Children of the Corn (Cob)

[Headmint]

I'd like to hear from you. I know this is the Brothers of Briar, but surely there are some cob smokers out there.

I'd like to know about the care and feeding of your cobs. Does anyone smoke high-end stuff in them and how did it go? Simple, affordable burleys perform well in a cob (so I understand), but what about hardcore English/Balkan/VaPers, etc.? Is it like eating Beluga caviar off a paper plate? Or is it heaven?

Regarding care, let's hear your methods. I'll tell you mine: simple. I run a pipe cleaner through, a dry one, after every smoke, and allow it to rest with a fresh cleaner sitting in it. Works well. I don't use solvents of any kind. I used to use Everclear, but I noticed it gradually altered the flavor (to unpleasant). I suspect the cob and wood were absorbing and retaining...especially when I ran out of Everclear and started using 40 proof vodka. Yuck. Good thing MMs are cheap.

Anyway, I'm sure there is a fascinating and well-developed corn cob pipe thread somewhere, but, what the hell, I'd like to start a new one

 

[Doc Manhattan]

Allow me to point you to two resources reprinted on the board, by the guy who essentially wrote the book on the subject:
https://www.brothersofbriar.com/t12942-the-corncob-new-smoker-primer
https://www.brothersofbriar.com/t12900-mm-buyers-guide-5-31

 

[Schmitzbitz]

I'd like to hear from you. I know this is the Brothers of Briar, but surely there are some cob smokers out there.

I'd like to know about the care and feeding of your cobs. Does anyone smoke high-end stuff in them and how did it go? Simple, affordable burleys perform well in a cob (so I understand), but what about hardcore English/Balkan/VaPers, etc.? Is it like eating Beluga caviar off a paper plate? Or is it heaven?

I smoke anything and everything out of my cobs, from Amphora OB (Canadian OTC) to Dunhill Nightcap to McC St. James Woods; its all good. The best smokes I have with my cobs do come from burley-forward blends though, namely Petersons Irish Flake, University Flake and 3P's; JKP also really shine.

Regarding care, let's hear your methods. I'll tell you mine: simple. I run a pipe cleaner through, a dry one, after every smoke, and allow it to rest with a fresh cleaner sitting in it. Works well. I don't use solvents of any kind. I used to use Everclear, but I noticed it gradually altered the flavor (to unpleasant). I suspect the cob and wood were absorbing and retaining...especially when I ran out of Everclear and started using 40 proof vodka. Yuck. Good thing MMs are cheap.

Anyway, I'm sure there is a fascinating and well-developed corn cob pipe thread somewhere, but, what the hell, I'd like to start a new one

I treat the bowl like Meer; give it a good wipe both inside and out after each smoke (I use copy-paper, although it isn't as absorbant as paper-towl, it sluffs off more of the gummy stuff, and doesn't leave fluffy bits behind), otherwise I don't really think about it - swab the shank with a q-tip and the stem with a pipe-cleaner. If things start tasting funky, I'll take the questionable cob out of rotation for a week or two, and allow her to air out in the sun. Part of the beauty of cobs is the minimal amount of maintanence they require to smoke like champs, IMHO.

 

[tiltjlp]

Approach cobs with an open mind and you should enjoy them to some degree. Approach cobs convinced you won't like them, you probably won't. Attitude is important. And since, for the most part, tobacco is tobacco, it all smokes great in cobs, often better than in briar.

 

[Harlock999]

I bought a few MM cobs to hand out at a BBQ I had recently. They were a big hit, and when I tried one, I knew why. It was really fun to smoke! I usually don't clench, but that little cob was very comfortable between my teeth while grilling, as well delivering a cool, dry smoke. I never would've guessed, let alone envisioned myself smoking a cob and enjoying it so much. Lesson learned about not judging a book by it's cover, and so on so forth...

 

[Headmint]

If things start tasting funky, I'll take the questionable cob out of rotation for a week or two, and allow her to air out in the sun. Part of the beauty of cobs is the minimal amount of maintanence they require to smoke like champs, IMHO.

That's a pretty cool idea, actually. Never thought about that. Like I said, I was guessing that it was the regular use of solvent that turned my pipes funky. Currently, all my cobs are working perfectly, but if ones does go funky on me (and I haven't chewed the bit up too bad), I'll try the 'sun method' rather than the 'trash method'.

Thanks

 

[tiltjlp]

If things start tasting funky, I'll take the questionable cob out of rotation for a week or two, and allow her to air out in the sun. Part of the beauty of cobs is the minimal amount of maintanence they require to smoke like champs, IMHO.

That's a pretty cool idea, actually. Never thought about that. Like I said, I was guessing that it was the regular use of solvent that turned my pipes funky. Currently, all my cobs are working perfectly, but if ones does go funky on me (and I haven't chewed the bit up too bad), I'll try the 'sun method' rather than the 'trash method'.

Thanks

No, the "regular use of solvent", which I assume means alcohol in some form, will help keep your cobs, and any other pipe, fresh. Why some smokers only clean their pipes after they start to "turn sour" is beyond me. I completely clean every pipe after every smoke, and I have never had a sour pipe, and my tobacco always tastes its best.

 

[RealtorFrank]

I love my cobs, and smoke them as much as my briars. Smoke everything in them!

 

[Headmint]

No, the "regular use of solvent", which I assume means alcohol in some form, will help keep your cobs, and any other pipe, fresh. Why some smokers only clean their pipes after they start to "turn sour" is beyond me. I completely clean every pipe after every smoke, and I have never had a sour pipe, and my tobacco always tastes its best.

I would disagree. I've always cleaned my cobs regularly, previously with alcohol. Cobs are absorbent and the use of alcohol on them shortened their life, i.e., made them taste nasty...especially when using vodka. The non-alcohol elements of the vodka, which in 40 proof, is more than half, got into the cob and wood. Since I've been dry cleaning, this problem has stopped.

 

[tiltjlp]

No, the "regular use of solvent", which I assume means alcohol in some form, will help keep your cobs, and any other pipe, fresh. Why some smokers only clean their pipes after they start to "turn sour" is beyond me. I completely clean every pipe after every smoke, and I have never had a sour pipe, and my tobacco always tastes its best.

I would disagree. I've always cleaned my cobs regularly, previously with alcohol. Cobs are absorbent and the use of alcohol on them shortened their life, i.e., made them taste nasty...especially when using vodka. The non-alcohol elements of the vodka, which in 40 proof, is more than half, got into the cob and wood. Since I've been dry cleaning, this problem has stopped.

I would never use something so low in alcohol content.to clean any pipe. I use 91% Isopropyl alcohol, and never have had a problem. As for cobs being absorbent, they also dissipate the moisture they do absorb. I'd use 99% Isopropyl alcohol if I could get it locally. But of course in this hobby, there is always more than one way to do things.

 

[Natch]

Many, perhaps the majority (?) of our group, include cobs in our rotation. Missouri Meerschaum seem to be far and away the most popular (and I personally think their Country Gentlemen are the best). I find cobs a rather seasonal favorite, and I smoke them quite regularly throughout the hot summers (and in Arkieland, that's well over six months of the year) usually charged with cubed burley or other burley blends.

I've got a straight MM CG that is probably eight years old and has hundreds of bowls smoked in it, and not a single indication of burnout or problems. Great in hot weather.

Natch

 

[Krusty]

...
I'd like to know about the care and feeding of your cobs.

Pretty much the same as I do with my briar for the internals.
Pipe cleaner down the stem after each smoke, dry ream the chamber.
Shank brush with Everclear every other month or so.
Only thing I every do for the outside is spit and buff the rim with my pants leg as needed.

Does anyone smoke high-end stuff in them and how did it go? Simple, affordable burleys perform well in a cob (so I understand), but what about hardcore English/Balkan/VaPers, etc.? Is it like eating Beluga caviar off a paper plate? Or is it heaven?

Blends with a fair amount of Perique work best for me in a cob rather than a briar. Tones the Perique down to the point that I can really enjoy it.
Latakia heavy blends on the other hand seem to get ramped up in a cob, not always a good thing.
I've found that milder blends such as SL or PS English Oriental Supreme become too muted in a cob.

 

[SpeedyPete]

When I started smoking cobs my thoughts were "cheap pipe, cheap tobacco". Eventually I realised that any and every tobacco tastes as good (sometimes better) in a cob as in a briar.

I have 4 Legends, a Country Gentleman, a Missouri Pride, a Great Dane egg and a Diplomat. I adore all of them but the CG is my favourite by a small margin.

What do you say about Falcons???

 

[derlict311]

I picked up my cob pipes (MM's Diplomat and Country Gentleman soon after) as a suggestion to fully enjoy John Patton's wonderful burley blend Storm Front at best. And boy am I glad I did! I don't know if I love that blend or the cobs I smoke them in more. There are many advantages to cobs, they require much less care than a more expensive briar, you can smoke the crap out of them, they are a great conversation piece while in the public and are just perfect for the hot summer months, as mentioned. Oh, if you lose one fishing it will be OK, too..just buy another. I enjoy burley and virginia blends in them every day. I have not ventured out too much with the lats or otherwise for fear that irreverseibly ghost the pipe. Right now, I am having a blast sticking to the "summery" blends of burleys and virginias in my beloved cobs.

The aesthetics that cobs offer, I've found, peak the curiousity of the people who watch me smoke. At first, you hear the whole "Huck Finn" thing, but after that b.s. subsides they wonder why I enjoy them so much. "Find out for yourself", I say.

Any thoughts on what else is exceptional in cobs? I can't imagine everything is...

 

[whitebriar]

.................... (and I haven't chewed the bit up too bad), I'll try the 'sun method' rather than the 'trash method'.

Thanks

don't trash a good cob because the stem is badly chewed--replacement stems are inexpensive--used to be 50 cents for two i believe--i keep a few around, although i have never had to use one--

warm dry air and sun does wonders for a cob--

 

[WyoBob]

When I started back on the pipe in Apr. of 2010, my first pipe was a Legend. Along the way, I picked up a couple of meers, 5 briars and several cobs. I smoked 40 to 50 blends in most all of them and discovered I preferred cobs. The meers and briars now reside in a drawer.

Of the 15 cobs I own, I found that I prefer the naturals to the plastered finished cobs and I have a natural Freehand, Diplomats, Missouri Prides and a new prototype from MM, a little natural nose warmer which is now my favorite pipe. (On a recent call to MM, I was informed that they were out of the natural Diplomats until the proper cobs were obtained. Marilyn mentioned a new pipe they were considering, the Morgan (IIRC), that's a light weight (18 grams) nose warmer and I bought a few. As I'm now a full time clincher for awhile due to a shattered wrist, the timing couldn't have been better.)

I use the plastered cobs (Diplomats, Legend and C.G.) for Balkans and aros. which I don't often smoke. I smoke va/vapers 95% of the time in the naturals, mainly LNF, LTF and Virginia #1. I'm smoking a bunch of va/vapers I got in a trade right now and they're all pretty darn good in the cobs (HotW, Ham. Veer., Old Gowerie, 5100, Brwn Cloonie, Dark Twist and Blackwoods Flake). Still trying to decide which ones will be added to my rotation.

When I had two good hands, I'd use a paper towel wrapped around a "Sharpie" marker to clean the bowl but don't do that now. I run a fluffy pipe cleaner down the stem and use "Q tips" in the shank. Periodically, I clean the stems with bristle cleaners and "Everclear". I don't use Everclear in the bowls but do use it on the shanks. Setting the bowls out in the sun helps freshen them as has been pointed out. When cake builds, I use a reamer and/or a dowel chucked in a drill press with sandpaper on it.

As pointed out, stems are 25 cents. I prefer the Danish stems and I use heat shrink tubing on them. Instead of filters, I use a 1 inch piece of pipe cleaner folded into a "V" for a filter and to increase draw resistance.

That's enough one hand typing for now. I hope the above will help those considering cobs.

WyoBob

 

[Smoker99]

I mostly use cobs for trying tobaccos that might ghost a briar. I have several, but find they smoke light and airy, and don't give a true taste to the tobacco. A shame, since I live about an hour from the MM factory.