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Pipe Buying Myths:
Myth: ‘Buy a cheap pipe for your first one, so you haven‘t lost much if you decide you don‘t like it.‘
Reality: Buying an inexpensive pipe as your first pipe is probably a recipe for disaster. While there are well made, inexpensive pipes available, without some experience in what to look for, you are likely to buy a pipe with some serious mechanical problems, which will give you a devil of a time as you try to learn to smoke a pipe.
Myth: Pipes are fashion accessories.
Reality: Pipes are pipes. They are fashioned to smoke tobacco in, not to be an accompaniment to your jacket or tie. They are not shoes or cuff-links. You should buy pipes because you like them, not because they match some outfit you own.
Myth: The shape of your face should determine the type/size of pipe you buy.
Reality: You should buy pipes that you enjoy looking at, holding, and smoking. Who really cares if your face is ‘tall and lean‘ and you prefer squat, fat-bowled pipes. It would be a shame to limit your pipe horizons for such a silly reason.
Myth: Meerschaum pipes are for ‘experienced‘ smokers.
Reality: Meerschaum pipes are somewhat more fragile than a briar pipe, and have different physical properties, but that is no reason not to buy one for your first pipe if that is what you desire.
Next articles: After the smoke has cleared - part I
