Entries in buying first pipe (2)

Thursday
Feb072013

Advice to new pipe-smokers on selecting a pipe.

My first good pipe: A Sasiene Viscount Lascelles Bent BilliardThe longer someone is in the world of pipes, the more complicated the considerations seem, especially when it comes to selecting a good pipe. So, what is the person new to pipe-smoking to do? How does one successfully navigate the correct acquisition of pipe and tobacco in order to determine whether one might actually enjoy pipe-smoking?

If you are new to pipe smoking, one challenge you face is that you probably don’t want to spend a large sum of money for a pipe when you don’t know whether or not you will enjoy pipe-smoking. This is perfectly understandable. If you decide you dislike pipe smoking, the last thing you want in your bedside table drawer is an expensive souvenir from your regrettable adventure.

If you don’t have a good friend, father, uncle, or grandfather who is willing to bestow a reliable pipe upon you for your experimentation, you must acquire a pipe on your own. This probably means 
buying one. Here’s the problem: it will be difficult to choose an inexpensive briar pipe that will reliably deliver good flavor or a good draw.

There are five attributes that combine to produce a serviceable briar pipe which is a pipe that will yield a good quality, if not great, smoke. Keep in mind that these are basic attributes and would not be applied to a collector-quality or fine artisan-made briar pipe. Just meeting these standards usually involves higher production costs than the price for which a typical inexpensive briar pipe might sell.

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Sunday
Apr252010

First Pipes

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Yesterday, while I was visiting my Saturday-tobacconist-haunt, I encountered a number of younger men who had come into the shop to purchase their first pipe.

A couple of them had brought their wife or girlfriend along with them for the purchase. Curious, really. I can’t imagine my wife setting foot inside my tobacconist. Surely she’d flee upon encountering the first drifting blue-black nimbus wafting toward her. So, I curiously observed their self-conscious inspections, wondering why any man would want a woman along while he tried to take the measure of pipe-flesh.

It is hard for me to keep a straight face when a guy holds a pipe almost to his lips, then turns in profile to his mate, uttering “How does this one look?”

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