Comments on: The King of Pipes: The Meerschaum

By: Jer

Jer — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 22:55:38 +0000

Two pieces of advice. 1. When examining a meerschaum pipe at a tobacconist, handle it by the stem, not the bowl. Meerschaum is discolored by skin oils, and handling a fine meerschaum by the bowl will mark you as a looky-loo and may even earn you a reprimand from the proprietor.

2. Please, whatever you do, don’t smoke a pipe! Please also don’t ride motorcycles, engage in rock climbing or skydiving, drink fine beer, wine or spirits, eat red meat, especially grilled, or sour cream on your baked potato. By all means, please lecture every man you encounter to avoid said harmful vices. Since said men probably have no idea there are risks involved with those foolhardy activities, you’ll be educating them and changing their behavior, and they’ll thank you for it!

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 23:46:30 +0000

Let’s not kid ourselves by trying to prove that tobacco has no effects on our health, gentlemen. It does. That shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone old enough to read. That being said, what is surprising to me is that so many of those posting comments mention that fact. As manly men choosing to read a website which endeavours to encourage our mature, informed and downright manly independence of thought and deed, are we not able to at least discuss pipe design without ‘reading all the warnings labels’ first? Please, gentlemen, let’s not use every mention of the word ‘tobacco’ to launch into a public heath announcement. If you don’t want to smoke, don’t.
PS there is a study (I’ll look up the reference and post it on a diferent site of your choosing if anyone really wants to start a p*ssing competition) which actually showed that occasional pipe smokers lived slightly longer, on average, than non-smokers. Probably because they were too relaxed and mellowed out to suffer from stress-related heart disease. Just sayin’.

By: Drew

Drew — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 18:45:49 +0000

Who ever would have thought there would be so many milquetoasts commenting at a website called The Art of Manliness? A full third of these comments are sissy tobacco “warnings”. Yes tobacco kills, and that is manly. From pugilism to camping to wet-shaving to hunting, most manly activities mandate a degree of risk and often actively engage risk for its own sake. It vexes me to find the modern man as a coward searching for symbols (see e-pipe) of manliness to accessorize his image. Men do the hard things; they smoke, they fight, they treat women well, and they never complain about smoke.

By: Erik

Erik — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 22:42:26 +0000

Pipe smoking is an art, a form of meditation, of pondering, of enjoying and reflecting. I am so tired of all those holier-than-Thou people warning of the dangers of this and that. We are men. We do what we want with our own bodies. Stress causes cancer, too. Lighten up a bit, and for God’s sake, mind your own business, I’m trying to enjoy my pipe.

By: Perry

Perry — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 01:01:30 +0000

@Steve J: “Sir, A briar pipe is in my own view the ‘king of pipes’. Equally suited for a hard afternoons lounging session or for pointing out features of interest on a map to the children.”

I am inclined to agree–the rustication on a briar pipe gives it, I feel, an air of timelessness.

By: LEANDRO P DIAS

LEANDRO P DIAS — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 00:52:33 +0000

Achei muito interessante os cachimbos do bazar de stambul

By: NS

NS — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:05:29 +0000

Thanks for the cool poem. It reminds me to relax at some time every day and enjoy the moment.

By: RJ

RJ — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 12:31:33 +0000

@Paco
haha… I did say I have things to learn / grow in. I was only saying it would make me nervous. But , I will grow with this one too.
@Splashman. Well thought out. I could argue some points.. but the Points are made already. It is a choice. One you chose not to make. One I am very comfortable to make. I will not here make more comparisons or debate it all. I am just glad we seem to all agree.. The Manliness of it is not an issue. At least it seems so. It is only a choice not favored by the Mainstream right now. Lots of debate on its medical issues.. like to point out that it can not just be slumped into the same category easily as Cigarettes. I could go over the status of our water and the carcinogenics in it.. or other things.. including most preprocessed foods.. but again, not the issue. It is a choice.. one not in favor right now.. wonder how it will be looked at in a hundred years. I will say I have not enjoyed a discussion with a bunch of men..( nods to the lady posters ) on the net , like this in a long time. Nicely educated.. Civil.. Manly.. I Love this. I cant wait to get into another “thinking it out” discussion in here. Leaps better than any sort of online forum I have read .. and honestly.. it is nearly a spiritual thing to be moving in Affirming and Restoring a reference to manliness in the Nation. Bravo to you and your site.( You and Your wife have done a great job ) I ran into you by accident a few years ago.. and though I rarely post.. I nearly broke my printer in the first year giving some of these Gems to friends and Co Workers.

By: Shane

Shane — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 13:40:54 +0000

@Brian C

That’s right. There have actually been studies that show pipe smokers live longer than complete non-smokers, because of being “laid back”.

By: A.v. Mausheim

A.v. Mausheim — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 05:58:11 +0000

I must say, that I enjoyed TWO FULL BOWLS of a delightful blended english latakia in my claw-footed meerschaum during my walk through the countryside this morning. I very much appreciate these walks with my pipe as a time of quiet contemplation, and I wish not to entertain those who desire to take this small pleasure from me as well. Good day.