Unless listed as their hardwood like, yes.
Missouri Meerschaum use a breed of large cob small kernel corn specifically hybridized for pipe making.
These are really cobs.
Corn Cobs
- Thread starter Swampy16
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These are really cobs.
Some stems have delrin tenons. Heated delrin can release formaldehyde. Think of all the chemicals in tobacco smoke.
The cobs that come with an Italian acrylic stem — eg the Dagner Cob, Carolina Gent, etc — feel completely different. The stem transforms them. Worth the few extra dollars. I agree with you that the standard stems are awful.
I use mainly vulcanite stems, I'm not aware of delrin in these?
The chemicals in tobacco smoke are not estrogenic in nature like those in plastics. I find it concerning that plastics can leach chemicals that can bind to estrogen receptors. Not something I as a man want. Acrylic seems to be the among the safest as far as plastics are concerned, but these "amber" colored stems are worrying. Research into plastics is relatively new and only some compounds have been identified but most seem to have estrogenic effect.
I smoke a cob about or at least 50% of the time. Not the same one.
Here's one that only looks like I smoke it too much. My Pride 2nd from over 5 yrs ago.
Here's one that only looks like I smoke it too much. My Pride 2nd from over 5 yrs ago.
Cheap, classic, smoke extremely well. Love that I don’t have to worry about flubbing the cob up. The patina is a desired characteristic of a good ole rank cob. You’ll get fellas talking smack bout them on occasion. But, those guys probably drink tea with their pinkies up in da air so there’s that. ?
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@chasingembers cheers, that's great to see.
Many artisans use delrin on their vulcanite stems. I use them primarily too.
Acrylic can contain vinyl acetate (been found to be possibly carcinogenic to humans) or methyl acrylate (may cause liver and kidney damage).
How much of toxic compounds are released once the product is in its solid form? If it isn't accumulative and doesn't bind to anything I wouldn't be very concerned. Liver and kidneys are used to dealing with toxic substances.
Carcinogens are not my main concern (since almost anything can be carcinogenic in some form) but endocrine disruptors are. Human endocrine system is quite vulnerable to outside factors. There is a difference in something being toxic in high amounts and something having hormonal effect at any dose. Whether the effect is observable in practice is of course another matter. But if it binds to estrogen receptors then it is already having some effect, whether the person notices it or not.
At least acrylic is used in medical prosthetics and dental applications so it should be fairly safe (nobody would put PVC for example in human body). Vulcanite is my main choice though. Vulcanite is also the most pleasing in mouth and looks better.
Real 4x4 pipes corn..............smoking fresh.........?????
I assume you also refuse to ride in or drive any newer car, since sitting a new vehicle for 5 mins in the sunshine would expose you to 1000000× more plastic product's volatile compounds and offgassing than a lifetime of sucking on a cob's plastic stem. How about new carpets? Carpets offgas high levels of VOCs for 5 years after installation.
My Wife is a professional cellist and I can confirm that smoking the 1st Bach Suite is a nice place to start but the 6th is where it’s really at!