Cob Hazing.

[Swiss Army Knife]

I count my lucky stars in that I never feel like breaking in briars is a thing. They smoke great from the get go. Old Peterson swamp coatings notwithstanding. Meers can have a soapyness to them the first smoke or two.

But cobs. God help me I hate breaking in cobs. I picked up a MM General recently and it's proving to be more of a stubborn bastard than MacAthur himself. It's a 2.25" chamber of pure corny goodness and I'm on the fourth or fifth smoke and I'm still getting notes of cob. That's not the worst, the worst is the wood bit. I hate these things. It's charred a bit but I still get burnt wood towards the end.

Anyone else battle cobs like I do? Or have any tips on hazing a cob into compliance?

 

[The Libertine]

Keep smoking until it surrenders.

 

[Servant King]

Keep smoking until it surrenders.

^^^ This

Plus there's something oddly satisfying about beating a cob into submission. Like you jump a rank in life or something...

 

[makhorkasmoker]

I have to smoke a cob many dozens of times before it seems really right— and I’ve had a couple that never came around. For this reason when I get a cob I really like I keep it a long time, replacing the stems, patching it up when necessary

 

[Sgetz]

Keep smoking until it surrenders.

I count my lucky stars in that I never feel like breaking in briars is a thing. They smoke great from the get go. Old Peterson swamp coatings notwithstanding. Meers can have a soapyness to them the first smoke or two.

But cobs. God help me I hate breaking in cobs. I picked up a MM General recently and it's proving to be more of a stubborn bastard than MacAthur himself. It's a 2.25" chamber of pure corny goodness and I'm on the fourth or fifth smoke and I'm still getting notes of cob. That's not the worst, the worst is the wood bit. I hate these things. It's charred a bit but I still get burnt wood towards the end.

Anyone else battle cobs like I do? Or have any tips on hazing a cob into compliance?

I use a jet lighter to char the wood bit. Works a treat. And avoids that burnt wood taste

 

[Sigmund]

Ok, I will stop complaining about the taste of bowl coatings that ruin the first bowl or two. After seeing this I think I will continue to skip cobs. Ive smoked pipes in two different periods of life and still have not owned a cob.

 

[Doctor Chopper]

I have never smoked a cob enough to get the corn taste out. I am not a fan of cobs, IMO they are poorly constructed and smoke funny. I have smoked quite a few bowls in one, and still don't have enough cake or whatever it takes to make it smoke good. But then again I am still quite young and have plenty to learn....

 

[Doctor Chopper]

Just to add to my hate mail inbox, I have no idea why some people love cobs. The price is high enough that you can get a decent briar that is well constructed. I love the idea, and have been to the factory. I wanted to be a stan for cobs but just could not get myself to enjoy them.

 

[ThermionicScott]

Perhaps I'm more oblivious than most, but breaking in cobs hasn't been much of a big deal for me. Sure, there's an occasional whiff of burnt wood for the first couple of bowls, but I also tend to leave the stock filter in place for those, so I'm not tasting it much. Smoking hard in an attempt to burn away the "spoon" is misguided, IMO.

I do try to smoke extra-slow and cool for those first couple of bowls, avoiding windy conditions, to try to apply cake over the wood instead of charring it too much. Blends like Orlik Golden Sliced and C&D Visions of Celephaïs work well at depositing cake right away. Could be the Virginias or the toppings in those. Burleys don't seem to as much.

 

[Sobrbiker]

The more I smoke and appreciate smoking a pipe and tobacco the less I smoke cobs.
Many love them, and it made sense to me to use them in harsh environments at first, but the more I smoke the more I find that a decent yet economical briar will smoke better in the area of back to back, all day, even in active/harsh environment smoking.
YMMV

 

[burleybreath]

I've never, in a rage, flung a cob into the waste bin. I have flung briars and meerschaums. An entire collection, once. I suppose that says more about me than the respective pipes, but cobs--I like 'em. I find that some smokers getting a "corn" taste from them to be bizarre. Maybe burnt popcorn? Dunno. I do like the more expensive ones, when compared to the cheaper. The latter can suck quite a bit, though they're adequate, I suppose. (Ever cut your tongue on the flashing of a cheap plastic bit? I have.)

 

[kcghost]

I can't believe you are complaining about a cob's break in period. Most people would say there is no break in necessary.

 

[Lumbridge]

I just smoke them. Never noticed much of a corny taste with them, and when I get to the bottom where the wooden shank is, I'm done with the bowl. No need to try to "burn it off" or anything.

 

[captainsousie]

Try starting with burley. I've gotten a bit of an off flavor from cobs in the first couple of bowls but the burley mutes it. If you're getting burnt wood, you're trying to hard.

 

[mpjetset]

Opposite here! I love cobs, love the sweet corn, love that they smoke relatively dry yet deliver moist flavor, and love no break-in. Most of all I love that they're disposable and I'm never worried about them in the pool, at the beach, out in or on the water, or hiking. I smoke them hard and often when we are outdoors. Going back to my briar rotation, I miss them juuuust a little. I'm gluing a few back together now for a week at the beach beginning this afternoon, in fact.

 

[Jahman7]

Missouri Meerschaum Explains Shank In Bowl Bottom :: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions

Hello Pipers! Just like myself, and for those that wondered about the shank at the bottom of the bowl you might see in a Missouri Meerschaum, they explained it to me, because I know some people like to burn it out over time. ——————————— We assemble our pipes so the spoon on the shank goes all...

pipesmagazine.com

This post may help...

In my experience: I've only ever enjoyed small cobs, not the big ones.

I've owned several small cobs and they are amazing. It takes very little time to break them in, and they are a great hands free light cob for quick and frequent smoking on the go.

Here is a trick for "protecting" the bottom of the bowl after the shank is burned off or if there is no shank as in a few cobs.

Apply a little spittle mixed with ash tamped tightly in the bottom of the bowl. Let dry completely. This forms a little brick-like layer. Keep doing this until the ash brick is as high as the shank.

It does not burn easily, creates a protection from natural soft bottoms that some MMs have, and alleviates the throwing away of so much unburned good tobacco that gets trapped under the shank.

 

[bullet08]

It's a cob. Smoke it, clean it and repeat. By 12th bowl, it should be fine. And don't burn off the spoon. That keeps the shank stable. Of course, the spoon might burn itself up without asking you if it's ok.

 

[Sig]

You can carve the wood stem bit out with a pocket knife.
You will still get a bit of burned wood, but obviously much less and for a shorter time.

 

[Sig]

Just to add to my hate mail inbox, I have no idea why some people love cobs. The price is high enough that you can get a decent briar that is well constructed. I love the idea, and have been to the factory. I wanted to be a stan for cobs but just could not get myself to enjoy them.

Where are you buying QUALITY briar pipes for under $10.
Don't worry about all the fancy shapes, a Missouri Meerschaum Legend is under $10 and smokes just like the fancy $40 ones.
For under $20 they have a bunch of choices of cobs with the wood bottom and a larger bowl than the Legend.
A decade ago there were no MM cobs over $10......but now they have found a way to make more money.
The Diplomat 5th Avenue is the perfect size and shape in my opinion, and under $18.
The last time I bought one they were MUCH less expensive, but that was a decade ago.

 

[bullet08]

I know we have some new folks, and haven't really realized what that thing is in the bottom of MM cob. It's called "spoon", and here's MM's explanation of what it does. This is from 4 years old post.

"We assemble our pipes so the spoon on the shank goes all the way across the bottom of the pipe. This helps to protect the bottom of the bowl and is particularly important on the natural bottom bowl pipes. We don’t ever recommend that folks smoke their corn cob pipes down to the last shred of tobacco and doing this does burn away the wood spoon. Some folks don’t really believe their pipes are broken in until that wood spoon is burned off, but what they aren’t thinking about is that the spoon is also helping to hold the shank into the bowl since it gives a large surface area for the glue we use to assemble the pipe."