Size of rotations and dedicated pipes?

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I know many of you have sizable collections. What I am curious on is what ones are in your main rotation, and if they have specific purpose. Myself, I have 11 pipes I smoke regularly. 4 briar, 1 metal, 1 meer, 2 cobs and 3 alternative wood pipes. 1 Hickory is dedicated aros, 3 briars/1 metal are for VA-VA/per blends, 1 briar for English blends, the cobs are mainly burleys, and my meer is usually otc blends. The other 3 get mainly used as testers/everything pipes. I do not have any pipes reserved for one particular blend other than to say my newest briar has only had PS LBF smoked in it, but I have only had it for about 24 hours. I will eventually smoke other things in it I am sure but at the moment I am sticking with this combo as it is working well for me. Most are straight to 1/4 bent, and only 3 use balsa filters, the rest are unfiltered. 1 is a 3/4 bent. There is variety of styles etc. My favorite features seem to include taller bowls, at least an 1 3/4 deep. Something with a longer shank, and no filter, and an acrylic bit. Saddle bits are one of my preferred styles, as I like to clench and these make it easy and comfortable. There is a good chance my next will be another Lovat shape, a shape that has really been a good fit since I got my hands on it.

Gonzo
 
I have 15 pipes in my rotation, 7 I only smoke Escudo in, 3 others are also dedicated to certain tobaccos.
5 get any tobacco in my cellar. Although out of that five I have noticed some just don't like to be passed around like that and instead of just dedicating it to one tobacco I'm more inclined to pull it from my rotation and replace it with one that will like most that I want to smoke in it. I only smoke Vapers, straight Virgina's and a very few Burley/Va blends so I don't see why I shouldn't be able to pass all these through the same pipe. Maybe I'm wrong but, at the end of the month I sure don't want anymore I have to clean. ;)

Oh! Ian reminded me of 2 more pipes, Meers that I seldom smoke usually get what ever I feel like at the time, so that makes 17 pipes but, see'en I don't smoke the meers often enough they hardly ever need a extensive cleaning at the months end.
 
I don't dedicate pipes to blends, although I do dedicate pipes to genres:

20 Briars.
--6 for Latakia blends
--7 for Va/VaPer
--3 for aromatics (probably only need one, but they were all already firmly ghosted from the early days)
--2 for Lakeland (I suspect my next pipe, whenever that may be, will go to augment this category)
--2 yard pipes that get whatever I feel like stuffing in 'em.

I'll smoke burley blends out of pretty much anything, but they usually find their way into the Va/VaPer pipes.


5 cobs
--One dedicated to Latakia...not that there's a ghost to worry about, the pipe just REALLY seems to bring the best out of lat.
--One dedicated to Va/VaPer/Burely...same reason as above.
--Three, all on the small side, used for short car trips, tasting new blends, etc


2 meers
--anything other than aromatics (just because)

 
My cobs get far more use than anything. I'll smoke any tobacco in them. Dunhills get English blends only; it just seems the right thing to do. I have a Ser Jacopo that loves Haddo's and an Il Ceppo that loves Acadian Mixture, but they aren't actually dedicated to those blends and could easily find themselves stuffed with Escudo. I do have an Edward's bent that is dedicated to LBF, which I find somewhat subtle and needs the distinction. My lone Stanwell is a tobacco whore, often found wandering down alleys with complete strangers. Upshalls get anything; Savinellis get anything; Petes ditto; Castellos anything but aromatics. That accounts for less than half my collection that is actually in any kind of rotation. The rest just sit there staring back at me, year after year. Gives me the creeps.

And for what it's worth, namely nothing, I hate meerschaums.
 
juanmedusa":mlcqldgr said:
I have tendencies.
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Well said!

:lol!:

As do I. Lately I've found myself dedicating pipes to blends. Until recently it was pipes to genres, but I found myself favoring certain pipes with certain blends so I guess that's how I roll now. Even the few aros I smoke have been assigned specific pipes.

Probably silly of course, but I'm commonly told I'm not quite right and a bit OCD about some things. Wait.. back space. space bar, back space, space bar... ok I'm fine now. :D

 
Over the years this topic pops up every now and again; always a good discussion BTW!! I have 150+ pipes (briar, olive, meer, cob, maple, apple, clay, plus my great-grand dads handmade cherrywood carved branch-stem poker). I have no rotation system and no particular "dedicated" pipes. I don't do aro's except Bob's Choc. Flake and The Mayor's Choc. Flake. Burley, Ginnyweed, VaPer, VaBur, non-latweed Orientals, and Latweeds pretty much get smoked in whatever pipe/s I select. After 50+ years at this hobby, my taste buds just can't/don't/maybe never did tell any difference. If "ghosts be there" they don't seem to bother me!!! I will say that I only smoke English/Balkan Latweed blends in my meers. Just a "thing" with me, nothing more!!! FWIW :cheers: FTRPLT
 
When I came back to pipe smoking after a 17 year hiatus, I acquired way too many pipes. I am, at present, culling the herd down to 20-25, with an intent of saving up and only buying what to me are really nice pipes, but only up to 30-35 pipes total.

Of the 20-25 that I'm keeping, I'm keeping them because that's all I smoke from. I dedicate 8 to Latakia blends, 10 to VA/VAPER/BUR blends, 2 are work pipes that get anything in them while I'm working in the yard or outside, and the remainder are travel pipes that get whatever I feel like taking on that particular trip.
 
ftrplt":p7bq12v9 said:
Over the years this topic pops up every now and again; always a good discussion BTW!! I have 150+ pipes (briar, olive, meer, cob, maple, apple, clay, plus my great-grand dads handmade cherrywood carved branch-stem poker). I have no rotation system and no particular "dedicated" pipes. I don't do aro's except Bob's Choc. Flake and The Mayor's Choc. Flake. Burley, Ginnyweed, VaPer, VaBur, non-latweed Orientals, and Latweeds pretty much get smoked in whatever pipe/s I select. After 50+ years at this hobby, my taste buds just can't/don't/maybe never did tell any difference. If "ghosts be there" they don't seem to bother me!!! I will say that I only smoke English/Balkan Latweed blends in my meers. Just a "thing" with me, nothing more!!! FWIW :cheers: FTRPLT
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THIS 100% !! I've not found the need for dedication in ANY of my pipes except for Aros which stay smoked out of cobs ONLY!! Been doing it this way for over 40 years and have enjoyed EVERY blend/ mixture that I found I liked regardless of pipe it was smoked in !! As far as a rotation goes. I'm usually using btwn 12 to 16 pipes a month before I clean those and start a new group for the next month. I also have 100+ pipes so this is an easy thing for me to do these days  :twisted: :twisted:
 
I have about 40 pipes I try to smoke at least once a month and about 10 others I may not like as well but will still smoke once in a while. 12 of the regulars (including all my falcons) are dedicated to 'Lakelands' and similar brands. I have one pipe, an Ivory Jobey prince, which I think works particularly well with Latakia blends. The rest I just smoke as the moment takes me.
 
I only concern myself with smoking Lakelands in the cob dedicated to them. I may smoke something else in that cob, but not a Lakeland in another pipe.

I also have a pipe from my early days that gets aros. Aros don't get anything else, but anything else may go in that pipe.
 
Great to hear from so many on this. I started out not caring at all what toby went into what pipe, and then as I went on started dedicating to genres of tobacco. Seems to bring out the best in certain types to me to have like tobaccos in the same pipes. I pick up ghosts otherwise, but am fairly convinced they disappear after a couple bowls are run through most of the time. As the baccy got more expensive I think was when I started paying more attention to ghosts hanging around. I guess if I am spending more, I want to get the most out of whatever it is I am smokin'
 
Gonzo":a38t725e said:
Great to hear from so many on this. I started out not caring at all what toby went into what pipe, and then as I went on started dedicating to genres of tobacco. Seems to bring out the best in certain types to me to have like tobaccos in the same pipes. I pick up ghosts otherwise, but am fairly convinced they disappear after a couple bowls are run through most of the time. As the baccy got more expensive I think was when I started paying more attention to ghosts hanging around. I guess if I am spending more, I want to get the most out of whatever it is I am smokin'
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That's how I feel also sir. The ghosts aren't bad between some tobaccos but, when one interferes with the enjoyment a bowl is where I stop. I want all my bowls to taste the best they can and not have to smoke several bowls before it does. You, like me maybe a little more susceptible to swapping tobaccos in pipes and can taste the difference when many can not. ;)
 
Cartaphilus":txyjo0np said:
Gonzo":txyjo0np said:
Great to hear from so many on this. I started out not caring at all what toby went into what pipe, and then as I went on started dedicating to genres of tobacco. Seems to bring out the best in certain types to me to have like tobaccos in the same pipes. I pick up ghosts otherwise, but am fairly convinced they disappear after a couple bowls are run through most of the time. As the baccy got more expensive I think was when I started paying more attention to ghosts hanging around. I guess if I am spending more, I want to get the most out of whatever it is I am smokin'
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That's how I feel also sir. The ghosts aren't bad between some tobaccos but, when one interferes with the enjoyment a bowl is where I stop. I want all my bowls to taste the best they can and not have to smoke several bowls before it does. You, like me maybe a little more susceptible to swapping tobaccos in pipes and can taste the difference when many can not. ;)
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Maybe some of us just DON't as opposed to CAN'T :twisted: :twisted:
 
monbla256":t0e7gt36 said:
Cartaphilus":t0e7gt36 said:
Gonzo":t0e7gt36 said:
Great to hear from so many on this. I started out not caring at all what toby went into what pipe, and then as I went on started dedicating to genres of tobacco. Seems to bring out the best in certain types to me to have like tobaccos in the same pipes. I pick up ghosts otherwise, but am fairly convinced they disappear after a couple bowls are run through most of the time. As the baccy got more expensive I think was when I started paying more attention to ghosts hanging around. I guess if I am spending more, I want to get the most out of whatever it is I am smokin'
Click to expand...
That's how I feel also sir. The ghosts aren't bad between some tobaccos but, when one interferes with the enjoyment a bowl is where I stop. I want all my bowls to taste the best they can and not have to smoke several bowls before it does. You, like me maybe a little more susceptible to swapping tobaccos in pipes and can taste the difference when many can not. ;)
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Maybe some of us just DON't as opposed to CAN'T :twisted: :twisted:
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Yeah, yeah, yeah!
 
There are some tobaccos that just shine in certain pipes, like 965 is not the same in anything as it is in my Erhlich billiard. More so to me only putting similar blends in it where the flavor is always complimentary. I guess I would also say my desire to dedicate on some level increased with putting different sizes and shapes of bowls in my rotation. The taller billiard shape seems to really bring something in the English/lat blends I was missing in smaller pipes. FWIW it also has a longer shank/stem than most of the others at 6.5 inches all together.
 
I keep it simple. It all gets smoked out of all of my pipes. I don't have any problem with off flavors.

Jim
 
I have a bout 40 pipes. Ten of those never get smoked (but I learned something from every one of them). Six more rarely get smoked (and I learned something from those too). One pipe (my grandfather's) is reserved for Prince Albert because that's all he ever smoked out of it, so it just seems right. Otherwise, I choose which pipe I smoke more for the size and shape I'm in the mood for at the time. Usually I smoke two pipes during the course of a day, then let them rest for a while. I've never noticed problems with "ghosting", but then I have the palate of an army cook.
 
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