Just found this forum...

[viking12344]

And hope this is the right place for introductions. I am 39, father to a 16 year old daughter (ouch) and husband to a lovely wife. I have been smoking cigarettes for almost 30 years. The thing with that however is I never did start to be cool. I have always had what can only be described as a tobacco fetish. Sounds kinky but what I mean is I have always been facinated with it. I love tobacco. I love the pre smoked smell, the smoked smell, the whole thing.
Well I had quit the cigarettes about 5 years back and moved on to a pipe. I loved the pipe but of course the things that all newbies encounter killed me. After 2 months of smoking a pipe and not being able to eat cold food or drink cold beverages (due to tounge bite) I went back to the cigarettes...which btw, as some of you well know, were just absolutely DISGUSTING now that I had tasted the pipe tobacco.
Cut ahead to now and the lovely state of NY has raised the tax on cigarettes, including the roll your own variety, to astronomical levels. I refuse to spend 8.00 on a pack of cigarettes or 60.00 on a pound of tobacco. So back to the pipe I am and will always be.

I have slowe doen in my smoking but a big problem with my habit is chain smoking so I find myself with pipe in mouth all day at work (I am an auto body tech), the rides to and from work and at home. Its just me and I am not looking for advice on how to stop that as I probably never will. The point of this topic was just to say hello as I will probably be lurking now for a long time.
Its good to see and read what others who enjoy my hobby have to say and probably my first order of buisness is to search the forum for a quality pipe as most of mine are of the 20 dollar variety. Looking forward to reading through the forum.

[Dedalus]

Rick, welcome aboard. It's good to have you!

[SmokinJohnny]

I am sort of in the same boat as you. Smoked cigs regularly and a pipe occasionally for years but never took pipe smoking seriously. Nor did I smoke the pipe right. If you like cigs, Prince Albert is a good pipe tobacco to adapt with in case you haven't tried it. I worked my way into english latakia blends which leave a very pleasant after taste..So pleasant that a cig ruins the aftertaste of latakia. Yuck. Many of the english latakia blends contain nicotene so they curb cig smoking in that respect. You don't inhale so it's probably healthier on the lungs. Auto restoration is a hobby of mine and I know what you mean by chain smoking. It seems the two go hand in hand. Tounge bite often has a lot to do with puffing too fast. Very easy to do if you're a vetran cig smoker. Try to keep the puffs down to once every 10 seconds or so. You pick up on a rythym after awhile.

[Arizona]

A big WELCOME to you from San Diego - this is a great forum and you'll learn alot here. This is a great bunch and it's an active site. I'm 45 yrs old, been smoking a pipe since 1981. There are alot of younger fellas here in late teens and early 20's but it's encouraging to see the great past time of Pipe Smoking is not dying away. As long as there are those that carry it on then it will survive.

The peace and relaxation factor of a pipe is VERY high. The price of the pipes can be a bit of an investment initially but once you've got one for each day of the week for example you're pretty much good to go. Anything beyond that is just because you want to. Don't scoff at corn cob pipes either, they're a great smoke and under $10. Ebay is a great source for estate pipes and will save you bunches of money in building your pipe rotation up.

Pipe tobacco is much cheaper than any other form of smoking. Glad to see you're thumbing your nose at the NY tax and going with the Pipe - a form of Rebellion!!

You sound like my kind of guy so it'll be a pleasure to have you around...

[KinnScience]

Originally Posted by viking12344

And hope this is the right place for introductions. I am 39, father to a 16 year old daughter (ouch) and husband to a lovely wife. I have been smoking cigarettes for almost 30 years. The thing with that however is I never did start to be cool. I have always had what can only be described as a tobacco fetish. Sounds kinky but what I mean is I have always been facinated with it. I love tobacco. I love the pre smoked smell, the smoked smell, the whole thing.
Well I had quit the cigarettes about 5 years back and moved on to a pipe. I loved the pipe but of course the things that all newbies encounter killed me. After 2 months of smoking a pipe and not being able to eat cold food or drink cold beverages (due to tounge bite) I went back to the cigarettes...which btw, as some of you well know, were just absolutely DISGUSTING now that I had tasted the pipe tobacco.
Cut ahead to now and the lovely state of NY has raised the tax on cigarettes, including the roll your own variety, to astronomical levels. I refuse to spend 8.00 on a pack of cigarettes or 60.00 on a pound of tobacco. So back to the pipe I am and will always be.

I have slowe doen in my smoking but a big problem with my habit is chain smoking so I find myself with pipe in mouth all day at work (I am an auto body tech), the rides to and from work and at home. Its just me and I am not looking for advice on how to stop that as I probably never will. The point of this topic was just to say hello as I will probably be lurking now for a long time.
Its good to see and read what others who enjoy my hobby have to say and probably my first order of buisness is to search the forum for a quality pipe as most of mine are of the 20 dollar variety. Looking forward to reading through the forum.

Just want to say hi, and welcome. I have only been here a month or so, but have found a great bunch of folks here. Friendly, helpful, and full of good humor.

As for the $20 pipes, I think others have pointed out that it isn't the price of the pipe as much as how well you take care of it, how it smokes, and the types of tobaccos you smoke in it. There are some good deals to be had on Ebay. Here are a couple I picked up brand new for under $30. I'm smoking the Jeantet right now (the mahogany) and it smokes great .. fits great .. great balance.

[bigkev77]

Welcome to the forum!! I am a big baswell fan as far as affordable pipes go. They sell anywhere from $50 $300. Really hard to snag one from thier website because they sell so quickly but they always have pipes in stock, just give them a call. They are in Chambersburg, PA which is a pretty good drive from Schenectady, but if you ever feel like a road trip you should check them out.

www.boswellpipes.com

[viking12344]

Thank you for the hellos and kind words.

BigKev- Its funny you mention Boswell because I have been digging through his site for the past few days and his pipes are just gorgeous! I will eventually be ordering a custom made pipe from him if for nothing else, the sheer beauty of them.
His tobaccos are also supposed to be exceptional, the rasberry creme was rated very highly on tobacco reviews and I think I am going to order a few ounces of that this week. I cant find anything like that local. I am a big fan of the fruity flavors, like a lot of new folks are I guess. The cherrys, rasberry, vanilla ect.

[dillonmcmurphy]

Welcome to the forum! You can find unlimited information on everything related to pipe smoking here, so don't hesitate to ask.

I see you have an interest in Boswell pipes. They are very well made, are absolutely gorgeous, and for the money are great puffers. I would recommend that if you want one, you go with a pipe from their Classic line at first. They are only about $56 or $60, and for the money you really get a lot of value. My first briar was actually a Boswell Classic, and now I own two and I love them both. To top it off, the Boswells are great folks. They'll always treat you right and they are very kind. Just give them a call or shoot em an email and ask Gail to send you some pics of a few Classics. You can pick one out and order it right over the phone. Just my

[nate560]

Welcome to another New Yorker.

[DubintheDam]

Welcome Viking...thanks for posting a very honest and straight forward introduction to your pipe smoking habit. I too smoke far too much and have smoke ciggies for many years. But such is life and the best thing about a pipe is a least it is a very tasty, enjoyable and dare I say, "stylish" way to get some nicotine into the system.

Nicotine is a very addictive drug. And it works in such a way that as soon as you stop taking it into your system, your system wants more put in. I envy smokers who can only have one or two a day.

[cp478]

welcome viking,
pretty much same story here.my father introduced me to pipe smoking 3 or 4 years ago to try to get me to quit cigs. but after tasting some dreadful drugstore tobacco, i returned to cigs but now i have found some great tobaccos mostly due to this site.
have been going strong on the pipe for well over a year now.
i too smoke way to much but i really enjoy the pipe and the relaxation that comes from smoking it.

anyway glad to see a similar story and welcome aboard.