Corn Cob Pipes

[Frank7580]

Hello All,

Does someone have a personal recommendation of an online vendor for corn cob pipes? I've seem some comments on walkerbriarworks.com and aristocob.com but a plug from some of you gents here would give me more confidence.

Thanks Guys

 

[SiBurning]

Can't recommend a vendor, but odds are you'll find most corn pipes are from the Missouri Meerschaum Company or some one person operation. What I want to recommend is to stay away from the varnished ones at first. Some of them end up varnished on the inside, which is just nasty when the varnish burns. Even when they're not varnished inside, the corn cob soaks up moisture but the pipe can't breathe with the varnish on the outside, so the pipe can get nasty.

For a Missouri Meerschaum, you can get them pretty much anywhere. Even the large chain drug stores around here carry them, as do many quick stop kind of places that sells cigarettes and newspapers.

 

[Commander Quan]

http://www.marscigars.com/corncob.aspx

Best price on the net

 

[Leche]

Haven't been in a tobacco shop that carries pipes not having corn cobs.

 

[Commander Quan]

Andrew has a good point. Usually MM pipes can be found at "drugstores" too

 

[SiBurning]

http://www.marscigars.com/corncob.aspx

Best price on the net

Wow! Those are really good prices.

 

[sproosemoose]

http://www.marscigars.com/corncob.aspx

Best price on the net

those pipes look pretty cool and are so cheap!

 

[Wil Dorenbos]

for a missouri meerschaum, you can get them pretty much anywhere. Even the large chain drug stores around here carry them, as do many quick stop kind of places that sells cigarettes and newspapers.

+1

 

[mparker762]

If you wind up using your cob very often I recommend getting one of walkerbriarworks.com's "forever" stems. The MM stems are awfully cheap and flimsy and a bit awkward, and his stems look really nice, classing up the cob quite a bit, plus they feel like a "normal" pipe in your mouth. They fit pretty much all MM cobs, so you can get one and move it from pipe to pipe as needed. I've got two of his stems, a medium bent black/white swirled acrylic and a long bent in gold/cream swirled acrylic. Experienced pipesters generally agree that cobs smoke extremely well; I've always suspected that the reason they don't get seen in public as much as briars is because they look so cheap; the walker stems mostly solve that "problem". My MM Country Gentleman (which is black stained) with the black/white swirled "forever" stem is a really sharp-looking pipe.

 

[Geo Dude]

http://www.pipetobaccotls.com/about.html

Byron is a good guy, and he has good prices. His site is worth looking at, even if it isn't too spiffy (and that's being generous).

 

[buyandhold2018]

I've ordered right from MM...

http://www.corncobpipe.com/home.php?cat=269

My favorites are also the natural cobs, they seem to breath much easier and dissipate the head better. I like the Missouri Pride.

 

[Geo Dude]

Ordering from MM is one path to take, but you can get the 'cobs at a cheaper price elsewhere.

 

[Frank7580]

Wow... more suggestions and links than I anticipated. Thank you for the advice.

A couple of folks recommended staying away from the varnished models... which MM pipes are your favorites?

 

[Commander Quan]

They're cheep, why not buy a couple and see which ones you like.

I have started only buying cobs with straight stems. The way the the bent stems are bent makes it practically impossible to fit a pipe cleaner through them.

 

[SiBurning]

Wow... more suggestions and links than I anticipated. Thank you for the advice.

A couple of folks recommended staying away from the varnished models... which MM pipes are your favorites?

My favorite is the little taster. Instead of smoking a cigarette on a break at work, I fill a small pipe. Have about a dozen of them. As with any pipe, you need to let a corn cob dry out for a day or two between uses or they get nasty. Sometimes, I'll just buy a new taster after a day or two. But I've also kept half a dozen in two plastic bags, transferring them from one to the other as I use them.

It's a shame they dumbed down the website. They used to list whether the pipes were varnished or not. Some are unfinished and look just like someone neatly ate corn, others are milled smooth and kiln dried, and some are milled and varnished. The taster, Missouri Pride, and Eaton (and maybe others) are unfinished, and they impart a definite, spicy taste to the smoke. The finished ones are all dried, and give less flavor. The varnished ones don't quite breath, but more importantly need to be cleaned of varnish on the inside.

These pipes are not high quality. They vary greatly in their ability to smoke. Some are great, while one next to it might be awful. That's the breaks with using a corn cob, and just shoving a hollow stick through a hole. Get a few in different styles to try them out. The advantage of buying locally is you can look inside and maybe give it a draw to see how it's built.

If I could take the liberty, I'd suggest the unfinished Missouri Pride, a finished Diplomat with its hardwood bottom, a couple of unfinished tasters (not the Ozark miniature), and one other of your choosing, preferably with a filter.

 

[mparker762]

There's nothing wrong with varnish that a little sandpaper won't cure. It won't get rid of all of it but it'll get rid of enough to let the pipe breathe.

 

[SiBurning]

There's nothing wrong with varnish that a little sandpaper won't cure. It won't get rid of all of it but it'll get rid of enough to let the pipe breathe.

Only really need to get it off the top of the pipe and whatever drips to the inside. They're just not too careful about it.