Missouri Meerschaum Shank Crack

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Akoni808

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 17, 2022
644
6,650
O’ahu, Hawai’i
Aloha,

For some reason my C&D Missouri meerschaum shanks always crack… I think it’s partly because the tenon fits very tight. Any remedies to avoid/fix the the cracked shank?
 
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dsturg369

Can't Leave
May 9, 2009
358
745
57
Augusta, GA
Does it affect the smokeability or does the smoke bleed through? I have that same thing on a couple of mine but it appears to be a superficial crack on the outside only.
 

Akoni808

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 17, 2022
644
6,650
O’ahu, Hawai’i
Does it affect the smokeability or does the smoke bleed through? I have that same thing on a couple of mine but it appears to be a superficial crack on the outside only.
Right now it’s superficial but the same thing happened to my other cob and it eventually started to leak smoke and affect the draw.
 
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Ahi Ka

Lurker
Feb 25, 2020
6,717
32,134
Aotearoa (New Zealand)
Right now it’s superficial but the same thing happened to my other cob and it eventually started to leak smoke and affect the draw.
I don’t see cobs as disposable, but i am convinced that dirt, grease and a general heavy-handedness (read clumsiness) actually makes them stronger. Interesting that you have found this only with the C&D models.
 
Aug 11, 2022
2,630
20,707
Cedar Rapids, IA
This happened right away with my MM Hardwood. It had never happened to any of my regular cobs, so it was a shock. That taught me not to twist off the stem while only holding the bowl with the other hand.

To repair it, I just worked some wood glue into the hairline cracks and allowed it to dry. Between that and whatever is gunking up on the inside, it has smoked fine ever since.
 

AJL67

Lifer
May 26, 2022
5,495
28,134
Florida - Space Coast
Well they are fairly cheap pipes and I'm pretty sure they aren't checking every component for structural integrity, some of the pieces probably just aren't as good as others structurally. Also shit happens :P
 

didimauw

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 28, 2013
10,665
37,351
SE WI
Wood putty.

This has happened to a few of my cobs. But never to the point where it affected the smokeablilty. It's like an outer layer is splitting from moisture/heat.

My first corncob pipe, which I still have, has had the bowl repaired 3 different times. All with wood putty. Some of the splits were 1/16 inch wide. I also use wood putty to resecure the shank into the bowl.
 
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Akoni808

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 17, 2022
644
6,650
O’ahu, Hawai’i
Wood putty.

This has happened to a few of my cobs. But never to the point where it affected the smokeablilty. It's like an outer layer is splitting from moisture/heat.

My first corncob pipe, which I still have, has had the bowl repaired 3 different times. All with wood putty. Some of the splits were 1/16 inch wide. I also use wood putty to resecure the shank into the bowl.
This is very helpful. Thank you!
 
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cersono

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 11, 2016
178
266
Vallis Lacrimarum
This has never happened to my "standard design" corncobs like Diplomat, General, Washington etc. but shank cracking did weirdly occur on all my fancy Cobbit Collection pipes. I think it's because the Cobbit line was crafted with its primary purpose in mind: to be sold mostly as hipster toys or collectible items rather than reliable smoking tools. I won't buy fancy collectable cobs anymore.

Is that possible that the C&D merchandise line could have a similar problem?
 
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