I've been lurking around here the last few weeks, cruising through various threads to get some info as I get started down this rabbit hole. I posted on the shave forums a number of years ago (and successfully cured my addiction to spending money on soaps and safety razors), but a friend of mine gifted me an Aldo Velani pipe last year and I've been considering how to do this without going broke. So, in light of that, this novice needs some direction. The caveat is, my wife isn't exactly fond of the smell- so any recommendations on something to try that won't drive the wife away for weeks at a time? I'm gonna grab a few cobs and grab some smaller amounts to see what I like. Point me in the right direction friends!
well, this is going to be expensive...
- Thread starter Donnie Brasco
- Start date
Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic.
Inexpensive, a fine smoke, and a very pleasing room note.
I'm fond of Sutliff Molto Doce, also a warm aromatic with a great taste. More expensive but very nice.
Sutliff Creme Brulee is, I am told, very similar - but is available in bulk at less cost.
Try some of the "Codger Brands" like Captain Black, Half and Half, Borkum Riff and Prince Albert.
Not expensive but could give you an idea of what you like and don't.
Inexpensive, a fine smoke, and a very pleasing room note.
I'm fond of Sutliff Molto Doce, also a warm aromatic with a great taste. More expensive but very nice.
Sutliff Creme Brulee is, I am told, very similar - but is available in bulk at less cost.
Try some of the "Codger Brands" like Captain Black, Half and Half, Borkum Riff and Prince Albert.
Not expensive but could give you an idea of what you like and don't.
Check out this thread:
www.badgerandblade.com
Forgive me for what must be a frequent question, but best "room note"?
Plus, tobaccos seem to be discontinued and introduced at a dizzying pace. And I'm more of a cigar guy than a pipe guy. But it's getting chillier up north and I have to get the wife's permission about what I can smoke in a pipe in the house. Or I don't smoke it. Come on, most of you are married...
www.badgerandblade.com
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
well, this is going to be expensive...
You have no idea. Good luck.
Only if you want it to be.
JCinPA
The Lather Maestro
Your first mistake was lurking around here! 
But the cobs and @luvmysuper suggestions are a great start. I’ve put together my own ‘blend’ (tweak really) my wife is actually fond of now. My kids, too. Inexpensive, too. If you join the Stock Forum and PM me I’ll send you a sample. Also, try Lane 1-Q. Biggest seller, liked by non-smokers, and not expensive.
You can stay cheap with cobs and some of those blends. But you’re likely to do what you did with shaving, just being honest. A grade school friend’s dad smoked only cobs, had dozens of them around the house. I never saw him with a briar, he may not have owned any, actually. Smoked constantly.
But the cobs and @luvmysuper suggestions are a great start. I’ve put together my own ‘blend’ (tweak really) my wife is actually fond of now. My kids, too. Inexpensive, too. If you join the Stock Forum and PM me I’ll send you a sample. Also, try Lane 1-Q. Biggest seller, liked by non-smokers, and not expensive.
You can stay cheap with cobs and some of those blends. But you’re likely to do what you did with shaving, just being honest. A grade school friend’s dad smoked only cobs, had dozens of them around the house. I never saw him with a briar, he may not have owned any, actually. Smoked constantly.
It's only as expensive as you want it to be, much like wet shaving. A few cobs are cheap, and tubs of old codger blends are incredibly inexpensive. Ounces of tobacco are cheaper still. But I can smoke for a month or more on what I was spending on cigarettes. And, like wet shaving, most everything keeps well. So if you want, you can spending early on and keep yourself in tobacco for pennies a day.
As far as keeping the Budgetary Committee happy, that's experimenting.
As far as keeping the Budgetary Committee happy, that's experimenting.
Watch City Cigar, Wilke, Uhle's, Boswell and Country Squire sell their house blends in inexpensive sample sizes.
- Thread starter
- #10
Thanks, fellas. I should have clarified- based on my track record, this is going to be expensive! @nortac, that thread is gold. @JCinPA I'll look into getting signed up in the stock forum once my post count gets up. Super grateful to have a place like this where a guy can get solid info. Really looking forward to learning a lot from all of you!
One of the best bunches of highly-obsessed people on the 'Net!
A cautionary tale.
Not that these folks around here are enablers for those of us with Acquisition Disorder tendencies, but... I started back into pipe smoking, after a 30+ year cigar hiatus, in July of 2018, as a result of discovering this sub-forum and ordering the POY that was on a second chance offer. At that point I had my four old pipes from the '70's and no tobacco. A sale at P&C on SPC Potlatch cured the tobacco problem. A couple of cobs from Missouri Meerschaum tickled my PAD while I waited on that POY. Now, some three and a half years on down the road, I have the PAD and TAD back under control. That being said, I've almost 98 pounds of tobacco in the cellar representing 168 different blends (note that 71 of those are one-off tins). My pipe total is now at 89, including a few that were gifts and several that need restoration work.
I have no regrets regarding this PAD/TAD journey. My purchases were all with disposable income, almost all while I was working; pre-retirement, which was intentional. I have enough tobacco for the foreseeable future and likely my lifetime. The tobacco I consider somewhat of an investment given the current state of regulation and taxes; tobacco will never be more available or cheaper than it is right now. I could pare down my pipe accumulation, but there is no pressing reason to do so. I'm getting ready to move a portion of the accumulation to our winter home, so I'm glad I have the "extra" pipes.
I say all this only to provide some context to the title of you post. Yes, it can be expensive, but the expense can be toward a purpose and doesn't go on indefinitely unless you want it to. And while I do credit the folks around here with enabling my PAD/TAD journey, I'm grateful they did; returning to pipe smoking has brought me untold joy and hours of worthwhile quiet contemplation. Best wishes on your pipe smoking journey!
Not that these folks around here are enablers for those of us with Acquisition Disorder tendencies, but... I started back into pipe smoking, after a 30+ year cigar hiatus, in July of 2018, as a result of discovering this sub-forum and ordering the POY that was on a second chance offer. At that point I had my four old pipes from the '70's and no tobacco. A sale at P&C on SPC Potlatch cured the tobacco problem. A couple of cobs from Missouri Meerschaum tickled my PAD while I waited on that POY. Now, some three and a half years on down the road, I have the PAD and TAD back under control. That being said, I've almost 98 pounds of tobacco in the cellar representing 168 different blends (note that 71 of those are one-off tins). My pipe total is now at 89, including a few that were gifts and several that need restoration work.
I have no regrets regarding this PAD/TAD journey. My purchases were all with disposable income, almost all while I was working; pre-retirement, which was intentional. I have enough tobacco for the foreseeable future and likely my lifetime. The tobacco I consider somewhat of an investment given the current state of regulation and taxes; tobacco will never be more available or cheaper than it is right now. I could pare down my pipe accumulation, but there is no pressing reason to do so. I'm getting ready to move a portion of the accumulation to our winter home, so I'm glad I have the "extra" pipes.
I say all this only to provide some context to the title of you post. Yes, it can be expensive, but the expense can be toward a purpose and doesn't go on indefinitely unless you want it to. And while I do credit the folks around here with enabling my PAD/TAD journey, I'm grateful they did; returning to pipe smoking has brought me untold joy and hours of worthwhile quiet contemplation. Best wishes on your pipe smoking journey!
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
98lbs and 89 pipes in three years, blows my mind. I'm not saying it's wrong.
Just to add contrast to this for Donnie Brasco, I have been pipe smoking since 2013, and am now at 12 briars, with 3 more on the way, plus a couple of Falcons, and a few cobs, pearwood etc. I've made provision for storing 19 pipes for regular use (split between several different blend types), and a few cobs in a box in another drawer. Every pipe I currently own was under £50 new, and the majority were £25 or less, bought new.
I only started to lay away tobacco for ageing a couple of years ago, and did so at roughly the rate I consumed hand rolling tobacco, before moving to pipe and vape full time. That ageing stash steadily built up to about 3.5kg I think, and I've now stopped actively adding to it. A teeny amount compared to many here, but seems like a mountain to me.
The journey and associated shopping are whatever you want them to be. A spare bedroom racked and stacked, or a couple of cobs, and just buying a new tin or pouch when the last one is nearly done. It's your journey. Your rules. Your bank account.
The guys here are great, and have offered me much support and wisdom along the way. I hope it proves a happy venture for you too, and look forward to hearing how you get along.
Wow, lots of hoarders here.
15 pipes since 2010, but not a daily smoker. Makes a difference in the needed number (pipes needs to rest in between smoking sessions).
Ad not a lot of tabacco. I bought a lot of virginias and virginia perique/burley in 2015 that are now aged and I smoke them. And replaced/restock to have new aged tabacco.
But i don't have buying dissorders (my dissorders are different), but that is maybe cheating.
A lot of my pipes are secondhands, restored by thrusted members of prf.be a pipesmokersforum in belgium/holland. So that is cheap, 10 euros for a cleaned and good smoking briar pipe is nice. There was a time my most expensive pipe was 25 euros. (Now that i start buying yearpipes it has gone up).
Tabacco was always expensive, so cellaring is an expensive hobby. Tasting to find what you like also. But the forum also does meetings, and tastings there are cheap (from freebies to i buy you a beer).
Good luck in your journey and whatever path you choose. Enjoy!
15 pipes since 2010, but not a daily smoker. Makes a difference in the needed number (pipes needs to rest in between smoking sessions).
Ad not a lot of tabacco. I bought a lot of virginias and virginia perique/burley in 2015 that are now aged and I smoke them. And replaced/restock to have new aged tabacco.
But i don't have buying dissorders (my dissorders are different), but that is maybe cheating.
A lot of my pipes are secondhands, restored by thrusted members of prf.be a pipesmokersforum in belgium/holland. So that is cheap, 10 euros for a cleaned and good smoking briar pipe is nice. There was a time my most expensive pipe was 25 euros. (Now that i start buying yearpipes it has gone up).
Tabacco was always expensive, so cellaring is an expensive hobby. Tasting to find what you like also. But the forum also does meetings, and tastings there are cheap (from freebies to i buy you a beer).
Good luck in your journey and whatever path you choose. Enjoy!
- Thread starter
- #15
The wild thing about stuff like this is what you learn about yourself along the way. I find myself doing a ton of research on the front end, spending money to buy quality stuff, then keeping it simple. I'm a minimalist at heart, so I can see myself sticking to a few different blends regularly and experimenting from time to time.
7-8 years ago when I first tried a pipe, my wife was fond of the smell while I was smoking in our basement computer room, but not so fond of the stale scent the next day. To avoid her over-spraying of Fabrese, I moved my pipe smoking to outside patio or shed. While my first pipe was a $100+ Peterson, I quickly became fond of cobs and gave the Peterson to a brother-in-law. After a couple years hiatus, and coming across my old cobs, I recently picked it up again. I cleaned out my old cobs with a paper towel soaked in gin, and also ordered a new cob. We now live in a smoke-free apartment, so I take a walk outside to smoke. It keeps me from smoking too much, I get a little exercise and my wife isn't sinking up the place with Fabreeze.
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Agreed. I've bought several things over the years, pipes and blends, that I thought would work for me, but didn't.
One of my personal quirks, that others don't seem to have, is an intense frustration with any pipe that doesn't sit. It's not just that I prefer sitters, I used to get extremely (bordering on irrationally) annoyed with any pipe that needed propping up. I was close to launching some a few times.
Tobacco samples have saved me from a lot of purchasing errors. I like dark fired and Latakia in small doses in blends, but can easily get overwhelmed with both.
I like meetings for trying tabacco. Worst case, it costs you 2 beers (special ones biensure) one for the fella you get the sample (i got samples of almost 20gr, crazy) and one to flush the taste of the non-liking tabacco away.
So you end up drunk of alcohol and nictine.
Perfect to drive home
So you end up drunk of alcohol and nictine.
Perfect to drive home
- Thread starter
- #19
I'm going to find myself in a similar situation.
There's nothing at all wrong with a front porch or back deck for smoking a pipe. With the kids in the house it's the porch for me. That opens me up the world for possibilities! If the wife likes it, she opens a window.
