Pipe Smoking Rituals

thebadgerpiper

Pipe smoking is very ritualistic in nature, much like how a cat or dog will circle around once or twice before settling down. What do you do when preparing to smoke a pipe.

I take a few pipes with me to the garage for the day/evening, so I'll thumb through them, think about what I'm in the mood for, and select them. I'll make myself an iced coffee, grab my laptop, and head out to my garage.

I'll light my first pipe, along with an unscented candle for easy match lighting, and do some devotions before moving to my laptop or thumbing through instagram. I have all my pipe items like stands and cleaners in arms reach of my writing spot.

How about you?

Topaz75

We'll have to check with PappyJoe and a few others, but this ritual thing may mostly apply to younger smokers or to those new to the hobby.

I've been a piper for many years, and whatever ritual that may have been attached has long since fallen by the wayside. I just fire one up and go about my business.

drac2485

@Topaz75 I have no ritual besides making sure I have everything I need to smoke as I have to smoke outside.

Darmon

I'm with @topaz75 and @drac2485 no rituals, most of the time I have to go find a tamp or something to use after I've lit the pipe.

PappyJoe

@topaz75 - You know I'm not the oldest one on here? @pipeprofessor is even a conny sewer (whatever that is). 

I have no ritual other than grab a pipe, fill it and light it.

DanielCSan9592

Morning back porch, pipe, coffee and bird-watching.  Not really rituals, but a great rut!

LostMason

I can't say I have a specific ritual,but I tend to smoke when I'm
in the right mind set.If I'm too tired I don't enjoy the smoke,so
I usually wait until I've had a chance to rest up a bit before I Grab
a pipe.

Kwaite2011

Grab my pipe, lighter, phone and drink take my dog out back and FaceTime with my son who also smokes a pipe and we have a smoke together...

PappyBadger

Maybe if I smoked less often. But having the luxury of being able to smoke pretty much any time leaves just lighting up and enjoying.

crapgame

i am quite OCD so I do have rituals... I smoke at work so when I go outside to the picnic table I lay everything out on a towel in its proper place...I first set out my pipes..I take 2.. so I can choose my pipe..set out my tools...open the pouch and smell the tobacco
then I run a cleaner thru my pipe..pack it...make sure everything is in the right place on the towel again..then light the pipe..tamp it... relight..then relax while smoking!

pipeman83

My ritual is selecting my pipe and tobacco , filling the bowl slowly , I prefer the 3-step method , make sure I have my lighter , tamper, pipe cleaners ,etc. and get my drink ready , either iced tea or lemonade, and then I light my pipe , charring light, then the true light, sit back , relax, and enjoy.

Mangoandy

Morning and Evening. Morning as I feed the dogs and let them run around the yard (English blend). Evening on the back porch or just relaxing in my office with an aromatic (keep my wife happy with the aroma).

PappyJoe

Not a ritual as much as habit. I check the outside temperature to decided if I'm sitting in the backyard, on the patio or in my garage/mancave. Then I usually decided what tobacco I feel like smoking and then pick the pipe to use. Load the bowl and let it sit while I get what I've decided to drink. 

daveinlax

I've never understood how a person can develop a love for pipe smoking sitting in the hot or cold outside or in a garage but I just love sitting around in front of the TV with my computer in my lap frequently emailing or chatting with other pipe collectors who share my passion for the hobby with a selected rotation and the lighters, tampers and "pipe stuff" at hand.
Pipe smoking is a habit and very much a ritual where thing need to be in place. When I'm on the road my necessities travel with me in the "action pac" pipe bag.
They are all touchstones that I enjoy and everything holds a special spot in the collection
MrsLax even permits some of my Dunhill/Castello ephemera to be displayed in the living room.
I have a Castello theme tobacco mat/coaster that I commissioned from a guy on Reddit coming to replace that red leather thing that has been with me for longer than my kids. If it looks as good as it does in the pictures he sent me I will be another great piece to my pipe world 
I hardly ever smoke a bowl from start to finish but I lightly puff and relight as long as I'm sitting around. This is "cleaned up" version of what my pipe world looks like in the evening. 

Woodsman

I gather up my pipe, tobacco, pipe nail, drink, sound blocking earphones, music and book and go out for a smoke for at least an hour. I do smoke at other times but I try to have an undisturbed time for myself.

PappyJoe

Well, for one thing, I grew up in the South and at the time it was pretty common to spend more time outdoors than indoors. I personally would rather sit outside under a shade tree with a light breeze blowing and no noises except the birds and squirrels playing than sitting in a room with a tv on or on the computer. I work on a computer for my day job so its not as relaxing for me. Sitting outside also allows me to smoke my pipe while watching the grand kids play in our big back yard.

Our house has a 2-car garage. I guess I could park my truck in it (Yes, I'm from the south and I drive a pick-up truck) but it is fairly well organized with a corner bar and bar stools, a sound system, dart board on the wall and I have a work bench where I do my occasional crafty thing. The garage also has a evaporative cooling system to cool it down some. I actually find it relaxing during one of our heavy rainstorms, to sit in the garage with one of the door open and watch 2-inches of rain falling in an hour. I also have a nice, comfortable chair in my garage where I can sit, prop my feet up and read a book without being disturbed.

shecky44

Not as much a ritual for me, but a memory drenched memorial. My father smoked pipes. They were his passion. He had 90 or more. I know, since he used to pay me to polish them, when i was just a lad. He finally purchased a smoke shop in the 70s, which was his dream. Entering my childhood home on any weekend, one was met with smells of "golden extra", wafting from the den. The smell of the tobacco in a pouch brings me to his shop, and watching him interact with customers, as his eyes glisten. So for me, every time I enjoy my pipes, i feel my father sitting bye while packing one of his. It soothes my soul both spiritually and physically, to remember those golden times with each light. I imagine him, sampling a new blend as I smell the rich smoke, wondering if he would have taken a new favorite. While pipe smoking may not be ritualistic, it is a daily heart fulfilling memorial to my father, while the smoke may dissipate, his memory never will.  Rich, peaceful smokes to you.

Mangoandy

@shecky44 - thanks for sharing. That is what makes pipe smoking unique to me as well. Hand crafted pipes hold memories of the people that smoked them. I think about that every time I smoke from an estate pipe. Who was here before me? So, tied up in the ritual/hobby/passion is an anchoring in time and space where I contemplate both the here/now and the then/gone. Thanks again.

thebadgerpiper

@daveinlax Don't get me wrong, I'd rather have my pipes in the comfort of a study or office, rather than a chilly or sweltering garage. Still, I quite like staying in my quiet place outside the house with my pipes.

judandhispipe

I don't really have any rituals. I just light up and go.

ghostsofpompeii

It all depends upon where I'm going for my smoke, whether it's outside or in the garage. In both cases it begins by brewing up a cup of coffee or tea. If I'm smoking outside I'll load my pipe at the kitchen table, grab my lighter, pipe tool, and one or two pipe cleaners - take my folding chair with the cup holder and set it where the sun will do the most good - then grab my coffee, pipe, and supplies. If I'm smoking in the garage I already have a supply of pipe cleaners, matches, and a spare pipe tool so I simply grab a pipe and a tin or jar of tobacco and take it out there to load up. But first I'll grab my cheap Boom Box and a couple of CDs. When I'm in the garage I always have music playing. When I'm outside I listen to the sound of nature.

I also have two Yankee candles from Halloween that smell like licorice, and light one of them up as I'm nearing the bottom of the bowl to insure the garage doesn't have any lingering stench if the blend wasn't as pleasant smelling as I might have hoped. Between the burning candle and the aromatic tobaccos the garage actually smells  pretty good. Even my wife doesn't mind the smell in there. Before I turned it into my smoking room it usually has that musty garage smell. Not anymore.

Woodsman

When I know I'm off on a long drive I fill 2 pipes for the trip and a thermos of coffee. That keeps me relaxed and alert.

mfresa

I have a brief ritual:
1) clean the chosen pipe
2) pack it, either with the spiral method or finger-tamped
3) grab my lighter, tamper and something to drink (refrigerated preferably)
4) sit outside in the shade and watch the birds