A Cob Is a Cob Is a Cob...Maybe?

[smokinginquirer]

So I picked up a dirt cheap, nothing special corn cob as a placeholder smoker for when my other pipes are resting. Or, I've used it when traveling if I didn't feel like risking my briar.

It seems there are some people with a good amount of enthusiasm for corn cobs, and I've seen cobs listed as "best sellers". As well, there are several variations of cobs. So, what makes one cob different from another, and why would some people be so partial to them? Or is a cob just a cob?
Edited by jvnshr: Title capitalization (please check Rule #9)

 

[auburnfan]

A cob is a cob...but that is what makes them great. I have 11 of them and smoke at least one daily. Cobs are very low maintenance and don't need much care, which makes them easy as opposed to time that briars ask for. Granted I have many more briars than cobs and briars are my main smoker, but cobs are a necessity for me.
You don't have to worry about over smoking, under cleaning, or how you treat a cob, which makes them great.

 

[olkofri]

Don't have to break them in or build cake in them either. As a matter of fact, you don't want a cake in them.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"Or is a cob just a cob?"
To a certain degree yes. Of course a Rolls Royce Phantom is a car but so is a Honda Civic, the difference is down to the quality of the ride.
I would only buy a Missouri Meerschaum cob as they have perfected the right variety of corn plants to make their pipes from. Some lesser known brands (and likely anything coming from China) perhaps don't use good enough quality cobs to make their pipes from.
Just my tuppence worth ::
Regards,
Jay.

 

[wasnsfisher]

MM cobs are the tops. Not as stylish as a briar perhaps, but hard to beat for daily use. I do prefer the unfiltered ones though

 

[madox07]

I like to keep a cob around the office, so I can smoke an aromatic inside whenever I work late. I had this MM for about a year, and holds pretty good. I don't worry about cleaning it that much, just run a pipe cleaner through it and leave it in after smoking. If cake builds too much .. oh well toss it and buy another one, they are very affordable here as well granted you can only get the ones with plastic stem. You might want to try a Dagner Cob, I have had one gifted by a forum member and let me tell you, that is a nice pipe. Not sure I subscribe to Jay's idea tough, a cob is a cob after all, it's not the type of corn that you make it out of that matters that much. I think more of a better knowledge of how to treat and age that cob makes the difference between a good or a bad cob pipe. Hence ... China, yes pretty crappy ...

 

[saltedplug]

Cobs smoked well, but then again so do briars. Cobs are inexpensive and look that way; they don't tryst be more than they are unless gussied up by a cob artist.

 

[seagullplayer]

Cobs, you might want something else, but you don't need anything else.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I will put a cob's performance right next to my higher end briars.

 

[warren]

Cobs, by and large, deliver a good smoke. Being cheap they are perfect for fly fishing, working on the septic lift station, driving the tractor or a chainsaw and many other circumstances. I treat them as disposables. I do not plan on losing one, it just happens now and then.

 

[mso489]

Dependable brands of new corn cob pipes are Missouri Meerschaum (see their web site) or Old Dominion with reed stems. Most other new cob pipes are dashed together and not likely to smoke well. The good brands are light weight, require no break-in, and can last for many decades. I do not treat them as disposable. Most of my MM's have Forever stems or came with acrylic stems. Their low cost makes them excellent first pipes, as do their ease of smoking. The occasional cob will burn up or split, but this is statistically rare. I keep them on the rack with my good briar pipes and smoke them in rotation. For historical cob pipes of other brands that are high quality, see other threads on this topic. These exist, but you have to know what you are buying.

 

[barepipe]

Not all cobs are equal. I have a drugstore special no-name version and a MM. the MM is so much better. The bowl is clean and round on the inside the stem is at the bottom of the bowl and the cob is dense and hard. The drugstore version not so much. No surprise, the MM is far superior to the drugstore pipe in its smoking quality .

 

[warren]

Funny, drug stores are where I used to buy all my Missouri Meerschaums. What is a "drug store" cob? Are you speaking of foreign made cobs? MMs were sold in all the drug stores when I was younger. Now? Not so much although the locally owned ones still have the cards.

 

[5star]

You might also check out DGE Handmade Pipes. The maker (just one fellow) takes the MM cob to the next level. He replaces the factory shank with a more open one done in such woods as cherry, maple, and briar wood. He then fits a vulcanite stem to it. Very modestly priced at the mid $30 level. IMO this combines the excellent smoking characteristics of a MM cob, with the more open draw and mouthfeel of a briar pipe.

The maker is semi retired. Sometimes it takes a little extra effort to get in touch with him & get a pipe made. (It may be a matter of weeks if you’ve asked for something he doesn’t already have posted available to buy.) But, if you like cob pipes, you’ll likely love a DGE.

 

[wizhunter]

I have 3 or 4 corn cobs including the Legend and a Washington which both smoke very well, but my smallest one which is the Eaton seems to smoke best out of all of them.I love the Corn cobs even though they are cheap and plentiful to buy even in the UK.
Wiz