The Pipe Page

Back to bilbo's desk


estate pipeWell, well. Discovered my little secret have you? Hobbits always were curious creatures. Now that you have found me, let me welcome you to my Pipe page! Here I will share some of the more interesting aspects of my habit of pipe-smoking. Is it bad for you? OF COURSE it is, but since I only do it a few times a year, I should survive to see at least 4000.

In Lord of the Rings, it is the Hobbits who claim to have first come up with pipe-smoking, and by the time of the war of the ring, everyone seemed to have a pipe, but rather than me filling the entire screen with my many views on the history of pipe weed (which I could easily do), read more about it from these sources:

The Thrain's Book

The Encyclopedia of Arda

Wikipedia

 

Visit Just For HimOne of my favorite places to purchase pipe weed is Just for Him Tobacconist, mainly because they carry all the pipe weeds mentioned in the books. You can see them all here.

It was Rosie that turned me on to this pipe weed, if you must know, even though I had been smoking long before, and I thank her. I have sampled every one of their Middle-Earth brands, and I like them all, but for the long journey I would have to go with Longbottom Leaf, for it was mild yet had a bit of a bite and didn't 'linger' after you were done.

 

magic

Locally, I shop at Schwab's Pipes N Stuff. I can remember this store from my childhood (and that is saying something) and the smell of the many pipe weeds that filled the air. It is here that I buy the occasional pipe and my former (and sometimes still) favorite blend: Cherry Vanilla. They do not have a web site, for it is a small mom-and-pop place, but that's what I like about it best, I think. Their contact info is:

1555 E New Circle Rd
Lexington, KY
40509

Phone: (859) 266-1011 or 800-874-1829

 

Gandalf smokeMany years later, when I took up the staff of Gandalf, I thought I would get a pipe to complete the costume. There are really too many links to pipes to mention here, but all one has to do is a search on LOTR Pipes and you will get any number of options.

The main, but certainly not the only kind of pipe used in the movies is a Churchwarden style pipe. It is a long stemmed pipe, which makes the smoke travel farther to the mouth and thus a cooler smoke. Bilbo smoke

 

Bilbo is described as smoking one in the first pages of The Hobbit, but in the movie, Aragorn is seen in the Prancing Pony with a shorter more estate-style pipe.

A Clue!


To the top of the page