I have both cobs and briar pipes and like both. Cobs are hard to beat, especially for the price and they smoke very well right from the start. I assume that your briars are new -- they will continue to improve as you smoke them and build some cake. It's a gradual process. It's not as if the 49th smoke will be "eh" and the 50th will magically be awesome. As you break them in and build some cake, the briar pipes will smoke a little cooler and, very likely, drier. Take your time, relax, and enjoy. It is the process, not the moment, that is the great reward. But, should you ultimately decide that you prefer cobs to briars, there is nothing wrong with that.
Question About Cobs Versus Briar
- Thread starter donatello
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donatello, I do love cobs. They smoke well right away; they are pleasingly very light weight. They do burn up the leaf
unusually well. I like mine so well, I have gotten Forever stems for the three I own, and that improves them even more
from my point of view. I have to say, many of my briars deliver the same sort of enjoyment after breaking in, and that
usually doesn't take long, a month or less in many cases, for a pipe that in some cases has lasted me thirty or forty years.
Briar pipes take on a wonderful look of use; it's better than wear; it's what they call in art pieces (like sculpture) patina,
a real improvement, from ongoing use and careful cleaning. Cobs have this too, but not to the same extent. They get
a little beat up and "folksy," but a well used, well-cleaned, well-loved briar has an aura, a gravitas, a presence. Enjoy the
hobby and happy smoking.
unusually well. I like mine so well, I have gotten Forever stems for the three I own, and that improves them even more
from my point of view. I have to say, many of my briars deliver the same sort of enjoyment after breaking in, and that
usually doesn't take long, a month or less in many cases, for a pipe that in some cases has lasted me thirty or forty years.
Briar pipes take on a wonderful look of use; it's better than wear; it's what they call in art pieces (like sculpture) patina,
a real improvement, from ongoing use and careful cleaning. Cobs have this too, but not to the same extent. They get
a little beat up and "folksy," but a well used, well-cleaned, well-loved briar has an aura, a gravitas, a presence. Enjoy the
hobby and happy smoking.
A good briar pipe that is broken in and dedicated to the right type of tobacco is superior to a cob in my opinion. I have found that certain pipes smoke certain blends better than others. What type of blends are you smoking and what sizes are your briar pipes, i.e bowl width, bowl depth, bowl height. What do your pipes weigh, do you clench your pipes or do you hold them in your hand while smoking? There are a multitude of factors in getting your briar pipes to smoke at their optimum. How often do you rest your briar pipes, how often and how do you clean them? Have you ever done a deep cleaning with Everclear or alcohol on your pipes? Keeping a pipe clean and dry is extremely important in getting the most out of it. If a pipe is dirty it doesn't matter what blend you smoke or how you smoke it, the pipe will taste lousy. I have owned a Don Carlos and a couple of Caminetto's and they all smoked great.
Dirty does not really help build cake. Not that I am religious about doing it after every smoke, but it is a good idea to twist a paper towel or napkin into the bowl and "ream" it out, at least once in a while. Most of what comes out wasn't well bonded to the surface and was not going to contribute to dense, hard cake.
Good cake has a bit of a mystique sometimes. It is quite natural; a byproduct of the combustion of tobacco in the bowl of your pipe. Don't fret over it too much. Try to smoke slowly and, as often and as much as you can, to the bottom of the bowl. And, if you wind up with some dottle and don't get all the way to the bottom of the bowl, it's not the end of the world. Your pipe won't fall apart and the tobacco police won't come to your house (they have bigger fish to fry). Of course, don't tell anyone here that you had dottle . . . Some things are best left unsaid!
If you think your cake is not uniform, a dull pipe knife can be used for some scraping (dull -- you don't want to risk cutting through the cake and into the bowl). Only a few of the master's have completely uniform cake. The rest of us mere mortals get by with less than perfectly uniform cake. Above all else, don't fret: cake happens.
Good cake has a bit of a mystique sometimes. It is quite natural; a byproduct of the combustion of tobacco in the bowl of your pipe. Don't fret over it too much. Try to smoke slowly and, as often and as much as you can, to the bottom of the bowl. And, if you wind up with some dottle and don't get all the way to the bottom of the bowl, it's not the end of the world. Your pipe won't fall apart and the tobacco police won't come to your house (they have bigger fish to fry). Of course, don't tell anyone here that you had dottle . . . Some things are best left unsaid!
If you think your cake is not uniform, a dull pipe knife can be used for some scraping (dull -- you don't want to risk cutting through the cake and into the bowl). Only a few of the master's have completely uniform cake. The rest of us mere mortals get by with less than perfectly uniform cake. Above all else, don't fret: cake happens.
It's the sad reality of our hobby.
The best briar pipes strive for the smokability of a $5 corn cob pipe. All of us keep buy briar pipes because when it comes down to it, it's not just about a smoke deliver system for most of us. If that were the case, we would stick to cigars where there's nothing to clean or maintain other than maybe a decent cutter and lighter. There is an attraction, maybe even a relationship, with quality briar pipes.
The best briar pipes strive for the smokability of a $5 corn cob pipe. All of us keep buy briar pipes because when it comes down to it, it's not just about a smoke deliver system for most of us. If that were the case, we would stick to cigars where there's nothing to clean or maintain other than maybe a decent cutter and lighter. There is an attraction, maybe even a relationship, with quality briar pipes.
For me it's two things: How much a brier has been smoked (gently) and the density and grain of the wood. Ideally you would want to get the best on the market say a Ivarsson or Jess Chonowitsch . They are rather expensive though and in high demand. These are just two examples and there are a lot of good high end pipes out there these are just two that come to mind.
But I very much agree with the statements of others Cobs are a excellent way to begin. If your first experience with pipe smoking is to cough and gag at the awful break in of a new pipe how inclined do you think you would be to continue? For me personally getting past the gag takes at least 3 bowls. I cough and gag and just about throw up until after that third bowl. I very much agree that while there is no standard for how long a pipe takes to break in I would agree with the statement that around 50-75 gently smoked bowls is when they start to become much more enjoyable.
I abused the crap out of my first cob from simply not knowing how a pipe was to be smoked properly. This to is why a cob is a perfect way to start out.
I personally dedicate tobaccos to a certain pipe as you smoke your pipe the flavor of the tobacco will be taken on in the cake and switching around a lot can lead to very unpleasant smoking which I to found out smoking a cob trying a little of this and a little of that. Meers and Clay's on the other hand do not ghost because and this is important you do Not want any kind of cake build up.
I personally again my preference is to smoke the sweeter cavendish like mentioned above Carter Hall out of my cobs. While cobs have a sweet corn like flavor that will be added to the tobacco a Brier will add a woody nutty flavor so pairing them with different tobaccos is a fun and interesting exercise in choosing your flavor.
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