There's something about good pipes that just appeals. It's both visual as well as tactile. The visual aspects should be obvious; shapes, textures, colours, and grain. Old wood and fine craftsmanship speak of solid values and civilized comforts.
One can easily imagine a time and place where these things were taken for granted, though still acutely appreciated by those who partook of good tobacco occasionally.
When I was growing up the upstairs living room smelled of a number of things, one of which was, faintly, my dad's pipes. An old-school aroma that combined nicely with books, furniture, drafting equipment, and the fragrances from the apple tree in the courtyard and the garden beyond.
I doubt that modern people will appreciate that; tobacco is rather dreadfully disliked, and mere whisps arouse ire and distaste.
My preferred pipe tobacco when I was a teenager was Balkan Sobranie.
It would generate howls of outrage today.
Outrage is a modern state of mind.
Truth be told, it wasn't the most popular reek in the schoolyard back then either, but most of my classmates stank of dark shag cigarettes anyhow, and I vaguely remember that a hint of patchouli was everpresent somewhere in the background.
Latakia drowned out the funk.
Goes well with coffee.
This fifth pipe is an anomaly. I don't recognize the brand, it's probably a second. And normally panel pipes don't appeal to me. But it benefitted enormously from a clean-up and slow re-breaking in, and it has proven to be an excellent smoke over the years.
Drawing it necessitated lots of squiggles with a variety of brownish hues and off-whites for the highlights, followed by reducing the drawing by over fifty percent. Turned out rather well.
TOBACCO INDEX
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