Our very first pipe.

[gnossos]

nice

I wouldn't worry about lighters, and cleaning for now should just be a pipe cleaner in the stem. You won't have to cut the cake for awhile...

for a lighter, I am a Bic fan. They're everywhere, they're cheap, and they last a long time.

[JerDerv]

I bought some pipe cleaners. They have some pretty stiff little plastic bristles in them. Meh, i don't think that's what i wanted but oh well. Im storing my pipe with one in it right now. I have been using bics i didn't know if other lighters made a difference or not. But i did try matches today, when charring i noticed it tasted a bit better and you could kind of taste the woodiness of the match. But i found my self having a hard time getting an even light with the match.

[DerikC]

I use bristled as well as regular cleaners. If a pipe needs cleaning, I dip the tip of a bristled cleaner in some rubbing alcohol and run it down the stem. Then I fold the thing in half and scrape the inside of my bowl. You may want to hold off on doing that last bit for awhile since you haven't built a cake yet.

I'd also recommend you try some Frog Morton on the Town. It's a fantastic tobacco, it's not too strong, it's fragrant, and it gave me my first experience with latakia. I'm not sure what they call it as far as english or balkan, maybe an oriental with latakia?

[JerDerv]

Awesome thanks for the tips.

I want to buy a nice corn cob. Missouri Meerschaum looks like a great pipe.

I have a couple questions about storage. I'm under them impression a glass jar is best, how long will tobacco keep in a glass jar?? I don't smoke that often maybe 2-3 times a day currently. And its a very small chamber compared to other pipes so it appears as if i have hardly made a dent on the tobaccos i have. So any pointers would be appreciated.

[ewlewis]

go to walmart, pick up some mason/bell jars and put the baccy in them and you should be fine

[highstump]

go to walmart, pick up some mason/bell jars and put the baccy in them and you should be fine

Good advice, I would only add that if you feel the need to wash the jars first (some do, I don't) be sure they are dry before you use them. The vast majority of the time tap water is no friend to your tobacco.

[JerDerv]

Alright, thanks guys ill be sure to go pick some up.

[JerDerv]

I ordered a Missouri Meerschaum General and Daniel ordered a country gentlemen. Looking forward to my first cob. Any tips? Do's and don'ts?

[morleysson]

The author of this link is somewhat eccentric but one of the msot knowledgeable pipesmokers when cobs are involved:
http://corncobsandbriar.phpbb3now.com/v ... hp?f=2&t=2. Literally, everything you or anyone else wanted to know about the authentic cob experience.

[JerDerv]

You have to be registered there to read it.

[Legend]

i believe pipepedia has a good article on cobs...sounds like the same one, I recall that one being written by an eccentric sounding fellow.

[ewlewis]

The basic with cobs is to wipe them out after every smoke (take a paper towel and just wipe the inside of the bowl with a twist). Also run a pipe cleaner through it after every smoke. There you have the basics, that link though will give you much more.

[JerDerv]

Sorry for the terrible picture quality. But i got my cob today! upon inspection i noticed it had an almost sweet smell to it. I got the general and was impressed with the size of the chamber, possibly to big for a casual smoke. But i loaded it half way up and Daniel packed his country gentelmen and we both smoked cobs for the first time. I cant review his as i didnt really smoke much out of it. But i can tell you that if you smoke patiently with the general its a cool smoke all the way to the bottom. One thing that was drastically different between this cob and my Dr. Grabow was the size of the hole in the bit and shank. The draw was much easier and the smoke seemed to be willing to fill my mount. As where the Dr. Grabow took a bit of work. The tobacco noticeably had less taste at first so i remembered that these come with a filter and i took it out and threw it away. Ah much better, the taste was a lot different from my briar pipe. I could go on with more description, but over all this $9 corn cob smokes better than my $20 dr. Grabow. I still like the Dr. Grabow but its probably the only one ill ever own though. I think it will make a great travel pipe.






One question, should i fill the bottom of this cob up with some pipe mud? Im worried about loos tobacco getting stuck under there.


Got to love it

[ewlewis]

Personally I do not worry about the bottowm of my cobs. There will be some loose tobacco in there and then a small bit of cake will buidl and it won't really matter. Remember though you really should try to wipe the inside down after everysmoke. Howver, you will still see some buidlup, it will just be minimal.

[MasonM]

I have to say that I have been truly enjoying reading about a young person's introduction into the wonderful world of pipe smoking. The only advice I would presume to offer would be to get yourself a good pipe tool (the Czech tool mentioned is a good one, just avoid the Chinese copies as they are junk), and to try as many different kinds of tobacco as you can until you learn what types of blends you really like.

I have several Dr Grabows in my collection and that Riviera was a good choice. Mine always delivers a very good smoke, especially with either Prince Albert, Carter Hall, or Captain Black White label. You'll run into some pipe smokers who will try to convince you that Dr Grabows and cobs aren't worthy of smoking and only the high end pipes deserve your attention. Sheer nonsense. I own a number of "cheap" pipes as well as higher end pipes. You know what? They all smoke well if you treat them right.

I can recommend a couple of tobaccos you may like to try out. One is Uhle's Irish Aromatic. It's a good introduction to Latakia. The other is Squadron Leader. Its also a Latakia blend that isn't overly strong. If you want to try something stronger check out Uhle's Bishop's Move (my favorite smoke).

[JerDerv]

I have to say that I have been truly enjoying reading about a young person's introduction into the wonderful world of pipe smoking. The only advice I would presume to offer would be to get yourself a good pipe tool (the Czech tool mentioned is a good one, just avoid the Chinese copies as they are junk), and to try as many different kinds of tobacco as you can until you learn what types of blends you really like.

I have several Dr Grabows in my collection and that Riviera was a good choice. Mine always delivers a very good smoke, especially with either Prince Albert, Carter Hall, or Captain Black White label. You'll run into some pipe smokers who will try to convince you that Dr Grabows and cobs aren't worthy of smoking and only the high end pipes deserve your attention. Sheer nonsense. I own a number of "cheap" pipes as well as higher end pipes. You know what? They all smoke well if you treat them right.

I can recommend a couple of tobaccos you may like to try out. One is Uhle's Irish Aromatic. It's a good introduction to Latakia. The other is Squadron Leader. Its also a Latakia blend that isn't overly strong. If you want to try something stronger check out Uhle's Bishop's Move (my favorite smoke).

Thanks! Im glad i found such a cool forum to share my enthusiasm with!

I like my homemade tool But i suppose i should find something a bit better.

You know, I'm afraid i might be doing something wrong, possibly not letting it rest long enough because the smoke seems to be getting an almost bitter taste too it. My cob is smoking beautifully. It seems like the dr. grabow is getting worse. I have a decent cake built up now. Maybe i should let the pipe dry out for a few days. I have been smoking a bowl from it once a day.

I am considering tossing a few bills at an ebay pipe hoping to get a nice one.

The friend that i talked about in the first post is wanting to make an order from boswell so im joining up with him and getting an OZof chocolate cream and an OZ of northwoods. I decided to dedicate my cob to aromatics and i want to keep aromatics out of my dr. grabow.

The reviews on boswells northwoods are really good and im looking forward to it. After the boswells are running low i would love to try some Uhle's. Thanks for the suggestions!

[Cptaz]

Despite my nowhere-near-approaching-expert status, I see you have mentioned this a couple times so I'll chime in with some common knowledge that may get to the bottom of the bitterness. How are you resting your pipe between smokes? It should be upright and in the open to allow air to flow and dry it completely. If you haven't already, maybe try doubling up a pipe cleaner and really cleaning out the shank with the stem removed. And of course, be sure to at least run a couple cleaners through after every smoke until they start coming out clean and white.

I sure wouldn't think that one bowl a day would be causing any problems, but there seems to be a very wide range of opinions on this. On one extreme of the spectrum, it seems that some smoke a pipe once and then rest it for a month. On the other end are those that smoke the same pipe, day in, day out and as often as they feel like. I would have to think that somewhere in between is where most pipesters fit. Personally, I haven't tried smoking more than three bowls in one pipe on any given day, but have had no problems doing that, so long as I was diligent with pipe cleaners.

Of course, buying another pipe wouldn't hurt anything.

Hopefully some more knowledgeable folks can fill in with some more thorough advise. Good luck!

[JerDerv]

Despite my nowhere-near-approaching-expert status, I see you have mentioned this a couple times so I'll chime in with some common knowledge that may get to the bottom of the bitterness. How are you resting your pipe between smokes? It should be upright and in the open to allow air to flow and dry it completely. If you haven't already, maybe try doubling up a pipe cleaner and really cleaning out the shank with the stem removed. And of course, be sure to at least run a couple cleaners through after every smoke until they start coming out clean and white.

I sure wouldn't think that one bowl a day would be causing any problems, but there seems to be a very wide range of opinions on this. On one extreme of the spectrum, it seems that some smoke a pipe once and then rest it for a month. On the other end are those that smoke the same pipe, day in, day out and as often as they feel like. I would have to think that somewhere in between is where most pipesters fit. Personally, I haven't tried smoking more than three bowls in one pipe on any given day, but have had no problems doing that, so long as I was diligent with pipe cleaners.

Of course, buying another pipe wouldn't hurt anything.

Hopefully some more knowledgeable folks can fill in with some more thorough advise. Good luck!

Hmm i have just been kind of running a single cleaner through the bit/shank when still together. I notices sometimes that the bottom of my bowl will look wet after a smoke. Ill try cleaning it much better and see how that goes. Also i have been storing it in my glove box. which now that i think about it... is a terrible place.

Another thing i was going to try is letting the tobacco dry out a bit more before smoking and possibly a different packing method.

Thank you for your help i really appreciate it!

[SmokinFool]

I have heard that it's a good idea to use grain alcohol, rather than rubbing alcohol, which can leave a bad taste in the bowl.

[BHMitchell]

This has got to be one of my favorite threads, it is chock full of info and a great story line. I am getting great advise without the work of typing myself, it's the first one I look at to see if anything new has popped up!