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First time pipe decisions

So the B&B community must be getting to me as I am nowconsidering the purchase of my first tobacco pipe.
I have been enjoying the occasional cigar for the pastdecade and I love how it forces me to slow down and do nothing but relax and reflectfor an hour. The next logical step forme is to transition to a pipe for the same reasons.
The problem for me is that there are no local stores thatsell pipes (well at least not for tobacco…) and very few places selling pipetobacco in the area.
Does anyone have any recommendations for online vendors? I prefer buying in Canada whenever possible,but any recommendations would be great.
I am considering a Peterson Churchwarden Prince as my first pipe,any comments regarding that as a choice? I know a lot of people suggest a cob or cheappipe for starting off with, but a large part of the appeal of pipe smoking is inthe feel of a quality product as well as the beauty of the craftsmanship.
Cheers!
 

Commander Quan

Commander Yellow Pantyhose
I know there are quite a few of your Canadian neighbors here so hopefully they'll chime in soon, but I wanted to put 4noggins.com on your radar. Rich is one of the online vendors that are favorable to you northern guys.
 
Derrick is right, 4noggins is THE place for us Canadians to get our pipe stuff, both tobacco and pipes. As I'm still a noob, I've placed only one order with them so far (a joint venture with another Brown Leafer from my city), and it couldn't have gone smoother. Shipping cost was very reasonable and it took only about four or five business days to get here, and no duty/tax hit on the package! Somehow Rich has a way with making that happen more often than not. From what I've heard about other online vendors, shipping rates to Canada can be inflated (if they even ship at all to Canada) and it's not uncommon for packages to get tagged at Customs for duty and other charges -- sometimes those charges come out to even more than the price of the tobacco itself.

I just found a US online vendor with Balkan Sobranie and SG Full Virginia Flake in stock and they want $25 for shipping two little tins to me up here in Canada. No way that's gonna happen! I'm currently negotiating with them to get that rate down to what it will ACTUALLY cost them to ship it via USPS Priority Flat Rate Box to Canada -- $12.95.
If 4noggins had those tins in stock I wouldn't even consider ordering it from anywhere else.

Boswell's apparently ships to Canada using reasonable USPS rates and guys up here have mentioned that their packages from Boswell's usually make it through without duty charges. I plan on trying them out soon for some bulk quantities of Northwoods and Countryside. They also make some excellent pipes and you might consider them for both your first pipe and tobacco purchase. They carry both aromatic and English (non-aromatic) tobacco blends.

There are other places that ship to Canada (PipesandCigars.com, SmokingPipes.com, CupOJoes.com), but from what I can gather, they all have at least one snag for Canadians -- either they use UPS or FedEx (high shipping rates and guaranteed duty fees); require first time international orders be paid for with cash, money order or Western Union (only cupojoes does this); or they make no bones about clearly and accurately detailing the contents of international packages on Customs forms, thus ensuring duty fees will be levied.

4noggins is the way to go, at least for me. But I know at least one Canadian here has successfully used one of those other places without being burned for duty/taxes. Good luck.
 
yup 4noggins shipped our stuff up and no tax hit, was quick to the door and packed well,... was a pleasure and ill be back at the site soon for more
 
As far as a pipe selection, it sounds like you've made yours. I didn't want to smoke a cob or some cheapo basket pipe when I took up the hobby either. Get what you want and learn to enjoy it.
 
As far as a pipe selection, it sounds like you've made yours.
+1 - You definitely have made a decision which way you want to go with this. You've got a decade of fine smoking experience under your belt and know how you want to enjoy yourself.
I didn't want to smoke a cob or some cheapo basket pipe when I took up the hobby either. Get what you want and learn to enjoy it.
In the late 90's I had no idea where I wanted to go with my smoking. I had started with cigars, which my fiance detested, but she encouraged me to take up a pipe. I knew no pipe afficianados and the local tobacconists seemed mostly interested in pushing cigars. Not knowing what I would like, starting with a varied bunch of inexpensive basket pipes really helped me find what I liked and disliked.

I'm not that big a fan of cobs, either, but I think they make good placeholders until a guy can collect a nice rack of pipes that he can rotate through during the week. They are also good for the guy that just wants to dip his toe in the water to find out if smoking a pipe is something he would enjoy.
 
It's mainly trial and error. Get a pipe you like, but don't write off basket pipes or cobs for that matter. You can buy a $20 basket pipe that's a real good smoker and a $300 pipe that smokes like a drooling mule. I like cobs since I don't have to "worry" about them. They're cheap enough to replace and you don't have to break them in like a briar. I enjoy my briars immensely but a quick smoke on the commute in the truck it's hard to beat a cob.

While I don't own any (yet) of the Peterson's, everyone I've talked to say they are generally a real good performer and really a decent value from my research.
 
I like cobs since I don't have to "worry" about them. They're cheap enough to replace and you don't have to break them in like a briar.
That's a great point. As I was writing my earlier comment I thought that if I were traveling and had left my pipe at home I would have no qualms about picking up a cob just to have something to smoke. I'd rather pick up another briar or meerschaum, but I think I'd rather trust a MM cob than some of the really cheap pipes found in most low end smoke shops.
 
Cobs are great -sweet, dry smoked.... and if I lose one I don't freak out - especially when I'm wading in the middle of a river and don't want to drop a pipeful of tobaccos (and memories) - though i do have a few tinsky "fishing" briars that are perfectly balanced to rest against my chin (full bents) - so much so that at times I forget they are there. only dropped one, and I recovered it quickly... tho that took a while to dry out lol

but cobs will always have a place in my smoking utensils :)
 
I'm a 4noggins fan as well.

BUT

If you want to keep it all Canadian, it is hard to beat a Julius Vesz.

http://www.juliusvesz.ca/


:thumbup:

Vesz pipes are incredibly good smokers - for his high end pipes he uses dead root briar - burls that have died in the ground but areharvested before they rotted (arid climates -gives them plenty of time, like many many decades)

I had a beautiful 'drop' shaped rusticated pipe which was one of my best smokers ever.... but I was offered several hundred more than I paid for it and I needed the cash - miss that pipe so much!

argh.
 
I still would recommend MM Corn Cob pipes. They're well built and I get better flavor from them than briars. Don't get me wrong, I smoke briars as well, but my CCs are my go to pipes.
 
Thanks for the great feedback guys!

It looks like 4noggins is the go-to place for us Canadians, so I will definitely be checking out their selection. They don’t list the pipe I have been looking at but they sure do have some pretty Savinelli pipes…

As for Tobacco, I would like to try a variety of different types , however an important characteristic is how it smells to non-smokers as I need to convince SWMBO that pipe tobacco doesn’t necissarily “smell bad”. Anyone have any favorites they can recommend?

Thanks for the letting me know about Julius Vesz, he sure makes some pretty pipes! I can’t imaging lighting a fire in something worth $4000, but it would sure be nice to put up on the mantle…

One additional concern I have is how often should a guy smoke from the same pipe, I expect to smoke 3 to 4 bowls a week, will I need multiple pipes to let them rest between sessions?
 
One additional concern I have is how often should a guy smoke from the same pipe, I expect to smoke 3 to 4 bowls a week, will I need multiple pipes to let them rest between sessions?

There's much discussion/argument about how long if at all to "rest" your pipes. It ranges from guys who smoke 3-4 bowls back to back to guys that smoke 1/2 bowl and let it rest for 3 weeks. Like everything else, it is going to depend on what you're dealing with. If you're smoking a goopy wet tobacco, or if you smoke it hot, smoke it upside down under a sycamore tree.... There really is no right or wrong here. Many guys will rotate pipes daily, some may only have a couple pipes and they smoke them constantly.

At the end of the day it isn't going to hurt anything to rest your briars. Use your best judgement and keep an eye on how it's performing.

It's a pipe. Not a rocket.
 
If you are only smoking 3 or 4 bowls a week than I doubt that you will need to rest your pipe very much, as long as the sessions are spaced apart.

Aromatics are obviously the best choice for room note but in my opinion there is a huge trade off in the flavour department. Most of them taste like wet air to me. I've yet to find one that has satisfied my desires. I first started out with Sail Green and Captain Black White, and while they smell better to the uninitiated than most plain tobacco blends they offer inferior smoking properties. (Burn rate, tongue bite, taste et cetera) I can direct you to some popular brands, but hopefully an aromatic smoker can chime in with blends that are agreeable to them. I tend to find that they are unpleasant to my tastes.

I am thinking about buying some pipes from Smokingpipes.com but I'd say you need to account for the customs and duties in your purchase price.

Certain varieties of Virginia tobacco are very appealing when burned with a nice musty bittersweet quality - but that is to a smoker. Don't forget that Canadian cigarettes are made from Virginias so they will inevitably invite comparisons to cigarettes. (I don't think that is an option for you)

Latakia - forget it. Tastes wonderful with a rich campfire, incense quality but smells very strongly indeed. Your partner will likely despise it. Perique isn't as intense but it is not what I'd call inviting to someone who likes sweet dessert-like smells.
 
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