How do you collect?

JLehman5290

Hey all, this is my first post. Just wondering how you all collect. Do you find a few shapes you like and keep to that? Or are you like me, and walk into a B&M wanting one thing and walking out with something completely different. This Christmas I acquired two new pipes. A Savinelli 320 and a Rossi Sitting bent brandy. I am a big fan of the author shape like the 320. It's my hope to someday have one for every day of the week. But my collection seems to be mismatched, because every time I go to purchase a new pipe I end up being drawn to a new take on and old shape or a different color stem, etc. All of these artisan pipe makers make it hard. 

Londy3

I'm not a collector of anything. I have 10 pipes of which some I purchased myself and some were gifts. I think variety is a good thing. For me, all the conditions have to be right to smoke a pipe including my mood and what style I want to smoke at that time. Having a nice variety plays well considering all the all the variables in smoking for the relaxing pleasure it brings. 
...but that's just me.

JLehman5290

I find myself in the same position. I have 5 pipes right now. They all serve a different mood and purpose. Two of my pipes are for heavier Latakia blends.

Oddjob27

Welcome to TPL @JLehman5290. I’m not much of a “collector”... but I do enjoy myself the 320/Author shapes. Picked up the Savinelli 320 Saint Nicolas version and the Rossi 8320 as well. Love them both!

ghostsofpompeii

@JLehman5290 Welcome to the group. Glad to see you jumping right in rather than Lurking around for several months like I did. I am a collector. Unfortunately I seem to collect a little bit of everything from pipes and tobacco blends, to DVDs movies and multi-disc Seasons of my favorite TV shows, CDs, movie memorabilia, books and magazines, and several other odds and ends. But as for pipes I like to collect things that strike my fancy - a variety of shapes and sizes - but mostly I collect pipes that are somewhat unique. One day if you find the time look up a post I started here at the forum entitled The Daily Briar Photoshoot in which you'll find several pipes from my collection as well as several others who added their pipes to the post. As a matter of fact - you can post any pictures of your collection as well.   

PappyJoe

Welcome to the group. 
I have 50 pipes. Roughly. That was the last count.
There is no rhyme nor reason to my selection. Most of mine are estate pipes or what I call rescue pipes because I've found them at flea markets, junk shops, antique shops, etc. Most of them were pipes my wife saw in the shops and pointed me to. I don't really dedicate any pipes to any one type of tobacco but then again I generally wipe them out good and use pipe cleaners often.

JLehman5290

@PappyJoe, I've heard you mentioned several times on CSR. You're a hero to me. Haha. I use a pipe cleaner after every smoke. But I find that the Latakia sticks around longer even after cleaning, even after swabbing it out. 
I'm glad my wife is on board with my pipe smoking too. She's developed an eye for some pretty nice briar.

Woodsman

I favor the Author Style myself so  I keep an eye peeled for them, I also collect Wally Frank Pipes for nostalgia and Figurative Pipes of Versingetetorix the Gaul if I can afford them.

xDutchx

When I first started collecting pipes and vintage collectible tobacciania, I was all over the place. If the pipe appealed to me for some reason, I would pull the trigger. As time went on, I began to become attracted to pipes weighing less than 50 grams, as well as pipes of English or Danish origin. When it comes to finish, straight grains seem to hold the most value, however a deeply grained sandblast is usually very unique and an eye catching addition to anyone's collection.

As for shapes, I suppose my favorite shape is the brandy. This one is a recent addition to my collection, and my second Rainer Barbi. When I first saw the pipe, I thought it was a brandy, however after inspecting the bottom of the bowl, it does tend to resemble a volcano. This one is a real gem, weighing in at 35 grams, and a joy to clench. I even managed to acquire the original leather pipe sock.

Charles

@JLehman5290 - Welcome to the group.  I never really considered myself as a pipe collector.  Although, throughout the years I have managed to amass some fifty or so pipes.  I do not have an actual count.  If something caught my eye, I'd purchased it and smoked it for awhile.  If it seems to be a really great smoker, it is placed in my regular rotation.  There are some pipes I have tucked away and have smoked time to time but they are no longer in regular rotation.  I have some pipes dedicated to only English tobacco because of the Latakia which tends to stay in the pipe.  What are the best pipes to purchase and collect?  The pipes that you like, catch your eye, and the can afford.  I run a pipe cleaner through the pipe after I've finished smoking it so as to not have any build up of tars and moisture.

Over the years, I have managed to collect tobacco-related items like old cigar boxes, pipe tobacco tins, and catalogues that once belonged to my father, grandfather, or items I came across that caught my eye. I am more of a collector of items similar to @ghostsofpompeii.  My library started when I was about fourteen and has continues to grow.  Most of my books are hardbound, first editions dating as far back as 1818 but I do have softbound copies of items that were never released as hardbound.  My music library consists of both vinyl and CDs (mostly classical, jazz, swing, and blues) as well as DVD movies and some remaining VCR copies.  I also have amassed a collection of documents, maps, magazines, postcards, stamps, and other odds and ends that have caught my eye throughout my travels.

The rules are there ain't no rules to collecting.  Just collect what you like and whatever catches your eye.  I tend to favor straight billiard and bulldog pipes but have some bent, apple, and author briars, corncobs, meerschaums, and other briar shapes.  So they made up my collection through the years. 

judandhispipe

It's all very individualized. Some folks stick to a limited number of shapes and/or creators. Others do not. I tend to meander about and buy what speaks to me at the time.

motie2

In re: pipes at eBay

If I like the shape and the price is right (and SWMBO is not looking) I'll go for it.
Currently, I have nine pipes: One Charatan, one DuncanHill Areosphere, and seven Carey's.

JLehman5290

I'm feeling right at home. I've been finding what I like and slowly working on my Cellar. I have been collecting vinyl since the day I was born (due to my dad). Mostly old blues. I'm an avid outdoorsman so I like finding vintage fishing and hunting gear as well. 

daveinlax

I have a collection of collections. Every collector starts as an accumulator. It takes time to find what you like and even that might change with time. I have 250 some pipes and this group of collections is over half of them. The collection has grown since these pictures were taken.  
https://plus.google.com/photos/104611199703561251325/albums/5877073340317230689
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6S7CCGs1FPCS0tqN3hkOWJRYUE/edit

http://s135.photobucket.com/user/Davesixtythree/library/GKCPC2015
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6S7CCGs1FPCWVpxTElfa1BpdTA/view

thebadgerpiper

Welcome @JLehman5290 , glad to have you on the forum! Good question, too.

I've had a proclivity towards collecting, ever since I was a wee lad. Back then, I collected super hero action figures, comics, and hot wheels cars. In my college years, I collected retro video games, until they became too expensive. Then I got into MST3K, and collected every episode on DVD. Yet in my mind, I always knew one day I'd get into pipe smoking, and collect pipes. I'd daydream about stumbling onto some long lost shoebox, filled with estate pipes just for me.

Once I took the plunge in pipe smoking a few years ago, I started by collecting pipes I could afford off of ebay. Once I had a couple, I moved onto focusing on brands and shapes I liked. Petersons have always been one of my favorite pipe companies, so to this day I'll pick up a Pete once a year.

While I still focus on shapes I want to add, I'm also looking out for unique types of pipes that are different from my normal briars. This year, I added a Falcon pipe and a meer into my collection. Now that I have them my next white whale is a gourd calabash, followed by a birth year Dunhill.

motie2

Collecting pipes by Chuck Stanion
https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/collecting-the-pipe

opipeman

@motie2;
I love the writings of Chuck Stanion. As for me, I don't collect pipes, but rather accumulate pipes in search of one that is a great smoker. I have found a few. I have also accumulated more that are not.

motie2

That might explain why I have fourteen pipes, but most often only smoke two of them. Of course, it may just be that I like those two the best, one for sentimental reasons, and the other because I like its shape (I think of that one as “my precious.”)

Londy3

I'm not a collector. I buy what I like and use it. I see no point in accumulating things just to have them. But that's just me.

mapletop

Like most, I too did not start out as a collector, I just started to accumulate pipes that appealed to me.

As time went on I started to purchase estate pipes and restore them as the beauty that is briar has always appealed to me  and there were shapes I wanted to posses.

When I joined the Chicago Pipe collectors Club (CPCC) I was told that the general rule was if you owned more than 7 pipes (one for each day) you were a collector.

While I don't necessarily  consider myself a collector, I continue to acquire  pipes albeit much more slowly these days.

On a side note, many of my club brethren have huge collections, some have smoked every pipe in their collections and others have not.

I note this because I tend to think of the guys with unsmoked pipes as the true collectors, even though thats not something I would do.

Interestingly the executive director for the Chicago pipe show has the largest collection of anyone I know; well over 1 million dollars worth and even though many of those pipes a worth over 2K each, he has smoked every one of them..

PappyJoe

@mapletop
I'm with him. Why own a pipe you’re not going to smoke. 

motie2

@PappyJoe

How do I have a bunch of pipes and only smoke two?

It works this way: I saw a pipe on eBay. Hey, I really like it. I'll bid $20.00 (this was a couple of years ago.) Hey presto! I win. With shipping under $30.00.    SWMBO will let that get by.    Long pause.     I saw a pipe on eBay. Hey, I really like it. I'll bid $20.00 (this was a couple of years ago.) Hey presto! I win. With shipping under $30.00.    SWMBO will let that get by.    I saw a pipe on eBay. Hey, I really like it. I'll bid $20.00 (this was a couple of years ago.) Hey presto! I win. With shipping under $30.00.    SWMBO will let that get by.    Long pause.     I saw a pipe on eBay. Hey, I really like it. I'll bid $20.00 (this was a couple of years ago.) Hey presto! I win. With shipping under $30.00.    SWMBO will let that get by.    I saw a pipe on eBay. Hey, I really like it. I'll bid $20.00 (this was a couple of years ago.) Hey presto! I win. With shipping under $30.00.    SWMBO will let that get by.    Long pause.     I saw a pipe on eBay. Hey, I really like it. I'll bid $20.00 (this was a couple of years ago.) Hey presto! I win. With shipping under $30.00.    SWMBO will let that get by.      Rinse and Repeat.

PappyJoe

@motie2
I had maybe one or two eBay pipes but neither were satisfying buys so I don’t have them now. 

The wife and I would go looking at antique malls and flea markets usually at least once a month before the pandemic. We haven’t been to one since then I don’t think. 

RockyMountainBriar

When I have seen pipes at a couple of antique/junk/pawn shops, they have all been crap. I did buy one or two? at a swap meet at the local Boys and Girls Club a few years ago.  One was unsmoked with a shank that has aluminum tubes in it, which hold a folded over pipe cleaner for a filter/“condensation-soaker-upper”.  Still unsmoked, what can I say, I’m a collector…for no good reason, except it’s a mental condition.  I think it’s called P.A.D.  I am not saving them to ‘not’ smoke, I just have way too many pipes and not enough time to smoke.  I enjoy restoring and repairing them…..”Saving History One Pipe At A Time”.  I should write a book😉

PappyJoe

@RockyMountainBriar - Check out the discussion "Smoking the Rotation" I have found quite a few quality pipes at junktique shops, antique shops & malls and street fairs. I even sold one Dunhill and a Preben Holm Danish Freehand that I had found. I think location, location, location is the key to good estate sale finds.

@motie2  - I have to admit that the most recent "estate" pipes I found and kept were ones from the lady I was helping sell her father in laws pipes. I haven't got to them yet in smoking the rotation but one is a Castello Sea Rock.

Zouave

I started collecting when I decided I would try to refurbish my grandfather's pipes after I found them all abandoned in his basement after he passed. Then I started looking for pipes that would be period correct for civil war reenactmets...then it was whatever caught my eye....now I have a full blown pipe collecting problem.

PappyJoe

@Zouave

You meant to say hobby. Not problem.

Zouave

@PappyJoe I would say hobbie, my wife??? She might say something else. 😂 My plan was to have one pipe for each year old I am. That way I could limit myself to one pipe a year. I have not held to this plan very well. 

RockyMountainBriar

@Zouave
Dang, I’m almost Methuselah 😳