opinions on pipes
May 9, 2011 12:10 PM Subscribe
Pipes - hipster wannabe affectation, or classy anachronism?
I realize that this is perhaps a bit chatfiltery, and I hope the question doesn't veer too far into that territory, but I am curious to get a lay of what the general attitude is towards (tobacco) pipes, specifically as smoked by those under 40.
I am not considering taking up the habit, but this topic became the subject of a conversation the other evening, and would like some more input. Myself, I generally think that they look pretty neat and that they smell terrific, though I can't help but think of smoking them in public as something of an affectation akin to wearing a fedora or walking with a cane.
What are your reactions when seeing a younger man with a pipe?
I realize that this is perhaps a bit chatfiltery, and I hope the question doesn't veer too far into that territory, but I am curious to get a lay of what the general attitude is towards (tobacco) pipes, specifically as smoked by those under 40.
I am not considering taking up the habit, but this topic became the subject of a conversation the other evening, and would like some more input. Myself, I generally think that they look pretty neat and that they smell terrific, though I can't help but think of smoking them in public as something of an affectation akin to wearing a fedora or walking with a cane.
What are your reactions when seeing a younger man with a pipe?
In public? Absolutely a twee hipster affectation. Much higher on that scale than a fedora - I'd rank it up there with an elaborately waxed moustache. Do it if you want; if you think it looks neat and smells terrific then more power to you. And certainly the smell's much nicer than cigarettes. But know that what you're doing does set off Hipster Affectation meters.
posted by Tomorrowful at 12:15 PM on May 9, 2011 [13 favorites]
posted by Tomorrowful at 12:15 PM on May 9, 2011 [13 favorites]
That would definitely look like a hipster to me. But then, so would a fedora and/or cane.
posted by monkeys with typewriters at 12:16 PM on May 9, 2011
posted by monkeys with typewriters at 12:16 PM on May 9, 2011
I'd lean towards affected. But it would have to be called in context.
posted by bitdamaged at 12:16 PM on May 9, 2011
posted by bitdamaged at 12:16 PM on May 9, 2011
I smoked a pipe in my youth, at about the same time I would have worn a fedora or carried a cane. They are less addictive than cigarettes, and I liked the way it forced me to sit down and focus for a moment. The fact that a pipe is less convenient is a big part of their benefit.
I had a teacher who kept his old one at his desk in his studio even after he quit filling and liking it, because putting it in his mouth and sucking was an inseparable part of his deep thinking habit.
posted by idiopath at 12:16 PM on May 9, 2011
I had a teacher who kept his old one at his desk in his studio even after he quit filling and liking it, because putting it in his mouth and sucking was an inseparable part of his deep thinking habit.
posted by idiopath at 12:16 PM on May 9, 2011
If you start dissecting everything you do and wear in public based on what other people (real or imaginary) might think of it, you'll pretty much never be able to relax or be your authentic self.
Some people will probably roll their eyes at the sight of a young man with a pipe, but let's face it -- if you're fond of pipe tobacco, then you pretty much need a pipe to enjoy it. I would surely at least notice it, and depending on the person's other characteristics I might have opinions about it. But generally people in public are not noticing you as much as you may think/hope/fear they are.
For what it's worth, a fedora alone isn't enough to completely exile a person from my sight. A cane would be weirder, as it serves no real function unless you need it for something. A cane, fedora AND pipe? Then you're probably in trouble.
posted by hermitosis at 12:17 PM on May 9, 2011 [5 favorites]
Some people will probably roll their eyes at the sight of a young man with a pipe, but let's face it -- if you're fond of pipe tobacco, then you pretty much need a pipe to enjoy it. I would surely at least notice it, and depending on the person's other characteristics I might have opinions about it. But generally people in public are not noticing you as much as you may think/hope/fear they are.
For what it's worth, a fedora alone isn't enough to completely exile a person from my sight. A cane would be weirder, as it serves no real function unless you need it for something. A cane, fedora AND pipe? Then you're probably in trouble.
posted by hermitosis at 12:17 PM on May 9, 2011 [5 favorites]
What are your reactions when seeing a younger man with a pipe?
I immediately picture health-class-style slides of oral cancer.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 12:17 PM on May 9, 2011 [24 favorites]
I immediately picture health-class-style slides of oral cancer.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 12:17 PM on May 9, 2011 [24 favorites]
It's an affectation. The nice thing about affectations, though, is that anybody who likes it will probably say so, and make you feel cool and sexy, while anybody who thinks it's stupid will probably just silently hate you.
posted by theodolite at 12:19 PM on May 9, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by theodolite at 12:19 PM on May 9, 2011 [6 favorites]
What are your reactions when seeing a younger man with a pipe?
Whenever I see a younger person of any gender smoking anything (cigarettes, pipes, cigars) I automatically think they just don't care about their health.
posted by cooker girl at 12:20 PM on May 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
Whenever I see a younger person of any gender smoking anything (cigarettes, pipes, cigars) I automatically think they just don't care about their health.
posted by cooker girl at 12:20 PM on May 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
On the subject of affectation I offer you this timeless quote by RuPaul: "You're born naked and the rest is drag."
posted by hermitosis at 12:23 PM on May 9, 2011 [30 favorites]
posted by hermitosis at 12:23 PM on May 9, 2011 [30 favorites]
There are some other factors at work here too. If I saw you with an elaborately carved meerschaum pipe I wouldn't think "oh what is he trying to pull," I would think "holy crap look at that dude's pipe, there's an entire 3d sailing ship on that thing, can I touch it?"
posted by theodolite at 12:25 PM on May 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by theodolite at 12:25 PM on May 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
Who cares what others think?
you enjoy it that is all that matters (plus I'm considering picking up the pipe as I want to quit cigarettes but not smoking, cigars take too long for a casual smoke).
posted by handbanana at 12:42 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
you enjoy it that is all that matters (plus I'm considering picking up the pipe as I want to quit cigarettes but not smoking, cigars take too long for a casual smoke).
posted by handbanana at 12:42 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
sure beats chew
posted by Postroad at 12:55 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Postroad at 12:55 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
If it were a nice pipe and it fit with the rest of the shtick, it would be the kind of affectation that could tip the scales in the direction of interesting/attractive.
But really, it depends on the rest of your clothing. With an ironic worn t-shirt of the '70s? Hipster d-bag. With a scraggly neckbeard? Crazy person and/or programmer with no social skills who is DIY'ing tabacco. Well groomed with crisp clothing? Classy anachronism.
posted by Gucky at 1:06 PM on May 9, 2011
But really, it depends on the rest of your clothing. With an ironic worn t-shirt of the '70s? Hipster d-bag. With a scraggly neckbeard? Crazy person and/or programmer with no social skills who is DIY'ing tabacco. Well groomed with crisp clothing? Classy anachronism.
posted by Gucky at 1:06 PM on May 9, 2011
Something like this can teach an important lesson. You know people will impose their judgment on it, and if you enjoy it you will be forced to conclude that some people simply do not want you to enjoy yourself outside of the specific set of stylistic mores that happens to be in play right now. This is a good way to decide how much you would like to bow to those social pressures at the expense of the things you want to do (we all do, to a great extent), and where you draw the line and insist on doing what pleases you in spite of the petty policing of norms.
That said, when I see any young person smoking, I think about a future generation of paramedics who will be picking them up for attacks of air-starved late-night respiratory illness, as I pick up their grandparents now.
posted by itstheclamsname at 1:06 PM on May 9, 2011
That said, when I see any young person smoking, I think about a future generation of paramedics who will be picking them up for attacks of air-starved late-night respiratory illness, as I pick up their grandparents now.
posted by itstheclamsname at 1:06 PM on May 9, 2011
Who cares, as long as I'm not trapped in a car with the pipe-smoker....ughhh. My dad used to drive around smoking a pipe (it was a 'thing' for him in the late 70s/early 80s) and he'd only roll his window down like an eighth of an inch. This was in a part of upstate NY where it was perpetually a frozen tundra, so we kids were not allowed to roll down our own windows, lest we catch cold. Inhaling second hand tobacco smoke, though? No big thing!
Also Dad once bought a type of pipe tobacco with the word 'Chocolate' in it. To my small self, all chocolate was obviously supreme deliciousness. What a cosmic letdown to inhale the contents of that bag.
posted by medeine at 1:10 PM on May 9, 2011
Also Dad once bought a type of pipe tobacco with the word 'Chocolate' in it. To my small self, all chocolate was obviously supreme deliciousness. What a cosmic letdown to inhale the contents of that bag.
posted by medeine at 1:10 PM on May 9, 2011
If you care what other people think, it's an affectation.
posted by tommasz at 1:11 PM on May 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by tommasz at 1:11 PM on May 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
Rude, stinky, and posing. Ugh. Would the silent majority of people who don't like the smell say anything? No, probably not.
posted by amtho at 1:15 PM on May 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by amtho at 1:15 PM on May 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
Myself, I generally think that they look pretty neat and that they smell terrific, though I can't help but think of smoking them in public as something of an affectation akin to wearing a fedora or walking with a cane.
More or less. Can't imagine it wouldn't be ridiculous/a serious affectation if they were, say, taking pipe-smoking breaks at work or while walking around, no matter how much it fit with the rest of their schtick. Off the street or in situations where... other smokables might be smoked from other pipes, seems like they'd fit in.
/young dude regularly described as a twee hipster with friends who do this
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 1:19 PM on May 9, 2011
More or less. Can't imagine it wouldn't be ridiculous/a serious affectation if they were, say, taking pipe-smoking breaks at work or while walking around, no matter how much it fit with the rest of their schtick. Off the street or in situations where... other smokables might be smoked from other pipes, seems like they'd fit in.
/young dude regularly described as a twee hipster with friends who do this
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 1:19 PM on May 9, 2011
I am gonna let you in on a thing.
An act or accessory or whatever can only be an affectation if someone else is doing it. Every single person I've ever met who was engaging in the exact same faddish behavior of their contemporaries - whatever that happened to be at the time - would, if asked, explain what their reasons were for having a legitimate claim to it. Sometimes, but not always, they would insist that they were doing it before it was fashionable, and no one believed them but everyone pretended to.
When trucker hats were going on, anyone I knew who wore one declared that others were posers, but they themselves had a legitimate reason and/or background that made it real.
Is it like a cane or a fedora? Not necessarily, because you're actually getting something out of smoking. Can it be? Yes.
If you decide to smoke a pipe - and I know you said you weren't planning to, so subsitute whatever else if you like - and anyone asks you about it, or gives you shit for being a hipster, the only worthwhile response is no response at all. If you're getting into a discussion about the specific reasons it's not an affectation for you to do a thing, you've already lost.
Jhonen Vasquez is an example of this: There is no faster way to convince me you're a goth than constant denials of being one.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 1:23 PM on May 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
An act or accessory or whatever can only be an affectation if someone else is doing it. Every single person I've ever met who was engaging in the exact same faddish behavior of their contemporaries - whatever that happened to be at the time - would, if asked, explain what their reasons were for having a legitimate claim to it. Sometimes, but not always, they would insist that they were doing it before it was fashionable, and no one believed them but everyone pretended to.
When trucker hats were going on, anyone I knew who wore one declared that others were posers, but they themselves had a legitimate reason and/or background that made it real.
Is it like a cane or a fedora? Not necessarily, because you're actually getting something out of smoking. Can it be? Yes.
If you decide to smoke a pipe - and I know you said you weren't planning to, so subsitute whatever else if you like - and anyone asks you about it, or gives you shit for being a hipster, the only worthwhile response is no response at all. If you're getting into a discussion about the specific reasons it's not an affectation for you to do a thing, you've already lost.
Jhonen Vasquez is an example of this: There is no faster way to convince me you're a goth than constant denials of being one.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 1:23 PM on May 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
Maybe this is a stereotype ingrained in me by watching TV images of men in smoking jackets in richly-appointed rooms (okay, fine, Cookie Monster in Monsterpiece Theater), but in my mind pipes are a sit-down smoke. You smoke them in your posh study, or on your porch, or maybe on an outdoor bench if smoking's allowed and you're not making anyone cough.
If we're sitting in your living room and you ask if you can smoke your pipe in my presence, I'll think "ahh, a pipe. As far as tobacco consumption goes, that's on the classy side." If you're standing up outside a building puffing away on a pipe, or walking down the sidewalk, that'd look pretty weird and incongruous.
Also, I would probably wonder if you're one of those steampunk guys.
posted by Metroid Baby at 1:26 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
If we're sitting in your living room and you ask if you can smoke your pipe in my presence, I'll think "ahh, a pipe. As far as tobacco consumption goes, that's on the classy side." If you're standing up outside a building puffing away on a pipe, or walking down the sidewalk, that'd look pretty weird and incongruous.
Also, I would probably wonder if you're one of those steampunk guys.
posted by Metroid Baby at 1:26 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
There was a guy I knew in college who used to live in the apartment above me. He wore ascot ties, smoked a pipe, and wrote all his school papers on an ancient typewriter instead of a computer. The typewriter reverberated through his metal desk into the ceiling of my bedroom causing a constant WHAPPITY WHAPPITY WHAP to echo through my room whenever he was writing. The day I went up to his place to ask him to please accept my offer of felt pads to put under the legs of his desk, he answered the door in a smoking jacket holding a brandy snifter.
I wanted to punch him in the face.
Every time I see a young dude smoking a pipe in public, I assume it's secretly my typewriter guy wearing a disguise, and I want to punch him in the face.
posted by phunniemee at 1:27 PM on May 9, 2011 [7 favorites]
I wanted to punch him in the face.
Every time I see a young dude smoking a pipe in public, I assume it's secretly my typewriter guy wearing a disguise, and I want to punch him in the face.
posted by phunniemee at 1:27 PM on May 9, 2011 [7 favorites]
tommasz: "If you care what other people think, it's an affectation"
This standard is unmitigated bullshit.
I wear clothes outside the house because I care what other people think. I bring a woman flowers because I care what that woman thinks. The criticism "it is done because of what others think", when used, is actually pointing at something else entirely: that someone is displaying the fact that they simultaneously care what others think and would like to see how people respond to something unusual. There are ways to criticize this, but "caring what others think" is not the way to do it.
The fact that we care what others think is one of the most awesome praiseworthy things about being human.
posted by idiopath at 1:30 PM on May 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
This standard is unmitigated bullshit.
I wear clothes outside the house because I care what other people think. I bring a woman flowers because I care what that woman thinks. The criticism "it is done because of what others think", when used, is actually pointing at something else entirely: that someone is displaying the fact that they simultaneously care what others think and would like to see how people respond to something unusual. There are ways to criticize this, but "caring what others think" is not the way to do it.
The fact that we care what others think is one of the most awesome praiseworthy things about being human.
posted by idiopath at 1:30 PM on May 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
Me?
I think "Oh look, a guy with a pipe, what a douchebag. Well, I shouldn't say that— why does smoking a pipe make him a douchebag? Because it's an affectation and he's just looking for attention. But surely there's someone in the world that enjoys pipe smoking, and what are they supposed to do? Not smoke pipes? But it's not just that he's smoking; it's that he's wearing that silly pair of jeans. I wonder what brand of jeans that is, because I could really use another nice pair. Maybe I should ask him. If I approached him, do you think he'd be able to tell that I dislike his pipe? Wait a second, I'm not even sure that I dislike his pipe. It's ridiculous to avoid having a conversation with someone because you think you might dislike them based on something they're doing. Is that what the world is coming to? Why are we all so disconnected? (Settle down grandpa, you're only 22.) That's like those people who never sit next to anybody on the buses because they are afraid of having a conversation. But I don't sit next to anybody on the buses. Well yeah, but not because I don't want to have a conversation; I just want to give people their space. You're just saying that. No, I'm not. Fuck off. Can we talk about the jeans again?"
So I would say just go for it if you like pipes.
Full disclosure: I once bought moustache wax.
posted by yaymukund at 1:32 PM on May 9, 2011 [11 favorites]
I think "Oh look, a guy with a pipe, what a douchebag. Well, I shouldn't say that— why does smoking a pipe make him a douchebag? Because it's an affectation and he's just looking for attention. But surely there's someone in the world that enjoys pipe smoking, and what are they supposed to do? Not smoke pipes? But it's not just that he's smoking; it's that he's wearing that silly pair of jeans. I wonder what brand of jeans that is, because I could really use another nice pair. Maybe I should ask him. If I approached him, do you think he'd be able to tell that I dislike his pipe? Wait a second, I'm not even sure that I dislike his pipe. It's ridiculous to avoid having a conversation with someone because you think you might dislike them based on something they're doing. Is that what the world is coming to? Why are we all so disconnected? (Settle down grandpa, you're only 22.) That's like those people who never sit next to anybody on the buses because they are afraid of having a conversation. But I don't sit next to anybody on the buses. Well yeah, but not because I don't want to have a conversation; I just want to give people their space. You're just saying that. No, I'm not. Fuck off. Can we talk about the jeans again?"
So I would say just go for it if you like pipes.
Full disclosure: I once bought moustache wax.
posted by yaymukund at 1:32 PM on May 9, 2011 [11 favorites]
What are your reactions when seeing a younger man with a pipe?
What a loser. / What an idiot. Especially those smoking (tobacco!) in hookahs.
posted by Rash at 1:34 PM on May 9, 2011
What a loser. / What an idiot. Especially those smoking (tobacco!) in hookahs.
posted by Rash at 1:34 PM on May 9, 2011
If it's a glass "water pipe" I ask him to share.
Otherwise, I think it's a stinky, gross affectation.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 1:45 PM on May 9, 2011
Otherwise, I think it's a stinky, gross affectation.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 1:45 PM on May 9, 2011
Since deletion has stifled my attempt to answer with what I considered to be suitable indirection, I'm forced to be more explicit to make my point.
Smoking a pipe in public is a practice denied to women by custom and current opinion.
Taking up a pipe would have an overtone of assertion of male privilege literally in the faces of the women you might encounter as you indulge yourself, rather like a more genteel version of Rush Limbaugh's cigars.
Don't do it.
posted by jamjam at 1:56 PM on May 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
Smoking a pipe in public is a practice denied to women by custom and current opinion.
Taking up a pipe would have an overtone of assertion of male privilege literally in the faces of the women you might encounter as you indulge yourself, rather like a more genteel version of Rush Limbaugh's cigars.
Don't do it.
posted by jamjam at 1:56 PM on May 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
My husband and his friends do smoke pipes now and then. They collect nice gear and buy nice tobacco. Rather than strutting around with them, smoking them on fixed-gear bicycles while wearing ironic mustaches*, they tend to smoke them occasionally after dinner at somebody's house, talking out out on the porch with some good liquor. It's sort of a comforting, social thing. While I'm usually not hot on tobacco consumption, it's very occasional, and I like the smell. I am in favor.
*Having said that, if you do want to smoke a pipe on a fixed-gear bicycle while wearing an ironic moustache, I think you should do so with gusto. I dislike the idea of allowing someone else's judgements or opinions keep you from doing something you enjoy, whether that involves dressing like a hipster or wearing non-ironic elastic waist, acid-washed mom jeans out on the town. Who cares? Do what makes you happy.
posted by anonnymoose at 1:57 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
*Having said that, if you do want to smoke a pipe on a fixed-gear bicycle while wearing an ironic moustache, I think you should do so with gusto. I dislike the idea of allowing someone else's judgements or opinions keep you from doing something you enjoy, whether that involves dressing like a hipster or wearing non-ironic elastic waist, acid-washed mom jeans out on the town. Who cares? Do what makes you happy.
posted by anonnymoose at 1:57 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
I am under 40. Several times a year, particularly in the winter I enjoy smoking a pipe...on my relatively private porch, because I very much enjoy pipe tobacco, and am lucky to have a phenomenal tobacconist nearby. Occasionally I'll enjoy my pipe with a couple (nerdy, foodie, and taste-obsessed) friends with some whiskey after a meal.
But if i saw someone outside a dive bar going out for a 'smoke' and lit up a pipe? I'd probably poke some fun at someone trying too hard. But i'm an asshole, and kind of hypocrite.
posted by furnace.heart at 2:02 PM on May 9, 2011
But if i saw someone outside a dive bar going out for a 'smoke' and lit up a pipe? I'd probably poke some fun at someone trying too hard. But i'm an asshole, and kind of hypocrite.
posted by furnace.heart at 2:02 PM on May 9, 2011
I am firmly in the Wanker affectation camp. Especially if the pipe is being smoked in front of others. Not so much if its done by ones self with a good glass of whiskey but only less so, not entirely unaffected wankerdom.
posted by fenriq at 2:17 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by fenriq at 2:17 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Not as foul as cigars, but nastier than cigarettes. Stay home with it.
posted by Carol Anne at 2:24 PM on May 9, 2011
posted by Carol Anne at 2:24 PM on May 9, 2011
I would think it was a hipsterish affectation, more or less so dependent on context, but probably because I'm a jerk I would get a small amount of satisfaction over feeling you were an affected hipster and it would amuse me. I say as long as you're in an appropriate and well ventelated place you should go for it.
Its also kind of awful that you can't do something you would derive pleasure from just because people like me are jerks and its way less of an affectation than a cane, provided you don't need one for mobility purposes, because I'm going to assume you like smoking a pipe.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 2:32 PM on May 9, 2011
Its also kind of awful that you can't do something you would derive pleasure from just because people like me are jerks and its way less of an affectation than a cane, provided you don't need one for mobility purposes, because I'm going to assume you like smoking a pipe.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 2:32 PM on May 9, 2011
I have no horse in this, but why can't cost be a valid reason to smoke a pipe? Pipe tobacco is cheaper than cigarettes, and not everyone wants to buy rolling papers and roll their own.
posted by naju at 2:44 PM on May 9, 2011
posted by naju at 2:44 PM on May 9, 2011
I think of my maternal grandfather who died of throat and jaw cancer without meeting any of his many grandchildren.
posted by bonehead at 3:14 PM on May 9, 2011
posted by bonehead at 3:14 PM on May 9, 2011
I'm tolerant of older people smoking (anything) the way I'm tolerant of discrimination in classical literature. It was the dark ages, they didn't know any better, and now they're somewhat stuck with it.
When I see young people doing it I just have a "Really??" moment.
posted by anaelith at 3:17 PM on May 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
When I see young people doing it I just have a "Really??" moment.
posted by anaelith at 3:17 PM on May 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
I feel you on this one. I'm long-time, constantly-quitting smoker of cigarettes who finds it more difficult to give up the actual activity of smoking than the substance of nicotine-- as proven to my personal satisfaction by the fact that even when nicotine-patching AND chewing nicotine gum I have still succumbed to the urge to smoke cigarettes when I felt it was warrented by the occasion. Because of this I've long wanted to attempt a transition from cigarettes to a pipe. It smells so much less repulsive and there's even more of a ritual associated with the activity, which is a large part of what I find appealing about smoking in the first place.
On the other hand, as you note, there is such a stigma attached to it these days in terms of it being perceived as an affectation. Because of this, I've been unable to bring myself to do it despite the fact that I recently turned 40 ( which, theoretically, should make it totally acceptable, right). I still can't do it, though. I guess I'm just too damn chickenshit to open myself up to the potential for that kind of ridicule.
Except, of course, there really won't be much ridicule at all. Mostly people won't really give a shit. Except the haters of course. But you know what their compulsion is. Despite that, I still can't bring myself to do it. I'm just that much of a wuss. So if you can, absolutely fucking do it. Fuck the haters. Be the brave man I can't. Do it for yourself! Do it for me! Just don't do it if you think it's going to impress people, because I'm probably the only one who you'll be impressing.
nastier than cigarettes
See now this is simply not true. One of the primary reasons to smoke a pipe is that it's significantly less yucky than cigarettes, both to the smoker and those around him or her. Yeah, yeah, it's subjective and opinions differ but you're still wrong.
posted by dersins at 3:19 PM on May 9, 2011
On the other hand, as you note, there is such a stigma attached to it these days in terms of it being perceived as an affectation. Because of this, I've been unable to bring myself to do it despite the fact that I recently turned 40 ( which, theoretically, should make it totally acceptable, right). I still can't do it, though. I guess I'm just too damn chickenshit to open myself up to the potential for that kind of ridicule.
Except, of course, there really won't be much ridicule at all. Mostly people won't really give a shit. Except the haters of course. But you know what their compulsion is. Despite that, I still can't bring myself to do it. I'm just that much of a wuss. So if you can, absolutely fucking do it. Fuck the haters. Be the brave man I can't. Do it for yourself! Do it for me! Just don't do it if you think it's going to impress people, because I'm probably the only one who you'll be impressing.
nastier than cigarettes
See now this is simply not true. One of the primary reasons to smoke a pipe is that it's significantly less yucky than cigarettes, both to the smoker and those around him or her. Yeah, yeah, it's subjective and opinions differ but you're still wrong.
posted by dersins at 3:19 PM on May 9, 2011
relaxing in an armchair, with a drink & something to read, smoking a pipe is one of the top 10 solitary pleasures. Outside the house, especially walking, is crass. I grew up in the 60s and 70s when people actually smoked pipes, and pipe smoking is restricted to a limited list of environments.
What I think would be cool is for you to privatley enjoy smoking your pipe, not do it in public, only at home. You could drop meaningful comments like, I need to stop at my tobacconist. Or carry arcane tools and brass lighters in your pocket. Then if people ask you, What is that pointed stick? You could say, It's a tamper" with an air of nonchalant disdain.
posted by ohshenandoah at 3:24 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
What I think would be cool is for you to privatley enjoy smoking your pipe, not do it in public, only at home. You could drop meaningful comments like, I need to stop at my tobacconist. Or carry arcane tools and brass lighters in your pocket. Then if people ask you, What is that pointed stick? You could say, It's a tamper" with an air of nonchalant disdain.
posted by ohshenandoah at 3:24 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
One of the primary reasons to smoke a pipe is that it's significantly less yucky than cigarettes, both to the smoker and those around him or her.
Those railing against second-hand smoke would disagree with you because most cigarette smokers are inhaling their smoke, thereby not only getting that nicotine rush, but also filtering the smoke so it's much less potent. Cigar and tobacco pipe smokers generally are not inhaling (which makes cigarette smokers think, "Why do they bother?") so their smoke is more potent (although yes, pipe smoke can be more fragrant).
posted by Rash at 3:43 PM on May 9, 2011
Those railing against second-hand smoke would disagree with you because most cigarette smokers are inhaling their smoke, thereby not only getting that nicotine rush, but also filtering the smoke so it's much less potent. Cigar and tobacco pipe smokers generally are not inhaling (which makes cigarette smokers think, "Why do they bother?") so their smoke is more potent (although yes, pipe smoke can be more fragrant).
posted by Rash at 3:43 PM on May 9, 2011
Smoking a pipe in public is a practice denied to women by custom and current opinion.
Of my two friends that smoke pipes, one is a woman. Neither one of my friends does it as an affectation.
I tend to think, in general, that the more people in the world looking interesting and doing unusual stuff the better. Homogeneity is boring. Unless you're doing stuff that is pretty likely to be annoying, like playing your trombone on a BART train, I'm willing to give a body the benefit of the doubt as far as affectation goes.
posted by oneirodynia at 3:54 PM on May 9, 2011
Of my two friends that smoke pipes, one is a woman. Neither one of my friends does it as an affectation.
I tend to think, in general, that the more people in the world looking interesting and doing unusual stuff the better. Homogeneity is boring. Unless you're doing stuff that is pretty likely to be annoying, like playing your trombone on a BART train, I'm willing to give a body the benefit of the doubt as far as affectation goes.
posted by oneirodynia at 3:54 PM on May 9, 2011
Now that I live in a small town, I have no idea what the kids are up to these days. But if I saw a young man with a pipe, I would think "Oh, there's a young man with a pipe. I like that smell." And then go about my day.
posted by sugarbomb at 4:04 PM on May 9, 2011
posted by sugarbomb at 4:04 PM on May 9, 2011
Taking up a pipe would have an overtone of assertion of male privilege literally in the faces of the women you might encounter as you indulge yourself, rather like a more genteel version of Rush Limbaugh's cigars.
All the females who read and/or are featured in Cigar Aficionado might take issue with this argument.
posted by hermitosis at 4:39 PM on May 9, 2011
All the females who read and/or are featured in Cigar Aficionado might take issue with this argument.
posted by hermitosis at 4:39 PM on May 9, 2011
I like the smell, but all I can think about when I see someone smoking a pipe is the precancerous lesions my ex had on his tongue from pipe smoking.
When he stopped, they went away.
Whatever you gain from smoking anything had better be worth the health risk involved. It's hard for me to see how that can be the case, but I'm not you.
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 5:00 PM on May 9, 2011
When he stopped, they went away.
Whatever you gain from smoking anything had better be worth the health risk involved. It's hard for me to see how that can be the case, but I'm not you.
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 5:00 PM on May 9, 2011
When I see some hip youngster of 21 doing something anachronistic I think two things:
a) "Awwww, that's sweet."
b) "Awww, they have no idea how sweet they are."
Once I saw a student at an entomology conference I was at - he was wearing a monocle. It was lovely and quite charming, if slightly self-aware. So in answer to your question, if I saw a pipe smoker I would probably think "What's that nice smell... it reminds me of my grandfather... woah, a pipe! COOL!".
posted by Alice Russel-Wallace at 5:06 PM on May 9, 2011
a) "Awwww, that's sweet."
b) "Awww, they have no idea how sweet they are."
Once I saw a student at an entomology conference I was at - he was wearing a monocle. It was lovely and quite charming, if slightly self-aware. So in answer to your question, if I saw a pipe smoker I would probably think "What's that nice smell... it reminds me of my grandfather... woah, a pipe! COOL!".
posted by Alice Russel-Wallace at 5:06 PM on May 9, 2011
My father used to smoke pipes. He kept a corner in our house that bounded an easy chair and side table within reach of a small cabinet that held his pipe rack and several small drawers for assorted tobacco blends and sundry cleaning supplies. He never smoked cigarettes but had enjoyed his pipes well before I was born, at which point he was younger than I am now - in his twenties. In my memories his pipe was a companion to a book, which he'd read and set aside on the table, and I can still close my eyes and recall leafing through those books and smell the thick paper and binding glue infused with tobacco. When I get a waft of pipe smoke now I can't help but enjoy it, while aware that I'm completely biased by nostalgia.
Obviously, times have changed. Smoking back then offered a degree of personal satisfaction that you could indulge in without much judgment. This is not the case anymore. Smoking in public today is taboo, and a young person smoking with a somewhat anachronistic implement would suggest that person is at best either aloof and/or insensitive, and at worst being deliberately provocative.
posted by krippledkonscious at 5:47 PM on May 9, 2011
Obviously, times have changed. Smoking back then offered a degree of personal satisfaction that you could indulge in without much judgment. This is not the case anymore. Smoking in public today is taboo, and a young person smoking with a somewhat anachronistic implement would suggest that person is at best either aloof and/or insensitive, and at worst being deliberately provocative.
posted by krippledkonscious at 5:47 PM on May 9, 2011
Depends a little on whether they're "doing it right," what kind of tobacco they're smoking (some 'old man' cheap stuff or something nice), and in what situation (smoke pit? Ha Ha!).
I used to enjoy pipe tobacco in my college days, in addition to cigarettes. This was when/where smoking indoors was allowed in 50% of all places - I'd enjoy a pipe as a bit of "slow down time." Usually with an alcoholic drink that's more expensive than I'd drink to get drunk and a good book or good conversation. Second hand smoke was enjoyed by all (smokers and non-smokers). Hey, it smells better than most incense.
Actually saved me from a second marijuana possession charge; I got arrested the day-after-the-fact on a "reckless use firearms/explosive" charge. Neighbour down the hall who didn't like me told the cops that I had a pipe and marijuana in my room. Cop went in, saw the tobacco pipe and pipe tobacco and came down to the squad car to tell me that I was the first person ever to claim that it was pipe tobacco and it turning out to be true. Actually, I did have a baggie and a glass pipe in my room, too. Friend neighbour came into my unlocked dorm room and relieved it of anything potentially criminal before the cop returned.
A monocle?! Really?
Wow.
posted by porpoise at 7:19 PM on May 9, 2011
I used to enjoy pipe tobacco in my college days, in addition to cigarettes. This was when/where smoking indoors was allowed in 50% of all places - I'd enjoy a pipe as a bit of "slow down time." Usually with an alcoholic drink that's more expensive than I'd drink to get drunk and a good book or good conversation. Second hand smoke was enjoyed by all (smokers and non-smokers). Hey, it smells better than most incense.
Actually saved me from a second marijuana possession charge; I got arrested the day-after-the-fact on a "reckless use firearms/explosive" charge. Neighbour down the hall who didn't like me told the cops that I had a pipe and marijuana in my room. Cop went in, saw the tobacco pipe and pipe tobacco and came down to the squad car to tell me that I was the first person ever to claim that it was pipe tobacco and it turning out to be true. Actually, I did have a baggie and a glass pipe in my room, too. Friend neighbour came into my unlocked dorm room and relieved it of anything potentially criminal before the cop returned.
A monocle?! Really?
Wow.
posted by porpoise at 7:19 PM on May 9, 2011
As a means of slowing down tobacco consumption (because of all the business involved, and maybe because it's less enjoyable than cigarettes), pipe smoking appears to be effective. My husband smokes sad tobacco in a pipe when he smokes at all now. I'd bet many pipe-smokers you see are not embracing pipe culture, but are trying to quit smoking by adopting a difficult and unpleasant method of consumption. Or at least one of them is (that is to say, my husband).
On the other hand, pipes are appealing. In "Among the Pipemen", Andrew Martin deliberates becoming the kind of pipe smoker he admired as a boy.
posted by Francolin at 7:54 PM on May 9, 2011
On the other hand, pipes are appealing. In "Among the Pipemen", Andrew Martin deliberates becoming the kind of pipe smoker he admired as a boy.
posted by Francolin at 7:54 PM on May 9, 2011
You shouldn't care what others think of you, except...
Like hell am I going to sleep with someone who smokes a pipe.
This may or may not be a problem- you may or may not want to sleep with me- but my guess is that picking up this habit will mean fewer people will want to sleep with you, and not that more people want to sleep with you. Should this be among your goals, you may want to consider that.
posted by jenlovesponies at 9:06 PM on May 9, 2011
Like hell am I going to sleep with someone who smokes a pipe.
This may or may not be a problem- you may or may not want to sleep with me- but my guess is that picking up this habit will mean fewer people will want to sleep with you, and not that more people want to sleep with you. Should this be among your goals, you may want to consider that.
posted by jenlovesponies at 9:06 PM on May 9, 2011
My father was a pipe smoker, too, and I have subsequently grown to like the smell of pipe tobacco quite a bit. I don't smoke at all but sometimes I entertain the idea of purchasing a beginner's pipe and some tobacco, just to try it out. Smoking a pipe seems to have some nicely contemplative aspects to it, not unlike classical shaving or grinding fresh coffee by hand. These things might be anachronistic to some, but in many ways they are superior to their more modern counterparts (cigarettes, cartridge razors, pre-ground).
posted by Orchestra at 11:30 PM on May 9, 2011
posted by Orchestra at 11:30 PM on May 9, 2011
The guy who works at the liquor store on the corner smokes a pipe. I wouldn't call him a hipster, but he does look like a bit of a goober out there with it, and I get the sense that he'd rather be getting high even though he's always dressed in business casual.
But he's not doing it for fashion, which is pretty much the only way to not look like a hipster douchebag with, well anything.
Unless you're cool enough to pull it off, in which case, start up your Fuckyeahwatson.tumblr and get your briar pipe on.
posted by klangklangston at 11:39 PM on May 9, 2011
But he's not doing it for fashion, which is pretty much the only way to not look like a hipster douchebag with, well anything.
Unless you're cool enough to pull it off, in which case, start up your Fuckyeahwatson.tumblr and get your briar pipe on.
posted by klangklangston at 11:39 PM on May 9, 2011
See also the comments on this FPP.
Personally, I don't get the weird "It's OK, but only if you're at home in a windowless room because if another human being catches a glimpse of you smoking a pipe then you're a pretentious hipster douchebag" mindset. The only differing factor in those two scenarios is the person doing the judging, not the person doing the smoking.
The thing with pipe smoking is that it involves fussing and accoutrements (take out a tobacco pouch fill the pipe, light it, tamp it down, relight it, smoke for a while, tamp again, maybe run a pipe cleaner down the stem every once in a while, etc.) and in that sense I agree that it doesn't really lend itself to smoking in public in the 21st century.
When people could smoke inside (at desks, behind store counters, whatever), fumbling would have been minimized, since all of that stuff would have just been laying around within reach. But nowadays? The only time/place people are allowed to smoke most places is outside on a smoke break, and I'll grant that someone rushing to get a pipe filled, lit, smoked, extinguished, and paraphernalia put away in ten minutes would be a little silly (and counterproductive, if the purpose of said smoke break is to relax.)
posted by usonian at 7:08 AM on May 10, 2011
Personally, I don't get the weird "It's OK, but only if you're at home in a windowless room because if another human being catches a glimpse of you smoking a pipe then you're a pretentious hipster douchebag" mindset. The only differing factor in those two scenarios is the person doing the judging, not the person doing the smoking.
The thing with pipe smoking is that it involves fussing and accoutrements (take out a tobacco pouch fill the pipe, light it, tamp it down, relight it, smoke for a while, tamp again, maybe run a pipe cleaner down the stem every once in a while, etc.) and in that sense I agree that it doesn't really lend itself to smoking in public in the 21st century.
When people could smoke inside (at desks, behind store counters, whatever), fumbling would have been minimized, since all of that stuff would have just been laying around within reach. But nowadays? The only time/place people are allowed to smoke most places is outside on a smoke break, and I'll grant that someone rushing to get a pipe filled, lit, smoked, extinguished, and paraphernalia put away in ten minutes would be a little silly (and counterproductive, if the purpose of said smoke break is to relax.)
posted by usonian at 7:08 AM on May 10, 2011
Ok, I can't help myself but chime in on this one even though the thread is almost beyond readable length at this point.
I am in favor of pipe smoking in general and think it can be classy and fun in the same way churning your own butter is classy and fun:
1. The process itself requires you slow down and do something methodically. I support rituals.
2. It allows you to potentially appreciate an artisanal product (a good tobacco, a well-made pipe.)
3. It has an obvious aesthetic appeal. I support nostalgic acts that make people feel connected to people, places or time periods that may no longer exist.
My boyfriend and a couple of his friends like to occasionally "smoke pipes" as a recreational activity. Like, "Hey, you want to go to the park and smoke pipes?" I fully support it and I think it's cute.
They are, inherently, an affectation (they are harder to procure and more fiddly to enjoy than cigarrettes or rolling your own) but that is not necessarily a bad thing, unless you try to pretend it's not an affectation. Then you're just a silly snobby hipster.
posted by dahliachewswell at 7:47 AM on May 10, 2011
I am in favor of pipe smoking in general and think it can be classy and fun in the same way churning your own butter is classy and fun:
1. The process itself requires you slow down and do something methodically. I support rituals.
2. It allows you to potentially appreciate an artisanal product (a good tobacco, a well-made pipe.)
3. It has an obvious aesthetic appeal. I support nostalgic acts that make people feel connected to people, places or time periods that may no longer exist.
My boyfriend and a couple of his friends like to occasionally "smoke pipes" as a recreational activity. Like, "Hey, you want to go to the park and smoke pipes?" I fully support it and I think it's cute.
They are, inherently, an affectation (they are harder to procure and more fiddly to enjoy than cigarrettes or rolling your own) but that is not necessarily a bad thing, unless you try to pretend it's not an affectation. Then you're just a silly snobby hipster.
posted by dahliachewswell at 7:47 AM on May 10, 2011
To me it's like anything else: if you're doing it because you genuinely like it (rather than as an affectation) then it's fine. There's no doubt that smoking a pipe is a different experience from smoking cigars or cigarettes. The tobacco tastes and smells different; the feel of the pipe in the mouth and in the hand is different and the rituals of preparing, cleaning etc are different. I can see the appeal.
My father smoked a pipe his whole adult life and the pleasure it gave him was unmistakeable. He was never happier than when he had a pipe going. I find it impossible to decry anything that gives as much pleasure as that habit gave him.
posted by Decani at 11:32 AM on May 10, 2011
My father smoked a pipe his whole adult life and the pleasure it gave him was unmistakeable. He was never happier than when he had a pipe going. I find it impossible to decry anything that gives as much pleasure as that habit gave him.
posted by Decani at 11:32 AM on May 10, 2011
They are, inherently, an affectation (they are harder to procure and more fiddly to enjoy than cigarrettes or rolling your own) but that is not necessarily a bad thing, unless you try to pretend it's not an affectation. Then you're just a silly snobby hipster.
Excellent point.
posted by gjc at 7:51 PM on May 10, 2011
Excellent point.
posted by gjc at 7:51 PM on May 10, 2011
I think they look cool.
However, I own both a fedora and a flatcap/cabbie's cap, and wear them both out in public (not at once). And though I run with the 'hipster wanker' set, I haven't seen many pipes. So YMMV.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 9:44 PM on May 10, 2011
However, I own both a fedora and a flatcap/cabbie's cap, and wear them both out in public (not at once). And though I run with the 'hipster wanker' set, I haven't seen many pipes. So YMMV.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 9:44 PM on May 10, 2011
Just had to say, I'm too old to be aware that pretentious pipe puffing is a thing among the youngs, so when I saw a guy who looked about 22 smoking a pipe on the street the other day, I actually burst out laughing on the sidewalk. He looked like such a twat. It wasn't a regular straight pipe, like my old dude pipe smoker friends use, but a curved Sherlock Holmes type deal. I felt a little bad about being so instantly derisive, and I reminded myself of the unfortunate hairstyles of my own youth in an attempt to find slack to cut him, but I couldn't get past the twattage.
posted by CunningLinguist at 7:18 AM on May 28, 2011
posted by CunningLinguist at 7:18 AM on May 28, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by infinitywaltz at 12:13 PM on May 9, 2011 [8 favorites]