You never forget your first pipe. Here at Smokingpipes, there are plenty of pipe smokers who have memorable stories for how they began their journey in pipes. I recently spoke with Shane Ireland about his first pipe, and he remembered joyfully starting his adventure that turned into a full-fledged career.

Shane's First Pipe

Shane was always drawn to the pipe, even from a very young age. "I had been obsessed with my grandfather's pipes since I was a toddler," he said. "I would always sneak into his office at their house." His grandfather kept a round pipe rack on a desk with a glass jar in the middle full of Prince Albert. He would keep all his pipes there and Shane would play with them.

As soon as he turned 18, he got his first pipe to smoke. "I was determined to start pipe smoking immediately and he gave me all his old pipes — but a handful of them had clearly been repaired after being broken. When I asked what happened to them, he told me that I broke them as a child by accident from playing with them. I have no recollection."

The first pipe shop Shane made a pipe purchase from was Racine & Laramie in San Diego, California. "I bought what's known as a basket pipe," he said, "which is an inexpensive one. It was actually an Irish Seconds System made by Peterson." The shop also stamped their name on the pipe. It was a larger bent Billiard shape. "It was a 312 or something like that and it had an army mount."

I was determined to start pipe smoking immediately

At the time, he didn't know that he was naturally gravitating toward the muscular, classic Peterson aesthetic. After he graduated from high school, it wasn't that long until he wanted to get himself an upgrade. "I went back to Racine & Laramie and the second pipe I bought was a Peterson rusticated System in the 303 shape. Both of my first pipes, and my first most special pipe, were actually Irish-made Peterson pipes." Talk about serendipity.

First Tobaccos

From there, Shane bought a handful of tobaccos from the same pipe shop, which sold a handful of shop blends they mixed themselves. "They would get all the raw tobaccos together and weigh 'em on the old-school scale, blend them up in the tub, and jar 'em up. I tried a handful of their Aromatic selections in the beginning, but the blend that really stuck with me was a blend of theirs called Burley English."

This blend was an English, but instead of being predominantly based on Virginia tobaccos with the addition of Turkish and Latakia, they based it on Burley tobaccos, or air-cured leaf, and then they added Orientals and Latakia. "I smoked it almost exclusively for a long time."

Shane believes that even though English mixtures can be polarizing, since they're strong in flavor, they're actually quite mild in terms of strength and are also extremely forgiving of poor technique. "If you don't really know what you're doing yet — if you're struggling with tongue bite, keeping the blend lit, packing properly, and all that other stuff — I think English mixtures are a great place to start because they're easy to work with."

Fire-cured tobaccos, or Orientals, burn very slowly and coolly, and they afford a lot of flavor without a ton of nicotine. "If you're coming over from cigarette smoking, for example, you don't have to puff a lot on the pipe to feel like you're getting the flavor that you're looking for. It allows you to smoke slower and cooler intuitively without being conscious of it. Also, I've never heard of anybody really getting tongue bite from an English mixture. So they're a great place to start for beginners, and that's where I really got my footing."

I think English mixtures are a great place to start because they're easy to work with

Some of us here started pipe smoking as a result of working at Smokingpipes. Not Shane; He was all in on pipe smoking before he even started here, although the beginning of his pipe smoking was a bit rocky, as it is for most people. "It was challenging," he said. "I got a tiny bit of guidance from an employee who still works there, Joe Gerstner, and then I went home and just muddled through on my own." But one thing was clear: he was met with a newfound passion that would change his life for the better.

"I loved the pipe instantly so much and was determined to get better at it, but it took some doing. My first handful of smokes weren't necessarily great. I liked the flavor and the ritual of it. But like many new smokers, I struggled to keep it lit and to get the packing right." However, he pushed through because he was drawn to the Irish designs. "Ultimately it was the emotional response they elicited that gave me the determination to stick with it and to deal with that learning curve until I got to a point where I was happy and enjoying it regularly. Then I was ready to move on with my journey."

After about a year, he started exploring the world of tinned tobacco. "Joe recommended Mac Baren HH Mature Virginia and McClelland's Frog Morton. Those were the first two tinned tobaccos I ever bought." Shane was a customer of Smokingpipes prior to working here. Of course, in 2014, he joined the team and the rest is history!

Keeping His Passion Alive

When asked what has kept him inspired in this niche hobby, Shane noted his love of the ritual of pipe smoking. "It became something that I looked forward to and that I needed to set time aside for. I was a cigarette smoker, and did a fair bit of experimentation with rolling my own, and that's something that you can step out and do basically anytime you want. But I realized that I liked tobacco and that it was more about flavor for me than anything else."

The world of exploration in pipe smoking was very wide, which appealed to his other interests. "I love tasting things, whether it's trying new foods, beers, wines, and whiskeys. For me, pipe smoking was the perfect marriage of ritual and accoutrement." He also enjoyed the relationships that are formed over time with these permanent objects involved in pipe smoking — pipe, lighter, tamper, and so forth. "You can use them over and over again, and pipes in particular improve over time. I also appreciate the design and the functionality of the actual objects necessary to smoke a pipe."

Pipes & Tobacco Focus

An intriguing aspect of this hobby is that there are some people who prefer focusing on collecting pipes, only smoking one tobacco out of all of them, while others are focusing on tobaccos with a wide variety of tastes, only using a pipe or a handful of them to facilitate that.

I realized that I liked tobacco and that it was more about flavor for me than anything else

"At different points in my life, I've oscillated between being really focused on pipes and being really excited about collecting pipes in a very specific and deliberate manner. I would smoke a handful of the tobaccos that were my favorites and not really think too much about that. Then there were periods where I was really happy with my pipe collection and I was shifting back to exploring different tobaccos and trying new limited editions and all that." Aging tobacco is a whole other aspect of pipe smoking to dive into for the newcomer.

"At the moment, I think I'm more in a pipe phase than a tobacco phase," he said. "I know what my tobacco preferences are and I smoke the same handful of things most of the time. It's about really curating and honing my pipe collection right now."

It's about really curating and honing my pipe collection right now

Advice for First Pipes

Before we finished our conversation, I was curious to know if Shane had any advice to give someone who is just starting out and has yet to select their first pipe, whether from on-site here at Smokingpipes or from a local shop. His advice was twofold:

"First, go for a classic shape. I wouldn't go for something that's too much of a statement, like a big freehand or even a Churchwarden because stuff like that can add to the learning curve. Technically speaking, you're gonna have the easiest time figuring out a straight Billiard or a straight Apple." He did say that if the aesthetic of a bent pipe is something you're drawn to, pick a bent Billiard or another classic shape in a middle-of-the-road size. "Go for a Group Three or Group Four in a medium size because you don't know yet if you prefer small or large chambers."

Medium pipes appeal to a huge group of people, and it's a good jumping off point. "You don't want something that is delicate or small or is gonna smoke shorter than you want, and you also don't want something big and heavy that is not gonna be comfortable to smoke on the go or whatever. I would say specifically chamber wise, you want to be somewhere in the three quarters of an inch diameter and between an inch and a quarter and an inch and a half depth for a sweet spot in size."

go for a classic shape

His second point of advice is much more general, but also important. "Nine times out of 10, when I see somebody picking out a pipe, whether they're experienced or inexperienced, the first thing that they pick up or the first thing that grabs their attention is what they end up choosing. It is far more important that you feel like you want to have a relationship with the pipe than that it's the 'right' size and all that other kind of stuff." If you have an emotional response, you'll reach for it more than you might reach for the fanciest thing in your collection.

"Go with what makes you happy and trust your gut instincts. Don't over complicate it. Don't get something that's gigantic or unwieldy in terms of its design or shape. Try to go for a classic. The way that you learn what you prefer is literally just by letting the pipe choose you that first time."

That's the story of Shane's first pipe and how he got into this niche industry. I'd love to hear your first-pipe story in the comments below! Feel free to share, and for the new pipe smokers looking to get started, I hope this was a helpful and fun way to learn what an expert here at Smokingpipes recommends. Good luck, and enjoy!

Go with what makes you happy and trust your gut instincts