An Open Apology to Cob Smokers

[maxx]

I went the other direction. I tossed my Cobs a few weeks ago.

 

[stvalentine]

I also was very reluctant to try out corn cobs. Now after nearly a year of smoking them I say "you haven´t smoked a pipe if you haven´t smoked a corn cob"!

 

[ray47]

Your forgiven, everyone is entitled to one mistake. NOW DO 50 PUSH UPS :lol:

 

[seagullplayer]

We all start in diapers and if we make it long enough we end up back there...
Welcome home.

 

[tbradsim1]

. Got 2, pumped some Fireplace Mortar repair on both sides of Stem extension at btm of bowl, lot easier to clean up, got some forever stems, gifted one to Chris Jones, I like it a lot.

 

[freakiefrog]

I was a long time cob scoffer. Only looking at Italian briar in the classic shapes or Danish freehands. Then I won a MM cob and as a joke I started smoking it while I cut the grass. Now I've got a few and will smoke them when in my shop or in the yard or fishing. I find I really like my cobs and look forward to the next time they get a shipment in at my local B&M.

 

[bcharles123]

.....and. If you like to have a pipe in hurricane winds. Break out the cob and the nastiest torch lighter you can find. It's a good skill to master and, worst case, you scorch the rim of a ten dollar pipe.

 

[phred]

"Are they only straight stems?"
Apparently, I prefer a quarter-bent stem, but the stems are a worthwhile upgrade in my opinion.

The site only seems to have pictures of straight stems, but if you click through to a particular stem's page (for example, the #306 Spear 2.75), they list both Straight and Bent style options.

 

[aldecaker]

In addition to Forever Stems (which are great, BTW, I have four of them), check out DGE Handmade pipes. His cobs have handmade stems and upgraded shanks. Oh, and don't forget Aristocob. I have purchased pipes and replacement bits from him, and couldn't recommend a better vendor.

 

[randelli]

Great news, thanks, those are cool stems!

 

[derfargin]

I've got a handful of briars, nothing fancy just some estates I picked up from ebay. I can tell you that the first pipe I reach for 95% of the time is my Country Gent. That thing is beat to hell and about to fall apart, but it always comes through with a great smoke. I have a few more ready to take up the task when this one has it's final bowl.
As for the bits, I like th e cheap plastic ones they come with, I though about buying a forever stem, maybe one day but for now I'm good with the original.

 

[krizzose]

Forever Stems are great. I have one that I just rotate between the 5 or 6 cobs I have. It's acrylic and doesn't need to dry out after cleaning. I just swab it with an Everclear dipped cleaner followed by a dry cleaner, and it's good to go

 

[rblood]

Well I guess I have to come clean as well. Avoided the cob for close to 30 years and got my first last month (Country Gentleman). Smokes as well or better than most of my briars.

 

[davidintexas]

+1 on the Country Gentleman. It's my go to pipe most of the time. It's larger than most of the cobs so you can get a really decent spell with it, and it's a step up in appearance. Can't go wrong with it

 

[rfernand]

I am a proud member of the "I did not know what I was missing" club, as well.

 

[pipesinperu]

I've always kept a couple cobs around for G&H blends, since my briar rotation's not big enough (yet) to have a dedicated pipe for the Lakelands (even the "unscented" ones have ghosted my briars a bit, so I keep the G&H away from my VA pipes now). A couple of weeks ago, I tried some GLP Triple Play in my MM Missou, thinking it was sort of a Pease-y take on American-style tobaccos, which people always say are good in cobs, and Triple Play in a cob has been my first after-lunch smoke every day since then. I, too, have a newfound appreciation for cobs now.

 

[iamn8]

Reading threads like this, I feel like a putz. I just don't get it

 

[jackswilling]

There are plenty of people right there with you Nate. I assume you tried a cob or two or more and it was not working for you. Why bemoan that? You have real nice stuff and the stash of Motzek Strang to assuage you putzesque feelings. :D

 

[iamn8]

Lol thanks jack! Putzesque huh? Great word!!! Sometimes there are objects which attract passionate groups. For some reason I feel like I should love cobs. I may give one a go again. At least I can say I tried

 

[mso489]

Irrationally, I just assumed if you smoked pipes you smoked cobs as part of the package. It really puzzled the devil out of me when I found out some didn't "do" cobs. Oh well. I'm not a huge "Rings" fan, but the Cobbet cobs with vulcanite stems look pretty nifty to me. I also have two Old Dominion pipes with reed stems, which are historically correct and fine smokers. Cobs are the perfect pipe to add irony and incongruity to formal occasions, rather than an ebony dress pipe (which can be smoked at pipe shows and pipe clubs instead). I have three Forever stems which I enjoy.