So you have been thinking about getting into the hobby (lifestyle) of pipe smoking but don’t know where to begin. You don’t know anything about pipes, you don’t know anything about pipe tobacco and you are feeling pretty overwhelmed with all the crap you are reading on the web. Welcome to the club my friend! Fortunately for you I’m going to fill your head with some nuggets of wisdom and make it as easy as I can for you to get into the pipe smoking hobby with as little out of pocket expense as possible, yet still getting maximum enjoyment at the same time.

Before we even begin you are going to want to figure out how much money you want to spend on pipe smoking. If you are anything like me you probably aren’t sitting on a mountain of cash that you can just throw at this right away and honestly without knowing if you are really going to enjoy the hobby I wouldn’t suggest spending hundreds of dollars on it to begin with. So first things first… figure out what kind of budget you have and how much you are willing to spend on this right out of the gate. Let’s start with a low number like $40 or $50 dollars.

Your First Pipe

Obviously you are going to need is a pipe. You can’t be a pipe smoker without one so this is pretty much a necessity. If you have been researching pipes and pipe smoking for any length of time you’ve probably seen a lot of people talk about a lot of name brand pipes. You probably then went and looked at the price of some of these pipes and about shit your pants when you realized that some of these are in the $150 to $300 + price range. My advice is to forget about those pipes for a while. If you can afford one right now, more power to you, but for most of us these pipes are way, WAY, out of our price range at the moment so here is what I suggest.

Corn cob pipes from Missouri Meerschaum are fantastic starter pipes. They are high quality, smoke great and most of them will cost you less than $15.00 online. You can pick yourself up one these and your off to the races As an added bonus you can try a lot of different tobaccos in a corn cob pipe because they don’t “ghost” very easy, (ghost means that they retain the flavor/odor of previous tobaccos). I have two of them myself and they are fantastic. Another great feature of the corn cob pipe is that it is easy to smoke. New pipe smokers tend to smoke hot, meaning you tend to puff and puff on tobacco and give yourself a wicked tongue bite (burns from the hot steam/smoke in your mouth) A corn cob pipe will make this a little less likely for you. It’s like a pipe with training wheels. Don’t get me wrong, you can still burn the shit out of your mouth if you aren’t careful but a cob is a little more forgiving than other pipes.

Drugstore pipes or Basket pipes are another excellent way to start out. Companies like Dr. Grabow have been producing pipes for years and selling them by the truck load. You can pick this pipe up at www.pipesandcigars.com for $26.99 and for a new pipe smoker it should work out just fine. Again the point here is to get you into the hobby without breaking the bank and still being able to enjoy a quality smoke. If you are lucky enough to live near a Brick and Mortar (B&M) tobacco shop that sells pipes and pipe tobacco you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a basket pipe. Basket pipes are usually “seconds” produced by name brand companies but don’t quite live up to their high quality standards. So they generally don’t have a name stamped on them or a makers mark. For beginners who want to have a briar pipe but don’t want to shell out tons of cash to get one, basket pipes are your saviors. Most new pipes that I buy are basket pipes. I don’t spend more than $30.00 or $40.00 dollars on them and they smoke incredibly well.

The last way to get yourself hooked up with a pipe is buying a used pipe. In the hobby we like to call them “Estate Pipes” because nobody really wants to smoke a “used” pipe that someone else has slobbered all over. Honestly this would be the last place I would look for a pipe if you are new to all of this. I could go into great detail as to why this would be a bad idea to start out, quality, cleaning, damage etc… especially if you are looking at estate pipes online. While you can get some incredible deals buying estate pipes you are often rolling the dice on many factors you won’t want to deal with as a novice to pipe smoking. But that’s just my opinion so if you want to buy an estate pipe, again… more power to you.

Pipe Tobacco

Once you have your pipe you are going to need something to smoke in it. Again you are going to run into a lot… and I do mean a LOT of choices here. For the sake of argument we are going to say there are three basic kinds (types) of pipe tobaccos out there that most people choose from, aromatics, non-aromatics and English blends. Each of these has it’s own interesting properties and we could spend years debating the qualities of each. In a nut shell here is what you are looking at.

Aromatics are what most people in the United States think of when they think of pipe tobacco. These usually smell good and have a casing or topping (flavoring) added to them. Think Captain Black pipe tobacco and you are thinking of an aromatic.

Non-Aromatics are pretty much straight tobacco. These aren’t usually as popular with “new” smokers and don’t offer the same kind of flavor/smell that most people think of when they think of pipe smoke. That doesn’t mean they are bad but most people just starting out don’t tend to like them as much. These would be tobaccos like Carter Hall or Prince Albert. Usually non-aromatics are burley blends that somewhat smell and taste like a cigarette tobacco.

English Blends typically have Latakia and Oriental tobaccos in them. They are usually stronger in the nicotine department and have a very bold smokey flavor to them. Usually when someone tries an English blend for the first time they often comment on how it reminds them of a cigar. A major player in most English tobaccos is the Latakia which is a type of tobacco that gives the blend a smokey, earthy, spicy flavor and makes your mouth tingle. People who are new to pipe smoking can often confuse the tingle with tongue bite. The best I can offer you is to try to think of Latakia like you would menthol in a cigarette. It doesn’t taste anything like menthol but the sensation in your mouth might be similar.

My advice to most new pipe smokers is to try all three and see what you like the best. You have an almost unlimited supply of tobacco blends out there and even if you discover you like English blends the best not all English blends are created equal. Over time you will learn what you like and don’t like but for now that’s the basics. So lets move on to buying your tobacco shall we.

Again if you are lucky enough to live close to a tobacco shop or B&M you will likely have “bulk” blends available to you. These can be something that the tobacconist has created in house or blends that the store orders in bulk from a supplier. Ether way these are great ways to discover what kind of tobacco you like to smoke. The nice thing about a bulk blend is that you are able to smell them and look at them before you buy. Open the jars, sniff the tobacco, look at the color and cut. Most B&M’s will have a few aromatics and at least an English or two on hand. You typically buy these blends by the ounce and normally the price is pretty reasonable. I recently picked up 4 ounces of a bulk blend at my local B&M and paid around $3.00 an ounce. For the most bang for your buck this is the best way to go in my opinion. You can spend less than $20.00 and still walk away with several different types of tobaccos to try.

If you don’t live near a B&M you can always try the local gas station, drug store or supermarket. In this day and age you might play hell finding one in your town that sells a wide selection of pipe tobaccos (if they sell them at all) but typically you will find eventually come across something. Your choices are going to be a little limited and you will probably pay more for the tobacco but if you are desperate and it’s your only option it’s better than nothing. Brands like Captain Black, Half and Half, Carter Hall, Prince Albert and Borkum Riff are usually considered drug store brands or pouch tobaccos (because they are usually sold in a foil pouch) they aren’t bad beginner tobaccos so don’t worry if this is all you can find. In the U.S. you probably aren’t going to find an English blends at the corner store and if you do please tell me where you found them because that is like spotting Bigfoot.

As an important side note – Whatever you do, don’t feel bad about the fact that this is the only tobacco you can find. There are a lot of assholes out there who like to look down their noses (or pipes) at brands like Captain Black or Prince Albert. Those people are also the kind of jerks who tell you that smoking a corn cob pipe doesn’t make you a pipe smoker or that unless you spend half a years income on an artisan pipe you aren’t really a collector. Screw them, you don’t need that kind of hassle right now. Just buy what you can find or afford and enjoy it.

If all else fails you can visit any of the websites that sell pipe tobacco. I typically buy from Pipes and Cigars but a quick google search should hook you up with a wide selection of tobacco suppliers online. The drawback to this is just like buying anything online, you have to wait for it to come in the mail and you are buying it based on descriptions rather than your own senses. Here you are going to be assaulted with more tobacco than you know what to do with. The sky is really the limit and you can buy everything from bulk to tin and even pouch tobaccos. The only advice I can give you here is not to go crazy right out of the shoot.

One advantage I’ve found is that Pipes and Cigars has put together Samplers that you can order from them that usually include a wide variety different tobaccos for a reasonable price. If you are completely new to pipe smoking (and have the budget) this might be a great place to start.

You can pick up several tins, pouches or bulk blends to get you started and then figure out what you really like.

Tools of the Trade

Rounding out this little adventure you are going to want to pick up a few odds and ends that you will need to make your life a little easier. A tamp or pipe nail is always helpful and some pipe cleaners. Again these aren’t expensive items and you can usually buy both of them for less than $5.00 total.

For beginners I recommend a pipe nail. These little things are usually less than a dollar at your local B&M if you have one near by. Otherwise you can order them online for less than a buck. It’s a good thing to throw into your order if you are getting tobacco from a web site like Pipes and Cigars. You can get other pipe tools such as a multi-tool with a tamp, spoon and little metal rod on them but I’ve used a simple pipe nail for years and haven’t had any problems yet. In addition to this you will want to pick up some pipe cleaners as well. Again you can buy them locally or on line whichever you choose. These shouldn’t run you more than a few dollars and you will get about 100 in a pack. I buy them from a local store near my house and a pack of 100 lasts me about a month. I use them pretty often so mileage may very.

Smoking Your Pipe

Finally we come to it… Smoking your new pipe and tobacco. Again I could fill volumes on the proper way to load a bowl with tobacco, light the tobacco and smoke it. I’m not going to go that far down the rabbit hole and if anyone has any questions I would be happy to answer them in the comments section. For now lets put some tobacco in the bowl and fire that bad boy up! There are two things that are vital for smoking your pipe and you will want to keep these in mind as you are loading your first bowl.

1.) The tobacco at the bottom of the bowl has to loose enough to allow for free airflow.

and

2.) The tobacco at the top has to be packed firmly enough to stay lit.

Start by filling your pipe to overflowing, do this by sprinkle loose tobacco into the bowl until it mounds up over the top. Once the bowl is full you will press the tobacco down until it’s compressed to about the halfway point. Repeat the same step again by putting more loose tobacco in the bowl and then pack the tobacco down to the 2/3rds to 3/4 level. Repeat this once more until the tobacco is just below the rim of the bowl.

Now you will want to take a draw on the pipe. If the draw feels like you are sucking a liquid through a straw, you’re good to go! If it feels like an empty straw, you’ve probably packed it too loose… if it feels like you are going to cave your head in, you packed it too tight. If that happens don’t worry. You can just remove the tobacco and try again. I would recommend having a small bowl or plate that you can put the tobacco in to fluff it up again before you start the process over.

Once the bowl is ready you will want to light the pipe. To do this use a match or non-torch type lighter and circulate the flame around the top of the tobacco, take a few steady puffs and as you do the tobacco will rise up. Don’t worry this is natural (this is called the charring light). with a tamp (or your thumb if your a tough guy) lightly push the tobacco down into the bowl again and relight. Now the pipe should stay lit without much more effort. When the draw loosens up (and it will), tamp the tobacco back down gently to keep the pipe going.

Now that you have your new pipe, tobacco and you are smoking it correctly you can do the most important thing of all… kick back and relaxed, enjoy your pipe! Try not to think about the stress of the day or bills you need to pay. Just take some time to experience all the flavor the tobacco you are smoking provides. Don’t worry if the pipe goes out. Give it a light tamp and relight it. It’s all good…

When you are finished with the bowl let the pipe sit and cool down. Then use your pipe tool to gently loosen the tobacco an dump it out. Run a pipe cleaner down the stem to get any moisture out of the pipe and put you pipe someplace safe for the next time you want to enjoy it. Congratulations! You are now a pipe smoker.

If you followed all of the steps and went the least expensive route possible you should still have some money left in your wallet.

Corn Cob Pipe = $15.00

Bulk tobacco = $3.00 per ounce (lets say we picked up 2 ounces)

Pipe nail and cleaners = $5.00Your total cost is $23.00 +/- shipping or other miscellaneous fees. So starting out with a budget of $40.00 we still have $17.00 in our pockets… What are you waiting for? Go get some more tobacco!