Not a pipe newbie but I do have a question to ask for those older and wiser inmates. I've picked up a handful of estate briars at antique shops, yard sales and flea markets over the last year. All but two of them had a wad of unsmoked tobacco left in them and all but three had a crazy-thick cake on them. My questions are:
. Have smokers' habits changed that much in the last twenty years?
. Did 'old-timers' make a habit of leaving unsmoked tobacco in the bowl?
. Am I making too big a deal over these neglected pipes when compared to the (assumed) larger number of well-maintained pipes still in smokers' rotations?
. Why, oh why, did 'old-timers' leave such thick cakes in their pipes?
