I have switched to smoking tobacco pipes, like my grandad used to

Few weeks back I grabbed a Vauen pipe while on a short stopover in Nuremberg, Germany. Comes with a filter system, and carved out of Briar.
Apparently hand-made in Germany. Loving it, although the requirement to let the briar pipe rest between smokes for at least 24 hrs rapidly forced me to get a second one !

Yesterday I got a IMP Meerschaum pipe, carved out of some sort of "rock" only found in Turkey.
Quite intriguing material, it starts white when brand new, and then builds up a colouring after a while ranging from yellow, to amber or dark chocolate.
The best part is that a Meerschaum pipe does not need to rest, at all. The caveat ? It will break if dropped.

Anyway, also got a few tins of pipe tobaccos. The brand names escape me but one has a light caramel touch while the other one is cherry.
Never been a heavy smoker. A Marlboro pack lasts me 3 to 4 days but now ditched for good. They simply stink !

The whole thing got me at around USD600, not cheap, but then it is a new chapter in my life.
Again, I can't bother with posting darn pics. Too much of a headache for just 2 pipes.

Anyone else made the jump, recently or ages ago ?

Cheers,
Slug

Pipe tobacco is so much better than random brand cigs. I've got 3-4 pipes laying around with a few oz of different pipe tobacco. Some of it is really really good. Some cigars are also really good but not as good as a nice pipe. I only smoke like 1-2 times a year now though. I hate the after taste that lingers in your mouth and on your teeth. But the actual smoking is really good.

Meerschaums do need to rest a bit too, unless you smoke quite hot. The rock will absorb the moisture from your breath, the tobacco, etc. However they're not near as bad as a briar in that regard. I smoke clay pipes, which you can pretty much smoke 24/7 and worst case pop in the oven on the self cleaning cycle.

-Jenrick