Corn Cob pipes? Are they inferior smokers

I have tried cobs on several occasions, and I must admit that I to date have not had a decent smoke in one.

I realize that there are a great many cob fans out there, but to me they're just not worth the trouble.

I've never smoked one, so I'll just watch the results and see what everyone else thinks. What is "the trouble" with them?

For me, the trouble has been numerous.

Taste, which seems the obvious for most of those who choose to smoke a cob. You get the corn sweetness added to whatever you are smoking. For me that's not a nice experience.

I like pipes with smaller bowls, but with most of the cobs, I have tried, I couldn't even get my index finger (let alone any other finger) inside the chamber (human tamper).

Finally, the cobs I have tried have had a very uncomfortable bit and it seems like a cob will burn out before the tobacco does.

Once or twice with a cob... I could not get past the taste of burnt popcorn. Hey, to each his own, I know some guys love cobs, but they can have them.

I have heard of a trick to getting that taste out. Pour a bit of alcohol inside, dump it, and then ignite the bowl. Supposedly the charring will get out the corn taste and start a coating on the inside of the bowl. Never tried it, maybe someday, when I am bored.

and yes, the first bowl or two can be nasty, but once broken in, you get a cool and flavorful smoke. The rumors are true, burley is the best thing to burn in a cob.

I have had a few cobs...the first one I bought was a Missouri Meerschaum General...one of those bigger ones with shiny black surface on the outside...and that was from Frenchy, so he threw in the el-cheap-o version one too...well anyway...The General is great...I like them so much for trying potentially bad tobaccos...and after about 10-15 smokes...that flavor, for the most part, went away...and I made new stems for them out of ebonite, so that makes them much more comfortable...and when I need a new one, they are mass produced, so I can buy a new bowl and put the old stem in that one...it works out great...

but the el-cheap-o one that frenchy threw in...that was another story all together...I hated that pipe...it never seemed to smoke right...I don't think it sealed where the stem met the cob...so I could barely even get any smoke out of it...

so moral of the story is get the nice ones...they only cost about $6 anyway...so they aren't gonna break the bank.

Cheers,

Josh

I've found that with burley blends (or, actually, in my case, Semois) the flavor of the blend went rather well with that pop corn flavor that has been reported before. Also, I happen to think the bits are remarkably comfortable, seen what they're made of and how they're made.

Now, that is all good and well, but are they really worth the 10-15 € ? Nah, you can get a crappy briar with similar characteristics for that price, and it will last longer too.

I really like cobs once in a while.Carter Hall, OJK, Walnut and other burley based tobaccos really shine in a Diplomat. Don't get me wrong I love my briars, but you won't ever see me turn down a cob full of burley. I also like to use them for testing new tobacco. I like the sweet flavor a cob brings to the table.
Regards,
Dave

but I wouldn't want to smoke them all the time.

I own three. One is the tiny bowl style and its good for a 10-15 minute puff. Its been with me for a year now, or it that 2 years? I can't remember for sure - I do know I bought it to cut the hedges in the spring but don't know if that was last year or the year before. Anyway, its worked quite well and the popcorn flavor does really go away after a couple of bowl. Its caked up nice (I never ream it) and smokes cool as a cucumber. The other two I own are the larger size (whatever they're called) and are really good for testing new blends. If the blend is totally yak, who cares if it ghosts the pipe? At that price you can just toss it and move on.

I'm currently exploring the world of codger burleys in cobs ... somehow seems to fit. And I really want to experience what my Grandfather did so many years ago. As a matter of fact I believe I'll load up one of the cobs with Carter Hall right now!

No

replace the plastic stem.

Not really, they do not preform the same as a briar but I do not consider them an inferior smoking tool. Sure the stems are not made to last but I bet if one paid attention to chewing it up it would last a heck of a lot longer. Taste strange for the first few smokes, hey so does a new briar. Both break in, cake and smoke nutural. Last as long as a briar, not likely but for $3 what do you want. One of mine smoked 4 ounces of lanes black raspberry and shows no signs of fatigue, well maybe the stem is a bit chewed. In all I have nothing against the "cob", in fact they are the best pipes for fishing. Back to back smokes, drop them, sit on them - who cares. They even float.

matching the tobacco to the cob. When i could find either Rotterdam or Van Nelle's shags, the cob was a fine complement to the smoke. Truthfully, I prefer the Ropp cherrywood as a non-briar smoke. The Ropps were more durable and bigger bowled, and a sweeter smoke. But, I don't think that cobs are inferior smokers.

Truth is I just don't know. I have smoked cobs in the past but can't really say memory serves on how well they smoked. I've heard lots of folks say they're the bees knees for codger burlies, and I do like the idea of using them to try new blends as they are very disposable if the new blend gums your pipe. This may be an area I need to explore. Sounds like a cob might be just what the doctor ordered for this Edgeworth/5Bros blend.

People think I'm strange enough already. In SA, to have a corn cob pipe sticking out of my gob would qualify me for the lunatic fringe. I have NEVER actually seen anyone here smoking one. Not even the indigenous Africans. Given the fact that they've been growing & eating the stuff for ages & STILL carve their pipes from wood (some of them very beautiful), that speaks volumes to me. Sorry chaps, but it seems you're forcing an issue here. Perhaps there are other sensible plant materials - actual wood to make pipes out of - other than briar, that is. I think you're romanticising.

Rotterdam? Van Nelle shag?

You could basically add any Dutch/belgian/French brown tobacco to that list there.

Though I ought to say that of all of those, Semois probably ranks highest when it comes to quality and taste.

I would expect that the corn grown in SA would not be entirely suitable for pipemaking much like calabashes grown in the states aren't entirely suitable.

Indigenous Americans smoked from stone... never caugh on with the European Settlers.

I have a bunch of burleys coming my way, so I guess I might as well get me a stack of cobs and give that a whirl. Who knows, I might get turned on to burleys and look like Popeye in my final days.

They serve their purpose, great for gifting along with samples, both for sending along with samples, and sampling for yourself. I do have a couple of cobs that I've only smoked one blend in.

I have a small stable of cobs and they all smoke great. Some of mine have lasted for hundreds of bowls over many years and show no signs of slowing down. I do have a few of the Legend which is the "standard" size but I consider it small; I have several larger models (Patriot, General, Diplomat) and they are great for burley.

One of the secrets seems to be to buy straights instead of bents, because the stems on the bents enter the bowl at too step of an angle and either work loose or weaken the bowls.

I have had great service from MM Co. and have no complaints. Except...I would like to see them bring back some nice stems, the current plastic mouthpieces are junk, if comfortable. Some nice vulcanite bits and bamboo stems would be worth paying for.

BTW Josh, the General comes in clear finish as well.

The filtered ones contain a paper filter which after 10 seconds of smoking is not unlike wet toilet paper. I customarily pull the stems and throw out all filters before the first smoke.

The pipes could occasionally do with clearing some chips from the bowl and stem with a sharp knife. Not the level of finish you expect with a Dunhill, but for a few dollars, quite acceptable on a cob.

I don't have the sensitive palate that some smokers do, so I never noticed any corn flavor. They seem to cake up just fine so I would think if you do detect corn taste, it should go away if you can stand to smoke it enough to build a little cake. After that, smooth sailing all the way.

Edit: "I have several larger models (Patriot, General, Diplomat) and they are great for burley." --> what I meant to say: I have several larger models (Great Dane spool, General, Diplomat) and they are great for burley. The Patriot is a favorite (quite handsome) but it is significantly smaller than the Dane or General. I would have to say overall the General is the best choice in a big cob. I heard the freehands smoke good (and have better bits) but I haven't tried one yet.

I have Cobs on hand for several reasons. One being that they are inexpensive and are great when "roughing" it somewhere where a pipe may be at risk of being lost or broken.
Two- for trying out a new blend that may leave "ghosts in the bowl.
Three- that they are great smokers for the price.
just my two cents.

a General and a Great Dane (spool shape). The General is quite a bit larger inside the bowl although from the outside they don't look at that different in size. They both smoke great. I am now trying my first bowl of OJK in the Great Dane.

I think the only two bigger than these are the McArthur and the Freehand. I plan to try those also.

P.S. How do I post a photo?

just insert an HTML tag like this:

< img src="link to photo">

Remove the whitespace in front of the i and <

Hi Lars,

Thanks for the info but I want to actually upload the pic to be hosted on this site. I don't have it saved anywhere except my computer. I don't have a "rich text editor" showing up. I tried a few different browsers and no joy.

you can always set up a flikr, or webshots, or picasa account for that...then it is online and can be embedded.

this site is really constricting on photo upload...better to use a dedicated site like the ones I mentioned above...then embed from there....

Cheers,

Josh

Here is a picture of a nice can of OJK with two of my cobs which I posted earlier today on pipes.org.

http://forum.pipes.o...

It's kind of like comparing apples and oranges, but I have corn cobs I would consider decent smokers. Yes there is a wierd corn taste until you break them in, but once you cake them up it's pretty good.

I would never choose to smoke one at home, but when I'm fishing, hiking, or at the beach( rocks and such in the lake ), I always take a cob. Because for 6 dollars I don't care if I drop/loose the thing. I also bring a cob or two when I go camping with friends, inevitably someone wants to try a pipe, and again I'd sooner just let them have at it with a cob then ruin one of my briar's

... but at best they are a mediocre smoke. Overall, they are definitely inferior.

1. Burn out/through. Without the wooden bottom, they burn out relatively quickly.
I have 6 cobs left, of perhaps 10 owned. I have not smoked a cob in over 5 years. I may never smoke one again.

2. Ash in mouth. When purchasing, be sure the stem is near the bottom of the bowl, otherwise, as the tobacco burns below the level of the stem, you are likely to get ash in the mouth. I've used pipe screens successfully in these cases, but why go to another level of inconvenience for a poorer smoke.

3. Burley OK. Ok, they work best with burley. But I rarely smoke burley.

4. The are cheap. Yep, but so are the cherry and maple pipes produced by the same company - Missouri Meerschaum. cost is about $3. Be sure the stem is positioned well - see item 2, as it applies to these wooden pipes.

5. Stems work and are comfortable. Don't chew on them and they will outlast the cob.

6. They are good for fishing, but so are the cheap wood pipes I've mentioned above. OK, they float. But I wouldn't smoke a cob that went into the drink.

Better alternatives would be clay pipes, the wooden pipes I've mentioned, or inexpensive but high quality estate pipes.

cheers,

Tom

So this thread made me get up just today and stuff some peter stokbye pressed burley into a cob. It was pretty darn good, mmmmhmm, americana. Lol, that's enough of that though.

I have a few without wood bottoms and they're going on 15 years with a few hundred bowls through each of them and no sign of burn out. You just get a good (or bad) cob now and again and it makes all the difference. I have some new ones I got within the past 2 or 3 years and they're all showing a lot of promise.

Nobody is going to tell you they smoke like a Dunhill but they have good airflow and nice capacity and smoke much better than they look!