Originally Posted by kgoings

So I thought I would venture in and give pipe smoking a try. I went by my local B&M and dropped about $50 on a briar and some bulk baccy. All the tobacco I purchased was Aro, I liked it but I didn't LOVE it.

So tonight I stopped by again, the owner had offered to let me try a bowl or two of tobacco when I visit free of charge. So he gave me a bowl of some Virginia...mmmm now this is more like it!

I didnt buy any more tobacco yet, but I did purchase 3 more pipes..this time cobs. I didnt like having to rest the briar and worrying about ruining it. Now I can smoke daily and just rotate.

Question, I see a lot of mention about cobs being good starters cause you don't want to ruin the briar. How would you ruin a briar?