Charred corncob: advice needed.

[oudis]

Hello everybody,
This is my second question in this forum –a novice once more seeking the advice of the Elders you might say; I want to thank all of those you that answered the questions I posted before.
I recently bought a corncob pipe on eBay; it was cheap, but the rim of the bowl and the bore itself are charred –not dirty but (slightly I think) burnt. I have no idea what to do with it, how I shall proceed.
I’d like to tell you all that I’m no dummy –just in case; the reason why I bought such a pipe was its stem: a beautiful 8” long stem, churchwarden style. Every now and then you bump into one of those corncobs, but in my experience they aren’t easy to find, and churchwardens are for me the most comfortable pipes; and things should go really wrong I can always change the bowl for a bowl from a regular corncob.
But yes, I’d like to “refurbish” this one. What shall I use? A salt-and-alcohol treatment? A sponge with water, water and soap? Just saliva and piece of cloth? Sand paper? Will it need a break-in period after that? This is, mind you, my first corncob.
Any advice will be welcome; thanks in advance.
Oudis.

 

[lestrout]

Oudis - sounds like the cob has been smoked a bit. If there's no sign of a burnout, why not just go on puffing it? At least you would be on your way to forming a nice cake.
hp

les

 

[loborx]

Some light sanding and a little spit polish on the rim should do it. I just finished up my MM Country Gentleman and it looks A-OK to me.

 

[bigvan]

All this, when brand new MM cobs start around $5.

 

[loborx]

True, bigvan. I think what really sold him on the pipe was the stem. Oudis, if you go to the Missouri Meerschaum site, maybe you can find a cob that matches the bowl you have. Pick it up for around five or ten bucks and use the stem you have. Full restoration complete.

 

[oudis]

In inside of the bowl will of course be charred from the burning tobacco.

I think what really sold him on the pipe was the stem. Oudis, if you go to the Missouri Meerschaum site, maybe you can find a cob that matches the bowl you have. Pick it up for around five or ten bucks and use the stem you have. Full restoration complete.

Loborx,
That was the idea all along, yes. In the long run I’ll do that. It’s just that I want to give this particular bowl a chance, I’m interested in smoking it –not so much for saving U$ 5.00 but to gain experience in dealing with corncobs.
For instance, Dgerwin11’s observation makes me believe that the inside of all corncobs get charred when you smoke them –that’s what I infer in any case. I didn’t know that. I saw the charred bore and thought “the guy that smoked this puffed like a man with asthma that can’t breathe”.
Some light sanding, then some spittle and a piece of cloth –got it. I’ll let you know how it tasted in a couple of days.
Thanks to you all.
Oudis.

 

[gwynclan]

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[tiltjlp]

The best approach for the rim is to use bristle pipe cleaners moistened with pipe spirits of some sort, which should dissolve most of what probably is tar. For the bowl, lightly scrape the inside of the bowl with the blade of your pipe tool, or lightly use fine sandpaper. Never allow alcohol/pipe spirits to remain in/on a cob for more time than it takes to clean it with a pipe cleaner.
http://pipedia.org/index.php?title=The_Complete_Corncob_primer

 

[oudis]

Hi lads and ladies,
Well, spittle or spirits (vodka, brandy) didn’t work on the rim and I guess the reason why is this: it wasn’t just tar, the rim was burnt. I used sand paper –in a very cautious and delicate way– and the result was very good: the rim went back to its original color. I did the same on the inside of the bowl chamber, but I didn’t use the sand paper so thoroughly there, I just used it to remove the outer, burnt crust (the inside of the bowl remained black). After that I went back to my bottle of brandy and used it to disinfect the bore and the stem/mouthpiece; I also scraped off some oxidation and applied olive oil to it. I let it rest for a couple of days while the bowl got dry, and I smoked my first corncob.
I gotta tell you that the experience was rather pleasurable; the fact that the shape of the cob was that of a churchwarden made it even better. I can’t say it tasted any different from my best briars, but it was infinitely better than some cheap wood pipes I have. I have the hunch it’s going to become one of my favorite pipes, especially for afternoons/evenings.
And Dgerwin11: I think I like the cake that’s already forming in my cob (it was so easy to choose sides! I read that also for cobs a cake might be the difference between a burnout and a healthy pipe and that was it!)
Thanks to everybody.
Oudis.

 

[bucknuts17]

All this talk about corncobs made me want to smoke my first pipe a MM country gentleman nothing better then sitting on the front porch with my wife and a good cup of coffee and smoking my first cob those are memories being made right there thanks

 

[spartan]

A whole thread came and died. And not one CobWarden picture was taken. :crying:

 

[oudis]

All this talk about corncobs made me want to smoke my first pipe a MM country gentleman nothing better then sitting on the front porch with my wife and a good cup of coffee and smoking my first cob those are memories being made right there thanks

This is a friendly place for all of us, isn’t it? I’m so glad I joined this forum.

 

[oudis]

A whole thread came and died. And not one CobWarden picture was taken. :-(

“CobWarden” –such an appropriate name. I won’t take credit for the idea since it belongs to that unknown innovator who stuck a churchwarden tenon into a corncob shank. I won’t take credit for the name either; that belongs to Spartan! But I do hope there’ll be many cornwardens available soon –and hopefully as cheap as the MM we all know.
As for the pics… My daughter got hold of my only camera ages ago and my intuition tells me she has no intention whatsoever of giving it back to me. Sorry. Aside from that, I hate taking pictures (e.g. I feel every time I go someplace and take a photograph I gain a memento but I lose a memory –because I was focusing on taking the pic and not on “being there”–) and I hate even more to have my picture taken –is it true they steal your soul when they do that? ;-) So chances are I won’t buy another camera.
Take it easy,
Oudis