GETTING STARTED

What can I say? How strange it is to find myself embarking on this adventure. In a country that is getting more and more anti-smoking (and honestly as far as cigarettes go, I am all for it...am I a hypocrite?)

I smoked cigarettes from the time I was six years old (not really smoking mind you, just lighting my sisters' cigarettes from the stove or toaster). As a teenager I took up smoking heavily, and continued at about a pack a day until I was 22, when I quit.

During that time, I also tried other tobacco products, including chewing, pipes, and cigars. I did a fair bit of fishing back then, and chewing or pipe smoking (I had a very cheap cob pipe) had the wonderful advantage of allowing me to fish, and get my hands wet, without snapping my cigarette in two. At about the age of 17 or so, I discovered the world of high quality cigars.

At the time I was working a very low paying retail job, and I was living at my parents home, so my overhead was pretty low. I would spend an awful lot of my take home pay in a little mall shop that sold some really nice cigars...Upman, Monte Cristo, and I remember really liking these very small El Rey Del Mundos.

Anyway, time has gone on...I met a wonderful woman, quit smoking, moved across the country, began working in my dream job, got a dog, had a couple of kids, and have been loving life in Victoria. I am now in my late 30s.

Did I say I quit smoking? Well, I did...except of course for the occasional good cigar. Literally occasional as in, on special occasions.

Recently, for some reason my thoughts have been drawn to the wonderful smell of a pipe. Maybe it has been walking by Old Morris Tobacconist on Government Street, maybe it has been my regular ritual of watching "The Lord of the Rings" every couple of months...I really can't say. I just figured, "hey, I enjoy a good cigar, and I love a good ritual...I bet pipe smoking would totally ROCK!".

When I smoked a pipe as a younger man, I was looking for the nicotine hit. I got a cheap corn cob pipe, some cheap tobacco (I think Borkum Riff) and smoked my brains out. The internet hadn't really hit, and I certainly didn't have a computer of my own.

When the inclination took me recently, I took to the web and found some outstanding websites.
pipes.org
An outstanding discussion board which holds years of pipe smoking knowledge of all kinds. The board is moderated, so posts are slow to come up. The trade-off is that it is well organized and clean.
Pipe Tobacco Aging and Cellaring
This is an outstanding resource for learning about tobaccos and the storage of them.
Tobacco Reviews
Looking for a good weed? I have spent hours just browsing the different blends and what more experienced pipe smokers have to say.

I've put these and other helpful links over to the side so others can enjoy them too.

Ok, so armed with some information...I made my way to ebay to get some estate pipes. This is where the fun begins.

To be continued...