A Proposition

[puffndave]

Most of my pipes are briar, pear, and meerschaum, but those which I smoke most frequently are my handful of cobs. They often seem to smoke a little cooler than briars, I don't worry much about switching between Latakia, Virginia, burley, or even aeros with these, but most of all they are so replaceable that I don't have to worry at all on how I treat them. I taught myself how to smoke better with my cobs, most which have black burnout marks on them, but this doesn't seem to have really impacted their performance with subsequent bowls. The one thing I hate about MM are the scrawney and weak stems (seriously, they don't hold up to much clenching impact). The replacement stems which are available are well worth the investment, which in all likelihood may never themselves need replacing. For the outrageous price of $25, I indulged my curiosity on the joys of the churchwarden option. I do wish it was made with a wider button, but it's made of good, strong vulcanite, and the smoke feels as cool as that from a long cigar.
I have come to regard the briar/cob divide as not really one on quality of performance, but of style. I enjoy the stylish beauty of my non-cobs, and when I smoke in public while wearing nicer clothing, I don't want to carry a cob there. If you live in Missouri and work on a farm, chances are that's less important to you.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

What exactly about a plastic stem makes it so heinous?

Lots of people like Vulcanite because it's soft, the same should apply here. Whether or not you like it is still subjective.

The geometry is an objective measurement, and if I were to find an Acrylic stem with the same dimensions as the Missouri Meerschaum plastic stem I would call it one of the best Acrylic stems I've ever seen.

If the plastic feel bothers you then it's not a good choice, but if it doesn't then the Cob is a fantastic pipe.
To be honest though, I'm not even convinced that a super open airway is even best.

I just haven't smoked enough of every style to tell, but I do know that over most of the last year I have enjoyed tobacco out of a comparatively restrictive pipe, and most of the rest of the pipesmokers out there probably did too.

Smoking with an open airway is very different, but the idea that it's "better" is still completely unverifiable.

As far as I know that debate is still as strong within the Pipemaker community as it is anywhere else.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

puffndave:

The one thing I hate about MM are the scrawney and weak stems (seriously, they don't hold up to much clenching impact).

That's a key difference between most other people and myself. I virtually never clench, and if I do it's only momentarily.

Unfortunately pipesmoking is a "sitting down" sport for me.