High Quality of Missouri Meerschaums

[Briar Lee]

Fifty years ago, when I was fourteen, I bought my first Missouri Meerschaum pipe.

The size of the cobs, the quality of the workmanship, and the amount of finish and polish of MM pipes have advanced by quantum leaps over the last half century. For only $15 I bought this rusticated, large Country Gentleman at a retail store this last week.

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All my life old men have been whining, moaning, complaining and bellyaching about how the world is going to hell.

They were wrong fifty years ago and still are wrong today.

The good old days are right now.

But they aren’t as good as they’ll be tomorrow.

 

[Briar’s Echo]

Well said

 

[Red Leader]

Briar Lee,

Is it just me or, judging by your avatar, have you gotten younger and done something different with your hair??

 

[didimauw]

Briar Lee,

Is it just me or, judging by your avatar, have you gotten younger and done something different with your hair??

Cobs make men look younger!

 

[captpat]

Cobs make men look younger!

Hmmmm... I think I'll go smoke a cob now.

 

[bullet08]

I wouldn't say "high quality". Utilitarian might be a word I would use. Corn cob held together with Elmer glue isn't exactly what I would call a great quality qualifier.

 

[ARTOPUT]

I love mine also! I use it whenever I leave the house, great pipe, and smokes wonderfully for sure.

 

[burleybreath]

AND the flavor of Half&Half (as in your pic) has returned to what I remember it being in my childhood. Can't believe how mild that stuff is. My granddad, also a lawyer, smoked it. Everyone smoked it back then, or seemed to. If there was any Captain Black around, it escaped my notice.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I wouldn't say "high quality". Utilitarian might be a word I would use. Corn cob held together with Elmer glue isn't exactly what I would call a great quality qualifier.

Cobs are high quality when you define quality as how well it meets specifications and expectations. Compared to a well made Artisan briar, the quality is not good at all. For the money and the quality of the smoke cobs provide, I think they're an excellent value.

 

[Chaukisch]

So far I only have one 10€ MM corn cob pipe and I can only repeat myself: I'm astonished that such a rather crude construction can provide such a good smoke. It never gave me a hard time, just a high performance.
Hell, it's probably the best performing pipe I have.

 

[TheWhale13]

I can agree, but it is no Lee...

 

[The Clay King]

So far I only have one 10€ MM corn cob pipe and I can only repeat myself: I'm astonished that such a rather crude construction can provide such a good smoke. It never gave me a hard time, just a high performance.
Hell, it's probably the best performing pipe I have.

@Chaukisch Clays all the way for me

 

[Briar Lee]

A month or so ago I won a James Upshall B grade Egg and the quality of the thing is like a perfect diamond. But if it’s any better than about a hundred Star Grade Lees I own it’s not by much, and only in the hand shaping.

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Half and Half tobacco has not changed any that I can remember, since the first 25 package I bought to smoke in my 75 cent Missouri Meerschaum in 1972.

And although it costs about five dollars now, MM still makes a cob about like my first one.

Where the newer MM pipes get much bigger and better is about $15. I bought this General last night from E A Carey for $15.95 delivered.

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That one will replace another General I kept in the back of my Rhino, and it accidentally got soaked in my mix of Roundup, Remedy, and 24D I use to keep fence rows looking like a flamethrower burned them clean. I’m not so poor as to risk smoking a cob contaminated with herbicide, especially not my special mix.

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But today I’m smoking some of the two pounds of Luxury Navy Flake I have in two Planter’s Peanut jars, knowing I have six more pounds of it aging, when that’s gone, in a rusticated MM Freehand that only cost $25 delivered. Six pounds of Luxury Navy Flake only cost $240, or $40 a pound. That’s about the same as Half and Half bought in smaller quantities.

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Those Amish friends of mine are building the last mile of fence at the farm to where I have 300 acres of fenced pasture, all cross fenced, with two house places fenced out.

Next June I’ll spray about six miles of fence rows, and love every minute knowing my place in the Ozarks is starting to look a lot like Kansas used to look when we’d drive to Colorado each year on vacation.

Smoking tobacco is a vice, that I was warned against at home, church and school. But I’ve gotten more from tobacco over the last fifty years, than it’s taken from me.

I keep solid gold country music playing most of the time from a Bluetooth speaker in the bed of my Rhino, and life is very sweet indeed, in my little corner of paradise.

Last weekend my youngest son and I legally shot five deer on the place, and my Amish renter killed four more.

Years from now I hope they fondly remember the silver haired old Daddy that kept urging them to kill every damned one of those black meated varmits that could kill a mother with her babes asleep as she drove to town.

Just so long as they keep that brush out of the fence rows, you know?

 

[Red Leader]

Cobs are high quality when you define quality as how well it meets specifications and expectations. Compared to a well made Artisan briar, the quality is not good at all. For the money and the quality of the smoke cobs provide, I think they're an excellent value.

You are right on with expectations. I also come from the guitar world, and many times I read of a custom guitar commission and while the result are of fantastic construction and aesthetic quality, it often fails to impress - it just didn't meet the expectations. Usually it is the sound/tone, which can be very unpredictable. I remember a custom guitar I had made for me, very expensive (>$2000) and ended up selling it because the neck was like a pencil (super thin/narrow) and hurt my wrist to play. Best playing guitar I ever owned, however. Just not best feeling. Likewise, a super cheap guitar can blow you away. My favorite guitar is one that cost me $250...a pittance in the world of guitars. Does it blow a guitar I have that cost literally 10 times as much? Yes, yes it does. Is some of that in my head due to the perceived value/deal? Yes, yes it is. Bring it on!

So when a pipe smokes great, but it cost $400, okay. And when a pipe smokes great, and it cost $12, wow it really smokes GREAT! Perception is reality, and knowing it doesn't really change it.

 

[borisfruts]

Hi all!
I see many corn cob lovers in this thread and I raise you my rookie question. I own a MM Tom Sawyer, but I find the chamber rather small -- it lasts me only about 10-12 minutes per smoke. I want to get a new corn cob, this time with a larger chamber. I want one bowl of tobacco to last me about an hour. Two models in particular caught my eye -- the straight Country Gentleman and the MacArthur Classic Polished. I understand that the MacArthur is more of a Churchwarden style, but nevertheless the styling appeals to me.
Thank you all in advance.

 

[Briar Lee]

Hi all!
I see many corn cob lovers in this thread and I raise you my rookie question. I own a MM Tom Sawyer, but I find the chamber rather small -- it lasts me only about 10-12 minutes per smoke. I want to get a new corn cob, this time with a larger chamber. I want one bowl of tobacco to last me about an hour. Two models in particular caught my eye -- the straight Country Gentleman and the MacArthur Classic Polished. I understand that the MacArthur is more of a Churchwarden style, but nevertheless the styling appeals to me.
Thank you all in advance.

The MacArthur is a cool bit of history, and a reminder to us sons of Missouri that the vainest, most pompous and imperial general in American history was brought down low and humbled by the simple Man from Independence. Although made from large cobs, the pipe is unbalanced and too long, and was used as a prop more than actually smoked by General MacAurthur.

Unfortunately there is no Harry S Truman model in the MM line.

The Country Gentleman is a nice, large model with the dowel plug, but the best value and largest normal production run MM pipe (not counting a Freehand or MacArthur) is the General. It’s a MacArthur scaled to actually smoke instead of wade onto a secured beach with looking like a tin horn glory hound.

Pardon Our Interruption...

Dr. Alonzo L Hamby, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History, Humansville High 1956, was the brightest student my mother ever taught.

Read all about Harry versus MacArthur while you smoke your General.

Pardon Our Interruption...

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