Reaming a Cob??

[05venturer]

How do the cob smokers out there clean the cake buildup on their cobs? Do you just use a knife or a pipe reamer? This may sound foolish but I really do like to take good care of my cobs and need a little advice on any other maintenance needed for them. I have a few of my cobs that I have been smoking for nearly a year now and they are getting a buildup in them. I know they are cheap and I could just buy new ones but I don't see any reason if I can keep on smoking these. I do still have the 1st cob I bought in Nov 2012 when I took up pipesmoking full time and I really want to see how long it will last.

 

[weezell]

I've got 2 MM legends that I have been smoking since the mid 1970's. Dull knife scrape every now & then, and have at it...

 

[eazye77]

Thanks! Was wondering about this myself.

 

[warren]

That's about all I do. Not sure I need to do even that. My cobs don't usually last all that long. They usually get lost, broken, fall into the marsh, carried off by the dog, etc. before needing a reaming.

 

[reichenbach]

I ream mine. And give them alcohol treatments. And try to fix them when they break. ANd cover them with wood glue to keep pieces from falling out. You can fix something on your cob for less than the cost of a new cob, why not? You already have a history with it.

 

[werdna]

Kent, I treat my cobs the same as I treat my briers. I wipe them out by twisting a paper towel into the bowl, at the end of each day. If there is any bumpy cake left in the bowl, I use a 20 penny nail head to scrape it off. The nail head is dull, and won't harm the bowl. Good luck.

 

[papipeguy]

I use the blade on my pipe tool to clean the bowl. I'd be very leery of using my Senior reamer and there really isn't a need for me to do so. One thing I learned with cobs is that you can beat them and they'll still be fine. They are wonderous things.

 

[mso489]

If you wipe out the bowl after every smoke with a paper towel, this keeps the cake down to an acceptable level.

Several us have commented that following the procedure makes reaming unnecessary.