my pipes are still in one piece.
I have become better acquainted with my pipe-buying self. I can go months without seeing anything that interests me only to suddenly come upon a pipe that "speaks" to me, normally in a shape sense but sometimes in a finish sense. Once this happens I become obsessed with acquiring that pipe. Constantly looking it up, hoping that it stays "for sale" long enough for my scheming to come to fruition. I am currently in my down phase.

[Mad Hatter]

You said it Dogs'. One good thing I can say is when my wallet's a little lighter i don't get moved quite as often.