[Dr. Worm]

My first attempt at smoking a pipe went as follows:

I read through the various "how-to's" posted here. I got my pipe, my pipe tool, my tobacco, and thought I was ready. Just had to find some matches. Surely, there are some matches in this house. There always are. In that drawer. None in the drawer. Perhaps in that random cabinet where we keep all sorts of miscellaneous things. No. Turns out, no matches anywhere in the house.

I do have a lighter, though, and settle for a clove.

Mmmmm....cloves.

[Amanda]

Originally Posted by Athanasius

Yes, about 2 or 3 years ago we requested a "Finer Things" forum. It was shot down because the Admins didn't think it would get enough traffic, amongst other things. Looking at the activity in this thread, however, suggests otherwise to me. Maybe this spring we can request the creation of a "Finer Things Forum" to cover Alcohol, Tobacco...and God's other gifts that Baptists call "bad".

Try it again; I'll work on the other admin staff.

Originally Posted by ChrisHarbison

This is a pipe my friend got as a gift from Korea. It's a real pipe that they smoke over there. It's about 3.5 feet long made of bamboo.

That is AWESOME. If I ever go back to look for my birth parents, I'll have to pick up one of those.

Originally Posted by Lee Modlin

Blacks actually leave a sweet taste in your mouth and some of the unfiltered cloves leave a sweet residue on your lips. Nice.

That's my favorite part of cloves, the sweet taste on your lips. Cloves and coffee go really well together, by the way.

[slap_j]

Originally Posted by Amanda

Cloves and coffee go really well together, by the way.

I DON'T CARE HOW GOOD YOU SAY IT IS, I WILL NEVER EAT MY DJARUMS!!!!

[brandontmilan]

Actually, a lighter will work... it worked for me, at least... just hold it sideways above the bowl...
Does anyone know of any wood suitable for making a pipe other than briar?? i've got this strong urge to try and make my own pipe... but i'd rather not have to pay $20 for a block of briar...

[Amanda]

Originally Posted by slap_j

I DON'T CARE HOW GOOD YOU SAY IT IS, I WILL NEVER EAT MY DJARUMS!!!!

[brandontmilan]

I want one of these... any of them really, but especially the Strider

http://www.thepiperoom.com/pipes/MacQueen/macqueen.html

[perhaps]

That is it. New Years Resolution: Try cloves.

[anathema]

I would go pipe. Cloves ARE terrible for you no matter how good they taste. Of course its all bad for you, but pipes are on the not so terrible end of that scale.

*anathema*

[alaskasarah]

No! Go for the cloves, they're lovely.

[niangelo]

I want to smoke a pipe after reading this thread.

[Jay42]

Originally Posted by anathema

Cloves ARE terrible for you no matter how good they taste.

This might have been elaborated on before, but I am trying to get clarification - are the cloves particularly bad for the health, or do they just leave a bad aftertaste?

[Amanda]

They're bad for you, like anything else you'd smoke. They taste wonderful, in my humble opinion.

[Athanasius]

Originally Posted by Jay42

This might have been elaborated on before, but I am trying to get clarification - are the cloves particularly bad for the health, or do they just leave a bad aftertaste?

They are absolutely horrible for you...I have been told that the effects of a clove on your lungs far surpass a regular cigarette.

But hey, we're all gonna die someday anyway!

[TheProdigalModern]

Originally Posted by Athanasius

They are absolutely horrible for you...I have been told that the effects of a clove on your lungs far surpass a regular cigarette.

From: http://www.quit.org.au/quit/FandI/fandi/c03s20.htm

The American Medical Association reviewed the medical evidence concerning clove cigarettes in 1988 and reached the following conclusions(180):

1. Clove cigarettes are tobacco products. They therefore possess all the hazards associated with smoking. In addition, inhaling clove cigarette smoke has been associated with severe lung injury in a few susceptible individuals. Patients with a history of asthma appear to be at increased risk for inhalation of clove cigarette smoke. Respiratory tract infections may increase the risk from inhalation of clove cigarette smoke.

2. Some individuals with normal respiratory tracts and normal pulmonary function may suffer pulmonary aspiration as the result of a diminished gag reflex produced by a local anaesthetic action of the eugenol contained in clove cigarette smoke.

But hey, we're all gonna die someday anyway!

Sure we will. You just keep thinking that.

[Jeffrey]

Originally Posted by Vershal

2. Some individuals with normal respiratory tracts and normal pulmonary function may suffer pulmonary aspiration as the result of a diminished gag reflex produced by a local anaesthetic action of the eugenol contained in clove cigarette smoke.

This is what frightens me about cloves. I like my gag reflex.

Sure we will. You just keep thinking that.

1) We will.
2) I ain't no fan of tobacco addiction and space my own partaking of the plant far enough apart. I had my first cigar on my eighteeth birthday and my cigarette a few weeks later. Cigarettes didn't click with me. I'd buy them from time to time, but would often leave half a pack unsmoked after a week of possession until the cigarettes were destined only for the trashcan because I had waited too long.

However, most folks seem to be okay with caffeine and other dietary addiction. This may seem like a lame ___-for-tat, but I'd take an occasion indulgence into tobacco (preferably pipe form) over a daily need for caffeine and obscene amounts of sugar. Also, the **** they put in fast food has caused obesity and plenty of folks are addicted to their **** food.

When America gives up McDonald's and 44 oz of sugar water, I'll give up an occasional rendevous with tobacco.

Now, on the other hand, I have a roommate (not Sean) who smokes like a half a pack a day. That's insane, and I'm trying to convince him to quit or drastically cut back because it won't be as easy to quit post-college like he thinks it will. I think he's been switching to handrolled additive-free tobacco as of last month, however.