I love Cobs and smoke them mostly. Anything but latakia tobacco. Daily smoke is C&D Exclusive bulk 4-5 bowls per day rotating 7 MM cob pipes. C&D Kajun Kake is my crack. I have noticed the amber stem is now really loose on them. The wood part that sticks into the bowl has been burned away in all pipes. What causes the very loose stems?
Cob issues
- Thread starter jay29
- Start date
The burning away of the wood part which extends into the bowl is completely normal. As far as the stems getting loose, I have not experienced this. I would suggest just continuing to smoke them. It should be self correcting. However, some guys may choose to apply a light coat of beeswax to the stem to help tighten things up if needed.
One of my shanks eventually started to crack right at the mortise. I can only guess that it was routine abuse - hot, moist, dry, cold, repeat. Plus I’d clean it after every smoke. That did give it a very loose fitting stem. Maybe take a look at the mortise and see if you’ve got a crack developing. I think the ring was supposed to help keep that from happening, but it was loose fitting, at best, from the get go.
Coupled with the fact that a $7 pipe isn’t likely made of super stout and “in it for the long haul” materials, I chalked it up as a good ride and replaced it with seven of its cousins.
Coupled with the fact that a $7 pipe isn’t likely made of super stout and “in it for the long haul” materials, I chalked it up as a good ride and replaced it with seven of its cousins.
Not much to worry about. If it gets to bothering you, you can either put something on the stem to tighten it up or simply by another cob.
The stems that come fitted on the low-end cobs really aren't the greatest. The more expensive ones come with significantly better ones, both in craftsmanship and materials. However a "Forever Stem" will usually put things right.
Forever Stems - Vermont Freehand
Forever Stems Stems will fit these Missouri Meerschaum filtered pipe models; Country Gentleman Diplomat Diplomat 5th Ave. Freehand General Great Dane Spool Legend MacArthur Maple Hardwood Mark Twain Ozark Mountain Missouri Pride Washington Stems will fit these...
vermontfreehand.com
My cobs have been sturdy, though I do have quite a few cobs and pipes in general, which takes some of the burden off them all. Lately, I've bought their special edition pipes with acrylic stems, which have been durable, as have the older pipes I fitted with Forever acrylic stems. Mine have been workhorses, not showing much wear. I've never had a burnout.
I also recommend MM hardwood pipes, which cost little and smoke well, and remind me of Danish modern furniture in their matte finishes and simple designs.
I also recommend MM hardwood pipes, which cost little and smoke well, and remind me of Danish modern furniture in their matte finishes and simple designs.
My Legend stem got loose after a couple years. Years of taking the stem out, loosens up the thin shank. However I just keep sticking the stem in a little tighter every time I needed to. Tuned itself into a military style bit.
I've used some clear nail polish on the tenon to tighten up the stems on my cobs. Brush on a layer and let it dry. Brush on a second layer if the first didn't work. Continue until the stem is tight. I've found that 2 layers will do the trick.
That's not an issue. That's a feature to promote American ingenuity, and possibly to sell further cobs.
I’ve done the same with cyanoacrylate - a super thin version like a Bob Smith super thin hobby glue
As BlackPowderPiper stated previously, I would just use some beeswax. A small amount should secure the stem for you.
This. Clear nail polish is $1.25 at the Dollar Tree and females of the house may wish to use it too.
Missouri Meerschaum explains, what they call the Spoon.
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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.
You get a nice acrylic Forever stem from Vermont Freehand.
I have two cobs with Forever Stems, they’re great!
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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.
You get a nice acrylic Forever stem from Vermont Freehand.
Forever Stems - Vermont Freehand
Forever Stems Stems will fit these Missouri Meerschaum filtered pipe models; Country Gentleman Diplomat Diplomat 5th Ave. Freehand General Great Dane Spool Legend MacArthur Maple Hardwood Mark Twain Ozark Mountain Missouri Pride Washington Stems will fit these...
vermontfreehand.com
I have two cobs with Forever Stems, they’re great!