Old Dominion "Laughing King" Indian Corn Cob Pipe Pics & History

We've just updated the images of our "Laughing King" Indian Corn Cob Pipe on our website and I thought you all might like to see the updated photos. For those who aren't familiar with these cob pipes, we named them in honor of King Debedeavon (known familiarly as the "Laughing King") who ruled over the Native American tribes living on the Eastern Shore of Virginia (present day Accomack & Northampton Counties) at the time of the Jamestown Settlement. Debedeavon's warriors (descendants of the Algonquins who migrated down the Delmarva Peninsula) were part of the Powhatan Confederacy, but very loose allies given a degree of independence afforded them by the protection of the Chesapeake Bay. Debedeavon became a steadfast ally to the early English settlers and this alliance helped bolster the fledgling English colony during its early years. The grinding stone pictured with the pipes is an actual grinding stone used by Debedeavon's tribesmen. Who knows, the old Warrior himself may have enjoyed corn ground from this very stone! The stone was found by my great grandmother along the banks of the Machipongo River many years ago after a storm had toppled a large cedar tree and the stone was hung up in the tree roots.

junkyarddawg,
I can certainly appreciate your concern over clenching a round stem as opposed to a modern flattened mouth bit. Our round bamboo stems perform similar to the round stems on traditional clay pipes. However, unlike round clay pipe stems, the bamboo is more durable and much easier on the teeth for clenching. It can take a little finesse, but I've found I can clench my round stems just as easily as I can a flattened mouth bit on a modern pipe. The trick I've found is in keeping the round stems a small diameter and we've been working with our U.S. supplier to keep our bamboo stems around a 1/4" in dia. or smaller. We also sand and shape the "mouthpiece" end of the stem to remove any rough edges just as cob pipe manufacturers did before going to synthetic, molded mouth bits.
angelsey,
You can't beat making a pipe yourself. I still have the first cob pipe I made before I started making a business out of manufacturing them. Always enjoyed smoking that pipe (as a matter of fact, it's the pipe I'm smoking in my avatar).