The Journey (And The Reveal...)
Mar 4, 2020 20:37:12 GMT -5
simnettpratt, Darin, and 10 more like this
Post by fadingdaylight on Mar 4, 2020 20:37:12 GMT -5
Had to get through with a few things tonight so I could settle in and write this. I will try not to get too sentimental, but as things go, this means quite a bit to me. I'll apologize now for being long-winded.
We all know the journey well enough. It starts with an idea, "hmm, I think I'd like to try smoking a pipe". You go out, find something you can afford and some OTC or B&M 1Q rebrand and find a comfy place to fire up that first bowl. For me it was a Tinderbox basket bent rhodesian, and whatever it was that they called 1Q.
You pack it horribly, completely ignorant of that fact, and fire it up. You lean back in your chair and realize that there is something to this that you didn't expect. Firstly, you suck at it and suddenly you know that there is an art form here waiting to be realized. Second, you realize why this ancient practice still exists. It's a little different for everyone, I'm sure, but something clicked in your noggin and you liked it.
From here, everyone's story changes, for me, I got deployed for the fourth time a few weeks later. I took my pipe and what little tobacco I could gather with me, and was lucky enough to find a few other pipe smokers on the same camp. Found my way to a pipe forum during that deployment, met some of you guys way back then, Darin, trailboss, oldcajun123, and more (forgive me if I left out a name here, that was nearly a decade ago). Found a whole community willing to help a new guy out, make suggestions, and even send some mind-blowing packages my way.
Anyway, I'm getting off track, point is, I found an awesome community. Tinkered with this, sampled that, discovered the joy of a $6 cob, and so on. Wandered of the forums for a while when life got hectic, this year it has finally started settling down. Time to make the next step in the journey.
I reached out to Ron, RDPipes, not long ago and asked him if he would consider doing a commission for me, my first handmade pipe. We all know how much he likes commissions, but he agreed to make this one for me, for which I am extremely grateful.
He sent me some pictures tonight of the finished product, which I am excited to say I will get to pick up from him in person on Friday. The end result blows the image I had in mind out of the water, he nailed every detail.
This still wound up more sentimental than I meant for it to, so without further ado, I present the sexiest pipe ever crafted:
We all know the journey well enough. It starts with an idea, "hmm, I think I'd like to try smoking a pipe". You go out, find something you can afford and some OTC or B&M 1Q rebrand and find a comfy place to fire up that first bowl. For me it was a Tinderbox basket bent rhodesian, and whatever it was that they called 1Q.
You pack it horribly, completely ignorant of that fact, and fire it up. You lean back in your chair and realize that there is something to this that you didn't expect. Firstly, you suck at it and suddenly you know that there is an art form here waiting to be realized. Second, you realize why this ancient practice still exists. It's a little different for everyone, I'm sure, but something clicked in your noggin and you liked it.
From here, everyone's story changes, for me, I got deployed for the fourth time a few weeks later. I took my pipe and what little tobacco I could gather with me, and was lucky enough to find a few other pipe smokers on the same camp. Found my way to a pipe forum during that deployment, met some of you guys way back then, Darin, trailboss, oldcajun123, and more (forgive me if I left out a name here, that was nearly a decade ago). Found a whole community willing to help a new guy out, make suggestions, and even send some mind-blowing packages my way.
Anyway, I'm getting off track, point is, I found an awesome community. Tinkered with this, sampled that, discovered the joy of a $6 cob, and so on. Wandered of the forums for a while when life got hectic, this year it has finally started settling down. Time to make the next step in the journey.
I reached out to Ron, RDPipes, not long ago and asked him if he would consider doing a commission for me, my first handmade pipe. We all know how much he likes commissions, but he agreed to make this one for me, for which I am extremely grateful.
He sent me some pictures tonight of the finished product, which I am excited to say I will get to pick up from him in person on Friday. The end result blows the image I had in mind out of the water, he nailed every detail.
This still wound up more sentimental than I meant for it to, so without further ado, I present the sexiest pipe ever crafted:
