My favorite pipe smoke gone wrong taught me a valuable lesson and I try to help out my friends with to prevent from learning it the hard way. Cob tastes sweet when on fire... when smoking a cob pipe I only go for Missouri Meerschaums now because the only time I smoked a made in China cob and every time I see someone else smoking one they always caught fire. As cool as it is to see a pipe burst into flames those of us with facial hair would prefer not to have that happen to us.
@crapgame. I actually flinched at your story. I've always been nervous with my meerschaums. I know their not super fragile but I don't want to find out the breaking point. I can handle a ding in my briar but I don't think I could handle breaking a meerschaum.
I left a Chicago show years ago (back in the smoke friendly days) with a Charatan Supreme in my mouth. When I was loading my car I put the pipe on the roof. I saw the pipe bounce off the road in my mirror when I pulled out.
This last Saturday I got into my truck and started it up. The A/C fan immediately kicked on, which was on high, and blew ash and embers into my face and lap. My son thought it was hilarious, me not so much.
After breaking many pipes I have finally learned to carry my pipe in my front pocket and not my back pocket. Also on a few occasions I decided to put a still burning pipe in my pocket and the result was pretty much what you would expect.
The worst thing that happened in my first pipe life (mid 1960's): While working my way though popular OTC's I bought a pouch of Mixture 79. ("The horror, the horror" ~ Kurtz, in a different context)
To this day, it's the only pipe tobacco purchase I didn't even try to give away. I mean, God bless you if you consider it a beloved geezer blend, but...... feh.
I Had an Amphora Xtra 813 Author in my shirt pocket when I got out the car it fell and the stem hit a sharp rock shattering it lengthwise. I found another on Ebay so I still have one. I don't know if I'll send the other for stem replacement, probably not but I have some 3/4" Plexiglass rods that I might to shape to fit.
While working at the Steel Mill in Gary, Indiana I was working on a piece of equipment called a screw conveyor which is similar to a giant mechanized auger - and the pipe fell out of my pocket and into the conveyor. I could do nothing but watch as it was literally ground into little pieces.
Comments
While working my way though popular OTC's I bought a pouch of Mixture 79. ("The horror, the horror" ~ Kurtz, in a different context)
To this day, it's the only pipe tobacco purchase I didn't even try to give away.
I mean, God bless you if you consider it a beloved geezer blend, but...... feh.