Missouri Meerschaum Corncob Buying Guide

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Missouri Meerschaum Corncob Buying Guide

Thanks to my dad’s mentoring, I’ve been a corncob smoker for over 50 years, and have written The Complete Corncob Primer. In this Buying Guide, I offer my opinions on the Missouri Meerschaum brand of corncob pipes, which I and most other experienced cobbers feel are the only decent corncobs still being made. While I have my favorites, and prefer Natural to Plastered bowls, every MM cob smokes cool and dry. Here are my reviews, starting with the largest bowl sizes to the smallest. Only cobs I have smoked are included here.

The new, Corncob Snob Society Natural Freehand is without a doubt the coolest smoking, driest, and best corncob pipe I’ve ever smoked. It comes in a white or reddish tone bowl, and the feel of the natural cob in your hand seems to add to your overall smoking experience. Each of these Corncob Snob Society Natural Freehands is imprinted with Corncob Snob Society on the shank, and is hand assembled, making the slightly premium price a bargain. The Freehand is one of the finest cobs I have smoked in over 50 years.

The standard Freehand, which is plastered and burnished, is also very impressive. It delivers an excellent, cool and dry smoke. Maybe it’s because of the tall, conical shaped bowl, which is 2 1/4“ deep, but the pipe seems to enhance the flavor of any blend I smoke in it. I have heard that the shanks can be fragile, but the bowls are quite large, and no two are alike. Although the Freehand is heavier than my other cobs, it’s very well balanced, so that the weight isn’t even noticed.

The American General has, as do most MM cobs, a polished exterior. Some folks remove this coating, for a more natural smoke. I’m much too lazy to do that. What would make the General a favorite is that it has a tall bowl, sort of a stack, and thicker walls than the popular Country Gentleman. This to me is a near perfect cob, other than its weight. I can fill the bowl all the way and have a nice, long, relaxing 90 minute or longer experience, or I can partially fill it and enjoy a nice, shorter smoke. Although it’s less expensive than the Freehand, I would choose the Freehand over the General, personally.

The Diplomat has been my cob of choice for a long time, but the thicker walls that made it a real favorite was also the biggest drawback it had. The Diplomat no longer has the thick walls that I had come to appreciate. Diplomats now have standard sized bowl thickness, which isn't really a bad thing, since they are now lighter in weight and better fit my hand.

The Country Gentleman is popular, in part, I think because it looks funky, with that black coating it shares with the Patriot Spool. Now, some folks mention that it has a larger bowl than the Diplomat, which is true, but there is so little difference, it hardly matters. What keeps the CG from being a favorite of mine are its thin walls. It’s simply can get too warm to handle comfortably, and I’m a very slow smoker.

The Patriot Spool has the same black coating that’s on the Country Gentleman, but has the added bonus of being a narrow pipe. I like that, since it takes up less room, and when you live in a small apartment, it matters. I also think a black spool looks funky. Plus it has that thicker rim, for a bit cooler place to grip the pipe. It's also a nice flake pipe.

The Great Dane Egg is the only current model that isn’t a sitter, or poker style. That for me is a minor drawback. Otherwise, this is a nice cob, with thick walls and a medium sized bowl, similar to the Pride. It’s actually a cheapened version of the Bulldog, which was discontinued in 2000, and which was the last MM cob of somewhat higher quality.

The Pride is an extremely nice smallish cob, and one of only a few MM models left alone, or unfinished. For that reason, it offers the dry and cool smoke every piper hopes for. I love this model, and its small size makes it ideal for quick smokes. The Washington is the same pipe as the Pride, only with the Plastered bowl.

The Legend is a fine starter pipe, and MM’s biggest seller. It’s what most people think of when you mention corncob pipes, what with its plastic amber bit. The Legend is a small pipe, and the shape varies slightly, since it seems that few source cobs are rejected.

The Eaton, which is only available as a natural straight model, is barely 5” long, and unfilterted. Think of it as a little brother to the Pride, although they don’t look that similar. Both pipes are natural, but the Eaton has a small barrel shaped bowl, with very thin walls. Unless you have small hands, your pinky finger might not fit into the bowl for packing, so this one might not be for you. I do have small hands, so I was able to pack my Eaton, which gave me a nice, cool 20 minute smoke. While I have though the Eaton was pretty much a toy, it’s actually a fairly decent cob for those times you’re in a rush.

The Pony is a small, unfiltered straight pipe. This model is a half step below the Legend in size and quality. Not a bad pipe, since I don’t feel there is a bad MM, just not the best.

The Cherry Wood poker is not a cob, but it is made by MM. It’s a small, thin walled pipe, which I use for some of my flakes. It’s perfect for two of the Heinrichs Dark Strong Flakes, so no, you won’t be able to stuff a full slice of FVF in this baby, but it does its job like a champ.

The Maple Wood poker is a twin of the Cherry Wood, which I find imparts a natural sweetness to any tobacco. These are excellent, low-cost flake pipes, which come either as bent or straight models. In spite of their thin walls, neither the Cherry or Maple version gets overly warm with flakes.

To view The Corncob Primer, follow the 1st link below. To visit the Missouri Meerschaum website, for product and ordering information, and a bit of company history, follow the 2nd link below.

John Patton/tiltjlp

http://www.smokersforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=61032

http://www.corncobpipe.com/