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Late last year, we asked a number of folks around the office if they had any pipesmoking resolutions for the New Year. Before we get too far along in 2020, we wanted to take a moment and share some of our favorite entries with you all. Some are silly; some are bizarre. But most are humble, modest reminders that we all have things we'd like to improve on in the coming year. It's about finding new ways to enjoy the hobby and appreciating this thing of ours just a little bit more.
Sykes Wilford
All right, so first, a confession. I am a bad pipesmoker. I've been smoking a pipe for twenty something years, and I'm a mess. I leave pipes in the car, sometimes they end up on the floor of the car. I leave pipes with tobacco in them. I don't know how many pipes I have. They're not organized, I have too many tins of tobacco open all at the same time, and my New Year's Resolution for 2020 is to bring order to my pipe life.
Ted Swearingen
My 2020 pipesmoking resolution is to smoke more bent pipes. As long as I've been a pipesmoker, I have gravitated primarily to straight pipes. I like classics like Lovats and Billiards. And recently I've been turned on to bent pipes in a way that I haven't previously, and I think I'm gonna stick with it for 2020.
Shane Ireland
My 2020 pipe resolutions are two. I have two of them. The first one is to continue to color my Meerschaum pipe. It's the first Meerschaum that I've owned that I've really had a strong connection to. It's an IMP Nosewarmer. I've been smoking it for a couple of months now, and it's starting to develop a really nice character and I really wanna see that through. It's the first time I've really smoked a Meerschaum to the point where it developed a nice color and I'm trying to continue that. My second resolution, and this is one that I really hope other folks who are in my position understand as well or hear me out on. I realized that a lot of the tobacco that I have cellared is well aged at this point, and it needs to get smoked. I need to start cracking open those really old tins. I always have it in my head that I'm saving 'em for a special occasion, but honestly cracking one of those open is a special occasion in and of itself. It's not that hard to find people around here who would enjoy those tobaccos with me, so I'm really trying to do my best to start from the oldest stuff in my cellar and start smoking it while the other stuff catches up.
Mike Flanigan
My first resolution is to stick with a rotation. I constantly go back to my newest pipes, my favorite pipes, and smoke them while my other ones just go by the wayside. So I've thinned out my herd, and I wanna get in a good practice to have a solid rotation. That's it. Number two, I wanna re-explore Latakia tobaccos. They've been so overpowering to me the last few years that I'd stopped smoking them. And recently I had a bowl and I liked it. It came across way different that I remembered, so I wanna re-explore English blends and Latakia.
Andy Wike
My 2020 pipe resolution is sort of more focused on the tobacco side of things this year. So, in previous years, I've wanted to push my rotation in a certain direction or get more Billiards or more bent shapes, but for 2020 I really wanna start focusing more on just understanding tobacco on a greater level. I wanna start using a technique that I used to use back in the day, which was a tasting journal. So just start smoking different blends and writing down my thoughts on them — the highlights, the base notes, what the different components are and how they interplay with each other. Start smoking pure blending tobacco, just straight. It's kind of a daunting task, probably, but just smoking that straight and figuring out what those components do for an individual blend, I think it's gonna be really cool. So that's what I'm looking forward to. And yes, this is all so that I can finally win more Mystery Tobacco Reviews. You guys got me, so. Thanks.
Steve Mawby
First, I'm going to try to expand the number of blends that I smoke. I feel like, in the last year, I really kind of focused on, you know, maybe six or seven blends, and there's just so many other options out there that I haven't really explored. So I'm gonna try to make a conscious effort to expand my blend base a little bit. And then my second resolution is to learn to be a little bit more patient when I'm smoking my pipe. I have a tendency to pack the tobacco before it's completely ready and just kinda light it and light it and light it. I've noticed that, when I take the time and really break the blend up properly, get it prepared, and take the extra time to pack it properly, I just get a much more enjoyable smoke out of it. So I'm gonna try to focus on doing that as I'm trying out my new blends this year. And those are my resolutions.
Truett Smith
My 2020 New Year pipe resolution is to figure out a way to smoke in the shower.
Jeffery Sitts
For 2020, I have a couple pipe resolutions. One of them would be to try to sample new blends, stock up on old favorites, cellar more, and try to get the most out of my tobacco. I'd also like to definitely keep up with my pipe maintenance — cleaning everything and making sure they're still smoking well — then also finding a way to convince my girlfriend that every new pipe I buy is an old one. So, I gotta find a way to do that.
Calvin Miller
My first resolution, and the most important one, is to win the slow smoking competition against Shane Ireland this year in 2020. So I'm coming for you, Shane. And my second one is to smoke more colorful pipes.
Chris Panos
My 2020 New Year's pipe resolutions is going to be to not darken my rim. It's one of my pet peeves, so we'll see how we do this year.
Russ Davison
My 2020 pipe resolution is to find and purchase another Eltang Pencil Shank Liverpool.
Chuck Stanion
It was hard to come up with a resolution. It's always hard for me to come up with resolutions, because that indicates you need some improvement and I'm a perfect specimen. I mean look at me: I'm a perfect physical specimen; my intellect is unequaled. I'm good looking, charming... there's nothing for me to wish for. But I did come up with one thing. I smoke pretty much from morning til night, until I go to sleep. The problem is I don't smoke in my sleep, so I think my resolution for 2020 will be to learn to smoke in my sleep.
Have any pipesmoking resolutions of your own for 2020? Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.
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Comments
Just a couple for me;
1. Get a meerschaum.
2. Get a Scottie Piersel with one of those awesome pencil shanks
3. Try to attend some pipe club gatherings
And finally... I want to lower my nicotine tolerance to a more reasonable level. As it is, I need super high octane blends like the ropes and Gawith dark flakes in the morning. I'd like to get to a point where a regular Virginia or Burley blend satisfies my cravings well enough.
Continue to try more Latakia blends. I have firm footing in the straight Virginia flake category.
Will be trying filter pipes in earnest this year which means acquiring filter pipes in some favorite shapes. I’ve already started with a Peterson Dublin 107. It should be here Tuesday. I intend to continue my Burley adventure by smoking all the other straight Burleys that I’ve yet to try. These are mostly listed as blenders but I think they’re fine just as they are...at least those that I’ve tried.
I, like Shane, will continue to color my meerschaum. I find sharing in its transformation a wonderful and delightful experience. Blessings...
DAVID JAY FEINBERG On January, 12 2020 00:00:00
JANUARY 12, 2020
I STARTED SMOKING A PIPE AS A TEENAGER SOME 70 YEARS AGO ALONG WITH MY FATHER. I STILL HAVE THE FIRST PIPE I BOUGHT WHEN VISITING HAVANA , CUBA, 1954..
MY DOCTOR WILL NOT LET ME SMOKE ANY MORE BUT I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN COLLECTING MEERSCHAUM AND BRIAR PIPES SINCE 1954 AND NOW HAVE A COLLECTION OF OVER 700 PIPES OF ALL MAKES AND STYLES, AND MATERIALS, BRIAR, MEERSCHAUM, CLAYS, PORCELAIN, GLASS, IRON, GOURDS, HOOKAHS, CORN COBS, ETC. SOME DATE BACK TO THE 1800'S.
I BEGAN TO CARVE MY OWN MEERCHAUMS FROM THE "MANX" KITS IN 1972 AND THEY NUMBER ABOUT 30 SO FAR, PLUS ABOUT 20 BRIARS,
DAVID JAY FEINBERG, ARCHITECT,
MIAMI, FLORIDA
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DAVID JAY FEINBERG, ARCHITECT On January, 12 2020 00:00:00
DAVID JAY FEINBERG On January, 12 2020 00:00:00
JANUARY 12, 2020
I STARTED SMOKING A PIPE AS A TEENAGER SOME 70 YEARS AGO ALONG WITH MY FATHER. I STILL HAVE THE FIRST PIPE I BOUGHT WHEN VISITING HAVANA , CUBA, 1954..
MY DOCTOR WILL NOT LET ME SMOKE ANY MORE BUT I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN COLLECTING MEERSCHAUM AND BRIAR PIPES SINCE 1954 AND NOW HAVE A COLLECTION OF OVER 700 PIPES OF ALL MAKES AND STYLES, AND MATERIALS, BRIAR, MEERSCHAUM, CLAYS, PORCELAIN, GLASS, IRON, GOURDS, HOOKAHS, CORN COBS, ETC. SOME DATE BACK TO THE 1800'S.
I BEGAN TO CARVE MY OWN MEERCHAUMS FROM THE "MANX" KITS IN 1972 AND THEY NUMBER ABOUT 30 SO FAR, PLUS ABOUT 20 BRIARS,
DAVID JAY FEINBERG, ARCHITECT,
MIAMI, FLORIDA
That’s amazing, David Feinberg. I have a feeling that your life has been well-lived.
1) Start keeping an impressions/tasting journal - hopefully this will help me concentrate more on refining my palate.
2) Come up with a solid top _ over the next year. I don’t want put a number on it yet. I just want a solid top _ that I can feel comfortable cellaring in earnest.
3) Refine the idea for a custom pipe that I want to have done, and get it done.
3)
1. To smoke as good as Shane Ireland
1. To smoke as good as Shane Ireland
Before I buy a pipe, I’m going to ask myself, “Do you already have this?” I have a passel of bulldogs, authors and other variations on the theme. I like the profile and think this form nicely augments the function of a smoking pipe. I’m not saying I’ll never, ever buy another. More like I’ll think for at least a minute or two before clicking “submit order,”
I concur with the wise words of Mr.Stanion. I too used to begrudge the time it took for personal hygiene because it cut into my pipe smoking time. Since it only takes about 15 minutes to shower, I've convinced myself that like you I can spare that much time every other week or so.
I look forward to your next post, article or rambling rant.
@Bryan Webber That should have been all of our New Year's resolutions! Haha.
Start pipe smoking. I’m particularly interested in St Claude briars since I am French and in Ropp Pipes since M. Ropp and I both have origins in Alsace. I’m not a fan of sweet things though so I wonder what to ‘put in my pipe and smoke it.’
I resolve to try the many tobaccos I have lying around. Then write reviews of them on www.tobaccoreviews.com and to give away the ones I don't care for. Also to give away some of the pipes that I never smoke.
Hike up a mountain, smoke on the way down.