It’s 5am at Starke Lake. The sun is barely up and I’m in the same boat, metaphorically speaking. I look out over the water while I dig out my most trusted fishing companion, a Missouri Pride corn cob pipe. I generally choose English blends when I’m outdoors and as the fragrant blue smoke drifts into the air I make my first cast of the day. This is perfection, fishing and smoking my pipe alone in God’s great creation.

Smoking a pipe is both tradition and hobby, promoting thought and philosophy among its practitioners, and serving as a traditional symbol of masculinity. I wanted to write this article to help more men take up this gentlemanly art, and assist those who may be interested but don’t know where to turn. I hope to outline the very basics of the hobby, and give you enough knowledge to begin your journey.

The first step in pipe smoking is, of course, finding your pipe. This is a lifelong process and is ultimately tied to your own tastes and style. There are hundreds of shapes and materials out there to suit everyone. I’d like to address the most common materials that you are likely to find at your local tobacconist.

Types of Pipes

Briar is the material most men associate with pipes. It is a hardy dense wood that if well cared for can last for generations. You can find briar pipes at all ends of the price scale but a good smokable starter can be found for around $30 to $40 dollars.

Corncob is another material that comes to mind when we think of pipes. This quintessentially American material is cheap and provides an excellent smoke. Cobs are excellent pipes for the beginner and excellent cobs can be found for as low as $12 dollars, passable ones for as low as $3. Cobs have a devoted following in the pipe community and for good reasons. Not all cobs are created equal however, Missouri Meerschaum cobs are fine pipes that will last years if cared for, Chinese corn cobs not so much.

Meerschaum is another traditional pipe material. Meerschaum (sea foam in German) pipes are made from a white mineral and are carved like stone. Meers are great pipes but more fragile than briars. Meers are typically carved with figures and lattice work, and are quite beautiful. A meerschaum will also color as you smoke, transitioning from a bright white to a mellow yellow or even deep brown. A good meer is expensive and there is a lot of work to do to color them correctly so it is generally a pipe for more experienced smokers.

A Word on Death

As many of you are aware in our modern world smoking is considered the vilest of all vices. Smelling even a hint of burning tobacco will shrivel your lungs from 500 feet away, cursing you with every cancer discovered and blighting your few remaining days. The horrible reputation of smoking is attributable largely to cigarettes. Loaded with chemicals and artificially boosted with nicotine that you draw directly into your lungs.

Comparing cigarette smoking to pipes and cigars is like comparing McDonalds to dry aged beef. For one, you do not inhale pipe smoke into your lungs. A pipe, like a cigar, is smoked over time, not quickly burned up and tossed. Further, pipe smoking is far from addictive. I have never known my fellow gentleman smokers to get the shakes or go into a “nic fit” if they can’t have a chance to enjoy their pipes.

Ultimately gentleman it is a case of practicing the virtue of temperance. Consuming alcohol, processed foods, and high fructose corn syrup is also bad for your health. Everything in moderation and moderation in everything.

Tobacco

Now that you have your pipe you will need something to fill it with. Once again you face a huge field of options. Generally pipe tobaccos come in two broad types, Aromatics (or aros) and Non Aromatics (non aros).  Aromatics are tobaccos that have been cased or topped (flavored) with something giving them a sweet smell of vanilla, chocolate or anything else you can imagine. Aromatics generally have a very pleasant room note (smell while smoking) and will provide a flavored smoke. Non Aromatics are not flavored, and will impart the taste of the tobaccos used to make them. What you choose is entirely a matter of taste, and many people enjoy both.

Getting Started

So now that you have your pipe and some toby it’s time to get started! Fill your pipe gently yet firmly, you don’t want to pack too tight that you can’t draw the air in, and you don’t want to pack too loosely or you won’t be able to keep a flame lit. Light your pipe with a circular motion, and slowly draw the smoke in. It’s important to note again here that when smoking a pipe (or cigar) you never inhale the smoke into your lungs like smoking a cigarette. It will ruin the flavor, and probably make you sick.

Now that you are lit, puff on your pipe slowly. Think of smoking a pipe like drinking very hot tea, slow sips, and not huge gulps. As the tobacco burns you will need a tool called a tamper to push down the burnt tobacco. This keeps the ash on the flame, and helps keep your pipe lit.

Don’t worry about having to relight your pipe, it will go out. Pipe smoking is a hobby and like any hobby will require practice and get better with experience. Eventually you will be able to smoke a whole bowl with few relights and right down to the bottom. I hope this article has encouraged you to take up this art and to join the ranks of great men who enjoyed smoking pipes throughout history. Many Catholic men have enjoyed this hobby over the centuries, and so can you. GK Chesterton has many fine quotes concerning tobacco, but the one I would like to close with may be well known to you “In Catholicism, the pint, the pipe and the cross can all fit together.”