Smuggling daydreams into reality - A Pipe Journey

To me a pipe symbolizes a bygone era; a conscious decision to slow down from the hustle and bustle of today's society; to take a moment ~ to enjoy the moment. Thus is the mindset by which I am approaching my journey into pipes. I also enjoy whisk(e)y, so I will be approaching from that perspective as well, which is to say I hope to discover the subtle nuances that make one tobacco different from the next and to discover what appeals to my tastebuds, nose, etc.

The quote in the title was shamelessly taken from David Mitchell's Novel "Number9Dream".

I have officially received my first pipe (Savinelli Miele 611KS), first tin of tobacco (Escudo), and first Zippo (Armor brushed brass w/ pipe insert). The pipe was an estate pipe, but is very well cared for and very nice looking; it does have a little ghosting, so I'll need to get a proper cleaning done before it will be smoke ready. Sadly the honey dipper tamper was not included. The Escudo has a great smell out of the tin and naturally the Zippo is exactly what you would expect. I'll need to procure some lighter fluid locally since that can't be shipped over. I have another package on it's way that will hopefully be here by Saturday, but if it takes until Monday, then so be it.

I will post pics once all of my gear has arrived and then the journal will officially begin with mishaps, lessons learned, ah-ha moments, an occasional daydream (or two), and naturally my impressions of various tobaccos.

You have entered into a bigger, brighter world. Welcome. We are happy to have you with us.

Riff Raff said:

You have entered into a bigger, brighter world. Welcome. We are happy to have you with us.

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+1!

And remember, lots of pics

Riff Raff said:

You have entered into a bigger, brighter world. Welcome. We are happy to have you with us.

Click to expand...

+2

+3 and pics! We love them. Really, you'll have a great time in here. It's changed my life in a good way. Am so happy I found pipe smoking whilst lurking through these back forums. Welcome.

Thanks for the warm welcome! Got the salt treatment going in the Savinelli and went on the hunt for some Zippo fluid today, but no luck. The local WalMart only carries Ronson brand (which I've heard is sooty and smelly?) and none of the smoke shops in town carries any at all! There's a store about an hour away that said that they are waiting for some to come in, but they don't know when? I've got another place or two I can check such as the larger gas station out by the harbor and also an old mom&pop general store that is quite popular, so much so that they've expanded the store about a year ago. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that i'll strike it lucky tomorrow and also that my awaiting package comes in as well.

General question: Do you guys carry any specific mints or anything to avoid tobacco breath? The wife mentioned that she may be concerned about the smell on my breath, so it's something that I'm hoping to rectify. I do carry Altoids Cinnamon and Peppermint, but was curious if there might be other, better options?

Hello gents.
Here is a picture of my kit to kick start my journey.


The contents:
Pipes:
MM Cob - Huck Finn Straight; Legend Bent; Country Gentleman Bent
Savinelli - Miele 611 KS
Tobacco:
Dunhill - Early Morning; Apertiff
Frog Morton - Frog Morton; Cellar
SG - Full VA Flake
Escudo
Carter Hall
Esoterica - Pembroke
Misc:
Zippo - Armor Brushed brass pipe insert
Czech Pipe Tool
Rockwell 188 Blk Knife (freebie)
Pipe Reamer (not shown)

Now the hard part. Where to begin ?!? I'm thinking about loading up a half bowl in each of the cobs and taking a good long walk on Monday morning so that I can have some quiet time to just relax and enjoy the time to get to know the pipes and put all of my internet learned mojo to work. I was thinking about the following starting lineup, but would love it if someone may have recommendations as to what they think would be a good lineup.

Starting lineup:
Frog Morton
Frog Morton Cellar
Carter Hall
Early Morning
Apertif
Pembroke
Escudo
SG - FVF

As a former cig smoker i now Vape ive used both ronson and zippo in my opinion they are not that different. But if you want to wait for zippo fluid find some stick matches.

Excellent start. You're already way ahead of the curve with that setup.

That's one fine starting set-up!

The three 'baccys I'd try first would be:

Escudo
Frog Morton Cellar
Pembroke (that I've never had or been able to find...but people rave about it)

As for the Ronson lighter fluid, Zippo took over Ronson a few years ago. Don't know if they are still using the Ronson recipe for the fluid though.

Let us know what you think of the tobaccos.

I'd start with the Carter Hall in one of the cobs, that'd be the combo your least likely to botch on your first go round.

Argonaut said:

I'd start with the Carter Hall in one of the cobs, that'd be the combo your least likely to botch on your first go round.

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Spoken like a true Gizzly Baccy Bear. I agree. CH in a cob is probably the best combo to start with.

Argonaut said:

I'd start with the Carter Hall in one of the cobs, that'd be the combo your least likely to botch on your first go round.

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Senshi said:

Spoken like a true Gizzly Baccy Bear. I agree. CH in a cob is probably the best combo to start with.

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You gentlemen are entirely correct. There would be nothing more frustrating to a new pipe smoker than trying to do a fold and stuff with something that has the burn characteristics of say 1792.

+ 3 on Carter Hall and a cob. Nice starter set up!

So. Took a long morning walk ~2miles or so and spent some time with the 3 cobs to get to know them better.


The lineup (Left to Right):
Huck Finn Straight with Carter Hall (Noticeably Smaller bowl than the other two)
Gentleman Bent with Frog Morton Cellar
Legend Bent with Frog Morton

The Reviews:

Carter Hall.

I was a bit worried about the size of the bowl, but decided that Carter Hall would be a better fit for a small bowl versus the Frog Morton since they were English Blends. The diminutive size of the bowl was a bit misleading as I got a good 30 minutes from this bowl, including some relights and contemplation. Almost everything about this smoke was middle of the road for me. The taste ~ eh. The "room note" as I caught whiffs of it ~ eh. The smoke was nice and cool and I began to understand the appeal of this tobacco. A no frills introductory peek into a larger world and still a quality tobacco for those "simple pleasure" smokes. I'll probably cellar this one and come back to it later. Also my enjoyment of this pipe was limited due to the fact that the ant colonies in the area must have laid a beacon on my shoes as no matter where I went to sit, within a minute or so they were all over my shoes!

The Reviews:

Frog Morton.

This smoke was more like it! Noticeably hotter than the Carter Hall and moist. This smoke had bolder flavor, a wee bit of bite ~ not unpleasant (probably from the hotter smoke) and a presence to the room note. I ran the pipe cleaner into the stem a few times during the smoke as there was pronounced condensation in the stem, but no gurgle. A good 30 minutes of very nice, relaxing smoke as I had moved house to a better location. Overall the best tasting smoke of the day.

The Reviews:

Frog Morton - Cellar

This smoke was done on the move as I had to start making my way back. Definitely the hottest smoke of the day. I loved the room note with this one, but the flavor seemed to be lacking as compared to the Frog Morton. I was expecting that the whisky note would come through a wee bit more on the palate, but alas it failed to show up. I will say this ~ the pipe was easy to keep lit and resurrect by covering the bowl with two fingers and taking a few quick puffs, followed by a long draw and releasing the fingers at the end of the draw to get a rush of fresh oxygen to the ember. I think that I may have stayed the course a bit too long as the finish of this bowl was a bit harsh. The shape and feel of this pipe was transcendent in my hand. It felt as though I was shaking hands with an old friend ~ everything about it felt natural.

Thought of the day.

I noticed some butterflies fluttering about as I sat with the sound of crashing waves bringing a hush to my wandering thoughts. I noticed how they stayed busy stopping on choice flowers, cross-pollinating and drawing out sweet nectar for the day's work. I also realized that the bees would not alight on the same flowers that the butterfly had visited. They each had a part to play and inherently knew what their role was. I thought to myself how easily some dreams and hopes are dashed for those who throw themselves against the rocky shores of life, and yet others who simply go about their lives playing their part can be such a beautiful thing which inadvertently produces more beauty as a byproduct of the shadows of their foot steps. And so with a new Monday I find myself thinking about the simpler things in life and how those simple things bring great pleasure. A smile, a warm embrace, a quiet moment stolen away during the hectic day to just breath. And now I'm off to play my part.