How do you dispose of a pipe?

Don't throw that pipe in the trash (I don't want it either)! A few years ago, I aquired pipe after pipe from junk stores,friends, etc. Naturally, several had terminal problems. I still keep them in a box...burned out bowls,cracked stems or shanks...you name it.
I know it sounds nostalgic, but that tired old pipe has probably seen a lot of history and provided someone with a lot of enjoyment.
Probably one of the few things in life I could never trash is a pipe,as long as you can still tell what it is.

Did you ever see what some folks are selling as 'great estate pipes' on ebay ... hell, it would be worth a giggle to see what comments you get about the radiator clamp.

But seriously ... you can't let that pipe go. Just put it to rest on a shelf and 20 years from now we'll both laugh at what you used to smoke 'in the old days'.

with the rest of the crew. As you stated, the pipe was not a POS, rather a faithful servant that has served its purpose, but surely does not deserve to be disposed of in any manner not befitting a hallowed chunk of briar that has served you well.

One of my favorite posts on this site was a picture of you puffing on this bugger with a hose clamp holding it together. I remember you, Piatt and Tom Martin gathering for a memorable gathering of friendship and comraderie and God knows what else. Still brings a chuckle.

Not too many pipes on this site will be burned in my memory forever.

A few thoughts flew through my hair brain:
1. Affix it to a stand of some sort and make it a permanent tribute to a friend put out to pasture.
2. Prop it up in a shadow box of some sort and display it as a conversation piece.
3. Wrap it in Old Glory and nod in reverence when you glance upon it.

Sounds silly for a chunk of wood right? To me, you, and most of those on this site it is more than a chunk of wood.

Call me sentintal.

Of course you can do what you like, but I would either fix it or trash it. I am not one to horde stuff or keep things that are no longer useful. The pipe proved a good companion for many years and you will always have your memories of it (and pictures with hose clamps attached to it).

I think that fire is an appropriate end to a pipes life. Burn it!

Ooooorrr ... better yet, make a permanent stand for it, glue it in place on said stand ... put a little potting soil in the bowl and grow a fern! ROTFLMAO.

No Bob I wasn't making fun of your ideas ... I'm just goofing around today ... weird mood. Must be the dry eye.

But think of it ... it would make one hell of a conversation piece!

Hey, maybe I'll buy an estate Grabow on ebay and do this ... I think a cactus doesn't need much room for roots ... this could work! What a hoot!!!!!

a picture in P&T magazine of someone that glued a few hundred pipes together in the form of a four or five foot bent pipe. Now there's a long-term project.

And I call it that because I have a pipe that is near the end as well. I'll tell what I'm going to do with mine and you can take it from there.

I have an old no name Oom Paul that belonged to my father. The drilling is poor, the stem fit is loose, and because it has such a severe bend it is not possible to get a cleaner through it when it gurgles (which it often does). I do smoke it once in awhile because it was dad's. I thought about letting it go a time or two but just never quite make myself do it.

My youngest daughter was going through some old photo albums a while ago and came across a photo of my mom and dad on a fishing trip. Dad had that pipe clenched in his teeth while mom held up a stringer of fish. Written on the back of the photo is "Spring Creek July 1932"

My plan is to make a small shadow box for the pipe and place the photo in the background.

...you can make yourself a better one to take its place. The rest of us would have to buy one. Toss it... less is more. Just my two-cents worth.

I am an unreclaimed romantic. Some things in one's life need to be commemorated. Jim's idea seems sound to me, or find an old pipe box in which to store it.

That would be the pipe made by our very own Erik Nørding - a crazy Dane, of course.

If it's been good to you then I suppose you really owe it a more dignified end than simply pitching it. I suppose like most pipe smokers I have quite a few pipes that are just there, not particularly smoked anymore but for some reason I have trouble just throwing them away. I'm convinced that one day I'll get them fixed or one day I'll need the one part of that pipe that is in good shape or whatever. Some of these were former superstars that just kind of went bad and others were just POS that I picked up in my travels. They are the unknown "Farm Team" they are neither in my primary rotation or my second string. Still out of respect, I just can't seem to toss them. I like the shadow box idea for pipes that have particular value. Or if one really wanted to go all Martha Stewart, you could create a decorative mantlepiece with several old retired pipes permenantly affixed to a rack of some sort with a background of old tobacco tins, fly reels, pen knives, etc.

Rather silly this notion that pipes can't be trashed but for me anyway, they aren't just objects but symbols of something larger. Trashing a pipe is just about as unthinkable as trashing a flag. There's just something patently offensive about a pipe (or Old Glory) rolling around at a land fill amongst rotten food, dirty diapers and the like. Call me crazy but they just deserve better even if they are frankenpipes.

Garbage Disposal.

or

Grill

or

Chuck it into the Atlantic.

Hi,

Tom