As most others here, I collect pipes to smoke. Doesn't matter how much the pipe costs or is worth it gets smoked. That being said, I don't own any high dollar pipes but what I do have is pretty special to me.

I've got one unsmoked pipe only because I haven't gotten around to it. She's a beauty though.

I do have a certain fondness for Ser Jac maximas; I have about 8, which is a small collection I suppose.

Having said that, I don't see the distinction, per se: I collect pipes but I smoke them too; if that makes them lose value, so be it (it certainly doesn't make them less valuable for me and I figure my pipes will be part of my estate after I'm gone, I just hope whoever gets them enjoys them as much as I did). I have a couple of expensive pipes -- well, expensive for me, they seem to rank as mid grade in the grand scheme of things -- that for one reason or another don't suit me particularly. I've collected them I suppose but the idea of having a pipe I didn't smoke seems foolish; I've had bowls that I've put down for years and then gone back to.

But if collecting pipes as an aesthetic experience makes you happy, go for it. I've heard that there are people who buy wine and don't drink it, which seems like far more restraint then I'll ever have.

Smoker, definitely.

First and foremost a smoker.
I've got my eye on a Solaria 614, hella sale price of $84.

If I were to pull the trigger on that it would be the most expensive pipe I own.

Orrrrr.... That same $84 would get a couple of lbs of tobacco, some more cleaners and enough left over for an eBay bid.

Smoked cigarettes for just short of 40 years. During the process of quitting the darn things I realized how wonderful tobacco could be when partaken of in a "sensible" manner.

Pipe, snuff, Swedish snus, all keep me happy.
But I am a smoker.

I've 13 pipes that serve for a regular rotation.
Another 15 that see fire occasionally, churchwardens and clays and such.

I don't view that herd a collection anymore than the tools in my workshop.
They're really just that, tools required for a given pursuit.

Now, if that lottery ticket sitting there proved to be a winner, well, I could become a collector easy enough!

[quote="Krusty"]

Smoked cigarettes for just short of 40 years. During the process of quitting the darn things I realized how wonderful tobacco could be when partaken of in a "sensible" manner.

Well said!

I only collect what I need, and smoke constantly. Could use a few more. Of course, nothing should be entirely utilitarian, I still just love to look at my rack of simple, rusticated pipes. But, none of 'em are for show, and one is always either in use or in my pocket pouch.

Bumping this classic post.

A pure smoker as opposed to pipe collector -- of course I think many of us have pipe tobaccos it will be tough getting to or getting back to, but that's a different discussion to having pipes we rarely get to!

I'm a 100% smoker. "My boyz all take heat for me." They all work for my pleasure. They are all used to a tough life. They eat what I stuff into them, they burn their "calories" to the bottom and they get clenched continuously. I ride on saddle bits. They get a bath when a week's worth of them are racked and then they come back for more. They are all trained to face me attentively and I don't take any complaints from them or from anyone else for that matter about them. Some of my pipes are estate rescues others have been with me from birth but they all get my attention on a regular basis. They are all working men and they know the routine.

Smoker...definitely a smoker. I love amassing pipes, but only so I can smoke LOTS of pipes

Smoker and Collector !!!!!!

Like collecting pipes but they're all smokers.

Only have one that I haven't commissioned yet - a way beautiful Don Carlos one note volcano that I picked up in the UK back in '01. It's the most expensive pipe in my possession, think it cost around $225 or something, but the cost isn't what's stopping me from smoking it.

And, not really sure what is for that matter! Guess I like looking at it more than smoking it.






Cheers,

RR

We are "accumulators" rather than collectors. It's all in the terminology. There is a distinct similarity between our pipes and our guns. We like them and we like to acquire them. We can never say we have enough or that we will not acquire another. We consume ammunition and we consume tobacco. We always seek a better shot and a better smoke. When it comes to our pipes and our guns it's a totally different story. We admire them, we clean them, we display them, we appreciate them and we get pleasure from them. I personally have enormous reserves of inner strength, however, I am weak when it comes to not smoking a new pipe or not shooting a newly acquired gun. That is a feat I shall happily never accomplish. Pipes and guns are a man's tools. Take care of them and they will take care of you. They don't wear out, they don't go out of style and they pass on from generation to generation. If you want to see pride, just look at a guy smoking his pipe and cleaning his gun. If you want to hear room note complaints just mix the manly aroma's of latakia and Hoppe's solvent. My only regret is that our founding fathers passed the second amendment and failed to include the right to enjoy a pipe while bearing arms. So on this very sad 9-11 memorial day I remember those lost both on that day and since that day, and I am smoking my finest pipe in reflection. I extend appreciation and tribute to all of the law enforcement officers and military personnel bearing arms to protect us. I am an accumulator and very comfortable about it.