Benefits of a Corn Cob Pipe for Newbies...from a Noob

[joeysmac]

Okay, I must confess that as a newbie (smoked three bowls in the past week since I started) I really wanted to start out smoking a cool looking briar pipe. You know, dark wood, slightly rough looking, big and manly...but most of the threads really push the Cob as the way to go for a noob. To be honest, I was thinking, "I don't wanna waste my time on a cob...gimme the good stuff and gimme a cool pipe."

That all changed when I was gifted a sampler out of the blue from our own Vrbas. Among 8 or 9 tobacco samples, he also through in a Cob, something I probably would not have bought on my own. I decided to fire it up today and it was a huge success. Not only did it smoke better than the two basket briars I have tried (both Calebresi's i think), but I was also able to see down inside afterwards and actually lay my eyes on some of the things that are talked about here. I was able to see that I had almost smoked the bowl all of the way down and I could also see the effects of the tobacco on the walls of the pipe. The Briar's are pitch black inside and you can't see anything afterwards, but with the Cob, you can see everything. I didn't have to re-light my Cob once I got her going. When the smoke thinned, I just tamped a little and she came back to life.

I don't know if I'm just getting better, or if the Cob made all the difference but I may try it out again tonight with some buddies. Anyways, thanks Vrbas and thanks Gorillas!

By the way, I smoked Old Gowrie today and was very impressed...

[morefifemusicanyone]

Glad to hear the cob worked for you! They are great pipes and can be lifelong friends.

Cheers to Vrbas for a convert!

[Professor Mike]

Originally Posted by morefifemusicanyone

Glad to hear the cob worked for you! They are great pipes and can be lifelong friends.

Cheers to Vrbas for a convert!

DITTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bigkev77]

When I first started I too had to have the cool brair and I just couldn't see what all of the fuss was about. I bought a cob because everyone here talks so highly of them. WOW what a difference! I didn't know what the tobacco should taste like untill then. It took forever to finally learn how to smoke the briar to get the quality smoke like the cob. A year later and I still pull out a cob so I can have a good smoke without the fuss. They are great no matter your experience level. The thing i learned about cobs is buy three or four. If you don't let them rest and dry they can be a sour stinking mess.

[VFD421]

Corn cobs are nice. I picked up a card of six of them for like $35. I use for trying new tobacco, I keep one in my locker at work, one at the station, and to add to my rotation until I can aquire more pipes.

[Slow Triathlete]

I use a few for out in the yard or when I'm out and about. My reason for liking them is because they are so light that I can hold them in my mouth while doing yardwork.

[JAX]

I've got a couple of cobs I use in my rotation. They are cheap, easy to smoke, very forgiving and will last a long time if you take care of it. Oh and they don't seem to ghost so you don't have to worry about which baccy goes with which cob.

Of note though, I have one cob used strictly for Aromactics.....just incase.

[Arizona]

What have I been saying for years?

Cobs are a wonderful smoke. Some people seem to get hung up on the Huckleberry Finn thing or something but they truly are great smokes despite their humble outer appearance at first glance.

I still have my very first pipe - a Missouri Meershaum that I got in the spring of 1981. It's an old friend and still gets smoked now n then for nostalgic moments. It's had about 4 different stems over the years.

To be honest if cobs were the only smoking pipe left on earth there'd be no complaining from me...

[imperial Stout]

I like cobbs as well but when I picked up my newest two pack turns out the bowl was of smaller diameter than my first cob and I can't pack with my fingers - have to use the tamping tool to pack which is kinda a pain.

[DubintheDam]

Never to be under estimated...a good cob...dub

[strider72]

I love a good briar... but the corn cobs are less work and more enjoyment. Probably get a couple more myself in a week.

[JacksonCognac]

yep let me echo everyone elses fondness for the cob.... they are literally all I smoke because I haven't had a desire to smoke anything else...

[Phlegmatic]

Ive stoped smoking my cobs now, they have no soul imho! And the ones ive got have awful mouth peices and too small bowls...

Only Briar pipes taste like a Briar pipe! (and it has to be a good one)

[afilter]

Cobs are great IMHO. They are right behind a good meerschaum, without the expense or worries of breaking.

I am sending a gift to a fellow cigar smoker friend who sent me some great smokes while I have been deployed. I am sending him a nice meer that a Turkish officer picked up for me while he was on leave along with a sampler. I am also throwing in a cob as he is a sportsman and the cob will be great for fishing and camping assuming he likes the pipe, where the meer is more appropriate for a cleaner environment.

Aaron

[dmkerr]

Originally Posted by Phlegmatic

Ive stoped smoking my cobs now, they have no soul imho! And the ones ive got have awful mouth peices and too small bowls...

Only Briar pipes taste like a Briar pipe! (and it has to be a good one)

I agree about the mouthpieces (that's part of what keeps the cost down) but I have two cobs that have large bowls. I don't care for small bowled pipes, either. I'm so used to large pipes that I don't think I could even properly load a small pipe!