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May 14, 2018
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Hi all, I've never smoked before (besides the odd cigar years ago) but am interested in pipe smoking. I see cobs being recommended for beginners left and right, but every now and then I'll hear the odd "buy whatever speaks to you." I saw some clay pipes that I thought were neat, for instance... but I wonder if I shouldn't just buy some cobs to begin with? I was thinking of grabbing the 10 pipe bag of smokable seconds from Missouri Meerschaum; anyone know if this is a good idea? I'll do more reading on tobacco and technique in a bit - it's getting late! Thanks in advance!

 

dottiewarden

Lifer
Mar 25, 2014
3,053
57
Toronto
Welcome to the club frigidlollipop. I started with a straight billiard, and I'm glad I did. The reason Cobs are recommended is that they're cheap, so if you don't like it you're not out of pocket by much. Do as you please, just keep in mind the learning curve can be lengthy. The tobacco choice is probably more important than the pipe. I highly recommend Dunhill Early Morning Pipe for beginners because it's such a forgiving blend. Aromatics take much more technique as they tend to burnt rather hot. Above all, be perseverant and spend plenty of time here with all your newbie questions. Learn to sip dry tobacco and you'll be greatly rewarded. And there's no substitute for quality. :puffy:

 

artificialme

Can't Leave
Mar 15, 2018
317
3
Cobs are great! My first pipe was a briar. My second pipe was also a briar. But my third pipe is a cob and it's great. If you have the opportunity to grab the 10-cobs deal, grab it fast and puff away...:D

 
May 14, 2018
11
0
I appreciate all the replies! the more I read, the more I lean toward the cob... I think I'll go ahead and try that 10 cobs deal. Thanks for the suggestion on the tobacco, dottiewarden! any good places to buy tobacco online?

 

jvnshr

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 4, 2015
4,616
3,868
Baku, Azerbaijan
Welcome to the forum frigidlollipop. My first pipes were cobs, I bought them in 2015 and I am still smoking them. They smoke really nice. I would like to suggest you listening to the first 10 minutes of the Pipesmagazine Radio Show (link below). Brian Levine gives really good advice on pipes for beginners.
LINK
any good places to buy tobacco online?
On the left side of the website you will see Site Sponsors. All of them are reliable and have competitive prices. Check smokingpipes.com or pipesandcigars.com, both are good.

 

davek

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 20, 2014
685
952
Cobs are the best cost/benefit ratio there is and so are better to try smoking a pipe and also to have a few pipes to rotate. Clays are a great smoking pipe for cheap as well but are fragile and can get hot.
Blends taste different in different pipes, sometimes quite a bit different. If new to the hobby, I would start with a couple cobs, then maybe a clay and a briar later. You would have 4 pipes to rotate and could play with the pipe factor as well.

 

judcole

Lifer
Sep 14, 2011
7,136
32,697
Detroit
Welcome to the Forum and to the hobby.

I would agree that cobs can be a great place for a beginner to start, for the reasons mentioned above.

I can't agree with starting with EMP, however, simply because it is going away soon - Dunhill is getting out of the tobacco business. A good place to start might be the type of blend known as a "drugstore blend", "codger burley", or "OTC". These are the old standby American made burleys that used to be found every where, and are still fairly easy to find. My personal favorite of this bunch is Lane Ready Rubbed. It's not as easy to find, but it's not that hard, either, is fairly inexpensive, and will work well with just about any pipe.

Finally - smoke the best tobaccos you can afford in the best pipes you can afford; it will increase your enjoyment of the hobby. There is nothing wrong with being frugal, but that's not the same as being a cheapskate. :puffy:

 

newbroom

Lifer
Jul 11, 2014
6,081
6,337
Florida
I got a bag of seconds 4 yrs ago, gave away one or two, and still have a couple unsmoked, while able to continue to smoke most of the remainder. I was new to pipes and my technique caused me to have a split and a burn out.

Cobs are the most forgiving of pipes and except that their draw is so wide open, thus providing a newbie a lot of room for error in cadence, an error most newbies make no matter which pipe is used.

The natural finished or unfinished model called the Pride might be the best pipe value you'll ever find.

 

smittyd

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 7, 2018
830
907
45
Pennsylvania
Welcome to the the forum! Dry your tobacco! TR

his is probably the most important thing to learn. You do not want it to turn to dust but it does need time to dry a little before you pack up the bowl. The mistake of trying to smoke moist tobacco comes with a terrible price! Its a bit like licking hot lava, and could turn you off forever. Other than that , save your self some money and only buy an oz or two at a time , try everything and stick with it . You will develop good practices over time. And remember there are no dumb questions ...ask away!

 

mikethompson

Lifer
Jun 26, 2016
11,265
23,275
Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Welcome to the forum!
Yes, dry your tobacco and take your time. In terms of your pipe, mine was a new Meerschaum pipe. But as someone already mentioned, cobs are suggested because they are so cheap.
Enjoy the journey!

 
May 14, 2018
11
0
davek, I think I'll skip the clay and the others I was looking at for now, and stick with cob.
jvnshr, I don't get any sound when I follow that link. I can try to find it later, though.
Jud - "Finally - smoke the best tobaccos you can afford in the best pipes you can afford; it will increase your enjoyment of the hobby. There is nothing wrong with being frugal, but that's not the same as being a cheapskate." I like the sound of this, haha. I do understand that being frugal doesn't have to mean poor quality, so I'll be looking to not go too lavish until I get the mistakes out of my system, but to also start on something decent!
newbroom, thank you for the recommendations, and for sharing some of your experience. Just reinforces the idea that I'll start with some cobs.
smittyd and mikethompson, thanks for the warning and the welcome.
I just received word that MM's 10 cobs deal is going to be back in stock later this week, so aiming for that. I haven't looked at all, but is it possible to buy just small amounts of different types of tobacco? I always thought it came in larger quantities for whatever reason...

 
Just to get all opinions, as some members have become afraid to be the dissenter to the "cob thugs" when they gang up in numbers, but not everyone agrees that cobs are great. They have a taste of nasty old corn silos, that to me never goes away, and it spoils the whole flavor thing for me. They are cheap, cheaply made with wood glue, usually requiring you to have to reglue something to keep smoke from pouring out of the stem connection, and the insides is just horrible, with either having to use some special additive to the bowl's bottom like pipe mud, or else you end up smoking the wood of the stem. Out of eight, I have never gotten one that didn't require me to take apart and rebuild the thing or adding mud to the bottom, then your smoking glue and soft woods. Blech!! But, there may be one well made out of the package Misouri Meerschaum out there, but I have just never seen it.
Plus, if you want to smoke a pipe, and you aren't skid row desperate, invest in your desire. Get a good estate or factory pipe that you can be proud of. If you have invested about $100 or more into the hobby, you are less likely to just chunk the piece of hillbilly toilet tissue into the trash and move on to cigars at the first sign of tongue burn. You'll have made an investment, and be more likely to adjust and learn. Plus, there is an aesthetic to pipes that the appreciation will keep bringing you back to it. I don't get that with cobs. Some may, but I don't
Be all of that as it may, the cob guys are gonna start curb stomping my comments into the ground. It was very good to have met you, and I will just let the thugs have their way now. :puffy:

But, this is just another opinion that isn't just a sheep following the heard.

 

elpfeife

Lifer
Dec 25, 2013
1,288
477
Agree with Cosmic. I started with a couple low end Savinellis recommended by a tobacconist. I t was a good move. Cobs can give a decent smoke but you need to get a bit of mileage on them to obtain it. While working towards that , you need to put up with the unpleasant corn cob and cheap plastic smell. :puffy:

 

jgriff

Can't Leave
Feb 20, 2013
425
3
I think cobs are a great way to start if you are unsure whether you'll enjoy it all simply due to price. I will caution that that the corn and wood (charring stem) are extreme for the first couple of smokes in a new cob. Unlike Cosmic, I don't notice at all after a few dozen bowls.
If you're pretty committed, there are alot of viable choices $50-$75 or under that are perfectly fine briars too. The workhorse brands like Stanwell and Savinelli are good pipes for the money. If something calls to you, then go for it. Alot of this hobby is embracing your personal aesthetic. I'll second the other advice to start with a straight rather than bent pipe. It's alot easier to ascertain problems with your technique and you are less likely to end up a boiling pot of spit. The shape is less important but a billiard is always a solid place to start.
I'd spend more time trying to figure out the tobacco to start with. Try a little of this and that. Try an Aromatic (1Q probably), an English, a virginia, etc. While flakes and plugs are my favorite, I assuredly wouldn't start there.

 

paulfg

Lifer
Feb 21, 2016
1,555
2,906
Corfu Greece
As it hasnt been answered,yes you can buy 1 oz samples of tobacco.The sites mentioned do sample packs of different style blends which could be of interest in discovering blends cheaply

 

9mmpuffer

Might Stick Around
Mar 1, 2018
87
8
A lot of people will recommend a cob, I don't. You don't want a subpar first experience. Get yourself a Meerschaum pipe with a 9mm filter. I could be the last pipe you ever need.

 

davek

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 20, 2014
685
952
This is always a good Mark Twain quote/story. I'd say 4-5 bowls till getting good though. I'm a cob thug (I like that).
so they call it in America "The Missouri Meerschaum." I was much impressed by the ingenuity with which Mark Twain fills his corn-cob pipe. The humorist is an inspired Idler. He is a lazy man, and likes to do things with the least trouble to himself. He smokes a granulated tobacco which he keeps in a long check bag made of silk and rubber. When he has finished smoking, he knocks the residue from the bowl of the pipe, takes out the stem, places it in his vest pocket, like a pencil or a stylographic pen, and throws the bowl into the bag containing the granulated tobacco. When he wishes to smoke again (this is usually five minutes later) he fishes out the bowl, which is now filled with tobacco, inserts the stern, and strikes a light. Noticing that his pipe was very-aged and black, and knowing that he was about to enter a country where corn-cob pipes are not, I asked him if he had brought a supply of pipes with him.
"Oh, no," he answered, "I never smoke a new corn-cob pipe. A new pipe irritates the throat. No corn-cob pipe is fit for anything until it has been used at least a fortnight."
"How do you manage then?" I asked. "Do you follow the example of the man with the tight boots;--wear them a couple of weeks before they can be put on?"
"No," said Mark Twain, "I always hire a cheap man--a man who doesn't amount to much, anyhow--who would be as well--or better--dead, and let him break in the pipe for me. I get him to smoke the pipe for a couple of weeks, then put in a new stem, and continue operations as long as the pipe holds together.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,427
The Missouri Meerschaum will be great. When you get ready for a briar too -- cobs are always good to me -- I'd suggest a Dr. Grabow Royalton for about $40. You can always go expensive with a finer pipe, but the cobs and the Grabow will always serve you well.

 
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