Making a Corn Cob Pipe

[undecagon]

Ok - I did a search hoping some others might tave tried this, and found nothing. So regardless, I've been drying out some corncob pieces today for a few hours in the oven on 170, and will start carving tomorrow night or the next day. Anyone make a Corn Cob before? Thoughts on the process/end result?
I'll be keeping you all informed as i go along...

 

[bigvan]

I thought cob pipes used a specific type of corn cob.

 

[mp31guitar]

I made one when I was a kid. I dont think it would have smoked well though. I was fasinated with pipes then too.

 

[eaglerico]

I have made a few. The steps I used are below.
1) Go to Missouri Meerschaum's website

2) Pull out specially finished plastic pipe tool from back pocket

3) Take careful measurements using dollar bills

4) if you are successful you should have a nice pipe in 7 to 10 business days.
Let me know how your method works.

 

[spartan]

lol pics pics pics! Befores and afters and durings and just because pics!
Are you using the same type of corn MM is? What is it? If your not... oh well, you'll get a small cob but sounds cool! Will be nice to see what you create.
Aren't MM cobs aged/dried for 2 years? lol GOOD LUCK!!!!!! ::

 

[mrlblackbird]

I shall be watching this with interest. Good luck on this one

 

[tiltjlp]

Yes spartan, under normal conditions MM does dry their shelled corn ywo years before using it. But they also have a quick drying method that cuts that down to just a few days. And yes, they grow special hybrid corn for their needs.

 

[arinbjorn]

I got a couple ears of corn from a field that was a haunted corn maze attraction. They are a type of cattle feed corn, which I think I read somewhere is similiar to what MM uses.
I totally forgot about them in the trunk of the car.
I wonder if they are OK to still try to make a pipe out of? Maybe I'll try shucking them and oven dry 'em and see what happens. I doubt they would be as nice as a MM cob in the end. It's probably worth it to shell out a couple of bucks.

 

[stryder]

I AM NOT AN EXPERT.....but is what I know.

Find the biggest ears of corn you can. Try different types if available to you. Break or cut them in half and look for the cobs with the most "pith".

Drill out your chamber to a depth of say 2", you want to leave some of the pith so the diameter varies based on size of cob.

Wrap each piece of cob in foil And bake in oven say 150 - 170 for about 2 hours, if doing several add a little time.

Remove from oven and unwrap. Leave them on a pan or counter for about 5 days to finish drying. They need air flow to aid in the drying process.

Clean up chamber and drill hole into cob to bottom of chamber. You will need a hollow piece of wood (bamboo or even corn stalk) to make the shank. A stem can then be attached or if shank is long enough can double as the stem.

Load lightly and smoke!

Hope this helps.

 

[whitebriar]

i made some back in the dark ages when i was a kid--they weren't good--but a kid of ten or eleven didn't mind that--besides we weren't using real tobacco (dried leaves) so it didn't matter --
i think it might be fun to try it again, knowing a bit more and using some decent burley--

 

[puffy]

Several years ago I think it was Pipes and Tobacco Magazine that did a write up on the factory that makes them complete with pictures.As I remember the article the inside of the bowls are coated with a thin layer plaster.

 

[wallbright]

Haha how cool, I picked some at a corn maze as well. I am hoping to make some pipes out of them but they are pretty small so I don't know if it will work.

 

[undecagon]

Thanks for the vids. I've actually already seen them. I'll be checking out the cobs when I get home. Probably still too wet to do anything, but I might start hacking away at a wooden stem. Also, the corn I'm using was store bought, and does seem rather small. I knew it'd likely be smaller than ideal, but we'll see if they work. A few farmers selling corn near the school I teach at, maybe they've got bigger pith!

 

[uberam3rica]

likely be smaller than ideal

well its your first try. give it a couple more tries and you'll have it down perfect

 

[marmal4de]

There is an article on the art of manliness about this.

 

[undecagon]

The art of manliness article seems to be the best info I've found so far.

 

[bubbadreier]

I am interested to see where this goes! Good luck!

 

[juozapas]

That's excellent !! :rofl: :clap: :worship:

 

[whitebriar]

my suspect memory seems to be telling me that the corn sold for squirrel feeders has a slightly larger cob--

AND it may be farther along the drying path already--

 

[undecagon]

corn sold for squirrel feeders

Still letting the other stuff dry a bit - but what a fantastic idea. I'll be getting some of that tomorrow!