My Corncob Pipe Facelift Project
thebadgerpiper
Master
A month or two ago, PappyJoe posted a blog on here from Reborn Pipes on how to change the appearance of an old corncob pipe.
Here's the link if you missed it: https://rebornpipes.com/2014/06/25/a-quick-and-easy-face-lift-for-a-missouri-meerschaum-corn-cob-pipe/
I bookmarked the page, as it seemed like a project that was up my alley. I've always wanted to dabble in pipe making/ fixing, but I'm not exactly the handiest person when it comes to working with my hands. I wanted to change that, and this seemed like an easy project to dip my toes into. So about two weeks ago, I took the directions from Reborn Pipes site, picked up some wood filler, a furniture marker, and some sandpaper.
This was the before and after picture of my first cob. Unfortunately, the furniture marker I chose to color in my cob was too similar to the original. While the left over wood filler on the cob aged it's appearance, I needed to pick up some other markers to truly give the cob a new look. So back to the store I went, and picked up Mahogany Red and Natural Brown markers. (On a side note, I also picked up a putty knife. I recommend picking one up for the project, as it helps give an even spread with the wood filler.) I took my Twain cob, covered it in wood filler, sanded it down, and colored it in with the Mahogany Red marker. As you can see below, it did the trick.
Overall, I'm very happy with the results of this project, and plan on purchasing some more cobs to work on. If you have some old cobs sitting around and don't mind getting your hands dirty, I recommend spending an afternoon and giving it a try yourself.
Here's the link if you missed it: https://rebornpipes.com/2014/06/25/a-quick-and-easy-face-lift-for-a-missouri-meerschaum-corn-cob-pipe/
I bookmarked the page, as it seemed like a project that was up my alley. I've always wanted to dabble in pipe making/ fixing, but I'm not exactly the handiest person when it comes to working with my hands. I wanted to change that, and this seemed like an easy project to dip my toes into. So about two weeks ago, I took the directions from Reborn Pipes site, picked up some wood filler, a furniture marker, and some sandpaper.
This was the before and after picture of my first cob. Unfortunately, the furniture marker I chose to color in my cob was too similar to the original. While the left over wood filler on the cob aged it's appearance, I needed to pick up some other markers to truly give the cob a new look. So back to the store I went, and picked up Mahogany Red and Natural Brown markers. (On a side note, I also picked up a putty knife. I recommend picking one up for the project, as it helps give an even spread with the wood filler.) I took my Twain cob, covered it in wood filler, sanded it down, and colored it in with the Mahogany Red marker. As you can see below, it did the trick.
Overall, I'm very happy with the results of this project, and plan on purchasing some more cobs to work on. If you have some old cobs sitting around and don't mind getting your hands dirty, I recommend spending an afternoon and giving it a try yourself.
Comments
https://thebadgerpiper.wordpress.com/2018/05/02/its-cobbin-time/
Thanks @ghostsofpompeii ! My goal was to give the Twain a different color from the rest of my cobs. While I love my cobs, they all have a similar color to them. Now it has a bit more personality.
Smokes like a champ.
I love the results:
So I upgraded a cob and a Dunhill at the same time.
Here's a patent era Dunhill that had seen better days:
So I made a Duncob out of it:
That looks fantasic rumrum4me.
@rumrum4me Great job on the Cobhill. I'm sure some would wince at taking a Dunhill and modifying a cob on it; but when a Dunhill is that far gone, you might as well play around with it.
I received a cob in the mail from @ocpunk714 a few weeks ago, and I haven't broken it in yet, as I'm planning on performing a project on it. Nothing drastic like taking it apart, but I think I'm going to stain it like a briar. Since the cob has an unfinished, rough bowl, I think staining over using wood filler and a furniture marker is the way to go so I don't lose it's unique properties.
I’m happy with how it turned out. Next time I go this route, I’ll try sanding first, but this one turned out well.
Since a Missouri Pride is unfinished, there are a lot of grooves from where the kernels used to be. No matter how I tried to stain it, the dye refused to stick inside the grooves. This gave the pipe an ugly appearance, so to save it I coated the bowl with wood filler, sanded it down, and applied a few coats of the dye, followed by a dark brown furniture marker.
The cob came out darker than I originally planned, but that’s fine, as it doesn’t look at all like the other cobs I’ve worked on in the past. Now that I’ve finished this cob, I know how to handle similar ones in the future.