Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes - Hardwood Plugs vs Hardwood Inserts

[OakIris]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule ) - Bob

I have just ventured back into the world of pipe smoking after years away from it. I felt no need to buy new pipes as I had - for some reason - kept all of those that I purchased - they were nice briar pipes and even though I no longer smoked them, they were just too pretty to get rid of, lol. Thanks to the research available on line, I "discovered" corn cob pipes. Or rather, I found out that they aren't all just cheap novelty items that you can buy in a souvenir store, that a good corn cob pipe could - even should - have a place in anyone's pipe rotation.

Three Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipes arrived this week. I have only smoked one of them, the Charles Towne Cobbler. I really like it. The other two pipes are a Country Gentleman and a Patriot. One of the reasons I purchased these particular models is that they received decent reviews and because they all had hardwood on the bottom to prevent cob burn out. This morning I decided to check into whether or not the stickers/labels on the bottoms of the pipes should be removed and was startled to find out that if the pipes had stickers on the bottom that meant they had no hardwood plug, only the pipes with the stamp on them have the plugs. Folks leave the sticker on to help keep the bottom of the cob from falling out, apparently....

All three of my pipes have stickers on the bottom, which would indicate that none of them have an actual hardwood plug, even though the website description for the Charles Towne states it does (I am not going to remove the sticker to find out.) The descriptions for the other two pipes clearly state that they have hardwood "inserts" in the descriptions, there was nothing about it being a "plug" my mistake for deciding that an insert was the same thing as a plug.

An insert is obviously not the same as a plug as the insert just covers the bottom of the cob, while the plug replaces the bottom and thus makes the pipe less likely to burn out. Wanted to post this for other corn cob pipe newbies just to make them aware. (And hoping I am not the only one in the pipe world that was unaware of this, lol.)

 

[Sonorisis]

All ten of my Missouri Meerschaum pipes have hardwood plugs. And, all ten of them has a sticker on the bottom. I don't know where you got the idea that MM pipes with plugs did not have stickers. But, wherever you got it, you should send it back. It's wrong.

 

[anotherbob]

I also suggest trying out the Old Dominion cobs too. They're not seemingly as popular however they're great pipes and all that!!!

 

[OakIris]

All ten of my Missouri Meerschaum pipes have hardwood plugs. And, all ten of them has a sticker on the bottom. I don't know where you got the idea that MM pipes with plugs did not have stickers. But, wherever you got it, you should send it back. It's wrong.

Thank you for your response. One place I saw this about the stickers is in this thread: No Missouri Meerschaum sticker on the bottom of the corn cob pipe? :: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions - https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/no-missouri-meerschaum-sticker-on-the-bottom-of-the-corn-cob-pipe.47278/, posts 5, 6, 7 & 12:
"If stamped then it usually means that it has a hardwood plug inert and that it is authentic. Post a couple photos of the pipe and the bottom so we can clarify the authenticity."

"I strongly believe the sticker is to cover the soft spot that comes without the hardwood plug. MM Soggy Bottom Boys lol."


"Yup, stamp= hardwood plug, and sticker=all cob."

"Nov 12, 2015 Old MM Cobs and new ones with a hardwood plug are stamped. New ones without a hardwood plug have sticker."

And here: Do You Leave the MM Sticker on Your Cob? [Archive] - Pipe Smoker Unlimited Forums - http://pipesmokerunlimited.com/archive/index.php/t-829.html, post #15

"The models with stickers don't have hard wood plugs, so you should keep them on the bottom to help add a bit of protection from poking through the bottom with the pick of your pipe tool."

And I swear I read something similar on Pipedia but of course I can't find it now.

 

[BROBS]

Thank you for your response. One place I saw this about the stickers is in this thread: No Missouri Meerschaum sticker on the bottom of the corn cob pipe? :: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions - https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/no-missouri-meerschaum-sticker-on-the-bottom-of-the-corn-cob-pipe.47278/, posts 5, 6, 7 & 12:
"If stamped then it usually means that it has a hardwood plug inert and that it is authentic. Post a couple photos of the pipe and the bottom so we can clarify the authenticity."

"I strongly believe the sticker is to cover the soft spot that comes without the hardwood plug. MM Soggy Bottom Boys lol."


"Yup, stamp= hardwood plug, and sticker=all cob."

"Nov 12, 2015 Old MM Cobs and new ones with a hardwood plug are stamped. New ones without a hardwood plug have sticker."

And here: Do You Leave the MM Sticker on Your Cob? [Archive] - Pipe Smoker Unlimited Forums - http://pipesmokerunlimited.com/archive/index.php/t-829.html, post #15

"The models with stickers don't have hard wood plugs, so you should keep them on the bottom to help add a bit of protection from poking through the bottom with the pick of your pipe tool."

And I swear I read something similar on Pipedia but of course I can't find it now.

well that's just not true.

with pipes from the 80s and before it's true.. but all new MM cobs have a sticker.

 

[ray47]

Most of my 50 cobs have hardwood plugs and they are stamped on the bottom. All of them were purchased from 2008 until recently.

 

[Ctbill]

From my recent MM cob purchase experience (+/- 8 years on these): Hardwood plug gets the yellow sticker. No plug/straight cob get the red sticker. Special edition get the C&D special sticker.
Left to right:
Apple Diplomat (yellow)
Charlestown Cobbler (C&D special)
Rob Roy Legend (red)
Marcus (yellow)
Morgan (yellow)
None have a stamp of any king on the bottom.
I believe even MM on their website uses the terms “hardwood plug” and “hardwood insert” interchangeably.

 

[Chasing Embers]

All of mine, excluding the reverse calabash cobs, for the past ten years have had stickers over the plugs.

 

[Lyon0oq]

I just picked up an un-smoked MM off EBay for $20, so with the free shipping comes out to the same as if I bought it straight from them, and I liked it more than the current Diplomats they had available. Anyhow, the yellow sticker on its bottom tells me it has a plug I guess? Any other cobb smoking points I should know about before I venture in?

 

[Ctbill]

IMHO, pull the filter...?

 

[BROBS]

I just picked up an un-smoked MM off EBay for $20, so with the free shipping comes out to the same as if I bought it straight from them, and I liked it more than the current Diplomats they had available. Anyhow, the yellow sticker on its bottom tells me it has a plug I guess? Any other cobb smoking points I should know about before I venture in?


View attachment 17813

That seller buys the yellow stickers and after customizing puts one on.

 

[Lyon0oq]

That seller buys the yellow stickers and after customizing puts one on.

Ha! Well there you have it.

 

[mso489]

I like MM cobs, and because I have quite a few pipes, they last really well for me. I especially like the ones that come stock with an acrylic stem. I chew through their regular plastic stems in about a year, so I have replaced all my regular stems with Forever stems, but am glad to spend a little more for pipes that come with acrylic stems. At about $25, they end up costing less, like the Charles Towne pipe for example. Some like 'em, and some don't, but they are trusty smokers and look both homespun and traditional to me. I have several Missouri connections, so that helps as well.

 

[gervais]

I like my cobs for certain situations, but briar is so much prettier to admire ☺

 

[weezell]

I smoke Meerschaum 90% of the time. Another 9% is MM Cobs, 1% briar. I'm looking at a 24 pipe rack of nothing but cobs, I like em...

 

[BROBS]

Don’t lie @weezell .... there’s a meer on there.

 

[weezell]

Of course, Meers piled everywhere in the house...

 

[weezell]

Drawers full of them...

 

[olkofri]

Drawers full of them...

Seems that Meerschaum pipes are to you what tins of blends are to Embers.

 

[OakIris]

Thanks to everyone that has responded. I managed to find either old information or misinformation and am glad to find it was not correct - sad that misinformation can travel and spread as freely as facts, isn't it?

This post from Ctbill was very helpful and assured me that my 3 MM pipes have a hardwood plug. It cleared up my confusion as to "insert vs plug," too.

From my recent MM cob purchase experience (+/- 8 years on these): Hardwood plug gets the yellow sticker. No plug/straight cob get the red sticker. Special edition get the C&D special sticker.View attachment 17811
Left to right:
Apple Diplomat (yellow)
Charlestown Cobbler (C&D special)
Rob Roy Legend (red)
Marcus (yellow)
Morgan (yellow)
None have a stamp of any kind on the bottom.
I believe even MM on their website uses the terms “hardwood plug” and “hardwood insert” interchangeably.

I like my cobs for certain situations, but briar is so much prettier to admire ☺

I enjoy my briar pipes, and they are very pretty, but I like the way MM corn cob pipes look, they are very comfortable to hold, smoke very well. I think that some of the attraction for me is also that corn cob pipes are very much a part of our culture and history here in the USA. For the last couple of days I have reached for my Charles Towne corn cob pipe instead of the briar pipe slated for that day's rotation.

Once the Charles Towne is fully broken in I will start on the Country Gentleman that has a replacement Danish stem. The Patriot is unsmokeable until I can get a replacement stem for it - I purchased it from a site that only had the regular stem and it really is cheap plastic, can't stand the feel of it. Someday I hope to get a Forever stem or two but right now the Danish or Royal stems are at least a step up from the stock stem.

Next I am going to look into a nice clay pipe with a reed stem. :-D