MM Bulldog Cob

[Sjmiller CPG]

About a week ago I won an auction for a couple of cobs. One of them I had no interest in at all but the other had caught my eye and for some reason I just really liked it. It is an unsmoked Missouri Meerschaum Bulldog with a shank made out of cob. Booker told me that they are known as "corndogs".
According to the what pipephil.eu says, the sticker on the bottom is one of the early versions. I was wondering if anyone could give me a rough approximation of its age.
Here it is.

 

[fishnbanjo]

Pretty sure that sticker is late 20's at least. Give Marilyn a shout via the MM email system and she will give a better idea, she's the historian and very helpful as anyone who has had contact with her will confirm, lucky Dawg you!

banjo

 

[davet]

That's awesome, I never knew there was such a thing. I guess I should be watching cobs.

 

[seacaptain]

Never heard of those before. Interesting.

 

[Sjmiller CPG]

Never seen anything like it either until I saw this one. The odd thing is I don't collect pipes I don't intend on smoking but the more I think about it I think this one might be to nice to smoke. I mean it has made it all these years and stayed it such nice shape, it seems a shame not to keep it that way. Interesting predicament I find myself in.

 

[stickframer]

Wow that's a very cool little pipe. You do have a bit of a predicament! The arguments for smoking it or not smoking it both have pretty sound reasoning, at least in my mind. Question is, which side wins?

 

[cortezattic]

I wish MM would bring that shape back! I know I'd buy one!

 

[michiganlover]

Smoke it! Cobs are tools, they are meant to be smoked!!

 

[davet]

I wish MM would bring that shape back! I know I'd buy one!
+1, I would love to see these offered again

 

[newbroom]

I wouldn't smoke it. It's so rare. If you do smoke it, I think you should be prepared for glue failure, which is no big deal, but after that long a period of time without having ever been smoked, is just seems like a possibility.

I've seen smoked ones on FeeBay...and they commanded a pretty penny for the condition they were in.

Ok, I'd probably give in and smoke it at some point...just to see how the good old days of MM Cobs were.

 

[johnnyreb]

Makes the new calabash cob look like "pigs in a blanket"!
I've seen them come up from time to time on eBay but they have always been smoked.

 

[jiujitsubowl]

Im a jealous sir! There is someone now trying to sell one on Ebay for $230 bucks haha. It says in the description "i dont really wanna sell it but show it off." Man i want one of those!

 

[Sjmiller CPG]

Since it hasn't arrived yet, it is coming from Australia, I hadn't really given what to do with it that much thought. Have decided, with help from the comments above, that I won't be smoking it after all. I think newbroom has a valid point with the possibility of glue failure. While michiganlover also has a point that cobs are tools, I give mine plenty of work, I see this one more as a beautiful old piece of art. I don't want to be the one that changes it from art to a tool.
As I mentioned above (earlier post here), I don't usually buy pipes I don't intend on smoking. I am a collecting addict so buying pipes because they are unique with the sole purpose just to display could be the start of a long and slippery slope that I have neither the room or money for. In addition, I don't have any pipe smoking friends or family members so the only person with an interest in pipes that would ever see it would be me. Seems a waste. So another predicament has arisen. What the hell should I do with it?
(Attention moderators, that is a rhetorical question. This is not a trade or sell post. I know I have a month left on my probation period.)
I enjoyed this hobby so much more when the biggest decision I had to make was what to smoke.

 

[papipeguy]

That is a very cool pipe. I think it's worth keeping whether you smoke it or not. You're not out of a lot of money here but it's a neat thing to look at. Enjoy it for what it is, a bit of history in your hand.

 

[robwoodall]

I'd smoke it. Then I'd feel guilty. Then I'd start an email campaign to have it brought back into production.
That's a cool cob!

 

[captainprophesy]

That is very cool indeed... I would, like many others, buy the hell out of that.
In regards to smoking it or not... yeah Ide smoke it, I mean thats what it was meant to do, but take my opinion with a grain of salt as Im no collector. But I am a smoker ::

 

[Sjmiller CPG]

Was surfing the net, looking for references to the "Corndog" while waiting to hear back from Missouri Meerschaum, and came across the following from pipesmokersforum.com in a post dated January 12, 2015.
"We are very aware of the Bulldog interest and are working on trying to get the design right. We are finally getting big cobs in our harvest again which was a previous problem. Until we can get them to look like they did in the "old days" we aren't going to offer them. When we get them right, you can be sure everybody will know it and have an opportunity to buy them.

Thanks!

Marilyn

Missouri Meerschaum Co."
Very interesting.

 

[derfatdutchman]

That is extremely cool cob, I'd also smoke it at least once.
I agree we should contact MM and ask them to reproduce the shape.

 

[phil67]

Most definitely a great looking cob!

I'm with the others and would love to see that shape make a comeback.

 

[aldecaker]

I can never resist a new MM shape! If they did bring them back, I'd probably do what I did with the Twains-buy one to smoke and one to stash away "just in case". Much like tobacco blends, you never know when a favorite shape will be discontinued for one reason or another. Warren? Are you there, Warren? :D