Well guys, the wife is moving a little closer to home soon so I need to give up my can a day dip habit. Scotch is off the table until I finish up my diet shortly, and while I enjoy my cigars I already know what I like in that regard and am waiting on a move to get a nice humidor/cigar area set up in the new place. What would be a good place to start as far an affordable pipe be and where do you all recommend ordering tobacco? I don't mind spending money on hobbies I like, but I like to go the budget route initially before diving fully into new things. as I am probably spending too much on hobbies and what not as it is.

A Missouri Corn Cob would be the most affordable, but IDK I don't care for cobs much. Some do but I like briar and meer- it is just me. Personally I buy my pipes from antique stores, we call them Estate Pipes. Cleaning them up and making them look new(ish) is easy and very rewarding. I rarely pay over 10 bucks for a pipe and I have several Dunhill, Comoy, BBB, ect that would cost $400+ to purchase from a retailer. It takes me on the average about 2-3 hours to make a heavily crusted up pipe look nearly brand new. There are many forums/videos that explain in detail about this. Pipe Magazine Pipe Smoking Forum it one of my favorite as well as The Ivory Smoke Lounge over on Reddit.

With that said what brand would I recommend? Most any, but some come with some peculiarities that you may want to brush up on. Drugstore pipe come to mind here and I am speaking about Dr. Grabow, KBB, Yelo-bole, these are mass produced and normally have screw together fittings with little metal hooks/scoops/balls inside the pipe called stingers. They were used for various marketing purposes and gimmicky. Most were entirely machine made, some partially and the rusticated versions IMHO look terrible. However the briar used on these pipes, certainly the older KBBs are top notch. Regardless they most always are good smokers. The Best news is they can be had for $5!

As one may know pipes have been around forever so knowing a little about the brand helps when trying to ascertain if you have an expensive pipe or one that has a rich history like the KBB Brand. There are many collectors of all makes so the information is at times overwhelming, other times little is known. The large companies sold pipes as off-brands or seconds while some companies have been bought and sold and have moved to several different companies and back again it makes it hard to date your pipe. Here is some good reading to help identify the markings on pipes you may come across Pipephil-Pipe Maker identification


The biggest thing is you need to find the pipes that speaks to YOU. I tend to go for a billiard which is like Bing Crosby's pipes., I have some bents that are very comfortable to clench so it varies. Once you find the pipe that has caught your eye look it over for damage. Large chips, dents, broken bits, cracked bowls, cracks period-skip. Normally when I go hunting I take a flashlight, magnifying glass, and sometimes pipe cleaners, or even a strand of heavy string trimmer line. The first two are self-explanatory, the trimmer line is to check to see if you can easily pass the pipe cleaner through the stem. Failing to do so would indicate blockage or poor construction (or possibly a stinger).  When trying to identify the makers marks I use grease from my nose as it highlights to roll stamp and gives indication of the grain better.

I love to find a giant basket of pipes with a sign that says $8.00 as I always find some gems. When finding the basket I approach it and I look for is drugstore pipes, if I like it I'll set it aside in a pile. After a while you can spot them quickly they usually will have a dull metal washer between the bit and stem. Then I'll look for the branding and segregate them too. Then ones that are unnamed (and many may be) I'll look to where they were made, England, France, Italy are the big three all fine pipes normally.

I gravitate toward European made pipes mostly English and French, however I wouldn't discount an Italian made pipe. Generally if it hallmarked it would be a higher end pipe but again not always. During some points in time the KBB Pipe company sold pipes that surpassed Dunhill pipes in cost by a wide margin. Pipes with Silver bands are generally higher end pipes but also may be repaired as they use silver bands to strengthen a broken/cracked shaft. Most have hallmarks too.

When are you looking at these you will find some are oxidized, dirty, caked up, ect. All easy to get past.  If you find one that has so much build-up that it makes you wonder how it could be smoked that is a good clue it was a good smoker. Some old-timer used the shit out of it for reason. Here is a decent video for Clean-up of an Estate pipe.
He uses a reamer but you can use a knife to cut the cake just make sure you are not digging into the briar I've use children's safety sissors. Heavily caked pipes like his can be soaked in alcohol to loosen the cake.


Making a stem like new requires a trip the auto parts store for some 800/1k/ 2k wet dry sandpaper, micor fiber polishing pad can be had @ Hobby Lobby up to 32k. Polishing compound or carnauba wax.
I soak them in hot water w/Oxiclean and Borax then get to the sanding/polishing after an hour or two, normally I do this right at the start so by the time I am done with the briar it is ready to clean.
The above video maker has 2 more explaining the further detailing of his 2 pipes worth watching.

Or conversely if you find a pipe that you want to send off for a professional cleaning there are those who do this for 30-40 bucks and do a fine job.

Feel free to ask if you have questions. Tobacco choice is another topic of discussion all together. Lots of reading and experimenting to be had there.

Thank you for the very informative post. I'll check into whatever shops may be around, I already have everything I would need to restore something and I'm fairly handy. I know my grandfather had a very nice one but I think my asshat hipster cousins might have snatched it already.

Read the Pipes Magazine forum, lots of really helpful information on that site and a great bunch of folks too.

I think the largest obstacle to clear is choosing one's tobaccos. This can be an endeavor in and of itself but a great journey. Along the way you will find your tastes and preferences may change so don't get rid of any tobacco you might not like at first. Jar it in a Mason jar and store it away. Many times the tobacco gets better as time goes on as it matures and ages. Of course your palette will change as you tire of this and seek more of that.

Tins of blends are pricey, and bulks are affordable but not as flavorful as the same blend in the tin, I guess due to oxidation, idk but to my palette I do not notice a huge difference.

Be aware that much of the tinned tobaccos will be a bit moist so you may want to dry it for 10-15 minutes prior to smoking. Too moist of a tobacco is difficult to keep lit, can lead to gurgling, and worst of all tongue bite. Tongue bite also comes from poor technique too and many new pipe smokers succumb to it. When smoking a pipe once lit and an ember is going, gentle sips as if from a small straw is all that is required. Think small wisps of cool smoke, rather than voluminous clouds.

Keep plenty of absorbent pipe cleaners handy to keep this accumulated moisture in the pipe stem down when you start out. Saliva tends to exasperate the problem too and you may get a nasty slurp A quick run of a pipe cleaner will get you back on track.

Try not to over pack your pipe it takes a bit to get used to depending on the type of tobacco your using. Less is more in some respects.

Enjoy your pipe!