First Time With a Cob Not So Good

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

New Cigars




PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

techie

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 20, 2018
589
10
I fired up my brand new MM Charles Towne Cobbler today with G&H Scotch Mixture. I first filled the bowl about halfway (saw a recommendation to do this somewhere for the first several bowls). That was a disaster. Constant relights, so I thought "forget that!" and loaded the next bowl full as I have been doing with my briars. It was ok for about the first half, then it was back to constant relights. The tobacco was nearly crunchy dry, so I don't believe it was the tobacco. I tried not to smoke it like a chimney but use light sipping draws at an easy pace, but I just couldn't keep it lit.
So, I am a beginner, but I've been doing pretty well with my briars lately. Suggestions?

 
May 9, 2018
1,687
86
Raleigh, NC
I think the suggestion to pack half a bowl was more or less to help break it in a bit. The shank that extends into the bowl is still wood and you need to basically burn a bowl down to it in order to get the wood charred so that future bowls won't impart that burned wood taste. As far as the relights, I could only assume that you packed too tightly. For a "half" bowl, I will scoop and fill to the brim, then pack it down about 2/3's of the way to start. You can always tamp it down more as you need.
I liked this link when I first got my cobs. Didn't find it until I had already broken them in, but found the information helpful. How To Break In A Corn Cob Pipe

 

techie

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 20, 2018
589
10
Thank you! I did read that article, as well as the very long one on Pipedia "Complete Corn Cob Primer". I'm sure it's just me. I'll keep working on it. I do like the MM cob.

 
May 9, 2018
1,687
86
Raleigh, NC
Oh it's a great smoker. I want more of them, just because they feel so comfortable to smoke. I'm not afraid of putting anything in it at all....except for CB Grape, I reckon, that one I wouldn't put in it, but anything else at all, I wouldn't think twice about smoking in it.

 
May 8, 2017
1,593
1,627
Sugar Grove, IL, USA
One thing I’d check is the airflow through the stem. In general, this hasn’t been a problem with these C&D cobs, but the stem is essentially a red version of the same one used on MM’s Dagner poker. My Dagner had a very restricted stem and so did a buddy’s. Opening them up made all the difference in the world, but you can easily destroy a stem in the process without sufficient knowledge and tooling. I have the Charles Town Cobbler version and am very pleased with it.

 

techie

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 20, 2018
589
10
Well, I checked the stem and you're right - it was partially obstructed (about halfway), so I cleared that out. I'll try this again tomorrow.
Thanks!

 

lawdawg

Lifer
Aug 25, 2016
1,792
3,801
Some tobaccos just don't go well in cobs, as discussed in a thread earlier today. That could be part of the issue. Maybe try a "codger burley" like Carter Hall or Prince Albert.
Also, there is no need for the "half bowl" break in with cobs. The half-bowl thing is for forming a cake in a briar. Not necessary with a cob. I pack my new cobs to the top and puff away.

 

techie

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 20, 2018
589
10
I was actually checking out Carter Hall earlier today because of your post about it. I will have to give it a try.
I don't remember where I read about the half bowl method for cobs, only that it had something to do with getting a good burn on the the part that juts into the bottom as well as the bottom. Since mine has a hardwood bottom (insert?) I don't think that's necessary anyway.
Sorry for my lack of correct terminology.

 

mrenglish

Lifer
Dec 25, 2010
2,220
72
Columbus, Ohio
Hey Techie, Welcome to the pipe smoking world. Just give it time and practice and soon enough you will find yourself just packing bowls and smoking them without worrying about technique.

 

jon11

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 25, 2013
619
591
I can tell you that I’ve never had a good smoke in a cob. I have 5 and can’t stand them. Too inconsistent and obviously cheaply made. They are what they are and some people love them. Just don’t be discouraged if you don’t like how they smoke. I tried to like cobs, but ended up hating them.

 

olkofri

Lifer
Sep 9, 2017
8,033
14,644
The Arm of Orion
With cobs you do tend to end up with dottle. Heh, even MM acknowledges this. From their own Care and Special Use Instructions for the Missouri Meerschaum 2018 Limited Edition Reverse Calabash Corn Cob Pipe:
"2. It is best not to smoke the tobacco all the way to the bottom of the bowl since you might end up smoking the wooden shank that has been inserted near the bottom."
I wasn't careful and also, for some silly reason, it bothered me that my cobs' chambers are not charred at the heel, so I tried to relight the dottle last Tuesday: now, I've been unable to smoke since then, due to tongue bite. Just not worth it.
Although, to be fully honest, the tongue bite was also a result of constant relights (and poor packing AND lighting technique: in trying to light the dottle to 'smoke all the way to the bottom' I stuck the lighter's flame inside the bowl—it lit the dottle alright [which, alas, immediately went off after a puff], but it also burned my mouth).

 

davek

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 20, 2014
685
952
Smoking half bowls is to build cake evenly, usually a briar thing. To break in a cob you basically char the bowl, especially the bottom. Then you might build a cake. The first bowls in a cob, in particular the very first one, aren't the best. So you char the wood and maybe build a little cake to protect that. The charred cob and cake prevent further burning but the cob will still breathe. Easy maintenance aside, the biggest advantage of a cob is that it is absorbent and breathes. They don't call them Missouri Meerschaum for nothing.
Opinions are all over the spectrum on cobs. Some people love them and some hate them. One thing I can say with surety about them, pipes in general actually, is that some blends are better in a cob and some in a briar (and clay, and meerschaum). Everyone should have at least one broken in cob. Then, if you don't like a blend you could try it in a cob and it might be great.
I love cobs, but that might actually be due to me liking Burley blends which by most accounts cobs do justice. Still, there are blends I will try in a briar and prefer that. IME a blend heavier in Virginia is a little better in a briar. I've *heard* that Latakia is better in a briar.

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
"With cobs you do tend to end up with dottle. Heh, even MM acknowledges this. From their own Care and Special Use Instructions for the Missouri Meerschaum 2018 Limited Edition Reverse Calabash Corn Cob Pipe:
"2. It is best not to smoke the tobacco all the way to the bottom of the bowl since you might end up smoking the wooden shank that has been inserted near the bottom.""
I constantly see mention of "the shank will burn away eventually" or some variation of such. Well, that has never, ever happened to one of my cobs. They turn dark, eventually going black, and the sharp edges are softened and rounded. That's it. No charring and burning completely away. And I like to think I put plenty of mileage on my cobs.

 

lawdawg

Lifer
Aug 25, 2016
1,792
3,801
I constantly see mention of "the shank will burn away eventually" or some variation of such. Well, that has never, ever happened to one of my cobs. They turn dark, eventually going black, and the sharp edges are softened and rounded. That's it. No charring and burning completely away. And I like to think I put plenty of mileage on my cobs.
Same. I have somewhere around 20 cobs in my rotation, and none of them have burnt out shanks. I have inadvertently smoked bowls all the way down close to the wood shank, and then gotten a nasty taste, then put the pipe down. Even with briars, I very very rarely smoke the bowl to the bottom anyhow. The bottom of the bowl usually isn't any good, at least in my experience, regardless of the pipe or the tobacco being used.

 

techie

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 20, 2018
589
10
Better experience today with the new cob after clearing out the stem, though I still had several relights after smoking half the bowl. Must be in the way I am packing. Anyway, I'll keep working at it.
Thanks all for the help!

 
Status
Not open for further replies.