Wood at the Bottom of Missouri Meerschaum Bowls

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astralogic

Lurker
Feb 24, 2017
18
8
I guess this is a normal thing right since all four of my Missouri Meerschaum pipes have that chunk of wood in the bowl.
How do people deal with that wood? Is the only option to just be careful?
I only smoked wood once, on my first go with a MM, since then though I've been fine so it does look like I got the hang of it. The reason I ask though is because I just got a small one (The Shire Cobbit I believe) and it looks like it might be tricky since the bowl is so small.
I presume that bit of wood is the reason MM pipes smoke so well?

 
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warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,699
16,206
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
Without the wood plug the cob would be very hard to pack much less smoke. Tens of thousands sold and enjoyed. I've never given a thought to the plug. Like the above, I'm not sure I understand your concern.

 

astralogic

Lurker
Feb 24, 2017
18
8
I just wish I could coat it in something non burnable so I can relax and just smoke my pipe without worrying I'm about to burn wood.
Does no one really see the concern of putting your burning tobacco directly on top of wood? Easily burnable wood? I love the pipes, I just have to keep my wits about me, checking how low the tobacco has got so far, eyeballing it imagining where the wood is in relation to the top of the tobacco. I can never smoke a MM pipe all the way down until I feel I'm done, I have to stop early so the ember doesn't reach the wood.
Know what I mean?

 

kanse

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 9, 2016
548
5
Quite a number of people modify their corn cobs. One of the most popular ones is the removal of the wooden thing. I can relate, I find it obnoxious.

 

astralogic

Lurker
Feb 24, 2017
18
8
I see, it goes black very quick, this gave me the impression it was easily burnable, and could possibly set on fire!
Thanks for assuaging my fears :)

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
Yeah, they're hard to beat. And if you like them more than briars, you can get caught in the trap of, "Well, you haven't smoked a "quality" briar". "Oh, a Savinelli? You haven't tried a vintage Dunhill". "Oh, but you haven't tried a handmade artisan pipe". "Oh, that's only a thousand-dollar range artisan smoker. Briars really shine in the $5,000 dollar artisan range after being broken in for 17 years".
Yeah, okay. Maybe I just like cobs better than briars.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I think that the anxiety about wood at the bottom of the MM bowl is misplaced, but it does illustrate how focused people become smoking pipes. In this case, you just need to find something more useful to focus on, like a good sunset when available, a spirited cup of tea (or a bourbon, or whatever's your pleasure), or Forums on the screen, or a companion animal or painting, etc. etc. The wood at the bottom of your pipe bowl is fine, no problem. As the old straw goes, don't sweat the small stuff.

 
Mar 1, 2014
3,646
4,916
Corncob burns much more easily than the wood plug. They put the wooden plug there to prevent the exact thing that you're worried about.
Cobs that do not have the wood plug should probably be mudded (mix pure ash with a bit of water to make a paste and coat the bottom of the pipe with it). Lots of people still do that with Cobs that have a wood plug, but the need for it is actually greatly reduced.

 

stevuke79

Might Stick Around
Sep 21, 2016
54
22
I've definitely smoked a little wood once or twice. Not the best taste but not the worst.
It's ok. After a few smokes the heat chars the wood and the risk is gone.
What bothers ME is that you can neither smoke all of the tobacco surrounding that wood bit nor can you really clean it all out.... Which makes "ghosting" inevitable. So I just decided that ghosting from good tobacco is ok :)

 

jvnshr

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 4, 2015
4,616
3,868
Baku, Azerbaijan
Just to make it clear:
Shank inside the bowl
corncobarticle.jpg

Plug
Bottom.JPG

Regarding the shank inside the bowl, I removed that part in one of my MM corn cobs and filled it with some pipe mud. It smokes great.
What bothers ME is that you can neither smoke all of the tobacco surrounding that wood bit nor can you really clean it all out
I use toothpicks to remove that tobacco surrounding the shank extension if needed.

 
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