Pipeology - The Fine Art of Pipe Smoking and Thought

 I have a lot of pipes.  Most aren't very expensive.  My all-time favorite pipe is my Angel pipe, I smoked the other day.  Then I have my favorite pipes.  Some are special.  My most special pipe is my very first one.  Then I have my favorite smoking pipes.  My most favorite for smoking enjoyment is my Peterson Sherlock Holmes pipe.  At first I wasn't sure about it.  But after living with it for some time now, it has become my favorite for smoking. Some might say that now I have too many pipes.  I kinda do, but a few have been retired because they are close to burning through.  I have several Meerschaum pipes, but my favorite Meerschaum is my Lee Van Cleef, which is one of my favorite pipes for smoking.  Yes, I have a lot of pipes, but there are some better than others.  Pipes I have received as gifts are always special, even if they're not the best ones. I don't need to list my favorite tobaccos, because I've written ...

 I spent some time on the Smoking Pipes website yesterday looking at just Dunhill pipes.  If there is just one brand I could afford, it would be exclusively Duhiill's. There are pipes that are just as good.  But a Dunhill for me is the Lexus of pipes.  There are more expensive pipes by designers, but the Dunhill is THE pipe to own.  Smoking Pipes, as of yesterday, has 259 Dunhill pipes in stock.  They range in price from about $400 to about $5200. I've decided no pipe is worth much over a grand.  I simply wouldn't smoke a pipe or even own one much over a grand.  I just can't see it.  At a grand, I'd smoke it on a regular basis.  After that anything over a grand is simply a collector's item.  I would treat it as such.  But a grand for a smoking pipe is the most I'd pay for any pipe unless a pipe were an investment; and in that case it just simply wouldn't be smoked.  I'm not into pipes as investments.   A typical ...

  I'm not going to call Dr. Grabow pipes cheap.  They are Briar pipes.  But they are all machine made from start to finish and are what we would say are mass produced.  This is mostly why Dt. Grabow sells so many pipes.  Most every pipe smoker today most likely began with a Dr. Grabow pipe and why so few stayed with it.  Obviously a Dr. Grabow is NOT the best pipe.  But those who started with one and moved to finer pipes will look at their first Dr. Grabow pipe with great fondness. I don't have one.  My first pipe was quite expensive at the time and is now almost a collector's pipe.  It is indeed the rare collector who has a fondness of a Dr. Grabow pipe.  It is more of a novelty than collector's item.  But that said, there is something to be said for Dr. Grabow pipes. It all began in 1932 in Chicago where two physicians were good friends.  They were Dr. Linkman and Dr. Grabow.  It was Dr. Lineman who had an idea for a spe...

 Maybe many of you are making out your Christmas wish list.  My wife told me to work on mine.  Actually I'm not sure I have much on my list I want.  I told her I don't have a Dr. Grabow pipe in my collection.  Maybe some special pipe tobacco I might want.  But really I don't have a lot of wants.  I've been listening to others about what they'd like to have.  My wife made a list on Amazon of things she thinks would be nice gifts.  I haven't looked at her list. I said in a post the other day that I'd just be some old rich guy giving money away, if indeed I was some old rich guy.  I like to read about old rich guys who do things anonymously for others.  There is some story every year about the guy that leaves a waitress a huge tip, or the pizza delivery person who delivers a pizza and gets a huge tip.  No one wonders what Santa gets for Christmas.  He might just want a cup of hot chocolate served with love when Christmas Eve ...

 Until gambling became legalized and there is much broader control over the money, sports betting is virtually everywhere.  I like to see odds and point spreads, especially on college football games.  It seems this year was a very good year for the odds makers in Vegas who analyze every aspect of every major team in college football.  There were a lot of losers who bet against the odds. I'll make it clear that I don't bet.  But I often wonder how so often the analysts are spot on.  I went with the odds on the OSU/Michigan game based on what Vegas was saying about the game.  This game probably has the most predictables of any sporting event.  I had it exactly right.  Using Vegas I figured the only way for OSU to lose by six was for the score to 30-24 Mich.  But how did I know?  It was Vegas.  I figured with this game and everything on the line, plus playing in Michigan Vegas was spot on.  And they were. If I were a betting ...

  There just might be some Dunhill pipes and accessories in my future.  But right now the above Peterson Churchwarden Tankard pipe was in my wishlist on Smoking Pipes.  They are having a Black Friday sale and I told my wife the above pipe can be an early Christmas gift.  It was priced on sale for under $80.  I told her this was a good time to buy this pipe.  So, I ordered it with eight ounces of Sutliff Christmas Spice tobacco.  This way I can enjoy the pipe and the Christmas tobacco through the holidays. Really though, there isn't anything I want for Christmas that I don't already have.  I just want to be with Family through the holidays.  That is really all I want.  This was just a good time to buy this pipe.  And I hated to pass up a 15% discount on the pipe and 10% discount on the tobacco.  The pipe just has a Christmas look to it.  I saw this pipe and thought to myself that it looks like the kind of pipe Santa Claus w...

  The above pipe is an Estate pipe from the Dunhill pipe collection on Smoking Pipes.  It has been previously owned.  But being a Dunhill, Smoking Pipes worked hard to restore it to its originality.  I mentioned to my wife I had nothing for today.  She thought maybe I should go on eBay and look for a very nice estate pipe and write about it.  I did one better.  I found this one I REALLY like.  Smoking Pipes is asking less that five hundred for it.  This pipe is just about right.  It's not too much, but for a Dunhill pipe is just about right.  I could find pipes in all price ranges and maybe a bit less expensive Dunhill, but this pipe checks all the boxes.  First of all, I like Churchwarden pipes.  And this one is a Dunhill.  If it has been smoked, I trust Smoking Pipes to restore it to like new condition.  This pipe smoked untestored would be substantially less.  Smoking Pipes doesn't say whether it has been...

 It's Thanksgiving today.  I was going to write about so many things for which I'm thankful, but decided on one thing.  Life.  That's it.  That's all there is to it.  No one wants to die and not be missed.   Not that this would have been the case had my two brushes with death killed me.  But I have every reason to be alive. I could list so many things, but especially people for which I am thankful, but it can all be summed in one word:  Life.  That says it all.  It covers everyone and all things I need in order to live.  That's it.  I'm thankful to be alive and simply want others to be thankful for life too.  That's all there is to it.  If you're reading this then you are included in my life.  I'm thankful to be alive and simply want others to be thankful for life too. That's my Thanksgiving list.  Just one thing:  Life.  Sure heaven is a great place, but God gave me life.  It wasn't...

One day I'll sit down to write something to post here and then when I'm finished I'll put it away, then I'll go back to it, and absolutely hate how it is written.  In that case I'll delete it and just start over again.  This is one of those days.  This is not the place for me to do my own therapy.  I tell myself this over and over.  I've been more theologian lately than I have been a philosopher.  And really, none of you need the theologian in me.   But philosophy is different.  I have a philosophy about stress.  I don't want it and you don't either.  None of you need more stress in your lives.  Stress nearly killed me twice and I simply decided that stress is my mortal enemy.  I've simply decided not to stress about life and living.  Stress for me can be described in two simple words:  It's ugly.  I mean it is very ugly.  My wife doesn't need me stressed.  My kids don't need it.  And perhaps ...

  After reading my post from the other day, my wife wanted to know more about the Aquarium Table Top Lighter from Dunhill.  The photo above is it.  The metal top and bottom are made from Paladium.  The price on Smoking Pipes for this handmade art deco table top lighter is $12,100.  That is the asking price and not the MSRP.   Back in the day when cigarette smoking was mote common, most homes where people smoked had a table top lighter.  This is acrylic with hand-fashioned fish.  It is done in the art deco fashion of the 50's by a jeweler with 40 years of experience.  Even today, it is not too uncommon for certain collectors of pipes and pipe related accessories to collect items made exclusively by Dunhill.  One might say that Dunhill is to smoking what Tiffany's is to style.   Dunhill has a shop in London that caters mostly to wealthy Londoners.  They have been a part of the smoking experience for 130 years.  The...

 My wife constantly texts.  I don't.  I send out links to my posts and don't expect much in return.  I probably need to send a thank you note to those who read my blog or respond to a text.  But I'll say it here.  I thank you.  I would still write it if I thought no one bothered.  I try to be more philosopher than theologian in this blog, but lately I have been thinking more as theologian than philosopher.  But I've decided to stay in the realm of philosophy, although granted they often overlap, and in the cases of some famous philosophers, they never touch. I've had to be more theologian lately than philosopher.  But even theologians have a philosophy about life.  If I had but one philosophy about life and living, it would be that money doesn't always make one happy.  Often it's not the receivers of gifts, or even texts for that matter, that are blessed, but the givers.  One can't strive to make everyone happy.  One ...

  I've decided that writing about philosophical/theological stuff is work.   Even just sitting smoking my pipe, my mind is always thinking.  You've got enough of that from me lately.  I need a little fantasy fun.  And from me, you do too.  I get tired from from it all.  And sometimes stress comes with it.  You don't need, or more often want that here.  I feel I've said enough about all that stuff here. I've got a Zippo pipe lighter, that I believe cost about $15 on Amazon.  But yesterday, I wrote about that Dunhill pipe.  Then I got to thinking, The above lighter is NOT the most expensive lighter I could find.  There are others on Smoking Pipes that cost a few hundred more similar to this one.  There is no way I sit around and think I want some kind of special pipe lighter, because even if I could afford this I wouldn't consider buying it.  I'd just buy myself another Zippo.   But this lighter really ga...

  I had other posts ready for today, but I got to thinking about something.  If I only had to have one more pipe and price was no object what would I want.  I miss the old days when a pipe was a man's fashion accessory.  A man's pipe said a lot about the man himself.  Back in the day a man owned at least one tuxedo.  A fashionably dressed man often smoked his pipe to label him a man of distinction.  It's the white dot on the stem that says it's a Dunhill, like the tri-star on a car says it's a Mercedes. I just miss those days when a fashionably well-dressed man often included his best pipe which was often a Dunhill pipe.   That pipe said a lot about the man.  Most men of distinction would have the above pipe in his collection as the pipe he wore, like a badge of honor.  That pipe set him apart from all the others.  It was the final touch needed for a man of distinction. Maybe I'd just lounge around in my shorts and T-shirt and ...

  Yesterday it was an Aston Martin.  Today it's reality with my car.  I can dream big for others, but not really for myself.  The above model is my car that I'm thinking will be my last car I own.  I try to take very good care of my 2020 Toyota Avalon Limited that came with all the extras.  It's the same as a Lexus ES350 without the added Lexus luxury and new was about five grand less.  I didn't need a Lexus.  My wife will tell you that I really like our car.  Basically it's cheap to own. I can dream big for others, but not so much for myself.  Even if I COULD afford to own an Aston Martin, I'd never own anything but this car.  It's comfortable for my wife.  Maybe if I'd do something different I'd own an iPhone so I can use the Carplay that is built into it.  I'm sorry I have an Android phone.  It works okay, but an Apple system would be better.   But I have no dreams of expensive cars or anything else for t...

 I need to be balanced.  And for me that is a lot of work.  Smoking my pipe helps me to do this.  I can have manic highs and depressive lows.  It takes work for me to remain balanced.  I'm not an evil crime fighter like a super hero.  But I could say anything that fights evil is good, in whatever form that might be.  Goodness is my friend.  You can take that any way you wish.  One doesn't need some kind of belief in something to be inherently good. As I've said before what matters most to me IS Human Life.  I can't prevent people from dying, but I don't want anyone to choose when that will be, not for anyone else or for oneself.  My cardiologist once said that this world is a stressful place for the way I think and believe.   So, I smoke a pipe.  I did prior to my heart attack and have since.  The only thing I have changed is that I hardly ever smoke a cigar.  But once in a great while I'll have one, si...

  The above car is my all-time favorite car.  It is a 2015 Aston Martin DB9.  I used to think I wanted one.  But no mote.  Any exotic sports car is for those who have money to burn.  These cars depreciate like a rock.  Why?  They are expensive to own, repair, and maintain.  Insurance, depreciation, and new ownership costs ate about $75-100 a mile depending on make and model.  The average driver pays about 75 cents a mile.  Used and the cost is still pretty pricey.  After that a brake job is about $15,000 after about 15,000 miles.  Aston Martin IS by far the most expensive exotic sports car made to own.  They just look so good.  But they're toys for the wealthiest. Aston Martin's are notorious for breakdowns.  And you have to live close enough to a dealer that can fix them.  Even a simple oil change is over $500.  But this particular model is in my opinion the most beautiful car ever made next to th...

  If there is one goal every pipe smoker has it is to own at least one Dunhill pipe.  Some have gone into debt achieving that goal.  Pipe smoking is a hobby and the advice from any pipe shop is to not go into debt buying a pipe particularly if you intend to smoke it.  No smoked pipe ever retains it's purchased price.  Just like a brand new car.  A brand new car loses 10% of its value as soon as it's driven off the lot.  I might suggest a brand new pipe loses 50% as soon as it's smoked. I've mentioned to my wife that on the other extreme end of pricing is a Dr. Grabow pipe, which often is a pipe smokers first pipe.  My first pipe was a much greater value than a Dr. Grabow pipe.  So, on that end I don't own a Dr. Grabow pipe and most likely never will.  A lot of pipe smokers begin with a Dr. Grabow and smoke Captian Black and just quit.  A first pipe should be a quality pipe like a Peterson and the tobacco should be a good Aromatic li...

  If I had the money to spend on building my pipe collection, maybe I would have one pipe costing thousands like the pipe I chose for yesterday's post.  I still can't see paying much over $500 for any given pipe.  A man of distinction might have a number of Dunhill pipes and maybe a few Comoy's with some Caminetto pipes.  There are estate pipes that can cost as much as $500 used.  The pipe I've chosen for today is a Nording handcrafted pipe with a short stem.   The pipe shown is handcrafted from start to finish.  It is a Handmade Smooth Paneled Bent Dublin pipe, which Smoking Pipes lists at $528.  Any pipe I put on display here is a pipe that I could add to my collection.  Freehand style pipes are my favorite pipes and this pipe is no exception.   What is particularly impressive about this pipe is the grain.  It just flows with the design.  This particular pipe might be sold by the time I'd get around to buying it, bu...

  I said in my post yesterday that I'd keep the pipes that interest me between $500 and a grand.  With everything going on in the world, most of us need MORE relaxation and not less.  In our busy lives, with some exceptions, we need more relaxation.  I love to relax with a pipe.  I have stated that if I spent $10,000 on a pipe, I would smoke it, just like I'd drive a car costing a half million.   So, I broke my rule by finding the pipe above that costs $8,000 on Smoking Pipes.  I've decided they are the best of the on-line pipe shops and I'm betting they won't sue me for using their photos.  My audience is small and most don't smoke a pipe.  But I could work something out with them because I give them credit and some free advertising.  They have treated me very well and get their shipments to me in a timely fashion.  I've decided to take the risk that they'll appreciate my time for them. I won't plagiarize their fine writing in...

I've decided to get away from writing about my Spiritual journey and just do something different for awhile.  I'm going through the Smoking Pipes website and looking for different and usual pipes, regardless of cost.  There are pipe collectors out there who don't smoke pipes but collect pipes like one might collect Hummel figurines.  These pipes might look great on a single pipestand, ot they might just sit up by themselves.   The pipes I select here are more than likely handcrafted and are some very unusual shapes.  The prices will be at least be $500 and I really don't want to look at anything over a grand.  These are pipes I would be interested in buying if price were not an object.  I can't see paying over a hundred for a pipe, so these are dream pipes, or pipe dreams, much like one might look at dream cars or dream houses that are nice to look at, but in no way could be purchased by the average person.   The pipe pictured above is a...

I'll give credit for the above photo to Smoking Pipes.  I went thru their website last evening in search of rather expensive and unusual pipes.  I wasn't sure I'd do a post for today, but decided on writing about the above pipe.  The cost is rather prohibitive at $768.  It is a hand crafted pipe by Saninelli from their Signature line of pipes.  I was looking at prohibitively expensive pipes in search of something that was unusual and stood out from the crowd. I came across this pipe from literally thousands to choose from and I really liked the style, design, craftsmanship, and of course the stem, which separates it from just being an ordinary pipe.  I could have chosen a Dunhill, or a Comoy, or a designer pipe for today, because like me, it's just different.  The pipe is Briar with a Cherrywood stain.   Some might suggest I can accomplish being relaxed with a pipe whether it is a ten buck cob or my Sherlock Holmes pipe.  This is very tr...

 I smoked from a water pipe for the first time recently.  Some might call it vaping.  I'm not going to get into vaping, but I understand that pipe or even cigarette tobacco can by used in water pipes.  I'm just not a vaping kind of guy.  Maybe if something stronger like Marijuana were to be used it might be different, but I've never used any kind of illicit drug, so I don't know. The Marharishi was said to have introduced the Beatles to opium.  I can imagine them sitting around on overstuffed pillows, writing their music, while smoking Marijuana through a hookah.  The images I have from water pipes for vaping are all psychedelic images from the 60's.  I found the vaping to be flavorful enough, but I had the most difficult time with inhaling, because that is the only way to get the full effect of the vapors. I'm used to puffing on a pipe and not inhaling, which made me cough.  Each time I would inhale, I coughed.  I could blow the vapors ...

 There has been a lot of attention given to the Middle East in recent days.  I won't get into the politics of it, nor am I taking sides.  But instead I am saying these things must be.  But why?  I can understand why the world is on edge about the Middle East.  I don't know if it helps anyone for me to say I'm not worried about it.  After all, what does MY opinion really matter?  I just might be crazy, but hear me out anyway. Crazy people might not be crazy unless they seek to do harm.  If I'm crazy, at least I'm harmless.  My own Spirituality won't allow me to do harm, even though I have crazy thoughts.  Some of the most Spiritual people are the homeless who walk around talking to themselves.  But I digress.  Let me get to the point.  Don't worry about it.  Okay?  Now the first thing you might ask me is why you shouldn't worry about the Middle East?   Because it must be this way.  I could get ...

 When I write about the things I say are Spiritual, I don't write about the Source of my Spirituality.  I don't feel it is necessary.  What is important is what's been planted in my brain.  And I can't escape it no matter what I do.  I could say what I have been saying for 30 years over and over, but I've said it once.  And if I've said it once, I have literally said it a million times or more.  It's why I don't belong to a religion, nor do I belong to any organizations or political parties.   Some might suggest it gets lonely in my Ivory Tower.  Maybe.  But I took this route in life, because it seemed the way to be.  No regrets, remorse, or guilt.  I knew the Source would be questioned, and it has been.  But I am my own Spiritual person.  I receive guidance from the Source in all things.  I do not know why things happen the way they do, but it is not for me to question, so I don't.  I accept all things...

 I believe so.  I said in my post the other day that Jesus was born in the Spring.  Most biblical scholars believe Spring is when Jesus was born with at least a few offering a specific date.  Mine is April 12.  I have taken this day off for my own personal holiday without explanation.  I could just say it is my own personal day and leave it at that. There are many theories about how December 25 became the date of Christmas, but it is believed that December 21 was the day the Pagans had their festival celebrating the coming of longer days.  Christians wanted their own date which they chose as December 25 after the Pagan festivities concluded.  The Latter Day Saints say Jesus was born in mid-April as Spring is the time of new birth as Jesus represented.   Some have suggested a June date because a woman wouldn't conceive at that time until after the harvest in September.  Some have suggested it was then Martin Luther who introduced the...

Okay, so I'm going to put on my theological/philosophical hat this morning, because it's Sunday, and say that it's not just simply a matter of having respect for Human Life that matters.   This is MY thinking and defines who I am.  There is another layer to this and it is a reward and punishment while on this earth.  My Spirituality is a kind of blend of Buddhism and Christianity, but this is what defines me as a person.  I would go so far to say one can believe anything or not believe in anything. But I define Karma, which applies to ALL regardless of belief or unbelief; and can be anything you want it to be.  Karma is very much a Buddhist way of thinking about life.  Evil is punished by Karma or that good is rewarded by Karma.  One could just say good is rewarded and evil is punished.  I won't get into gray areas.  But what kills the soul is what kills the body.  But Karma is a kind of earthly reward or punishment depending. ...

 Thanksgiving is a holiday.  Back when I was a kid and up until the early eighties, nothing was open on Thanksgiving and especially Christmas Day.  Chili's is announcing they are closing 1200 stores across the US on Thanksgiving and a press release informs customers that most stores will be closed Christmas Day.  Some retailers experimented with opening stores for early Black Friday shopping on Thanksgiving.  But most retailers got a lot of backlash from the public for Thanksgiving shopping.   It might be a little early to be writing about Thanksgiving, but as I said in the above paragraph, there were certain holidays nothing would be open.  Those were the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.  New Year's Day might find a few stores open, but I can remember that only a drug store was open on Sundays.   Things have certainly changed over the years where Sunday is just another business day.  But while Thanksgiving is a...

 Our time in this condo is coming to an end.  This has caused us some stress as we look for our next place.  But what has added to my stress is this world.  And I have this need to step away from it all.  TMI is the reason.  I don't need hourly updates on certain events in the world, but I have followed the details too closely.    This is when I have to put my phone down, turn off the news, and say that I just don't care.  I don't need the added stress of knowing what is going on.  I get information overload until I say, "Enough is enough!" I've reached the point where I've finally said it.  I get information overload on college football, the war in the Middle East, and the trials of a certain politician.  I'll let the colleges decide who's best on Saturdays.  I don't take sides in warfare.  And someone will let me know when the trials are over.  I do not need minute-to-minute updates on any of this.  Inform...

 I received my most recent tobacco shipment this past Friday afternoon.  In it were two blends I am going to review this morning.  One is Estate by Sutliff and the other is Edward G. Robinson also by Sutliff.  I'm reviewing both together because they are similar.  They are both Aromatics, but perhaps in name only.  They are both similar to each other, but I'll begin with Edward G. Robinson. First of all, he was a famous actor from mostly the 1940's to the 1950's whose most notable role was as the Pharoh in the movie The Ten Commandments.  His roles were mostly playing a heavy Gangster in those kinds of movies.   He did the narration for CBS Radio Mystery Theater.  For many pipe smokers, he was a gentleman who smoked a pipe.  He was nothing like the characters he played, which is what made him such a good actor.  He was a gentleman who contributed to causes that fought fascism in WWII.   He was known for his philanthro...

 I could make my comments here about world affairs and politics , but I don't.  I don't evangelize, but I do write about my own brand of Sprituality.  This blog isn't intended for deep philosophical thought, but maybe sometimes I leave you, the reader, something to ponder.  My wife says that at times i get pretty philosophical here.  My pipe is a tool for meditation.  I have a lot to think about as I smoke my pipe.  I have most of my conversations with my wife, but still I listen to her.  I use the "we" in reference to all she does. These days a lot is on my mind as we consider leaving here at the end of this month.  This time here has given my son some time to work on his house and his business without our presence.  He's still settling in his house, but if we want to go back for a month or so as we consider our next place we can.  Bur it's been nice being here.  The other owners and renters are friendly and we've become part ...