How Long to MM Corn Cobs Last?

[jazzlover]

I recently bought four Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipes recently to see why people love them so much. I was skeptical because I was very accustomed to briars. I must say that I was impressed. Corn cobs smoke dry and sweet. However, I hear that they burn out. What's the life span of a cob with a wooden plug?

 

[mp31guitar]

I found if you smoke it a few times a day, everyday with aromatics it will soak up the moisture and swell up on you. At least that was once my experience. As cheap as they are it's no big deal though.

 

[winton]

I bought a cob right before my first pipe show. I took a hacksaw to it and cut the top third of it off. With 100's of blends available to try, I wanted a very small pipe to try as many as possible without ghosting. Seriously at $5-10 each, or less if you get a grab bag, what difference does it make if it doesn't last long.
Winton

 

[topd]

I have some from 1972 that I still smoke... and have had some burn through. It's kinda hit and miss

on getting one that will withstand burning tobacco. But, they're only a few bucks apiece so get several.

 

[snewton]

What with them being made of something considerable softer and less consistent than briar, I really think for what they cost you can't expect too much from them. The fact is they are smooth sweet and dry and if one lasts a month of usage you have probably had your moneys worth. One that last a year or 10 or 20 years is one great value pipe!

For reference for you Yanks, over here in the old world (UK) the only cob easily available is the legend, which retails for anything up to about £12, or $18 to you, so it is a bit more expensive over here. To get one sent from MM themselves, shipping is $16 or about £10, which then obviously makes other models of MM comparatively expensive to get sent over here. Just thought you might be interested

 

[spartan]

I've been abusing my $3 cobs for 2 years now.
Great pipes for the price.
If you treat them halfway decent they will outlive your pets.

 

[wildcat]

I have estate cobs in my regular rotation that are anywhere from 30 to 40/50+ years old. Lifeon2 probably has even older...

 

[sparroa]

As you can see, if you buy 10 or 20 cobs then quite a few of them will probably go the distance. My cobs are all three years old and going strong. Take care of them and they will last for ages - like anything else.
There will always be a few duds, though, but you're likely to encounter problems right away if the cob is defective. If they are good smokers from the start, then they will probably remain that way unless some accident befalls them.
As was stated, though, since they are so cheap you won't really be out a lot of coin if they start to swell up or you poke a hole in the bottom or the walls burn out. For a $5-10 pipe they can't be beaten.

 

[dutch65]

The first thing I do when I buy a new cob, is make up a batch of pipe mud from cigar ash, and put about a 1/16th layer of it in the bottom of the bowl. This in addition to the hardwood plug from the factory, will virtually bulletproof your new cob.
http://www.stemandbriar.com/repairs/pipe-mud
I also take a small amount of epoxy, and smear it around the outside joint, where the shank enters the corncob bowl. This makes it much more durable when inserting and removing the stem.
These two precautionary measures can add substantial durability to a corncob pipe.

 

[guerillapiper]

I have a General that I smoke regularly. It has so far lasted 4 years.

 

[wnghanglow]

I got my first MM cob a bit over a year ago, I still smoke it about 3 times a week, it's for Aro's only and it seems to be holding up fine. I also would like to note I don't take to much care of my cobs and let the cake build uneven and don't clean them as much as I should, those little devils will out live you more than likley.