Cob Modders..

[Plutz]

Not sure if this is in the right section, but it was my best guess.
(Please let me know if I'm wrong)..

So, I spend half of my day hypnotised by the stream of beautiful modded/custom cobs that flood my instagram feed.
John Keller and Eric Mills corn cob pipes seem to be my main obsession at the moment.
I am in envy of everything I see and extremely tempted to enquire about prices.. but I'm pretty scared about shipping to the UK and last minute custom charges.

I've even seen some awesome mods on here, such as @frozenchurchwarden 's Retired Generals (that burnt honey Macarthur looks as cool as they come).

I've dipped only the tip of a toe into trying it out myself, just staining the shanks/ one bowl to revitalise a near dead cob.
I'm pleased with the results, but my skills are limited, my tools are fewer and I really don't have the time to invest into improving right now.

Which brings me to wondering;
Does anyone know of any UK based cob-modders?
Or are there any hiding on here?

And as a side note..

Has anyone in the UK ordered from the above named or similar modders?
Am I right to fear the customs charge?

 

[Seamaster]

Am I right to fear the customs charge?

You don't need to fear it, but you need to factor it. Very little gets in under the radar anymore. Expect to cough up 20% import VAT and the Royal Mail's handling charge (currently £8, other couriers a LOT more) at least.

 

[hawky454]

You ain’t seen nothing yet... feast your eyes on this! My finest work yet (well, my daughters finest work).

 

[Plutz]

You don't need to fear it, but you need to factor it. Very little gets in under the radar anymore. Expect to cough up 20% import VAT and the Royal Mail's handling charge (currently £8, other couriers a LOT more) at least.

It seems much less daunting now having a rough figure in mind, and its not as high as I'd thought.

 

[Plutz]

You ain’t seen nothing yet... feast your eyes on this! My finest work yet (well, my daughters finest work).

View attachment 46722

Haha, Cool looking cob ? your daughter's work puts mine to shame.

 

[Chasing Embers]

All the modding I'll ever need.

 

[Plutz]

All the modding I'll ever need.

View attachment 46726

Oh I have had my eye on the reverse calabash's too . One online tobacconist iver here stocks them.. but i think they're pricier than they originally retailed in the states

 

[Chasing Embers]

Oh I have had my eye on the reverse calabash's too . One online tobacconist iver here stocks them.. but i think they're pricier than they originally retailed in the states

They were released in very limited numbers. The 2015 had a count of 250 and the 2018 was 500.

 

[Pit&Pipes]

Does anyone know how much the Keller and Mills customs go for? Assuming there’s a waiting list like briars?

 

[Seamaster]

Oh I have had my eye on the reverse calabash's too . One online tobacconist iver here stocks them.. but i think they're pricier than they originally retailed in the states

Simon at Mysmokingshop (great to do business with, by the way), still has over a dozen left in stock and you can pick your number. £75 ($97 USD) each. Too salty for my palate.

 

[Plutz]

Does anyone know how much the Keller and Mills customs go for? Assuming there’s a waiting list like briars?

From what I've seen, I think they're around $100.
As far as I know, he doesn't do commissions, just sells what he shows being made on his Instagram to whoever gets in touch first.

 

[Plutz]

Simon at Mysmokingshop (great to do business with, by the way), still has over a dozen left in stock and you can pick your number. £75 ($97 USD) each. Too salty for my palate.

Oh, I've used mysmokingshop, should have spotted that..
They are tempting ?

 

[Chasing Embers]

Too salty for my palate.

No kidding, both of mine were $50.

 

[ray47]

You ain’t seen nothing yet... feast your eyes on this! My finest work yet (well, my daughters finest work).

View attachment 46722

That pipe would be good for a CLEMSON fan.

 

[RodneyPierce]

Does anyone know how much the Keller and Mills customs go for? Assuming there’s a waiting list like briars?

 

[lukasstrifeson]

Honestly, cob-modding (almost sounds dirty) is a great little DIY project. Get a handful of the cheapest cost/size corn cobs and cut 'em up and glue 'em together to your hearts desire, great place to start trying some stains too...

I'm just about to get started on a reverse calabash myself. Using the MM one @chasingembers posted as the muse, but I think I'm gonna give it a fumed Aristocratica stain.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

What the Hell! For a thread about modifying cobs, you'd think there's be a lot more pictures. I know cobs ain't much to look at, but come on, the forum allows us to more easily post pictures. Give us some pipe porn!!! Post a pic, or it didn't happen.

 

[Misanthrope]

Give us some pipe porn!!!

I shouldn’t browse this forum on my first cup of coffee. I read that as “pipe corn” and for a brief moment, had a mental image of somebody filling their pipe with popcorn kernels.

 

[Chasing Embers]

The Cob Modda

 

[Chasing Embers]

For a thread about modifying cobs, you'd think there's be a lot more pictures.

Because modifying perfection is blasphemous.?