103 lines
5.4 KiB
Markdown
103 lines
5.4 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "On smoking a pipe"
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description: Why I started smoking a pipe, what my first experience was like, and why I continue to
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date: 2020-04-05T21:38:07-04:00
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cover: /assets/pngs/pipe.png
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categories:
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- Pipe Smoking
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tags:
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- Personal
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- Missouri Meerschaum
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- Indian Summer
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- Lord of the Rings
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---
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The Lord of the Rings is one the greatest book series I have ever read
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as well as one of my favourite movie trilogies; when I was younger, I
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watched them so often that I knew *almost* exactly where all the scenes
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were in the timeline and could quote a fair few of the lines verbatim 😉
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Pipe smoking was very prominent throughout, from the hobbits to the
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humans to the dwarves, and I was always intrigued by it. In my second
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year of high school/college,[^1] I took a public speaking course and
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decided to do my persuasive speech on the topic; my purpose was not to
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convince people *to* smoke a pipe, rather that they shouldn't judge pipe
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smokers as harshly. In conducting my research, I ended up wanting to try
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it for myself.
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Another influence was likely my grandfather. I don't remember it
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*particularly* well other than a few scattered images here and there but
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I do know he smoked everything from cigarettes to cigars, cigarillos,
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and pipes. A few days ago, my grandmother commented on my pipe stand and
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said he had had one very similar before his stroke.[^2]
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Shortly after my 18th birthday, I ordered [my first corn cob
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pipe](https://corncobpipe.com/missouri-pride-corncob-pipe.html) from
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[Missouri Meerschaum](https://corncobpipe.com/) and ended up falling in
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love. I went to my local tobacconist and asked what he recommended for
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someone who was just getting into it. He suggested two blends I think
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they created in-house; one was an aromatic[^3] called *Indian Summer*
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and the other was an English[^3] which I've forgotten the name of.
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The first one I tried was Indian Summer as people typically start with
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an aromatic. It's sort of like drinking beer before brandy (I've never
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had brandy so I don't know what it actually tastes like); the former is
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palatable to most while the latter is an acquired taste. The flavour was
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a little odd but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The English on the other hand
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. . . suffice it to say[^4] that my palate hadn't (and still hasn't)
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developed that far. When I open the jar, my nose is assaulted with a
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smell reminiscent of burning rubber; it's very sharp and acrid. Other
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than smelling it and promptly deciding to leave it for another day, that
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blend has stayed in the same jar since I made the purchase.
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The pipe I started with, the [Missouri
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Pride,](https://corncobpipe.com/missouri-pride-corncob-pipe.html) is one
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that pretty much every podcast, blog post, and tutorial recommends.
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There's no reason to pay over $100 for an artisan pipe when you can get
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a feel for the hobby spending less than $15 including tobacco, tamper,
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and pipe cleaners. It wasn't a *stellar* experience but I would
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certainly recommend it to anyone that's curious; corn cob pipes are the
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best way to see if you'll enjoy the activity. In addition, many pipe
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smokers still buy cobs because of their low price. You can take one out
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with you and, if you drop and break it, you're really not out that much.
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My [Emerald](https://corncobpipe.com/the-emerald-corn-cob-pipe) is
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supposed to get here sometime tomorrow (I know that website is down at
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the moment; I'll edit this and add a picture or two once the pipe
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arrives).
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One of my favourite aspects of smoking a pipe is the "ritual" associated
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with it. You pick which pipe you're in the mood for, select the tobacco,
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go through the stages of packing the bowl, striking the "false
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light",[^5] letting it go out, tamping it down again, striking the "true
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light", and then, finally, sitting back to enjoy the flavour whilst
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reading a good book. It's one of the most relaxing hobbies I've ever
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had. Another aspect I appreciate is the *rich* history and tradition
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associated with pipe smoking. I may discuss this further in another post
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but, for now, I'll say that tradition and history are *incredibly*
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important to me.[^6]
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[^1]: I attended an Early College; I was taking college courses *instead
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of* some high school courses yet getting credit for both. I ended up
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going to high school for five years and coming out with three
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Associate Degrees.
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[^2]: When I was 7 or 8, he had a severe stroke due to a blood clot
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likely caused by how often he smoked. He spent the next 9 years
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paralysed on his left side and wheelchair-bound.
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[^3]: You can read about the different styles and flavours of pipe
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tobacco at the [Pipedia](https://pipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_Tobaccos), a
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fantastic resource on pipe smoking.
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[^4]:
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[Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/suffice-it-to-say):
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"It is enough to say this and no more, as in *Suffice it to say that
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the judge was furious when the invitation was withdrawn.*"
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[^5]: When you're lighting a pipe, you first put the flame to the
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tobacco and move it around the bowl trying to evenly "toast" it, all
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the while drawing the flame down further by sucking as you would on
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a straw (*not* inhaling). After doing this for 15-20 seconds, you
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stop and let the flame die. The tobacco will fluff up from the heat
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(like when lighting any other fire with tinder) so you tamp it back
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down. The next time you light it, it will stay lit. This is the
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"true light".
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[^6]: Because this is my blog and I don't have to conform to any
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academic standards, I'm ending it here. Goodbye and thanks for
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reading 😁
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