Well, tnx to @thebadgerpiper I decided to try something extreme with my Emerald. Lightly sanded, then coated the entire stummel and shank with medium brown. Then stained the middle of the bowl and shank with green. Then stained the entire pipe with black. Sanded some of the black down revealing hints of green and brown. The pics don't do it justice. There is a much more sutle blending of shades than the pics indicate. Anyway, here it is...
@Balisong Yes, naturally letting each application dry before applying the next. I also used a paper towel and lightly wiped the outer edges, especially the green, to soften the edges of the stain and help toward a smoother blending of colors...
@thebadgerpiper that green looks fantastic on that cob. You could make a wind cap for it that looks like a stem and a few leafs so you can have a true green apple. 😁
It's probably worth noting that while the pipe above has a hardwood plug, the other one featured on their page (the official MM page, not pipenooks' page per se)--the Riverboat Gambler--does not; I personally only buy cobs with plugs because I'm a slobbering idiot and my bowls get soggy.
I can't speak for the knock offs but the tool steel one I've had since the Seventies won't reach the heel of an Eaton, Tom Sawyer or other small deep bowl versions.
I have a MM Cob that I have smoked since 1965 (56 years). It has a nice darkened bowl and darkened amber bit.. I have replacement bits (owning 7 MM Cobs) but I want it to be with original "factory parts". It still smokes wonderfully and although one of my less expensive pipes, it is one of my most cherished, The ONLY thing I had ever do to it was re glue the stem some years ago. I wonder where this pipe falls on the records of oldest still used corn cob pipes? In fact I just took him off the rack to get into the game next inning.
Gordon They do smoke well, my only issue is typically the bowl sizes are small. BUT, they impart a great sweet addition to whatever blend you burn.I have seven cobs, several still yet unsmoked.
I have over 30 cobs in rotation at this point. Half of them are Morgans which at .75 wide and an inch deep make great flake pipes. I have three Diplomats that are rotated as my morning pipes and the rest take up the remainder of my daily use. The rest includes Washington and Legend Rob Roys and Missouri Prides, all less than $7.00 pipes. What I enjoy most about them is the open draw. With briars I find myself attached to a pipe cleaner, which ends up behind my ear, for every bowl. Cobs on the other hand only get cleaned and rested after three or more uses. That's upward of 20 smokes on a single cleaning which in total takes under 10 minutes.
I have an old MM that is pretty big. It has a nickel, maybe brass? kinda gold colored, especially on the inside. I wouldn't expect any real gold on a cob, plating or otherwise, but who knows? shank band and a vulcanite stem (I got it as an estate, so I don’t know if it is original?). It has a 1” bore and 7/8”+ depth. Here it is next to my MM Country Gent.
I love all of my Cobs. The Cobbit series are nice cool smokers. Great to see the pictures and stories of the ones that have lasted 50+ years. Looking forward to seeing mine age.
I was able to visit the MM store and museum about 2 years ago. A lot of artifacts and letters from McArthur, Twain, and Rockwell thanking the company for their trusty cobs. The town of Washington is a great little river town that will surely make you feel like Samuel Clemens. All around it was a great pipe pilgrimage.
The link I posted about halfway up this page has great info on smoking cobs including the charring light. The author, John Paton, also created some custom blends that are for sale on 4noggins.com.
@JLehman5290 I was also able to visit the MM Factory back in late 2019. Fantastic place with so much history behind it. I wrote about my experience there on my pipe blog. Anyone that can make the trip absolutely should.
The shame about the Let Freedom Ring pipes is that they don't have any hardwood plugs (that I know of anyway), and when I smoke a few bowls in a row, the bowls sometimes get soggy all the through. When I smoke, I slobber like the master in the SNL skit with Michael Palin
@vtgrad2003 Cobs are cheap, the Let Freedom Ring cobs are natural (not filled) on the exterior so they smoke cool and dry fast. At 8 bucks a piece they round out a Smoking Pipes order for free shipping.
Out of all the cobs on the MM website, if I were to buy a new one what would you all recommend? I like the Tiberius but I haven't made up my mind yet. I already have a ln old beat up riverboat gambler, but it's nearing the end of it's life here. Opinions please, and thank you in advance
@Zouave Out of all the cobs I've owned, my two best smokers are the bent Charlestown Cobbler/The Emerald (both the same pipes except for finish and color of stem), and the Dagner Poker (not the diamond one, the regular one). Of those two it comes down to whether you want a nose warmer or not.
Comments
Lightly sanded, then coated the entire stummel and shank with medium brown. Then stained the middle of the bowl and shank with green. Then stained the entire pipe with black.
Sanded some of the black down revealing hints of green and brown.
The pics don't do it justice. There is a much more sutle blending of shades than the pics indicate.
Anyway, here it is...
Did you use leather dye for all three tones?
I also used a paper towel and lightly wiped the outer edges, especially the green, to soften the edges of the stain and help toward a smoother blending of colors...
How to break in a corn cob pipe
https://www.tobaccopipes.com/blog/how-to-break-in-a-corn-cob-pipe-/https://pipedia.org/wiki/The_Complete_Corncob_primer
It's a great read that I've gone back to quite a few times!
They do smoke well, my only issue is typically the bowl sizes are small. BUT, they impart a great sweet addition to whatever blend you burn.I have seven cobs, several still yet unsmoked.
The link I posted about halfway up this page has great info on smoking cobs including the charring light. The author, John Paton, also created some custom blends that are for sale on 4noggins.com.
I read that earlier! Great stuff. Thanks for posting. I am going to check out those custom blends!
https://thebadgerpiper.wordpress.com/2019/12/02/pipe-travels-the-missouri-meerschaum-factory/
Cobs are cheap, the Let Freedom Ring cobs are natural (not filled) on the exterior so they smoke cool and dry fast. At 8 bucks a piece they round out a Smoking Pipes order for free shipping.
Regular $5.95-$46.95, Now Only $4.95-$39.95!!
Medico Filters
Regular $4.95, Now Only $3.95!!
Replacement Stems
Regular $2.95, Now Only $2.50!!
https://www.eacarey.com/corncobs.html
Out of all the cobs I've owned, my two best smokers are the bent Charlestown Cobbler/The Emerald (both the same pipes except for finish and color of stem), and the Dagner Poker (not the diamond one, the regular one). Of those two it comes down to whether you want a nose warmer or not.