Pipe Ashtray is not a luxury, it is a human right! In a pipe ashtray, you have space to put your pipe safely without it getting smeared in ash and tobacco residue. You have control over your ashes and your scraps in the pipe ashtray so the wife doesn't go crazy (this is without guarantee). You can knock out the pipe without making marks on the pipe head - and then completely silently, so a pipe ashtray is not an expense but an investment in both pipes and relationships.