The story of the Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe Company begins in 1869, when Henry Tibbe, a Dutch immigrant and specialist in woodworking, was asked by a farmer friend to turn corn cobs into pipe bowls. The farmer was very happy with the result and Henry Tibbe started making more of these pipes and displaying them in his shop window. The Corn Cob pipes soon became a bestseller and in 1907 the small woodworking business became the above mentioned company.

Clay makes Corncobs durable

Corncob pipes had already gained some popularity by this point. They were cheap and smoked very pleasantly. However, their durability was poor because they burned out relatively quickly. Henry Tibbe therefore had the idea of coating the outside of the pipe with a clay-like substance and smoothing it out. This greatly increases durability and gives the whistle a better look. To this day, this process is carried out in exactly the same way.

Very porous material

The name Missouri Meerschaum results on the one hand from this light tone layer, on the other hand from the smoking properties, which can be compared to those of a meerschaum pipe. The material is very porous and absorbent. Just as with a good meerschaum pipe, the unpleasant "gurgling" is almost impossible. But of course, corn cobs have absolutely nothing to do with Turkish meerschaum.

Special Cornseed

Corn cobs used to be made from all sorts of grown corn. Nowadays, only a special hybrid type bred by the University of Missouri is used for production. This strain causes corn cobs to grow extra large, making the woody part of the corn cob very hard. Today's corn cobs from Missouri Meerschaum are particularly fireproof. The pipes are made today, just as they were a hundred years ago, by the factory of the same name in Washington, Missouri, in the USA. It is the last remaining factory of what used to be numerous pipe manufacturers in this location. 40 employees work there; about 3000 pipes leave the factory every day. The proportion of manual work is very high. The USA used to be by far the largest sales market, but the Internet and social networks meanwhile made corn cob pipes popular and well known around the world.

The peculiarities of the pipes

Missouri meerschaum corn cobs have some differences compared to common briar pipes. These are:

You will not find a 9mm bore in corn cobs. => Usually they have a bore of 6mm or 4mm.
We recommend smoking the pipes without a filter; only paper filters or balsa wood filters fit very well.
6 mm activated carbon filters significantly increase draw resistance.
Corn cobs are very absorbent and porous. => A "gurgling" or an accumulation of condensate in the bowl can almost be ruled out.
The drillings are significantly wider compared to briar pipes => Corn Cobs have a pleasantly light draw and quick burn without getting hot.
Corn cobs are the ideal pipes during the break.
The mouthpiece material is soft and bite-friendly. => It certainly doesn't have the quality of ebonite or acrylic; replacement mouthpieces are available.
These do not have to be specially adapted; Fit standard models.
The pipe shank is made of beech wood and protrudes into the pipe bowl.
A woody aftertaste is therefore likely to be noticed in the first five to ten smokes.
This soon disappears, and the carbonized spar on the headstock ensures that the pipe lasts longer.

Uncomplicated break-in

Corn Cob pipes do not require a complex smoking process. Fill your pipe from the start and smoke it to the end. The glue, varnish and stain used are non-toxic and based on natural ingredients. Therefore, paint that may be in the tobacco chamber does not have to be removed. Because the clay layer, glue, and varnish are diluted with water, smoking corn cobs in the pouring rain is not recommended.

Clean carefully

Like a briar pipe, clean corn cobs after each smoke. Attention - there is a special feature! When cleaning the stem, avoid hitting the pipe bowl with the pipe cleaner. The interior has become soft from the heat and humidity of smoking. The wiry pipe cleaners could damage the pipe bowl from the inside, maybe even puncture it. So please be careful!

No disposable products

In many older books on the subject of pipe smoking, corn cob pipes are often listed under the "disposable pipes" category. But this is not true and does not do the product justice in any way. With good care, these products have a very long shelf life. There are pipe lovers who have been smoking their corncob pipes for decades.

Missouri Meerschaum at cigarworld.de

We at Cigarworld.de are pleased to be one of the very few dealers in Europe to be able to offer you a very wide range of models. Missouri Meerschaum pipes are smoking instruments with a long tradition, at an unbeatable price and with excellent smoking properties. There are pipe friends who almost don't want to smoke any other pipes anymore. But even the sworn briar pipe lover can order one or the other Corn Cob pipe when ordering tobacco. It's not a big investment and smoking with them is great fun!