Who among us are PIPE smokers?

[Grenadier1758]

I have a clay pipe bowl set aside to measure the volume for a black powder load. Many years ago, Nov '71, I gave up the pipe because of the aftertaste. Now a recognize the taste as being close to the taste of black powder fouling.

Never really liked to smoke anything. Glad I never took up the habit.

 

[slwnbp]

I owned the IMP trademark for several years and was the only disturber for IMP Meerschaum pipes. I also built several pipes from imported briar. I prefer a bent stem and mid-sized bowl. Meerschaum pipes have been around for hundreds of years. Most pipes made today are too fancy to be considered period correct. Most stems are made of acrylic.
I also sold the IMP brand of pipe tobacco. Not enough room on the forum to begin to discuss tobacco.

 

[Mulemauler]

I like to smoke a pipe when I have the time to sit and enjoy it. Around a campfire with a mug of Bent's Fort special and some old friends is pretty hard to beat,

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

Only pipe's I smoke nowadays are a .50 and .40 bore . I quit tobacco pipes about 1971 , when it was announced the tobacco companies applied formaldehyde , embalming fluid , to the tobacco leaves drying in their warehouses , to prevent mold growth loss. All the hospitals I worked in banned smoking due to this. I'm thankful I quit , and I'm still here.

Me too for both of us. Cigs, cigars and snuff were my overdose of chemicals.
Larry

 

[Twisted_1in66]

Who here is also a pipe smoker? Not necessarily int he traditional sense....but enjoys a good pipe and tobacco after a day of shooting. .I would love to know what your are smoking (pipe) and what is your favorite blend....For me I smoke a few pipes, but my go to right now is a Missouri Meerschaum Dune Cobbit pipe, and I love County Squire Tombigbee......

I rarely smoke a pipe anymore. I will smoke a clay pipe around a campfire at reenactments, but there aren't a lot of those in Washington State. Was more frequent during the times I lived in Vermont and Virginia (18-yrs.). Cool thing about clay pipes is that if they get "tarred up" you can just set them on the coals in a fire to burn itself clean. Don't try that with a briar pipe! I smoked pipes a lot when I was 18 and intermittently since. Never enough to say I'm a regular pipe smoker though. If you ever do smoke pipes, you can't smoke just one. You need to let briar pipes dry out between uses, so you always have multiple pipes. Would be unusual to find a pipe smoker who didn't have at least 4 to 6 pipes - or 7 so you have one for every day of the week.

Looks like I still have nine pipes...nope 10. Seven of those are briar pipes, one is "the Pipe", which is from the late 60's. Unlike a briar pipe you didn't need to break it in by building up a crust of carbon inside the bowl. It came with some artificial interior coating that they advertised as heat shielding material used in spacecraft. It actually is always a cool smoking pipe and never gets hot in the hand. You do have to keep it clean to make it work correctly though.

Another pipe I have is a classic Meerschaum pipe that my brother bought for me in Turkey and sent to me while he was in the army in 1970-72 stationed in Germany. It has the yellow stem and the bearded man head as the bowl. Never did smoke it enough to color it much but there is some color to it.

Lastly, I have a small Calabash pipe (gourd for the outer covering with a meerschaum bowl) with sterling silver accents and an ebonite stem. My parents bought it for me in 1970 when they were in England. Said it was made in 1910 and had belonged to a British officer from the Boer Wars, who carried it with him inside its case in his pocket. It actually has silversmith marks on it and, from the marks, it was indeed made in Birmingham in 1910. The gourd outer covering is richly colored. It was the pipe I would smoke at home sitting in a chair in the back yard with a dram of single malt in a crystal whisky glass in my hand. Was offered $500 for it about 5-years ago, but my parents are both gone now and I'm keeping it. I probably only use it once or twice a year now, but I do enjoy looking at it.

When I do smoke a pipe I usually use some Black Cavendish tobacco in it.

 

[Semisane]

I have a dozen or so pipes and smoke a lot. I started with cigarettes around age 13 (times were different then when the ads said "nine out of ten doctors recommend Lucky Strikes" ),

I switched to the pipe at age 17. I'm 79 now, so I've been smoking pipes for the last 52 years. As I sit here typing, I'm puffing on a Full Bent stoked with an English blend from Milan Tobaccos called Kings Ransom. I expect I'll quit one day. I also expect I'll die one day.

 

[Oldbear63]

There is a blend called Hobbit's Weed that is a mixture of aromatic tobaccos and herbs... interesting, but not my thing.

 

[fireman1]

I rarely smoke a pipe anymore. I will smoke a clay pipe around a campfire at reenactments, but there aren't a lot of those in Washington State. Was more frequent during the times I lived in Vermont and Virginia (18-yrs.). Cool thing about clay pipes is that if they get "tarred up" you can just set them on the coals in a fire to burn itself clean. Don't try that with a briar pipe! I smoked pipes a lot when I was 18 and intermittently since. Never enough to say I'm a regular pipe smoker though. If you ever do smoke pipes, you can't smoke just one. You need to let briar pipes dry out between uses, so you always have multiple pipes. Would be unusual to find a pipe smoker who didn't have at least 4 to 6 pipes - or 7 so you have one for every day of the week.

Looks like I still have nine pipes...nope 10. Seven of those are briar pipes, one is "the Pipe", which is from the late 60's. Unlike a briar pipe you didn't need to break it in by building up a crust of carbon inside the bowl. It came with some artificial interior coating that they advertised as heat shielding material used in spacecraft. It actually is always a cool smoking pipe and never gets hot in the hand. You do have to keep it clean to make it work correctly though.

Another pipe I have is a classic Meerschaum pipe that my brother bought for me in Turkey and sent to me while he was in the army in 1970-72 stationed in Germany. It has the yellow stem and the bearded man head as the bowl. Never did smoke it enough to color it much but there is some color to it.

Lastly, I have a small Calabash pipe (gourd for the outer covering with a meerschaum bowl) with sterling silver accents and an ebonite stem. My parents bought it for me in 1970 when they were in England. Said it was made in 1910 and had belonged to a British officer from the Boer Wars, who carried it with him inside its case in his pocket. It actually has silversmith marks on it and, from the marks, it was indeed made in Birmingham in 1910. The gourd outer covering is richly colored. It was the pipe I would smoke at home sitting in a chair in the back yard with a dram of single malt in a crystal whisky glass in my hand. Was offered $500 for it about 5-years ago, but my parents are both gone now and I'm keeping it. I probably only use it once or twice a year now, but I do enjoy looking at it.

When I do smoke a pipe I usually use some Black Cavendish tobacco in it.

View attachment 325985

View attachment 325987

Very cool pipe and family connection for you. Maybe first World War and not hte Boer war though?

 

[Oldbear63]

I own a collection of pipes, but I can't claim to have a strong opinion as to which smokes better. My favorite is a home-made pipe with a wood stem in all maple that smokes cool, is easy on the teeth and absorbs moisture well. I also have an old Ropp cherry pipe a few clay pipes, mostly church wardens or long-ish stems, a Viking (metal stem with cooling fins) and assorted other pipes.
For blends I prefer VaPers (Virginia perique blends) especially Bayou Morning. Haunted House, Trout Stream and a few of the Vapers as well as Escudo.
Have you every tried snipping off a piece of cigar? Lots of vitamin N there!

 

[fireman1]

I've taken up a pipe in the last 10 years. I'm laid up right now due to surgery so it's been a week since I smoked. I miss it. The slow contemplative time spent.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

IF you can find it, straight Virginia (shag cut) is a proper historic taste and aroma. Many tobacconists use it as a filler for other blends. Often one must ask.

I prefer to use something like a Jamestown clay pipe

But they are often hard to find, so this year at Fort Fred I bought several "Single Ring" clay pipes

Neither of these are embellished on the bowl, and the stems are from 6.5" long or a tad longer. Not quite the length of a "tavern" pipe.

For "proper" tobacco, I will choose a "Flake" style tobacco. Peter Stokkebye Luxury Navy Flake and Virginia Flake by MacBaren are a good choice for a tobacco that hasn't really changed in several centuries. Really, any "navy flake" that comes in the rectangular pieces, and the smokeR has to roll and break up the tobacco in the hand to load the pipe, are good choices.

"Flake" was a very early form of pipe tobacco, much earlier than "shag cut" which is the most commonly found method of pipe tobacco found today. The tobacconist would often mix differently cured Virginia tobacco, and add rum as a preservative. This was then pressed, and shipped to England. It was cut and then sold, and would separate because of the layers of leaf. This and twist tobacco, were what was readily apparent in the 18th century. Twist is often tough to find, though you may find some quickly, double check, and be sure it's for smoking, and not for chewing.

LD
https://www.pipesandcigars.com/product/peter-stokkebye-luxury-navy-flake/PSC-TP.html

 

[Colonial Boy]

I quit when I was about 30, mostly smoked a pipe except for my army days when cigarettes were more convenient. Started smoking when I was ten, so 20 years a smoker but one day I was with the late John Kell while he was getting a pistol x-rayed by a friend at Sydney University, during our discussions the subject of smoking came up and John’s friend showed us a smoker’s lungs in a jar. I quit smoking then and there, did try a Marlborough years later but one drag was enough and that was it.
Having said all that, one wiff of a good tobacco and the desire returns .
I had a number of pipes both straight and curved stemmed.
The straight ones were for more formal occasions but the curved ones were for the outdoors especially if I was around horses, the curved stem will come out of the mouth it a horse throws his head back and you are unlucky enough to be hit, a straight stem will likely be driven into the back of the throat and possibly the spine.
My favourite pipe tobacco was “Erinmore” and “Lucky Strike “ or “Chesterfield “ among the cigs.
I really loved my pipes but am thankful that I gave up smoking.

 

[oldschoolhunter55]

Who here is also a pipe smoker? Not necessarily int he traditional sense....but enjoys a good pipe and tobacco after a day of shooting. .I would love to know what your are smoking (pipe) and what is your favorite blend....For me I smoke a few pipes, but my go to right now is a Missouri Meerschaum Dune Cobbit pipe, and I love County Squire Tombigbee......

ive never smoked a pipe but enjoy being around someone that does.Love that smell.ŵell me and some neighborhood kids tried it. lol. i got choked and very sick. seeemed like the ground was moving lol. i couldnt ride my bike home lol

 

[Bucks Co]

Haven't smoked a pipe in a while; still have quite a few; will probably go back to them one day; My favourites are bent stem Peterson's and Borkum Riff Black Cavendish. Watching the sun go down over a NZ Mountain Lake with a pipe in one hand and a good single malt in the other is pretty close to heaven. Only gets better when its after some Shooting with one of the .40's!!

 

[Uncle Miltie]

I've enjoyed smoking a pipe for many years. Have a good sized collection of them and lots of tobacco.
At a muzzleloading club I shoot at in Ohio there a number of folks who partake in the joys of a fine pipe and tobacco after the match: it's pretty cool.

 

[Loja man]

I'd like to know what Bilbo Baggins smoked in his pipe at the Shire.

It was called Old Toby.

 

[Juice Jaws]

Only pipe's I smoke nowadays are a .50 and .40 bore . I quit tobacco pipes about 1971 , when it was announced the tobacco companies applied formaldehyde , embalming fluid , to the tobacco leaves drying in their warehouses , to prevent mold growth loss. All the hospitals I worked in banned smoking due to this. I'm thankful I quit , and I'm still here.

I never quit and I am still here also

 

[Icemanxxxv]

I'm new to the pipe I have enjoyed a good cigar around the camp fire and out on the river, but investing 45 minutes in a cigar sometimes is a stretch. On the river fighting a big brown on a 6wt they can be a distraction, so I thought a good pipe would might have an advantage. I now have 4 pipes in my rotation 1 cob, two estate pipes I refreshed, and an olive wood I bent stem I picked up in a shop on the Plaka in Athens. I enjoy Scotty's Salmon River and Trout Stream blend. You might pick up on the tabacco types and my other obsession.

 

[Mina]

I use to get Captain Black.. I liked it.

Had s nice cheap but nice Italian pipe..

haven't found a good "Tobacco" pipe at any of these smoke shops anywhere.

Was thinking ordering a Dr Grabow pipe.

I still get Captain Black white can. It used to be $13/12 Oz. That was before a certain stolen valor Connecticut lawyer/politician decided to sue the tobacco companies on behalf of the children. It is sky high now and climbing when it can be found. And it can be gotten in dribs and drabs of various size pouches and in a very small can. Kaywoody pipes topped Dr Grabo's by a mile, and they once had screw-in stems. I use a pair of carbon pipes, because they don't crack. But they are hot to touch. I handle them with heavy leather work gloves which have as part of the brand name, mule

 

[Bucolic Buffalo]

I enjoy the pipe. Occasionally a bit of snuff. I am a fan of Bracken Flake (no longer available) and 1792 Flake (prefer the older blend known as "Dead Mouse in a Tin"). I go through a lot of Dunhill and GL Pease blends.

If anyone is really interested in the topic, there is a sister forum called Brothers of Briar. I won't post a link, but it's easily found in a search. Promoting other forums can be a funny thing and the rules are not fresh in my mind.