Quote:
Originally Posted by mfarre03
Now I have to find a tobacconist near me. I looked at so many pipes online, don't want anything too cheap but don't want to blow my load on something I may not like. Would starting out with a cob be smart or would it be better to get something a little better? What is a good tamper? This is exciting, mauahahahah, lol The wife's gonna kill me, already b@#$%s when I bring cigars home.
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Starting on a cob would probably be best until you know for sure you're going to enjoy smoking a pipe. A good cob can be found at a B&M for ~$7. Pipe tobacco is also much cheaper than cigars so try to use that line to soften the blow to your wife
. After you know that you enjoy pipe smoking start looking into a good briar, possibly a meerschaum if you want to start off that high. I got my first pipe as a gift from Mr. Moo here, but the first pipe I bought myself was a $70 Chacom. Another thing to consider is whether you want a curved stem or a straight stem, but after picking up a cob it should be easier to decide. Personally, I'm a curved stem guy since I find them easier to clench, but a lot of people also like their straight stems. Its a matter of preference, but generally with a straight stem you'll be holding onto the pipe more than you would a curved stem which is easier to clench. Don't worry too much about the tamp, but if you want something decent pick up one of the cheaper Czech Tools(it should only cost ~$3) wherever you buy from. I still use my freebie(which we charge $1.50 for at work) aluminum tamp. The only benefit of a Czech over a regular ol' tamp is they have a small poker so that if the bowl becomes too tight part of the way through your smoke you can loosen it up while its still hot and lit, you can't really do that with a regular tamper.
Oh and a little further explanation on meerschaum in case you haven't heard it before:
Meerschaum is essentially a type of clay that can be carved and used for pipe smoking. The main advantage of a meerschaum is that unlike briar pipes, you can smoke 5 bowls a night for the life of the pipe without worrying about burning it out. A briar can burn out if you average multiple bowls of tobacco per night. One of the disadvantages is that you do have to be more careful in cleaning the bowl as scraping the sides of the bowl can damage the pipe. Also, meerschaum tends to discolor over time if you hold the pipe in your hands. A caviat to that is that I've heard of people who buy a meerschaum, and then while smoking another pipe(preferably a briar with a thick bowl), blow through their lit pipe while holding the meerschaum right above, essentially staining the meerschaum a brownish greyish redish color, that can actually be confused with briars, so you have what appears to be a carved briar pipe.