A MM cob and Capt. Black and Half and Half was my 1st purchase, I used a masonry nail as a tamp
Cob Vs. Hardwood Vs. Clay
- Thread starter Callaxic
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My first pipe was from a kit on pipes and cigars . Com. "The doctor is in" kit. It was a small bent Dr Grabow lark. With it came a few different blends of tobaccos a pipe tool and a pouch. All in I probably paid 35 dollars for it, 11 years ago or so. If you can find something like this, go for it.
I smoked that pipe hard for years. So much that it ran away and I never found it. That thing even went through the washer once, and I continued smoking it as soon as it dried.
If you have a Walgreens by you, I've purchased a Grabow or two from them in the past. One of them I ended up smoking it till it split on the shank, and leaked tobacco juice on me.
I'm reaching for a moral here.
...
I guess it would be, that I'm glad I started with a couple cheap briars first. Then I tried a cob, and that made my technique so much better. Almost easier.
Some say straight pipes are better for beginners compared to bent pipes. I don't fully understand the physics gof it all, but I tend to agree.
I also think in my experience, pipes tend to have a large quality jump from the 25 dollar pipes, to the 60 to 80 dollar pipes. Then it plateaus for a while. It doesn't have to cost much to smoke a pipe, but a little bit more goes a long way.
I smoked that pipe hard for years. So much that it ran away and I never found it. That thing even went through the washer once, and I continued smoking it as soon as it dried.
If you have a Walgreens by you, I've purchased a Grabow or two from them in the past. One of them I ended up smoking it till it split on the shank, and leaked tobacco juice on me.
I'm reaching for a moral here.
...
I guess it would be, that I'm glad I started with a couple cheap briars first. Then I tried a cob, and that made my technique so much better. Almost easier.
Some say straight pipes are better for beginners compared to bent pipes. I don't fully understand the physics gof it all, but I tend to agree.
I also think in my experience, pipes tend to have a large quality jump from the 25 dollar pipes, to the 60 to 80 dollar pipes. Then it plateaus for a while. It doesn't have to cost much to smoke a pipe, but a little bit more goes a long way.
Make your next purchase a MM Diplomat Cob, which is a great smoker with thick walls, takes a 6mm filter and has the improved Danish bit, a big upgrade over the standard bit that comes with the Country Gent. I highly rec using a filter as it will help mitigate tongue bite, a very common problem for new smokers. Get a box of Vauen Jr. filters as these fit the MM stems better than any other 6mm filters.
For blends, here is my Stokkebye Starter Kit - one ounce each of these -- super cheap at SmokingPipes.com -- will give you a terrific selection of smooth-smoking blends that you can use to help find your personal tastes. Peter Stokkebye blends are all easy, everyday type smokes, never gonna let you down.
Peter Stokkebye: PS1 Classic Natural Pipe Tobacco - a very light Virginia blend with a smidge of burley and a little aromatic topping. Easy rec for a first timer blend.
Peter Stokkebye: PS301 Natural Dutch Cavendish - damn, I love this stuff. It’s a lightly cavendished VA with a good dose of burley. Very smooth and fruity, I can retro this all night, but it still has a little pop and a sneaky nicotine hit. Smokes great in any pipe. The first tobacco I crossed the 4oz mark with. This is now an easy, every day smoke, no muss, no fuss, no hifalutin' esoteric blend. Just pure, clean tobacco taste, love it.
Peter Stokkebye: PS23 B & B - a nutty burley mixed with sweet black cavendish. This kills it in the Country Gent. Great intro to sweeter, topped burleys.
Peter Stokkebye: PS31 Optimum Pipe - classic PS easy smoking VA/BUR blend with some black cavendish and a fruity berry top note. Easy choice for an Aromatic that isn’t goopy and tasteless.
Peter Stokkebye: PS400 Luxury Navy Flake - classic Virginia spiced with Louisiana Perique. This may not hit you right away but you will learn to love it, esp after it gets some months of age on it.
Peter Stokkebye: PS402 Luxury Twist Flake - a spun VA blend with a light caramel top note, utterly smooth and delicious.
Peter Stokkebye: PS41 Cube Cut - classic, cube cut burley. Give it a few months in the jar and it will taste like the best medium cigar you ever smoked. Fantastic stuff.
Peter Stokkebye: PS17 English Luxury - terrific starter English, the easy smoking PS VA/BUR base blend, very lightened smoky latakia, with a little burley and black Cavendish to mellow it out. A lovely, buttery smoke.
This is the list I wish someone had sent me 9 months ago when I got started. Once you start to figure out your tastes you can go further down the rabbit hole of, say, VA flakes or burley blends. Hope that helps.
For blends, here is my Stokkebye Starter Kit - one ounce each of these -- super cheap at SmokingPipes.com -- will give you a terrific selection of smooth-smoking blends that you can use to help find your personal tastes. Peter Stokkebye blends are all easy, everyday type smokes, never gonna let you down.
Peter Stokkebye: PS1 Classic Natural Pipe Tobacco - a very light Virginia blend with a smidge of burley and a little aromatic topping. Easy rec for a first timer blend.
Peter Stokkebye: PS301 Natural Dutch Cavendish - damn, I love this stuff. It’s a lightly cavendished VA with a good dose of burley. Very smooth and fruity, I can retro this all night, but it still has a little pop and a sneaky nicotine hit. Smokes great in any pipe. The first tobacco I crossed the 4oz mark with. This is now an easy, every day smoke, no muss, no fuss, no hifalutin' esoteric blend. Just pure, clean tobacco taste, love it.
Peter Stokkebye: PS23 B & B - a nutty burley mixed with sweet black cavendish. This kills it in the Country Gent. Great intro to sweeter, topped burleys.
Peter Stokkebye: PS31 Optimum Pipe - classic PS easy smoking VA/BUR blend with some black cavendish and a fruity berry top note. Easy choice for an Aromatic that isn’t goopy and tasteless.
Peter Stokkebye: PS400 Luxury Navy Flake - classic Virginia spiced with Louisiana Perique. This may not hit you right away but you will learn to love it, esp after it gets some months of age on it.
Peter Stokkebye: PS402 Luxury Twist Flake - a spun VA blend with a light caramel top note, utterly smooth and delicious.
Peter Stokkebye: PS41 Cube Cut - classic, cube cut burley. Give it a few months in the jar and it will taste like the best medium cigar you ever smoked. Fantastic stuff.
Peter Stokkebye: PS17 English Luxury - terrific starter English, the easy smoking PS VA/BUR base blend, very lightened smoky latakia, with a little burley and black Cavendish to mellow it out. A lovely, buttery smoke.
This is the list I wish someone had sent me 9 months ago when I got started. Once you start to figure out your tastes you can go further down the rabbit hole of, say, VA flakes or burley blends. Hope that helps.
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Clays aren't that hard to smoke, just hold it by the stem rather than the bowl, don't clench it and don't ape-fist death grip it or drop it on the floor. They're not THAT fragile. Yes, you could crush one in your hand if you wanted to or snap a stem... but they're only going to break if you manhandle or drop them. I also don't find that clays smoke hotter, just the bowl feels hotter.
People talk about cobs being good because if you break it, it was cheap so no loss... but then clays are cheap too and they're all "it's fragile" like you're wasting money if you break one. My guy, the least expensive ones are only $3 more than a cob. Nobody ever talks about clays that way, as an inexpensive way to learn, only just "they break easy".
The main thing about clay, if you decide to try one (which, why not, you can get clays for as little as $5), make sure you wet your lips and lick the tip before sticking it in. Lick it before you stick it, otherwise it might stick to you. Something something some innuendo about lips. Jokes aside, if you don't, it might stick to your lip. That's the main thing about clay.
People talk about cobs being good because if you break it, it was cheap so no loss... but then clays are cheap too and they're all "it's fragile" like you're wasting money if you break one. My guy, the least expensive ones are only $3 more than a cob. Nobody ever talks about clays that way, as an inexpensive way to learn, only just "they break easy".
The main thing about clay, if you decide to try one (which, why not, you can get clays for as little as $5), make sure you wet your lips and lick the tip before sticking it in. Lick it before you stick it, otherwise it might stick to you. Something something some innuendo about lips. Jokes aside, if you don't, it might stick to your lip. That's the main thing about clay.
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I smoke clays, MM hardwoods, and briars. Mostly the clays and hardwoods, the briars only occasionally. I purchased a cob but have never gotten around to smoking it. So there you go! You will more than likely find something you enjoy no matter which you choose. Enjoy! 
H