This post might be of some use to people wondering about homemade corn cob pipes. I made one back in May with a cob saved from dinner and a bamboo garden stake. It cost nothing, took about an hour (not counting the cob drying time) and worked well enough.
My biggest problem was the chamber was too narrow for my tamper. After some use I noticed a crack near the rim (you can see the crack in the 6 O’clock position of the top view). I suspect the cob would have continued to split along that crack. Finally, some of the dried kernels of corn fell out as it continued to dry and the pipe started looking ratty.
As an upgrade, I made another one a month later, again using another ear of corn that had been boiled for dinner. After cutting off the cooked corn, I let the cob air dry a week or so. I used the bottom of the cob which was naturally rounded, but required a small hard wood plug. I reused the same stem from my ratty first try. On the new one I mixed flour and diluted wood glue as a plaster coating on the exterior. Once that dried I sanded it, applied a light yellow stain and spritzed it with spray clear-coat. Between the flour/glue “plaster” and making the bottom plug, the second pipe took about three hours, but still cost nothing to make.
The plaster coating really added structural integrity to the cob so I was able to drill and sand the chamber out wider than the first one. This made a big difference in smoke-ability and being able to use a tamper.
After three months and 20+ bowls it shows signs of use, but no evidence of any burn-out or cracking. It smokes as well as any of my other pipes and surprisingly, the round bamboo stem is easy to clench and the pipe doesn’t want to twist or flop over. Depending on the tobacco, it easily lasts from 40 minutes to an hour. It’s now in my regular rotation and I can only guess it will last as long as I’m still around and piping.
I am definitely no expert on cob pipes but since I went through this process and it seems completely successful, I thought I make a post in case anyone was wondering if a homemade corn cob pipe from the local grocery store corn and stuff around the house would work. It definitely does.
My biggest problem was the chamber was too narrow for my tamper. After some use I noticed a crack near the rim (you can see the crack in the 6 O’clock position of the top view). I suspect the cob would have continued to split along that crack. Finally, some of the dried kernels of corn fell out as it continued to dry and the pipe started looking ratty.
As an upgrade, I made another one a month later, again using another ear of corn that had been boiled for dinner. After cutting off the cooked corn, I let the cob air dry a week or so. I used the bottom of the cob which was naturally rounded, but required a small hard wood plug. I reused the same stem from my ratty first try. On the new one I mixed flour and diluted wood glue as a plaster coating on the exterior. Once that dried I sanded it, applied a light yellow stain and spritzed it with spray clear-coat. Between the flour/glue “plaster” and making the bottom plug, the second pipe took about three hours, but still cost nothing to make.
The plaster coating really added structural integrity to the cob so I was able to drill and sand the chamber out wider than the first one. This made a big difference in smoke-ability and being able to use a tamper.
After three months and 20+ bowls it shows signs of use, but no evidence of any burn-out or cracking. It smokes as well as any of my other pipes and surprisingly, the round bamboo stem is easy to clench and the pipe doesn’t want to twist or flop over. Depending on the tobacco, it easily lasts from 40 minutes to an hour. It’s now in my regular rotation and I can only guess it will last as long as I’m still around and piping.
I am definitely no expert on cob pipes but since I went through this process and it seems completely successful, I thought I make a post in case anyone was wondering if a homemade corn cob pipe from the local grocery store corn and stuff around the house would work. It definitely does.
