Smoking in a Cob

[Skapie]

I have put about 4 bowls through my new Missouri Meerschaum cob.
Yuck.
How long until that slightly sweet, sickening taste of burnt corn goes away? Does it ever?
If it isn’t soon then I’m ditching this thing, all my favourite blends now taste like burnt grits. The pipe smokes fairly well, I’ll give it that.

 

[doctorbob]

That is why I don't smoke cobs. Once break in is done, they're fine. Until that point? Ugh.

 

[michiganlover]

I would guess 10-12 bowls, and the cob flavor should go away. It just has to build up a very light layer of cake.

 

[curl]

Maybe put off smoking your favorite blends in the pipe until it is broken in. Load it up with a reliable codger blend for a while.

 

[colorduke]

Its no different then a briar,it just needs broken in.

 

[ray47]

Your close, just be patient. Once it's broke in, you'll be buying more cobs.

 

[admiral]

I usually dont need more than 5 bowls to break a cob

 

[mso489]

I don't find the sweet cob taste that overbearing, and in fact I barely notice it. In any case, it doesn't remain after a carbon layer is in place. Once you've blackened the chamber, you won't experience it at all. Good old American blends like Prince Albert, Carter Hall, Russ' Log Cabin, Iwan Ries Three Star Blue, Edward G. Robinson, Sir Walter Raleigh regular or aromatic, and other blends of that ilk, tend to override the corn flavor in a few bowls, for me. The reward, as you have noticed, is that good cobs like MM and Old Dominion smoke well. For new pipe smokers, they are easy to light and keep lit, and are light weight. Even when rotated with fine artisan and name brand pipes, they are pleasing and comfortable. I don't think of them as disposable, just good pipes.

 

[davek]

Like anything else, it's a process. The first couple/few bowls to me are bad. That's the burning lacquer and a lot of cob. Then the "cob" taste fades, it doesn't suddenly go away. You are through the worst IMO. I think you actually have to char it a little as well as build cake. Then you have an absorbent layer.
Think about it like this. If you take a stick and press the end against red hot metal it will smoke and burn. Keep it pressed and it will burn up. If you blow it out after it burns a little repeatedly, ultimately the charred end won't burn easily like raw wood would. That charred layer and cake also absorbs oils and such so there's that as well.
Best to sand the inside of a cob a bit before the first smoke. I leave the filter in till it clogs a little before I throw it away as the first smokes aren't stellar. For the very first bowl, smoke some cheap junk and figure that's not exactly a bowl for relaxation and contemplation. Or you could do like Mark Twain...

"Oh, no," he answered, "I never smoke a new corn-cob pipe. A new pipe irritates the throat. No corn-cob pipe is fit for anything until it has been used at least a fortnight."
"How do you manage then?" I asked. "Do you follow the example of the man with the tight boots;--wear them a couple of weeks before they can be put on?"
"No," said Mark Twain, "I always hire a cheap man--a man who doesn't amount to much, anyhow--who would be as well--or better--dead, and let him break in the pipe for me. I get him to smoke the pipe for a couple of weeks, then put in a new stem, and continue operations as long as the pipe holds together."

 

[Skapie]

Ha! Thank you for the Mark Twain quote, Davek.
Okay, so it’s a matter of perseverance. I went back to briar this morning just to make sure my memory of how my tobacco should taste is not wrong.

 

[Skapie]

4 bowls further and it’s easing up, I must admit. It’s there but I have to search for it now.

 

[tom12]

Stick with it, some of my best pipes are corncobs.

 

[dottiewarden]

My love for briars kept my mind pretty closed, but one day I picked up a Missouri Meerschuam and I was pleasantly surprised.
To quote mso489

Even when rotated with fine artisan and name brand pipes, they are pleasing and comfortable. I don't think of them as disposable, just good pipes.

 

[artificialme]

I only have 1 pipe right now. Hoping to get the next one. Although I'm still thinking what to get. Maybe some Indonesian artisan's pipe or maybe a cob. Looking for another review here

 

[Chasing Embers]

Cobs are in the same league as my artisan pieces, and are treated the same. Also, I haven't been tempted to grow a tree in one yet.

 

[davek]

I only have 1 pipe right now. Hoping to get the next one. Although I'm still thinking what to get. Maybe some Indonesian artisan's pipe or maybe a cob. Looking for another review here

When briars are good, they're great. They can vary.
Instead of one Indonesian artisan, why not a few cobs? Ya gotta rotate pipes at least a little. There is a smoke shop near me which has Legends for $4. Legends are kinda small but... still. Many people get a few cobs to start and then start accumulating briars.