Has anyone ever tried making a pipe? http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/08/09/how-to-make-a-corn-cob-pipe/
So did my grandfather, he lit them with the big strike-anywhere kitchen matches. I remember they were better matches than the ones you find now, you could light them by striking them along your jeans. He usually lit them by striking on a metal button on his bib overalls.
Stokkebye #17 English Luxury in a Chacom Excellence with coffee early Thanksgiving morning. The Latakia isn't overpowering. The estate pipe is a nice smoker I found on eBay for $12.50 with shipping, one of my better buys.
Nice after dinner smoke of Comoys Cask #1 in my Dr. Grabow Grand duke. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! =)
Mostly I rub out, but although sometimes I inadvertently do this, I try not to rub the flakes out too finely. I do fold and stuff on occasion. One flake that I feel produces the best flavor folded and stuffed is SG Chocolate Flake, but as is typical of SG offerings it can be a little hard to keep lit. Contrary to the way it sounds, SG Chocolate Flake isn't an aromatic. It has a hint of cocoa flavor instead of actual chocolate, and has a very light addition of latakia. It doesn't taste like a latakia blend, but added as a condiment it enhances the overall flavor. I will occasionally fold and stuff PS Bullseye.
Actually I have set out to do this, but the problem is most corn varieties now produce a smaller cob and more kernel, with the end result being there isn't enough material to hollow out for the tobacco. If you live out in the country, you might be able to find "field" corn, which produces a bigger cob. You might have some luck with that. With Missouri Meershaum's prices so low, you probably couldn't make one that would approach theirs in quality. But, there is something about being able to make an item yourself.
I would have to agree with you on English Luxury. I don't currently have any, but have smoked it years past, when I was on a latakia kick.
I've got a couple of pipes made in a similar fashion, and if you exercise ordinary care you won't have a problem.
Thanks, I'm still breaking it in. It was made here in Michigan at Paul's Pipe Shop out of Flint, called Cayuga . I actually won that for finishing 13th at the 67th IAPSC slow smoke competition. My first ever competition, 13th (47 min 19 sec) out of 42. It is a nice smoker. I foresee a drive over to Pauls just for curiosity only...and not to buy another pipe . It's an old pipe shop opened in 1928, with what is believed to have over a million pipes.
I live so far into the country that I hear bangos next to every river. We have some monster field corn but we have some amazing sized sweet corn too. If I can find a cob the right size I may try it but even if I can't I might make a tiny tasting pipe just to say I did. 5 min smoke or less.
My reason for saying 4 or 5 pipes are a minimum is to allow your pipes to rest and dry out between smokes. Also, you have the option to devote a pipe or 2 to specific blends or types of tobaccos. Since you're currently unemployed, I wouldn't worry too much about that. Just enjoy the ones you have, clean them good, and try to let them dry out at least a day between smokes. Missouri Meerschaum has several pipes in the $5 or $6 range. That would be a really good way to add a couple of pipes at minimal cost. Or you could look over e-bay, classified ads, etc. and maybe get a couple of good estate pipes for very little. Have you ever tried a corncob?
The only pipes I've ever smoked have been briar pipes. I can get corncob pipes for $1.95 each. I'm not sure how they smoke but for $2 I could give it a try. I only smoke maybe 2 or 3 bowls a week right now so I've been rotating between the 2 pipes I can find right now. I smoke one no more then once every 2 day most of the time. I've only had the chance to smoke 5 pipes. All of them but one were used and I cleaned all the cake out of 2 of them and broke them back in because they tasted bad. One wasn't mine and I gave away the other to my ex-father in law. Right now I have the only new pipe I've smoked and the 2 I scraped out and started over with.
Making your own would be a really neat thing! That's what many people used to do, especially in the country like my ancestors. I haven't read your link yet, and I'm sure this is mentioned there. You'll need to dry the cobs really well, and then find suitable stem material like a piece of cane that can be hollowed out. If you can find some large cobs, let us know. You might have some customers here for custom hand-made cob pipes!
The link I posted used birch twigs hollowed out with a hot coat hanger wire. Any non toxic wood would work since I can borrow my moms workshop with her drill press and extra long bits. I'll throw the biggest cob from supper today in a food dehydrator for a day or so and work from there.
