| Author | Message | ||
     Scott Stambaugh Member Username: Banker Post Number: 30 Registered: 11-2005 |
I've never smoked a cob pipe before and I have my eye on one at a local shop. It's a Missouri Meerschaum cob pipe for about $5. It has a good sized bowl, an amber stem and uses Medico filters. How do they compare to a briar in terms of flavor, coolness, bite etc? Does a carbon cake form on cob pipes? Also should I use Bee Sweetener and pipe cleaners the same as I would on my briar pipes? Scott S. | ||
| Brian Wilson Member Username: Wilson Post Number: 3 Registered: 11-2005 |
Cobs are perfectly fine so long as you can find one you are happy with. They require much less maintenance than briars and can offer a unique smoking alternative. Cobs do not seem to assume significant flavoring from tobaccos the way that briars do, which makes them ideal for sampling different blends. My cobs have developed little to no caking, though they are prone to bowl blackening from use of matches. I don't know about the Bee Sweetener, but I would make sure to clean the stem with a pipe cleaner quite regularly. | ||
| Wayne S Benge Member Username: Wsbenge Post Number: 244 Registered: 05-2005 |
I have a couple broken in cobs that smoke as good as my favorite briar. A bit dryer, usually, with just a bit of condensation on the bit. Cobs do form carbon cake. A good cob will need its bit replaced, as they are generally flimsy. They will deform and get chewed in two. There are exceptions. MM's Freehand has a decent bit. The bottom of a cob can be its weakest area. The smoke hole in the bowl tends to be high, and I let ash/cake form in the bottom to protect the bottom and guide the tobacco toward the hole during the final tamping near the end of the smoke. I use Bee sweetener occasionally and a pipe cleaner just like I do on a briar. With a cob, the pipe cleaner always gets through to the bowl without having to remove the bit. All cobs are not the same. Some are weak walled, and made on Monday morning after a hard weekend, it seems. Some are great. Let me know how it goes. | ||
| Matthew J. Masley Member Username: Numbersalone Post Number: 35 Registered: 09-2005 |
first, take out the filter, second, i have had a good flavor, temp, with no tounge bite, my $3.49 Meer smokes better than a $25 Gabrow........ waste of money..... but, i love cobs, only thing i usually smoke... untill i scrape some money up. but, one of my cobs has built a very distinguished cake, and it does not get soggy anymore if you smoke more than once or two bowls a day. -matt | ||
| Israel Member Username: Israel Post Number: 151 Registered: 10-2004 |
Yes, the filters go immediately into the trash upon receipt of a new cob. The charcoal or meerschaum filters might work, I don't know. But those paper "filters" which come in some of the pipes look to be nothing more than rolls of paper and taste about as good as you would think a wet roll of paper would taste, once you've given it a good shot of tobacco juice. | ||
| Scott Stambaugh Member Username: Banker Post Number: 31 Registered: 11-2005 |
Brian, Wayne, Matt and Israel - thanks very much for all of the valuable information. I now feel like a cob expert and I haven't even smoked one yet! I'm going to buy one tomorrow and I'll let you know how it goes. Scott S. | ||
| The_cod_father Member Username: The_cod_father Post Number: 220 Registered: 01-2005 |
I'm still struggling with the "Cheap Hillbilly" image that most people associate with the cob pipe. I know alot of people here extole their virture's but I just can't seem to get over it. Hopefully I will be able to and get to enjoy the cob I have in my collection. TCF Ever wonder why all the drive up ATM's have braile on the drivers side !!!HUMMMMM !!! | ||
| Israel Member Username: Israel Post Number: 166 Registered: 10-2004 |
The fact is that sometimes prestige is important to people. And when they can, the buy accordingly. Other people are more utilitarian- they buy what works best and don't worry about appearances. The way I look at it, cob pipes are living piece of Americana- and in a world where sameness is seen as a virtue, sometimes it's nice to have something a little different. Who cares what the other guy thinks? If it appeals to you, enjoy yourself. | ||
| jeff armstrong Member Username: Cigarnomo Post Number: 154 Registered: 03-2005 |
Hey Cod Father, You mean people might look at you funny for smoking a cob? Hell, you should see the looks I get just smoking a briar! Well come to think of it....I get some strange looks even when I don't have a pipe, I guess I'll have to work on that one. "S&G Skiff in a Dunhill root briar estate" | ||
| Joseph Boyd Member Username: Druk Post Number: 8 Registered: 11-2005 |
Codfather, If the 'hillbilly' stigma is too much for you, try one of the polished cobs. I have two of the Washingtons in my rotation now, I doubt the average person would even know its a cob without looking close. While on the topic of cobs, I just added the 2nd cob to my rotation today and when I lit it, the finish around the rim flared up and it burnt as much in a few seconds than my other has in 3 weeks of heavy use. Real Irish in a MM Bent Washington 'Good pipe weather' -Flanders | ||
| Dave Crehore Member Username: Briarbrain Post Number: 328 Registered: 11-2004 |
Yes, a cob will develop a cake if you smoke it for a very long time. I have an old Irwin S. Cobb I bought back in the late 60's, and it formed a cake that I had to ream from time to time. After about ten years the bowl split vertically on one side, and right now the only thing holding the pipe together is the cake. I no longer smoke it because I borrowed its wonderful hardwood bit to use in other cobs. I sure wish you could get wooden bits like that today. I have a number of cobs that I use for hunting/fishing/bird-watching/dog walking pipes simply because they are cheap and no great loss if they go over the side or get broken. So, as devices in which to burn tobacco under conditions that could harm a briar, cobs are very practical. But as devices in which to enjoy tobacco, they leave a lot to be desired, in my opinion. A cob will never smoke as cool and dry as a briar, and there is a kind of "burnt cob" smell to the smoke that never goes away. For a day in the woods or on the river, they are OK. But it's always a relief to get back to the truck and light up a bowl in a briar. I just think you get what you pay for, and a $5 pipe is a $5 pipe, whether it's made of corncob, briar, clay or dinosaur bones. | ||
| The_cod_father Member Username: The_cod_father Post Number: 224 Registered: 01-2005 |
Hey Jeff , I guess I didn't explain myself enough . It's not that I worry about what others think , I gave that up when I was about 10 . I'm the one with the problem I guess there is a sort of prejustice within me as to what my perception of a cob pipe is or says!!! So it is up to me to get past it and once I do I'm sure that I will regret not having done so earlier in my smoking career...TCF Ever wonder why all the drive up ATM's have braile on the drivers side !!!HUMMMMM !!! | ||
| Robert T. Puckett Member Username: Invictacidal Post Number: 1 Registered: 10-2005 |
I believe Frog Morton 'On The Bayou' has no other home than in a MM. | ||
| Charles Spencer Member Username: Charles_spencer Post Number: 262 Registered: 03-2005 |
Well, Cod Father, a true story: A while back, I dropped one of my cobs while I was removing it from the rack. It fell and bounced off the skin of my banjo. That did give me pause and make me think about the hillbilly image. |