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Do you smoke a pipe?

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07:36 / 02.05.04

The other day, I fell, not literally, over a book, Handbook for Pipe Smokers. It got me to thinking, do people still do this, or has the pipe been completely dropped in favor of the cigarettes?
Especially, do younger people smoke the pipe? I'm sure a lot of older people do, but has it caught on in the younger generations. I myself don't know a single person who smokes the pipe. My father used to, but rarely does it anymore.

08:38 / 02.05.04

I smoke a pipe from time to time, although I've cut down since quitting cigs. Makes the room smell nice and is a lot more relaxing. Especially since a pipe full takes a while to finish.

08:47 / 02.05.04

There was a brief flurry of interest in pipe-smoking in Brighton a couple of years ago. Our own Lord Nuneaton Savage still smokes his from time to time, but I haven't seen anyone else below pensionable age with a pipe in a while.
Which is a shame, because it smells lovely. And chicks dig it.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

09:26 / 02.05.04

I've been considering taking up the pipe, but I don't know if I could pull it off.

11:34 / 02.05.04

Well, I smoke it from time to time too... some people say its my hobbit side.

I recommend it... though nargile is much better, but harder to carry around!

13:10 / 02.05.04

Funnily enough I was only talking about this last night. I've always wanted to get into pipe smoking both for the hobbity cardigan-wearing aspect of it and because it smells delicious whenever someone walks past with one. Although I daresay I'd feel a bit too self-conscious to walk about with it in public, and would probably keep it just for home.

When I was 16 and delving into the world of cigarettes and their associated paraphrenalia, I bought a pipe and some pipe tobacco but just couldn't seem to make it work right. I have since investigated the subject and discovered that there are various things you need to do to prepare the pipe to make it draw properly and stay alight, so if I ever want to give it another go I'll have to sit down and do it all properly I guess, which is kind of putting me off.

Are you going to give it a shot LykeX? Perhaps you can keep us updated on your progress?

13:29 / 02.05.04

My dad took it up at age 26.

I'm 25 now. It's quite pleasant and relaxing; rather different to cigs.

15:11 / 02.05.04

It seems that it isn't as rare as I thought. Maybe it's just that it isn't fashionable, so young people only smoke it at home?
Anyway, I think it smeels quite nice too, quite opposite cigarettes. Can't stand those. I remember one day walking down the street and suddenly smelling something nice. Then I realized that it was the guy walking in front of me smoking a pipe.

I haven't decided if I want to try it out yet. On one hand I find it interesting and like the smell. On the other hand I'm a little wary about starting to smoke anything. Of course, if you keep it at a certain level, it may not be a big problem. And if chicks dig it...

19:38 / 02.05.04

I took up this kind of smoking when I quit cigars because it's less expensive and it isn't cool. I don't smoke a pipe more often only because I know I'm likely to start to want a pipe collection, and I have too many hobbies for my pocketbook already. Smoking a pipe and knitting is lovely. I definitely play better chess when I have a pipe, though that isn't saying much.

20:25 / 02.05.04

Loomis in black poloneck with a pipe - hmmm if he starts wearing black rimmed glasses he will become Jean-Paul Sartre

06:10 / 03.05.04

You've been reading my diary again haven't you Sleaze? That is exactly the plan I have in mind. Soon I'll be smoking my pipe while riding my bike European-style. Or perhaps that's beatnik-style.

So ... pipe smokers out there: can someone give me a quick run down of how to smoke a pipe, or how to get started? How easy is it to just go into a tobacconist, buy a cheapish pipe and start puffing?

06:36 / 03.05.04

Jean-Paul Sartre apparently fell off his bike a lot because he'd be so deep in thought he'd forget to pedal. Better buy a sturdy, fall-proof pipe.

08:30 / 03.05.04

Your best bet is to find an old-fashioned tobacconist and just say that you'd like to start smoking a pipe. Ask for some light tobacco and a suitable pipe and let the ancient gentleman behind the counter give you a quick bowl stuffing lesson. Advantage to this is that you can light up when leaving the shop and strut down the avenue all intellectual like.

09:23 / 03.05.04

Well, I did a little research, and so came up with the following pages. Though they probably don't compare with having somone in front of you who knows what he's doing, it's a start.

Smoking FAQ
What you need to smoke a pipe
How to start smoking a pipe

17:10 / 03.05.04

That last link is quite thorough and accurate.

My abbreviated version:

1. Break up the tobacco to make sure it's not clumping.
2. Let it fall into the bowl rather than shoving it in.
3. Tamp it down lightly and make sure it draws easily.
4. Light the top and then put it out so there's an evenly charred surface.
5. If the bowl feels particularly hot in your hand rather than warm, or if your mouth feels hot, put the pipe out and let it cool a bit. It's typical to need to relight a couple of times.
6. Don't inhale.

Cheap. Easy. Cruel.

17:37 / 03.05.04

I have smoked a pipe for years, I believe I started when I was eighteen. I find it to be very relaxing. My advice to anyone wanting to start a pipe would be to buy an inexpensive briar pipe and just whatever sort of tobacco smells good to you. Most commercially prepared flavored tobaccos are flavored with a syrup, which causes a rather nasty taste towards the end of the bowl if you smoke it too fast. I learned how to lightly flavor my own tobaccos several years ago from a specialty tobbaconist whom I see once a year. He makes wonderful herbal blends that use no tobacco at all (yes, they are perfectly legal).

17:42 / 03.05.04

I used to smoke a pipe on road trips, but haven't for years. Love the smell, not so fond of the taste or the vertiginous nausea that followed (probably inhaling too much). But it would definitely keep me awake and alert... although more prone to blow smoke rings than actually watch the road.

17:47 / 03.05.04

How bizarre to come across this thread right at the very moment that I'm considering whether to take up the pipe or not. I gave up smoking cigarettes a few years ago but have wanted to start smoking again recently but wondered about alternatives to the cancer sticks.

I'm only 29 and like many had considered it to be the activity of the older man (colleagues of mine smoke pipes but they are all past the age of 50). What a quandary but I am pleasantly surprised that there are others in my position.

17:51 / 03.05.04

Right then. I'm going to try it. Too busy at the moment, but next month when I'm settled in my new flat I'm going to give it a shot. I'll find a decent tobacconist and ask for advice and get myself a reliable setup.

I encourage anyone else currently sitting on the fence to try it with me and we can report back.

18:12 / 03.05.04

Thanks for the amusing visual of a half-dozen Barbeloids clustered together smoking pipes and discussing Sartre at the next Barbemeet. Preferably wearing Burberry. That would be nice.

18:56 / 03.05.04

That image is to be encouraged I think. I felt very old recently to be at a table of about 8 of my peers at a pub and not a single member of the group was smoking. Times have changed indeed.

Cheap. Easy. Cruel.

19:06 / 03.05.04

I am only 28, electricinca. Don't let your age stop you from enjoying a good pipe.

21:19 / 03.05.04

Smoking a pipe whilst reading is one of lifes little pleasures. The vanilla falvoured tobacco is lovely, but does indeed leave behind a residue that tastes quite horrible.

There is a good tobacconist in Victoria if you are London based, and one in Tooting if south london - and loads in the centre of town.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

22:09 / 03.05.04

Yeah, fuck it. I'll give it a go with ya.

22:39 / 03.05.04

Well, I guess I have no choice then, since I started all this. This is what peer pressure will do to you.

I know of two tobacconists in the near area, I'll go have a look when I have a spare moment. Later this week or maybe the next.

lord nuneaton savage

11:25 / 04.05.04

A good pipe is fantastic after a smoked mackerel breakfast. I've got a bit of a collection on the go actually, including one carved into the likeness of a Turkish sultan.
It is also a fantastic thing to point at people while making salient points about the issues of the day.

12:04 / 04.05.04

I agree with his Lordship on that point...there's nothing like a pipe as a prop in an intellectial debate.

12:15 / 04.05.04

Loomis in black poloneck with a pipe - hmmm if he starts wearing black rimmed glasses he will become Jean-Paul Sartre.

Nah, Loomis is far too good a dancer.

Tangentially, I find it strangely poignant that anyone would gauge something's 'normality' by whether or not Barbeloids were doing it...

12:35 / 04.05.04

Maybe I could start a trend of dancing with pipes? There'd be a lot fewer eyes poked out on the dancefloor by ill-guided cigarette ends, that's for sure.

12:57 / 04.05.04

The clubs would save on smoke generators, that's for sure...in fact, if you show up with a pipe, you should demand a discount on the door. You're saving them money, dammit!

13:07 / 04.05.04

On a related note, I've always fancied a smoking jacket. I think my heavy smoking habit would appear much classier if I wore a smoking jacket while doing so. It would also cut down on those hot rock burns in my t-shirts.
Ooh, and a fez as well, or would that be taking it too far?

15:09 / 04.05.04

If you get a fez you have to get a tiny car and become a shriner.

15:24 / 04.05.04

~threadrot~ What exactly are the shriners? My knowledge of them is that they wear fez (what is the plural of fez?, drive small cars, and that Mr Cunningham (from Happy Days) was a member.

15:54 / 04.05.04

Shriners seem to be some sort of Freemason-related grouping. You can't join unless you've reached a certain rank in the Masons. They tend to do a lot of charity work, setting up and funding hospitals and the like...a quick google throws up plenty about their history, like this site here.

13:06 / 16.06.04

Do you know how much it sucks to be given presents that show how little the giver knows about you? Well a lifetime of that has just been expunged by my receipt of thegreatest gift ever at my recent leaving do. My friends from work bought me a pipe!!

So I'm currently struggling a bit with it. It works okay, but if I puff enough to keep it lit then it burns too hot, and otherwise it goes out too much. I've read somestuff on the net, and apparently it needs a number of smokes to build up the carbon inthe bowl to make it smokebetter, so I'm persevering. And I need to go to a decent tobacconists to get myself a pipe tool and some cleaners anyway, so I'll have a chat while I'm there.

Question: how much of it is meant to be lit? You know how on a cigarette the whole end of it is all red, but with my pipe it seems like only a couple of grains of tobacco are actually alight at any time. Is that normal? Or should I keepusing the lighter untilthe whole thing looks like a furnace?

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