COB STAINING SERVICE BY PATCH MEMBER

I am waiting to hear back from Sparks (Justin) how he wants to arrange the raffle...we have a couple of folks who are interested, or at least have told me they are interested, in supporting a raffle.  I'm going to add a stained Legend and a custom tamper to the pot...each person submitting an item for the raffle will have to pay their own postage (about $9.00 for tracking and insurance) in sending the winner their part of the raffle.

To be honest, I am a little bit of a Dunhill snob. I've never found a better smoking pipe than Dunhill. Maybe that's just mental foolery to justify the purchase, but I have a variety of briars and among them I feel my Dunhills smoke the best. I also really go for the classic shapes. Saying that, I do also have quite a few Meerschaums, which I also love, so I tend to use those for tobaccos I'm afraid will 'ghost'. I use them for many other tobaccos as well, but I don't use briars for aromatics. So I guess the reason I've never picked up a cob is that the Meerschaums tend to fill that role for me. Despite all that, there are certainly many cob smokers on the Patch, and I do have a MM, so will light it up and give it a try. 

oops.

Not throwing out the Dunhills just yet, but it was an enjoyable smoke. I smoked some MacBaren Vanilla Flake in it. Next I will be smoking McClelland Anniversary. I think I'll be adding it to my rotation. 

Nice! I love my cobs. Welcome to the party!

That is called The Kolonel. The General is much taller, and the chamber is all too deep. They do make a different General now, where the stem/shank enters the bowl at a higher location that shortens the chamber significantly. The stem is hard nylon, and I never clench a pipe in my teeth. Don't have any. The nylon is almost if not better than vulcanite for this pipe. I don't care for the cheap plastic stems either, but as long as you keep the teeth in check, they work well. I have moved away from using the Grabow or Medico filters in all my pipes. All the stems for the cobs will pinch the end of the paper filter almost closed so it becomes a very stuffy smoke. And in all my Medicos and Grabows, the filter just introduces a stuffiness that makes the pipe unsmokable. I use the balsa filters. They are the best for me. They seem to do as good a job as the paper, and if you have any 9mm pipes, the balsa is the best. They last longer, don't block the airway in the stem, and end up being cheaper.



For years, I've been a dedicated cob smoker, and only recently moved to other pipes. I have more meers that I will ever smoke, and all too many briars. eBay has been my worst enemy. They know just how to get my money. The meers are by far the best pipes I've ever smoked, with the cob falling to the next in ranking. I've never found a briar that can smoke as well, and taste as good as a cob. The difference in taste is noticeable. The taste you will get from a cob is the taste of the baccy. And, nothing else. For testing a new baccy, you need to have some cheap cobs, no filter, that you can use, and if needed, throw away. The Missouri Pride, Legend, and the Washington all have 3/4" diameter chambers, but once you hit the Washington, plan on keeping it because of the price and the overall quality. The Pride and the Legend can be tossed, but you'll most likely want to keep them.



There are others that may cost less, but with a chamber that has trouble being 5/8", they're too small for me. They have always smoked hot for me.



Take the opportunity to put some serious face time into a cob, and I truly believe you will become a convert. Then, you'll be singing their praises. I've been buying all of mine from aristocob.com . You can buy directly from Missouri Meerschaum at is.gd/BmkO2A They're called "meerschaum" for a reason.

Andy, thanks for that great feedback. I'll certainly keep that in mind. One of the nice things about briars is that they do in fact contribute to the flavor of the tobacco in a positive way. Particularly the well aged and dry briar enhances the smoke as it gets older. Each type of pipe makes its own contribution to the smoking experience. I've been smoking briars and meerschaums for years, now there is just one more type to expand the experience into. 

The Country Gentleman pipe is a great looking smoker just big enough to give your smoking pleasure a lift....and if you decide to improve its looks...you can stain it with color and have it look like this.