So, I'm thinking of taking up pipe smoking. I already smoke cigars on occasion and am looking for a change. I've thought about trying it for some time, but it appears to be rather involved. Anyway, I would like to know whether it would be better for me to start with a cheap Dr. Grabow or spend a little extra on a Bjarne? Thanks in advance.

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Originally Posted by JohnSnownw

So, I'm thinking of taking up pipe smoking. I already smoke cigars on occasion and am looking for a change. I've thought about trying it for some time, but it appears to be rather involved. Anyway, I would like to know whether it would be better for me to start with a cheap Dr. Grabow or spend a little extra on a Bjarne? Thanks in advance.

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I used to smoke cigarettes, cigars, and a pipe so I'm qualified to answer this one.
Buy a nice Meershaum pipe, if you are going to do this. The smoking rituals for pipes are more involved than with seegars or cigarettes. The fun thing is to go down a 'Tobacconist' who sells loose tobaccos and try his/her store blends or to come up with something from the flavors and cuts available that you like. OTC pipe tobaccos are usually marginal in flavors due to age and lack of moisture so I pretty was off those early on. I think you'll find most popular pipe tobaccos in America are loaded with sugar or molasses as well as vanilla or some other flavorant. Really makes a mess of your pipe bowl.
So you have to learn to tamp the tobacco into your bowl and light it (usually you'll need a butane pipe lighter so you can really amp up the high snot coefficient ('I find the sulfur in matches so damaging to the fine taste of pipe tobacco... '), and you'll need a pipe tobacco pouch, a special tool for tamping the tobacco down after getting it going (there's a lesson in patience) and for cleaning the dottle and pipe bowl. You'll need to have some pipe cleaners. You'll quickly learn that while it looked cool in the movies, most people would rather you had terminal flatulence rather than crank up a pipe in a closed room or car. So if you think a pipe is more acceptable to the masses than seegars or cigarettes, you'll quickly learn better. You'll also learn that pipe smoking is a great and fast way to develop leukoplakia, those white pre-cancerous patches on your lips and in your oral cavity. Sobering, isn't it. Seegars are more throat cancers though. Seegareets, well, everyone pretty much knows that one.
Here's cool bit of info: the stats are in on this one - for every 10 yrs you smoke, you'll lose 2 teeth. I quit at age 54, but I had 5 or 6 teeth that were abcessing and draining pus from their roots - those had to be pulled as leaving them in is a life-threatening condition. They didn't tell me that when I was smoking away. Dentists will not do transplants as the effects of nicotine on gum tissue are so dramatic. So do you lose your front teeth? Nope. You lose all of your back teeth, the ones you used to chew your food with and enjoy chomping up a steak or a salad with. So you can tell who the heavy smokers are - they have a nice front smile until just past the canines and then they have... NOTHING! Great for corn-on-the-cob nibbling but poor for chewing what you nibbled.
Hate to rain on your parade. You did ask about how pipes were more complicated than seegars or cigarettes. Oh, and pipes just reek all the time as they really are a small wooden ashtray on a hollow stem.
Best of luck and wishes. Be kind to yourself as few other will be.

Why would someone want to take up pipe smoking? Smoking isn't good for you (which you know), it sounds like you need a different hobby, why don't you try golfing instead of turning your lungs black.

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Originally Posted by happylady123

Why would someone want to take up pipe smoking? Smoking isn't good for you (which you know), it sounds like you need a different hobby, why don't you try golfing instead of turning your lungs black.

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Actually, I do golf. I do not inhale, and would not with a pipe either... though this doesn't offer much protection from oral or throat cancer.

Get a cheapie at first. That way, if you end up not enjoying, you're not really out a lot of money. Meershaums are beautiful, but start simple. Smoking a pipe has a ritual to it. The joy comes from the ceremony as much as from the experience (like making tea the right way). I grew up around Irish family who smoked from pipes, and I always loved the smell. If you appreciate a good cigar, like a Davidoff, you might like pipe-smoking.
It's true that it isn't good for you. However, I think it's not so much that you smoke as it is the WAY you smoke. My dadsie's been smoking a pipe for about 35 years. He's in perfect health and has never even had a cavity.
If you decide to try it out, send me a message and I can make some tobacco and pipe recommendations.