Corn Cobs, Mea Culpa

sparrowhawk · Oct 3, 2013

I got my first corn cob pipes in the mail today, and had my first smoke. Mea Culpa, they are terrific smokerers! My only complaint is the tip is a bit loose and could be wider. And while the looks aren't appealing, I can learn to live with it. In fact, after consulting with MM, I can coat the bowl with an acrylic stain--color coded cobs! So it looks like I'll be a country-boy cob smoker now. I hope I can live this down. :lol:

cortezattic · Oct 3, 2013

color coded cobs!

That's a great idea! :clap:

Maybe someone can invent a nondestructive way to code briars for the blends to which they are dedicated.

Or mark the pipe rack bays in some way. I know that I would try to dedicate pipes if it wasn't such a PITA.

On second thought, I'd need bar codes to keep track of all the blends I sample during the month. :lol:

nobail · Oct 3, 2013

I think cobs are the perfect fishing pipe, and are great for testing different blends. I admit I don't smoke them often at home, but they smoke great in the field.

hammerhorror · Oct 3, 2013

I like cobs as travelling pipes - not too much stress about losing them (unless you have a forever stem attached!)

sparrowhawk · Oct 4, 2013

I accidentally purchased 4 Country Gentlemen pipes, when I thought I only paid for 2. On consideration, do I need 4 pipes? How long do they last? On another note relating to pipes, it's been brought to my attention that staining the pipes with acrylics, color coding them in effect, may not be a good idea. However, it occurred to me that staining the heel of the bowl might not be a bad idea if you want to differentiate one pipe from another. The heel is not stained.

judcole · Oct 4, 2013

Doesn't hurt to have 4. You can rest 'em, just like you do your briars. You mentioned that you tend to smoke a about 5 bowls a day. Try smoking the first and last bowl of the day in a briar, and smoke a cob in between. Then rest both.

werdna · Oct 4, 2013

Four cobs is a good number, I'd keep em all. I have one Country Gent, and two Diplomats, and I'll probably get another in the rotation. They each seem to each take on a color and character of their own, and I have no problem telling one from the other. Enjoy.

jah76 · Oct 4, 2013

I like mine at work where I don't worry about breaking them on leaving them on a job site. I keep about six unsmoked in case company comes over, but it seems like my kids like to snag them and run around pretend smoking them.
I do have a nice R. Santia custom cob I keep just for summer Saturday mornings and LBF.
Glad your enjoying yours!

erichbaumer · Oct 4, 2013

My Country Gent was a lifesaver on a pre-semester music fraternity retreat in Petosky. Corn cob pipe+canoe=perfect day. I'll probably take it out hunting this fall too.

sparrowhawk · Oct 4, 2013

Hi ya'll. Sumthings happ'ning; I'm talking with a Southern Twang; my shoes have done, I'm wearing a straw hat. I'm infected! I can't lecture on Emerson like this! Twain, maybe, but I hate Twain.

kyriefurro · Oct 4, 2013

I love my two cobs. They're my "in the car" pipes. They're the only pipes I have that are light enough to clench comfortably, and since they're only $7 I don't have to worry if I do something stupid like light the side of one on fire because I wasn't paying attention to where I had the lighter.
Not that I've ever done that, of course *whistles innocently*.

mso489 · Oct 4, 2013

Folks often think of cobs as a fishing or yard work pipe. I'd like to point out, as a point of personal style, they can

also be used to play against type when you're dressed up, or with a flashier set of folks. A little down home accent

can be a healthy thing in company that is a bit ahead of itself, or just as a way of being relaxed. Thanks roth for

repeating that site for forever stems. How can you lose? They will make permanent the cobs you love, and if, heaven

forbid, one of your cobs burns out, the nice stem will slide right onto another. They are just beautiful. A forever stem

is in the future of each of my three cobs, to background their lovely if slightly charred bowls. I'm sorting out the site,

to see how to differentiate the filtered and unfiltered stem offerings. Don't go there if you don't want to buy stems;

it is the MM cob owners vortex of destiny.

sparrowhawk · Oct 4, 2013

Well, I did what I said; I stained the heels of my first two cobs with an acrylic red ink: these I regard as my first generation cobs. The second two are unstained, indicating they are the second generation. Seems to work to differentiate the cobs.

wilson · Oct 4, 2013

A few more smokes and you'll be liking Twain -- guaranteed.
The country gents are my favorite and I don't think 4 is too many. I've replaced my stems with 4ever stems. They are quite nice and I heartily recommend that you try one.

sparrowhawk · Oct 4, 2013

I have indeed ordered one stem; they seem quite pricey for a single stem, so until I get into the habit of using cobs, I thought it best to hold off getting more; and as Roth pointed out, you can always use the same stem for other pipes. As for Twain, well, I'm not that impressed; the cob doesn't feel as comfortable as a briar and the draw is different. Perhaps it's just a matter of getting used to it. It works as a substitute for a briar however.

mrenglish · Oct 4, 2013

Walker has some short stems to turn the cobs into a nosewarmer. I have a birthday coming up and plan on getting a couple with the Forever stems.

Perique · Oct 4, 2013

I smoke Country Gents throughout the day. No need to worry about them. I rotate a had dozen. Rest them overnight, and then it's back into the fray.
Roth is correct in that Foreverstems are a great addition. I only have two, however. Buying them for each cob would equal the price of a good briar.
They are workhorses, smoke well, and are ideal for conditions where one would worry about damaging a more expensive briar.

bigvan · Oct 4, 2013

I'm unsure why you think cobs are "my fault"?

sparrowhawk · Oct 4, 2013

sparrowhawk · Oct 4, 2013

My God, Roth, I would neved insult you. Did I say something attributable to my well-known lack of humor? It always comes out wrong when I try to be funny. BTW (see? I'm learning computerese) it was a good idea to get 4 cobs. I've rotated to the second pair, and they are much better smoking. Lesson learned.

Corn Cobs, Mea Culpa

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