Cob Lifespan?

Sparrow you have all the good questions this week. I dont know what the clear answer is, but I bought my first cob about 8 years ago, smoke about once a week, and still going strong. I think the type of cob may have something to do with it too. The 8 yo pipe has a wooden plug bottom, like the cobbits. The washington's do not have those, and I have gone through a couple of them.

A cob pipe can outlast it's user if properly cared for.
This is a good read on cobs with a pro / con article about breaking them in and allowing cake to build:
http://pipedia.org/wiki/The_Complete_Corncob_primer

I don't know how long cobs will last because I haven't yet killed one. I have ten MM cobs, with the oldest being about ten years old. I didn't "break it in" (whatever that means with a cob), it's as ratty as can be, I've had to re-glue the stem countless times, but it never burned out and it still provides as sweet a smoke as any briar that I own. I smoke my oldest one more often than my newer ones (a few times a week) because it smokes the best, probably because it's all loaded up with years of tar that I think contributes to its sweet character.

Bare-naked cobs or the plaster dipped ones, wooden bottoms or no wooden bottoms last the same for me...years and years. I own about 50 MM cobs and never had one bowl crack nor did I ever burn through one. I've gone through a boatload of their cheap stems though. I have some MM cobs from the 60's which came with nice vulcanite stems which I really like. A few years back I had two acrylic stems custom made for my cobs and they fit many of the different models. At 13 years old, my first smokes were in a corncob pipe. Cobs are cool.

I actually dropped a email to Dave about the cobbits. He said that he has not recieved one yet and thinks the tenon sizes are just a shade different. I tried one of my forever stems in standard filter cobbit (shire) and it fit just fine but of coarse was shorter. And the dwarf took the unfiltered one with alittle push. I think just a tad bit of sanding and it would fit great. I tend to go for the the lucite forever stems and the 4in one looks really nice in the dwarf. But I know he has the mini churchwarden stems that I bet would look good in the longer stem pipes. I bet after awhile if there is good market for them we may see some forever stems for them. But in the mean time the current ones work and look good.

I smoke my cob at least once a week. I keep replacing the bits, but it's been going strong for almost 4 years now. Quite a bargain when I picked it up for $3.95 online just to get free shipping. I've been thinking about getting a Mark Twain to go with my Pony Express.

This is a good question. I have a pile of them, grab whatever one calls out to me and smoke them daily. Now that I think about it I dont believe I ever thrown one away :0
Thanks for the link cobguy..

At Missouri Meerschaum, we are often asked how long a corn cob pipe lasts. We answer that it can last a few months or it can last a lifetime. There is so much variability in the cob itself, along with the variability in how a particular person smokes and takes care of a pipe, that it is impossible to be more precise. I really can't add any more to the answer than has already been stated above in other posts. Our mission has been and always will be to produce a great smoking pipe that anyone can afford. The inexpensive price allows us to replace a pipe that doesn't last very long due to the variability in the cobs. We intend for them to last a very long time. That is why we grow our own special corn just for our pipes. Thanks to everyone who has posted replies above. They are an inspiration to all of us here.
On another note, the wonderful Forever stems from WalkerBriarWorks should fit the Wizard, Shire and Elf, but not the Dwarf unless it is drilled out a little more. I will send Dave one of each of the Cobbits so that he can be comfortable with the answer when asked. Dave and Sue Wolff are wonderful people!

Depending on how and where you smoke them, years. As a work pipe it could be only a matter of minutes.