Aristocob Art Deco Metal Corn Cob Smoking Pipe & Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe Blog

Watch our "GettingThe Most Out Of Your Corn Cob Pipe" Video Series on Youtube

2019-03-20T00:14:00.004-04:00

Getting The Most Out Of Your Corn Cob Pipe

Just in case you missed it... new upgrade for your Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipes!

2012-01-14T22:53:00.000-05:00

Missouri Meerschaum recently made a change to their top of the line Freehand pipe that has exciting side effects. First off, the new bent Vulcanized rubber bit can now fit EVERY Missouri Meerschaum filtered pipe! Vulcanized bits are a bit thicker and substantially stronger than the stock plastic bits found on all the other pipes int he MM line, and this change means that if you've always wanted a higher quality/strength bit on your cob, you now have a great option.

The second thing the change in the Freehand did was it made it possible for the Freehand to be used with pipe filters! I know that most American pipe smokers turn their noses up at filters, but our European customers and new pipe smokers are quite fond of them. Yes, this would mean that you'd be exchanging the excellent vulcanized bit that I just talked about for the less expensive plastic bit, but you are gaining the ability to filter.

Anyway, these two new options are great news for two groups of customers: now you just have to decide which camp YOU are in. Click the pic to be taken to the listing for the new bit.

Getting a corn cob pipe to arrive in one piece

2012-01-08T20:32:00.001-05:00

We've had several customer's comment after receiving their order that they expected to see it packaged a bit more securely. If you've not ordered from us before we use three different size boxes: a small one that will hold two pipes and several boxes of filters, a medium size box that will hold six or so pipes, and a large box that holds the HUGE MacArthur pipes and can accommodate over a dozen of our standard pipes.

What seems to surprise folks is that we wrap the pipes in paper to keep them safe, and that's about it. Well, this week I finally remembered to snap a photo of a shipment to us from Missouri Meerschaum. Note that most of the pipes from them are lose in zip-top bags! They used to ship the pipes lose in cardboard boxes, just like the ones seen in the box that contain several "Macs". Considering the fact that Missouri Meerschaum has been making and shipping these pipes since 1869, if they think the pipes are strong enough to handle this treatment, who and I to judge?

So here's the bottom line. At Aristocob.com we do our best to handle and package the pipes in your orders so that they arrive undamaged and pristine; and we can assure you that we provide more cushioning than the manufacturer feels is warranted.

The video that I've embedded below is one were I did a box opening of our of the pipes that my bride had ready to ship. Feel free to search on Youtube for other box openings from Aristocob. Many of them are listed as "YABO" for "Yet Another Box Opening". It's a Youtube thing.

We have WINNERS in the 2011 International Corn Cob Pipe Month video contest!

2011-12-08T00:16:00.002-05:00

We were excited to have eight great entries in the 2011 International Corn Cob Pipe Month video contest, and after a tough vote, which was decided by the entrants, we are proud to announce the winners, WINNERS, plural? Yep. This year we decided to award prizes to the top three entires, and everyone who posted a video won a Magnacob!

This year the top prize of a $50 gift certificate to www.aristocob.com, a Julie Nordine glass pipe tamper, a butane lighter replacement core for a Zippo and a custom beer stein. The top prize went to Jay, aka Dighsx, for this entry:

Second prize is a $30 gift certificate to www.aristocob.com and a custom coffee mug. Second place went to Brian, aka Cobunist, for this entry:

Third prize is a $30 gift certificate to www.aristocob.com and went to Harvey, aka Hjrosasq for this entry:

You can see all of the videos that were entered into this years contest in this Youtube playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL79E71CA79935D6E8p>

Pipe school at JR's in Burlington, NC

2011-12-07T23:48:00.000-05:00

Tonight my son, his buddy, my bro-in-law and I took a little drive to Burlington, NC to attend what was promoted as a pipe smoking evening with JR's Corporate Trainer, Steve Nathan and Burlington's resident pipe and cigar expert, Rudy Baker.

As we all bellied up to the glass pipe counter Steve and Rudy covered several useful subjects including choosing the right pipe, packing and lighting and a very interesting discussion on choosing tobacco. The tobacco bar was then opened for sampling, and by the time our three hour session flew by we all purchased several tobaccos and no doubt there were pipes purchased as well.

As a cob smoker I was happy to hear that Steve and Rudy were cob-friendly, and Steve was smoking a Missouri Meerschaum Ozark Mountain pipe all night long. If I'm not mistaken it was the same one he was smoking during the cigar school last July.

My son's friend, Chris brought along a couple of his dad's pipes, but smoked his new MM Diplomat all night. It was the first time he's smoked a pipe and I can say that he is clearly a convert.

I hope that this is something that other shops jump on, because the young guys were like dry sponges anxious to learn all they could. If I had one bit of advise it would be to plan on total newbies in the crowd and teach to them. Those of us in the crowd who think we know everything can always learn from a review of the basics; and the newbies need to learn from the ground up.

November is International Corn Cob Pipe Month at Aristocob.com!

2011-10-31T07:27:00.001-04:00

Hey, it's November, which means it's International Corn Cob Pipe Month! Just as we've done for the last two years, we are sponsoring another Video Contest where YOU can win STUFF!

Watch the video below and make sure to get into the contest.
To quote John Belushi from Animal House: "It don't cost nothin'."

Here are the details:

During the month of November we'll be adding a FREE Aristocob pipe tamper as well as a FREE replacement bit with every Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipe purchased from http://www.aristocob.com There's no need to add these to your order, we'll add them to every order automatically.

We're also happy to announce that we're hosting another video contest! Light your favorite Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipe in front of some historic site in your town and tell us a little something about the site and about what you enjoy about smoking your corn cob pipes. Tell us stuff like where you like to smoke, what you like to smoke, and if you have a favorite cob smoking memory too that in too. Make sure to put the name Aristocob in your video title, and add the url of our site http:www.aristocob.com in your description. Once you've uploaded your video to Youtube link it to the video above to be entered in the contest. Feel free to email me at aristocob@gmail.com if you have questions about this process.

What can you win? How about a $50 shopping spree at Aristocob.com, a customized commemorative stein and some other SWAG to be named later?

I'll add another video later in the month explaining how the voting will take place, but this year the winner will be chosen by the people who enter a video! I've embedded a few of the past entries to give you an idea of what we're talking about.

Just a couple hints:

Shorter is better. The most-watched videos on Youtube are under two minutes long! I know it's tough to rush a pipe smoker, but keep talking.
Yes, you can spend days editing, but if you shoot your video several times odds are you'll get a good take that won't require much editing.
Try not to script what you say too much. You may have noticed that videos that are scripted, or even worse, read just don't feel genuine. Again, take a look at the past entries for examples.

Post your video any time now through Sunday Nov 27th, and voting will take place on the 28th & 29th, with the winner announced on Nov 30th!

Don't forget to let me know that you've posted your video!

Here's some of the previous entries from 2009 and 2010:

Here's the 2010 winner:

It's November! That means it's International Corn Cob Pipe Month!

2011-10-29T23:41:00.001-04:00

During the month of November we'll be adding a FREE Aristocob pipe tamper as well as a FREE replacement bit with every Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipe purchased from Aristocob.com

Additionally we'd love to have you shoot a video of yourself smoking your Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipe in front of a historic location in your home town. Again, you can get more details on our blog, but if the idea of winning some pipes and some other SWAG sounds good to you, then get in on this!

I'll post a few more details shortly, but feel free to email any questions you have to aristocob@gmail.com. Good luck! Scott

Acrylic blanks for the ultimate DIY pipe bits

2011-09-12T22:50:00.000-04:00

If you've watched any of my videos you've noticed that I film most of them against a very boring wall in my wood shop. I've been an active woodworker all my life, and even worked fro the PowerBook company Shopsmith for about ten years in two stints. I mention this because I've noticed that a bunch if cob smokers have been drawn to replacement bits for their pipes which are made from acrylic. Some folks market them a "Lucite" bits, but Lucite is simply a brand name of DuPonte for one of their acrylic products.

One of the most rewarding projects that Woodworkers have been making in the past ten years or so have been pens and other small, turned accessories. Once a woodworker gets the hang of tuning them from wood the next logical thing to try is acrylic. Companies who cater to Woodworkers have been stocking some very cool acrylic blanks that are roughly 3/4" x 3/4" x 6" for $7-$15 or so which could yield one to two pipe bits!

If you have any interest in giving this a try you should stop by your local Woodcraft store for an excellent selection of blanks. You'll be surprised that some of the very colors and patterns that you've seen for sale for up to $30 a bit are available at Woodcraft.

Here's a link to Acrylic Pen Blanks for making pipe bits

Stupid Malware!

2011-09-06T20:40:00.000-04:00

I just got off the phone with a customer of Aristocob.com who has been trying to check on the shipping status of his order, but the status never seems to change from "Unshipped". Well, that's because we've been attacked by a NASTY malware program on our business PC, and we were unable to process orders for the past week!

We finally sat down with my iPad and manually shipped a backlog of orders this morning, including the order from the caller. The iPad is very handy but the proprietary software that our site manager uses has quite a bit of Flash, and as you may have heard, Mr. Jobs didn't think we would want to use Flash on our Apple products!

So, while our nerd-son Seth goes to work running all the anti-malware programs that I tried this weekend to no avail I thought I'd send a shout-out to all the whacking idiots who have nothing better to do than hijack people's computers. I'd love to have a few minutes alone with you in my wood shop.

If you are oneof our customer's who is patiently waiting on your order I can assure you that if it wan't sent before it was shipped this morning. You'll know you are one of the luck ones if your box was hand addressed. Thanks for your patience. Scott

See the results of an interesting survey of pipe smokers

2011-09-05T20:12:00.001-04:00

Back in September 2010 I received an email from Kevin Godbee, owner and Publisher of PipesMagazine.com asking if I would be interested in participating in a survey of pipe smokers. The questions sounded interesting and they made me Douro us about what other smokers were experiencing, so I took the time to complete it and then forgot about it completely. Until today.I received an email that I assumed was just the regular message announcing a new article, but low and behold it was announcing the results of the survey!The results are the result (that felt redundant)of lots of hard work, and seeing that they had a corporate sponsor I will not disclose any of the results here, but I can tell you that it's an interesting read. Check it out at: http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/pipe-news/pipe-smoker-survey-2010/comment-page-1/#comment-7203While we're on the subject, make sure you bookmark Pipesmagazine.com and check back often. It's full of articles, blogs and pic of beautiful pipe smoking babes. Be sure to check-out the corn cob pipe smoker. Scott

Ever seen the entire Missouri Meerschaum pipe line all in one place?

2011-08-13T21:26:00.003-04:00

I was talking with some cob lovers recently about the Missouri Meerschaum Legend pipe when the question came up about which was larger, the Legend or the Washington. It's a very good question, and rather than keep the answer to myself I decided to snap a photo and share it with you. As you can see, from the top and going down the left row are the Missouri Pride, the Washington, the Legend and the wooden Ozark Mountain. Believe it or not they are all the same size. (Click the pic to Biggie-Size it)

I've mentioned before that I find this size pipe a little small for my liking, and as I was staging this I decided to put the entire family into the picture.

The middle row starts with the Country Gentleman, the Patriot, the Diplomat. Let's skip the bottom pipes for a moment and head back to the top right row. First is the Great Dane Spool, follwed by the Great Dane Egg and finally the General.

Across the bottom from the left are the Freehand, the Smooth and Polished bent MacArthur and then the natural or "Neked" straight MacArthur.

There are a few more things to note:

The bent Legend in the photo is one that I've been smoking for over ten years! It was once just as yellow as the straight one above it, but the "juice" from smoking has darkened it.
Along the bottom are two natural, or "Neked" Diplomats. These are only available in small quantities in the Fall, as they require extra large cobs that are in very short supply. I included them here to show the range of color present in natural cobs.

All of these pipes are available at www.aristocob.com

Review your Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe at Aristocob.com (Please)

2011-07-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

The video explains it all. It ends a little weird, but you'll get the point. Visit www.Aristocob.com

Davy Crockett. An American with Balls!

2011-07-07T22:00:00.006-04:00

As I mentioned, I'm in Texas this week, and there's something in the water that just makes a man feel more... Manly.
Something that someone said last night made be Google Davy Crockett, and MAN, did that dude have some huge balls!

One of the stories that was most impressive was that while he was running for re-election to Congress (yes, he was a US Congressman) he ran against the policies of the president; who just happened to be from his own party! When pushed to explain why he didn't stand in support of the president he said:

"I bark at no man's bid. I will never come and go, and fetch and carry, at the whistle of the great man in the White House no matter who he is."

Read more about the man, the myth and the legend here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett and buy the Tee Shirt too!

Tom Hanks smokes a Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe... but...

2011-07-05T21:09:00.003-04:00

The good news in that in his newest film, Larry Crowne, Tom Hanks is seen smoking a Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipe! The bad news is apparently very few people will see it.
How does that happen? True, Tom has had his fair share of hits and misses, but I mean, the trailers for this flic left me yawning. I did see a behind the scenes making of the film that made it look much more entertaining. Either way, if you like his pipe you can get one of your own at www.aristocob.com

Aristocob presents "Magnacob"

2011-07-05T21:02:00.002-04:00

In the course of human events a man will occasionally reach a crossroad where he must make a choice: Live with minor irritations or do something about them? I was recently faced with this choice twice: 1.) Do I turn the car around and drive back two miles to get the hot mustard dipping sauce for my McNuggets or live with the BBQ? and 2.) where do I put this lit pipe while I make this series of cuts on my table saw? If I leave it hanging out of my mouth I'm sure I'll absent-mindedly take a few deep breathes, and then I'll feel like I did the last time I ate my mother-in-law's cooking! No, that's not a viable choice. If I set it down, where is a safe place, considering things are covered in wood dust, and the tool that I'm using is vibrating a bit too much to be a safe resting place. It was at that moment that I wished my pipe had a magnet on it so I could set it down on my saw and be assured that it was stay safe and secure.And so the Magnacob was born. I've played with several strengths of magnets and chose the one I did because it held my full pipe securely, while easily releasing with a slight lift of the stem.

I selected the Missouri Meerschaum Diplomat pipe because it is a popular size and shape, and because it has a hardwood plug in the bottom that was just screaming to be drilled-out.

The adhesive choice was a bit more scientific. I tried a couple mild adhesives thinking that the slight heat the passes through the bottom of the bowl would not be an issue. Wrong. While the bowl is somewhat warm to the touch, the adhesive wanted to liquify. I tried a couple acrylic adhesives knowing that they would be a bad choice due to their brittleness, and I was right. A couple drops on the concrete flow and the magnets broke free. I finally found the best solution in a high temp two-part epoxy.

I was so impressed by this solution that I rushed-out and purchased the URL www.Magnacob.com with the intention of producing the pipes in small quantities and offering them from our aristocob.com site. And then... nothing happened.

Between travel for business, my wife and daughter opening a brick and mortar business and just the fast pace of life, I never got around to launching my idea. Until the weekend of the four of July 2011. I found myself back in the shop and back in the exact same situation; but this time I had my Magnacob! I set it on my saw and made my cuts, and when I retrieved it several minutes later it was safe and still fully lit and ready for action. I decided then and there that the time had come to share this with you.

Currently the Magnacob is available in the Diplomat straight and bent shapes in the smooth, polished finish. This Fall I may consider a "Neked" version, if demanded by you.

Check it out at www.Magnacob.com, and check-out my embedded video on the same page. It's a little silly, but you'll get the point.

A BRILLIANT idea for the MacArthur pipe

2011-06-28T17:32:00.000-04:00

I really can't believe that I never thought of this. It's needs a name. How about "multi-tobacco smoking"? OK, you do better in the comment field.

When is a pair not a pair?

2011-06-25T21:51:00.001-04:00

I received a great call this weekend asking if we would be able to put together a unique pair of pipes. This customer was interested in several different styles but at the same time was attracted to the extra discount that is applied to pairs. Just so you know we are happy to do this. We stack all our pipes in build and "pair" the pairs only as they are purchased. We offer the pairs in the first place because we had a lot of requests for them and heck, we aren't as dumb as I look. Anyway, we can't possible put o our site every imaginable combination, so here's what we'll do: If you want to purchase a pair of two identically priced pipes, just purchase a pair of them, and add a note to your order saying something like "Hey Scott and Jandy, please make this pair one bent Diplomat and one straight Great Dane Egg.". As long as the pair you request matches the price of the items in the pair you purchased we'll be happy to make this accommodation.

While we are on this subject, don't miss the fact that we have a discount structure for quantity purchases that begin with just six pipes. And the price break kicks-in even if you mis and match six pipes of different styles and price points! That means you could even purchase five of the Legends and one Freehand and save on all six. Hum mm. I should do the calculation on that one!

Not smoking on Manhattan Beach

2011-06-25T21:48:00.000-04:00

Last night I finished up a long week of business travel and was about to head for The hotel fro one last night when the thought hit me that I hadn't been to the ocean yet. I had a cigar in my bag that I was saving for my end of the week "victory dance", and what better place to smoke it than on the beach while watching the sun set? I arrived a little later than I expected, so the sun was already done with it's show, but the air felt wonderful and there were still plenty of folks walking on the beach and the boardwalk near by at Manhattan Beach.
Just as I cut my cigar cap and lit her up I noticed the sign that I now describe in the following video.

QR codes

2011-06-20T16:24:00.000-04:00

I have to admit that I'm a little fascinated by QR codes. They are starting to pop-up everywhere and I can't seem to stop myself from scanning them.

For example, last weekend I was buying plants at our local Lowes and the nursery who supplies Lowes with the plants had a QR code on their display that linked directly to tips on selecting, planting and caring for the very plants that I was looking for. Because of this I learned that I needed to grad some lime while I was there to make sure that my tomato's roots don't rot. Very smart, especially if they also make lime.

My wife and daughter have a new children's clothing resale store and their first ad contained a small QR code that takes you directly to their info page on their website.

I suppose I better get over that compulsion because someone is bound to find a way to send me to a virus or brainwashing center with me as a co-conspirator!

Anyway, not to be outdone I've taken a stab at creating a QR code myself. It's nothing special, but if your phone has a scanner app give it a try.

10 Questions for Pipe Smokers.

2011-06-01T17:40:00.002-04:00

10 pipe smoking questions

On May 26th, 2011 TheWanderingRecluse uploaded an interesting video on Youtube where he presented a list of 10 questions for pipe smokers. Here's my response:

Questions

1.) What is your biggest pipe smoking pet-peeve (or if you don't have one, just name a pet peeve)?
A: Never enough Time to enjoy smoking.

2.) What is the most memorable pipe smoking experience (good or bad) you've ever had?
A: Smoking a bowl with my Father-in-Law, and later with my adult son.

3.) Do you consider pipe smoking a relatively unknown sub-culture at the present? If so, why did it become "underground"?
A: Not in my little corner of the world. We've sold thousands of corn cob pipes in the past few years, and I'm sure that # is a drop in the bucket of overall pipe sales.

4.) Do you think the YouTube pipe community will eventually make pipe smoking more mainstream?
A: Since the vast majority of our sales were spurred by YT, I'd have to say yes.

5.) If you could only take one pipe with you on an island, along with one tobacco, what would they be?
A: Will I be working or relaxing on said island?
-If I'm chill axing it would be my Missouri Meerschaum Freehand.
-If I'm working it would be a MM Diplomat.
-I would be smoking Two Friends "Heritage".

6.) Describe the perfect pipe smoking setting.
A: Late at night in a cool, dark cabin. In a comfy chair, by a fire that's mostly glowing embers and a small log or two. Several close friends and my bride are near by in deep, contemplative conversation.

7.) What's the one piece of advice you'd give to a new pipe smoker?
A: Ignore most of the advice you'll hear, including mine. THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDIN'. If YOU like or hate a certain tobacco, why would my opinion about it matter? Buy 1-2oz samples of lots of tobaccos and blends.

8.) How do you feel pipe smokers are viewed by the public (non-pipe smokers)?
A: Show me ten people and I'll show you 14 opinions! In the end, I don't care as long as they understand that it's my right to smoke as I do; which is mostly in private.

9.) What is the biggest misconception about pipe smoking (in your opinion)?
A: That we inhale, and that it's equivalent to smoking cigarettes.

10.) Morning smoker, afternoon smoker or evening smoker?
Category:
A: I rarely smoke in the AM or afternoon, so I guess that makes me an evening smoker.

So now it's your turn. Do me a favor and send me a note or respond to my vid if you post your answers somewhere. Scott

How About a Pop in the Mouth?

2011-03-27T19:46:00.003-04:00

Last month I entered a step-by-step instruction on how to make a unique dessert at a neat website called Instructable.com. My favorite son-in-law Nathan made a silly suggestion one evening, and like a lot of silly things it sparked my curiosity. So we invented something we call "Cake-Pie" and let me tell you, it's excellent! Several months later I noticed that Instructables.com was doing a dessert contest and the top prize was something that I'd been investigating: SodaStream

SodaStream is a counter-top "pop" maker (I'm from Ohio), and based on my super-human pop consumption it made sense to me that an in-home soda maker was my "density" :-) . The winner of the contest would win one of their top of the line units, while a couple runners up would win one of the mid-priced units. I figured that even if I was a runner up I would walk away with over $100 in prizes, so why no?

It took a few evenings to write my Instructable and I entered the contest. Here's the OREO Cake-Pie Instructable. Long story short I am now the proud owner of a SodaStream Home Soda Maker!

The unit is self-contained and best of all it's not electric; so it's just about the only think on the kitchen counter that's not hogging an outlet! At its core is a proprietary CO2 canister, which had me a little concerned because the last thing I need is to be locked into an expensive consumable. Fortunately I found these for sale at Bed, Bath and Beyond and was also pleased to learn that the $30 price sticker (!) included a $15 deposit, so that, added to the cost of flavors would make the resulting 1 liter less than .50 cents.

My wife's favorite thing is that for the first time in who knows how many years, the kitchen, fridge and cars aren't overflowing with 2 liter bottles! As for me I like that we aren't hauling all those full bottles in and empty bottles out, and best of all the pop is always fresh!

Here are a few shots of the unit in action.

The top pic shows most of what was included in the kit. The larger bottles were purchased locally and from what I can see from the SodaStream website the unit shown normally comes with one each of the sample packs shown. The unit also came with two heavy 1 liter bottles, which have a nice wide mouth that makes adding the flavors a breeze.

The prize I won included two sets of the sample flavors, so we've been having fun trying them all out. I've enjoyed the diet drinks, including a cola, a Dr. Pepper taste-alike, a wonderful lemon-lime flavor that is probably closer to Sprite than 7UP.

My bride raved about the diet root beer, which like the caffeine-free cola is sodium free. We haven't tapped into the fruit flavoring yet, but one surprising thing we read on the package was that it doesn't require a large amount to flavor water. That'll be nice for when I'm not in a cola mood.

To use the SodaStream you first fill the bottle to the fill line with cold tap water. I originally thought that I would have to break-out the Brita filter, but I'm happy that I tried it straight from the tap first, because it's just fine.

Anyway, you fill the bottle then screw it onto the female threads on the unit. You'll notice in the top photo that there's a short white tube that dangles a short distance into the water. This is where the CO2 is propelled into the water.

It takes a few short bursts of gas to fully charge the water, and you know when it's done when the unit makes a funny buzzing sound as you press the button. The sticker on the unit says that three buzzes will give you the typical fizz, but for the caffeine-free cola I just need a little more fizz, so I've been giving it a few more shots.

One neat feature that I didn't notice at first (no, I didn't read the instructions) was that the threads that hold the bottle in place will allow the bottom the the bottle to swing forward while it's attached to the unit. "Cool" I thought, "That'll make it easier to remove". But the first time I used it I was surprised by the "WOOSH" of gas that was released when I swung it forward. Why didn't I know that before? All the previous batches I made released a rush of CO2 as I twisted them off the unit, and in some cases it gave me an unexpected spritz of mist. Now that I know how to use it I'm able to remove the bottles and stay dry too!

The bottom pic shows the unit in action.

Here's a link to the SodaStream site.
Here's a link to SodaStream items on eBay.

Here's the Cake-Pie video

Posters using Comment Kahuna, Fast Blog Finder and other SEO tools are driving me nuts!

2011-03-23T15:13:00.000-04:00

For those of you civilians (non-web-geeks) who are here just for the woodworking and tool advice; God bless you! Unfortunately we have been besieged in recent weeks with outrageous amounts of spam comments on our blogs. One of the things that I’ll admit up front is that Blogger makes is a little tough to comment as it is. You need to first click on the title (which is a link) to get to the individual post, and then you are able to post a comment. Apparently webmasters and bloggers who are looking to boost traffic to their sites are using software such as “Comment Kahuna” and “Fast Blog Finder” to locate blogs that are somewhat related to the keywords they use on their own site, and which accept comments. From there they post a comment and a backlink to their site.

This does two things:
1. It may attract readers directly from the blog, or
2. By having a non-reciprocal link from another, well respected site, it lends credibility to their own site in the eyes of search engines like Google. This is what is known as SEO, or Search Engine Optimization.

What is sad is that this activity doesn’t have to be entirely one-sided; it’s just that the spammers are posting nonsensical and off topic comments all in the effort to serve their own desires. Look, to be honest with you I’ve posted comments on other sites with this very goal in mind, but when I do so I only reply to a post or thread that I am truly interested in, or where I feel my comment will add some value to the conversation.

So, let it be known from this day forward that while I will continue to accept and even encourage comments, I will moderate them carefully. Feel free to backlink to your related sites and blogs, but if your comment is entirely self-serving it will be deleted.

Now, back to the shop. What are you building these days?

It's time to get "Neked"!

2011-03-20T17:44:00.000-04:00

Some months ago we added several limited edition unfinished pipes to our inventory, which we titled "Neked". At the time I shot and posted a video on our Youtube channel expressing my concern that they might be prone to burn-through. I was inundated by folks who rushed to the defense of the natural, unfinished cobs; saying that they smoked cooler and lighter.

Fast-Forward to today and we've got ourselves a problem. We've just about sold-out of all the shapes of the Neked pipes, and when we contacted Missouri Meerschaum to reorder they confirmed that they were out of stock on the natural pipes until the next season of cob become available for use. WHAT!?!?

Yes, the "Neked" pipes require much larger cobs than the pipes that normally get a plaster filling, and once they consume the large ones from their stock-pile they have to wait patiently for the next season's cobs to finish drying.

So, if you are interesting in seeing for yourself what all the talk is about, you'll want to act quickly, because we are just about out of stock ourselves. Check them out at this link: NEKED PIPES

A GREAT Missouri Meerschaum history video

2011-03-02T21:41:00.000-05:00

Now this is just Too Cute!

2011-02-24T22:09:00.000-05:00

This video reminded me of a game our young daughter used to play that she called "moking or non". (she's 21 now). She would wander around the house with a little note pad and would take everyone's dinner order. In her mind all meals began with a hostess asking the question "Moking or Non?" I guess we ate out way too often!

Now THAT'S funny! (That's what she said)

2010-12-30T20:58:00.001-05:00

One of these days I'm gonna start a blog that's dedicate exclusively to things that make me laugh; but until then this will just have to do. If you're a fan of The Office then you are familiar with the fine art of "That's what she said". Well, someone on Zazzle has taken a bunch of the trigger phrases and made a cool shirt with That's what she said hidden in the text.

I wonder if it comes in 3XL?
(All together now... )

That's What SHE Said by 220clothing

Create a customized tee shirt at zazzle

A surprising message from eBay.

2010-12-28T00:47:00.001-05:00

I just opened an email from eBay and was a little taken back. 5 years?!? It's been a few months since we shut down our eBay store due to their outrageous fee structure, but I still do a little shopping under the Aristocob ID. What surprised me most was the fact that it's been 5 years. We opened this account to sell Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipes, and due to the success of that venture, and based on the previous mentioned encouragement from eBay we opened www.aristocob.com. I guess what made me want to share this with you was to take the opportunity to say thank YOU! Jandy and I do this because we enjoy supplying these excellent American-made gems, and as a rule pipe smokers are special people too. So that's enough schmaltz from me. Continue doing whatever it was you were doing.

OK, I think we can all agree... this is just wrong.

2010-12-26T14:13:00.001-05:00

The Aug 3, 1934 issue of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported on a 2 1/2 year old baby who smoked a corncob pipe. I think we call all agree that this was just wrong. My dad was born in 1934, so that means that this baby is just a few years older than him, assuming he inherited his grandmother's genes. I wonder if anyone knows more about this. I guess it's back to Google for me.

A little more Missouri Meerschaum history

2010-12-26T13:58:00.000-05:00

Several months ago I found an old Missouri Meerschaum ad while doing a Google search in the Google News Archive. This ad talked about "Weichsel wood stems". Now, I've been a woodworker for my entire life and this one was new to me. When a review of my favorite woodworking books and a Google search revealed nothing more about it I contacted a couple knowledgeable old woodworking buddies including woodworking book author Nick Engler. Nick found the answer and as I said before I posted something about it while back. Well, this morning I was doing another search and found another reference to it: from when Missouri Meerschaum discontinued its use. It's not much of an article, but it does mention that MM dropped the use of the German cherry wood "Weichsel" when the tariffs became too high in 1930. Here's the article.

We have a WINNER in the 2010 ICCPM video contest!

2010-12-01T00:54:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned before November is International Corn Cob Pipe Month (ICCPM) at Aristocob.com, and as we did in 2009 we hosted a video contest on Youtube. This year we had several great videos entered in the contest, and below you can see the video announcing the winner, and below that is the winning video as selected by a vote of the viewers.

It's time to VOTE!

2010-11-25T16:03:00.001-05:00

OK, here are the details on how to vote for the winner of the 2010 International Corn Cob Pipe Month video contest. Go to the video at the following link, and below you'll find several "Video Responses". Check them out and cast your vote by entering a comment that states the Youtube user's ID that you want to win, and something clever like "I cast my vote for "smokedude80123". The winner will receive a $50 shopping spree at Aristocob.com, and custom stein, and an AWESOME custom made glass pipe tamper!

Voting will end at midnight (PST), November 30th and the winner will be announced in a video on December 1st. Either subscribe to the Aristocob Channel on Youtube, or keep an eye on the Aristocob Facebook page.

Here's the link to the place to Cast Your Vote for the 2010 International Corn Cob Pipe Month Video Contest

Here's a link to an update video with info on the glass "Credit River Art Glass Pipe Tamper":

Join Aristocob on Facebook

2010-11-10T18:26:00.000-05:00

I've been a slow adopter of Facebook and other social media. As you can plainly see from my blogs and Youtube videos I tend to have a lot to say, and FB just doesn't give me a big enough soapbox. That said, Blogger blogs just don't lend themselves to two way conversations. And new comments posted on Youtube videos are only visible to you if you happen to drop back by to check. So, it's with some reluctance that I've begun to embrace Facebook.

Initially I opened a personal page, and before I knew it my 4 sisters, my cousins, old school friends, etc started welcoming me. That's not all bad, but literally only two of my 100+ "Facebook friends" are pipe smokers. Also, one of my sisters sent me a personal message asking who one of my friends were because they kept commenting on her posts.

So here's what I've done: I have a personal FB page for my family and friends, and a second FB page for Aristocob activities. I made this decision a few weeks back and oddly enough I've been posting more on the Aristocob page than on my personal page. Weird.

If you are on FB, or are looking for a reason to jump in, click on this link (Aristocob Facebook Page) and make sure to "like" the page. "Liking" a page will add the comments left on those pages to your profile. You can set it so that no one else sees it if you like, but please do consider joining the conversation. I promise to keep the posts short and won't overwhelm you with too much chatter. Scott

A blog worth checking-out

2010-11-05T21:40:00.000-04:00

I was contacted by a fellow blogger and Cobbunist who has written quite a number of posts on cobs, tobacco, briar pipes and other interesting musings on life.

Drop by http://pipepulpit.blogspot.com and leave of a few comments to show your support.

Ira, the author, is an excellent author and after reading though a dozen posts I appreciate his perspective.

Made a couple new smoking buddies

2010-11-05T18:53:00.002-04:00

I dropped by JR's tonight, and while my bride shopped I visited the smoking lounge. One of my new Facebook friends suggested that I give Erinmore Flake a try, and wouldn't you know it I forgot to bring a pipe. I glanced over their counter and spied a Missouri Meerschaum Ozark Mountain pipe and decided it was time to confirm or change my prejudice against them. At this very moment I'm 20 minutes in and I must admit two things:

I like Erinmore Flake and I'm going to be adding Ozark Mountain pipes to our site. No, they aren't cob or briars, but it does give a pleasant smoke. Who would've thought?

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

On our way to VA with a U-Haul; thinking of cobs and change

2010-10-16T09:20:00.000-04:00

We're on the hightway with a U-Haul trailer attached to my Father-in-law's van and a trailer full of my sisiter-in-law's worldly possessions. I got to thinking about my 9 months as an employee of U-Haul ay back in 1983. One of the many things that U-Haul rented was a temporary hitch that clamped onto the chrome rear bumper that most every car of that day possessed.

The thought that just hit me was I wonder how much income was lossed by U-Haul and other trailer rental companies when the auto industry moved to the plastic bumper. Not only do they miss-out on the rental of the hitch, but also the rental of the trailer.

We've been on the road for 30 mins or so and the only rental trailer that we've seen is tailing us quite closely. We have passed several little red Harbor Freight trailers, but no rentals.

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Origins of the Aristocob System Pipe

2010-09-22T21:33:00.002-04:00

One of the sweetest, coolest smoking pipes available is the classic corn cob pipe. The problem is they tend to make the smoker look like a hillbilly!

Enter the ARISTOCOB. This pipe is an Art Deco style metal pipe (Also known as a "system pipe") which features replaceable corn cob bowl inserts. This combination gives the Aristocob pipe the desirable performance of a corn cob pipe with a look similar to the Porsche Design #908 Pipe.

Invented in 1964, it was sold by the Al Cobb Corp of Grand Haven, Michigan. Later it was sold by Aristocob Inc. of Caledonia Michigan, and finally by the Missouri Meerschaum Company of Washington Missouri. Missouri Meerschaum continued to make corn cob cores until the machine that turned the cobs finally wore out in 1983. If you know more about the history of this pipe, please fill us in!

It was originally packaged in a hinged plastic case containing one pipe, 2 replacement corn cob bowl inserts and instructions for it's use. The hinge on these boxes are most often broken. The final packaging was a simple clear plastic "clam shell".

The top of the veined bowl unscrews to allow for easy replacement of the corn cob bowl insert. An in-line paper Medico filter can be used in the stem. The mouthpiece or bit features an ‘O’ ring, which is used to retain the bit in the stem.

The corn cob inserts were described in the patent as having a ceramic bottom to prevent premature burn-through of the cob. Though I've seen photos of these liners (some are below) I've never owned one with this feature. All inserts I've found are either solid corn cob, but most often they contain a stamped square of sheet metal pressed into the bottom, with a hole stamped in the center. Again, this is an attempt to prevent burn-through.

The folks at Missouri Meerschaum assure me that old stock of the liners which are found on eBay will perform just fine, though I've noted undesirable tastes in inserts that are out of round. I suspect that they must have gotten wet at some point in their storage, so avoid boxes that have water stains.

Looking for new Missouri Meerschaum pipes? Visit our eBay items at this link. We even have some great non-hillbilly versions too!

We have some new information on Al Cobb Corp:

Al-Cobb Corporation, with Joe Zarikta owner, opened at 1829 Doris Street in Grand Haven, MI, a residential address, in 1961. The company manufactured corncob pipes. In 1962 the business was sold to four businessmen from Grand Rapids, and the name was changed to Aristocob, Inc. The firm employed five people while in Grand Haven.

Patent Art Print of original US Patent for the Aristocob Pipe

2010-09-22T17:57:00.002-04:00

Click link to visit the current eBay listing:

Patent Art Print of original Aristocob US Patent

This just kills me! Chinese corn cob pipes are CRAP!

2010-07-03T00:13:00.000-04:00

I posted the video below a few months back after encountering a Chinese corn cob pipe at a local convenience store. Just tonight I stumbled across this photo of a new Chinese cob that in named after the founder of Missouri Meerschaum, Henry Tibb! How rude and deceitful can you get? And look at the fine quality of this pipe. If you click on the pic you'll get a closer look; including the bubbles in the bit and the fine use of glue as a filler between the cob and the stem.

I know that there's nothing that can be done about this, but come on folks... if the pipe is from China and you feel that your MUST purchase it, please be aware that it's not worth 1/4 the price of a genuine Missouri Meerschaum pipe, yet they are often sold for exactly the same price.

Visit www.Aristocob.com for the real thing.

Do you have a blog or a web site? Add an Aristocob Widget!

2010-06-21T22:59:00.000-04:00

What's a widget?

THIS is a widget:

How can you get one, why would you want one, and what can you do with one once you have one?
Those are all very good questions.

How can you get one? Just ask. Toss me an email at Aristocob@gmail.com and just say, "Hey Scott, send me one of those fancy-schmancy widgets, would ya?" I'll send you one via email.

Why would you want one? Well, the quick answer is because you don't already have one. The long answer is if you have a Blog or a personal web site you can show the world your interest in Aristocob corn cob pipes. People will be impressed. Trust me.

What can you do with one once you have one? Tell your friends. Click on one of the links and place an order. There's no end to the fun!

Father's Day at 100: How It Began, Why Dad Gets Fewer Gifts

2010-06-20T13:50:00.003-04:00

June 20, 2010

Did you know that Father's Day was 100 years old this year? No? Me either.

Here's a neat article from National Geographic

Father's Day at 100: How It Began, Why Dad Gets Fewer Gifts

That's me and my Dad on the right. Let's just pretend the flower's don't exist. OK? Happy Father's Day Dad, and Happy Father's Day to you too.

Why doesn't www.Aristocob.com sell the ENTIRE line of Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes?

2010-06-13T17:28:00.002-04:00

That's a good question, and it's one that we've struggled with. The whole reason we started selling Missouri Meerschaum pipes in the first place was because our local pipe shop stopped stocking the mid-size cobs that I enjoyed. As we were going over the MM offering we decided that our niche would be the larger pipes, but as soon as we started selling them we started getting requests for the smaller pipes. So we added the Legend, which is found in every drug store in the USA. It didn't make sense to me, but who an I to argue with customer requests?

Then we started getting requests for the miniature corn cob pipes. Now, I have vivid memories of hanging out in the Country Store of a KOA Kampground as a kid while on a family vacation, totally lusting after a mini Missouri Meerschaum! So I asked a few of the folks who were requesting them what they saw in them, and to a man they all wanted them to smoke dope. Not to offend your Libertarian sensibilities or nothin', but until marijuana is legal everywhere I'm not going to put myself in the interstate paraphernalia bulls eye like our buddy Tommy Chong.

So we avoided the Miniature, but added the Legend, a because of their low price we added the the Pony and Mizzou as our "Compact Pair". Then the complaints started. "I know you said in the description that that these pipes were small, but I didn't expect them to be THIS small." Oh yes we did! In fact, you may have noticed that we have a Pipe Size Chart on www.aristocob.com which we created after an obnoxious email thread that implied that we were somehow deceiving our customers by selling them novelty pipes! WHAT?!?

So we promptly dropped the Compact Pair, and quite frankly every time someone buys a Legend I cross my fingers that they won't be disappointed by it's size.

So I hope that this explains why we don't sell the small pipes int eh MM line. The good news is what we do offer is what I believe are the best values in full-size tobacco smoking pipes on the planet! My current personal rotation includes a couple Generals, a Diplomat, a Freehand, and always several Country Gentleman pipes.

Pipe Smoking Tee Shirts and More

2010-06-11T18:19:00.002-04:00

If you've visited the Aristocob blog before you may have noticed that we have a couple links to tee shirts and mugs which are for sale on Zazzle. So far all of the shirts I've shared are shirts that we designed, but as I was looking through Zazzle last night I saw several others that are quite cool. If you are a pipe smoker, or are looking for a gift for one, take a look at Zazzle. We've purchased several mugs, tees and a few little trinkets and have been quite impressed with the quality. And the best thing is if you don't see what you like you can always design something of your own, or even modify one that you see that you like. You can add a name, a photo, a saying, or anything else that your heart desires. Click on the links below to check them out. Scott

BoB T-Shirt by BrothersofBriar
Make custom t shirts at zazzle

Pipe Shapes by SenecaCreative
Buy a shirt online from zazzle

1913 Tuxedo Tobacco Missouri Meerschaum Ad by aristocob
Mug from Zazzle

Thank you.

2010-05-30T17:25:00.000-04:00

Just opened a Facebook account. What's wrong with me?

2010-03-21T18:19:00.003-04:00

It may be hard to believe that a guy with several YouTube videos, several blogs and a couple e-commerce business would be shy; but actually I am.

And not just shy...

I have a hard time understanding why anyone outside of my family and small circle of friends would be sitting in front of their computer screen reading these very words. But there you are.

It is in this spirit that I've just opened an Aristocob Facebook account.

I can't promise you anything but occasional rantings and ravings, but there will also be some pipe talk along the way.

Now, you might be asking "Scott, is this your PERSONAL Facebook account? And I'd say nope.
I mean, yes, I personally will be posting on it, but this is not the account that my sisters, mom and aunts link their virtual farms and "Which celebrity do you smell most like" surveys. Some things just need to remain private.

Join me, and smoke 'em if you got 'em.

I ordered some more e-juice from Johnson Creek

2010-03-02T21:10:00.007-05:00

One last post on vaping. (I think it's my last)
I've worked my way through the Johnson Creek sampler and have found my favorites. I'm really like the Tennessee Cured (TC), which is quite a bit like pipe tobacco. I also assumed that I'd like the vanilla, and for sure a few drops mixed with the TC is a hit. What really surprised me was how much I enjoyed the Chocolate Truffle! Like the TC it was even better with a few drops of the vanilla.

So, I've reordered a larger bottle of the Vanilla and the Chocolate Truffle. Why didn't I order more of the TC? Because it's so much like pipe tobacco I felt like I'd reserve that taste for actual pipe smoking. I'm sure I'll regret that choice as soon as my sample is gone, but that's where I am tonight.

Another bottle that I ordered tonight was a variation on chocolate from a new line from Johnson Creek that they call Red Oak. All of the e-juices in the Red Oak line are made without Propylene Glycol, or PG, like their standard smoke juices. PG is on the FDA's list of substances generally recognized as safe, and is used in everything from fog machines to artificial flavors, but some folks have been asking for an alternative, so Johnson Creek developed a reduced PG recipe that uses Vegetable Glycerine as the main vapor-producing agent. This is their Red Oak line, and on my order I added a bottle of Red Oak Swiss Chocolate. I'll update this post once I've given it a few tries.

So that's it. e-Cigs will not and cannot replace my pipe, but they don't really have to. Just like chewing gum vaping has it's place in my life.

Update on e-cig vaping experiment

2010-03-02T20:52:00.002-05:00

3/2/10
The photo at right was taken at Gino's in Philly a few weeks back. I was there on business and my bro-worker Brew and I made a side trip to Gino's and Pats to settle once and for all who makes the best cheese steak. I'm still and Gino's fan and Brew is still a Pat's fan; so I guess we'll have to hit them both again. :-)

In my last post I talked about my decision to give "vaping" a try, and even though I was hoping that my e-cigs would arrive in time for this trip they didn't. They were waiting when I arrived home so I waited no time in digging in.

The vapor is unlike smoke in many ways. For one thing it's lighter than smoke, so as it leaves my mouth and heads straight up. This was unexpected and a bit odd after 30 years of pipe and cigar smoking, but it's not a deal killer by any means.

Another difference is that while the vapor is in my mouth I can taste it; but the moment I blow it out I can pick-up all the taste. Weird. I called my son to see if he was experiencing the same thing, and before I had the chance to ask he said "Hey, did you notice how you don't taste the flavor until you exhale?"

The most surprising thing is that everyone has been lying to us. Everywhere you look on the web about e-cigs they always say that the vapor has no smell. Well, let's just say that their pants are on fire. Now, the smell isn't the same as smoke, and it's not unpleasant, but it does have a smell.

I've determined that vaping is no replacement for my pipe, but also that I like it for those occasions where pipe smoking is out of the question. I decided to shoot a short video for my Youtube channel, and what started out as a short vid became three vids. Here they are:

Did I even show you my New Yankee Redneck sign?

2010-02-13T00:42:00.002-05:00

The sign in this photo was made by a former coworker and buddy of mine who was, before his untimely death, one of the best carvers I'd ever met. Rusty Wright was one of the "Wright Brothers" from Ohio, who along with Craig worked with my at the Shopsmith Inc. owned Edgewood Hands-On Woodshop in Hilliard.

Once Shopsmith decided to close the store and I took a new job in NC, my employees commissioned Rusty to carve a sign for my new wood shop. It is relief carved with a gold gilded letters and a gold hand plane on each end. All of the staff signed the back and they embedded a 1999 coin in the back to date it. I'll forever cherish it and love it's message of conciliation and unity.

Rest in peace Rusty, and thank you to all my Edgewood family for the wonderful times we had together. Scott

Pale pipes cause red faces

2010-02-13T00:10:00.005-05:00

My bride Jandy recently opened a box of new Missouri Meerschaum pipes only to find that they were unusually pale. Later that day we both stood staring at the pipes you see in the photo at right. Can you see a difference? Sure you can. We contacted MM and they said that they were experimenting with a new plaster composition on their finish. Hmmm. They've been making these pipes since 1869 and you'd think that they'd have all that worked out by now.

Anyway, we have a couple pale Generals in our inventory, so if you were a fan of a pale General; like say... hummm... ya know, I can't think of a single pale general. Colonel Sanders was a pale Colonel, but that doesn't count.

Oh, wait! Retired Surgeon General General C. Everett Koop is a pale General! That even makes satirical sense.

So that settles it. We have some "Retired Surgeon General C. Everett Koop commemorative corn cob pipes" available. Order yours today while supplies last. Scott

Thinking about an e-cig

2010-02-09T20:59:00.004-05:00

See updates at bottom.
Just so you know, I've never smoked a cigarette in my life. I hate the way they smell and as a pipe and cigar smoker I'm not a fan of inhaling.

That said, my son Seth and I have been researching a new phenomenon called e-cigarettes. Why? Well, first off because we learned that they are available is pipe tobacco flavors, and secondly because North Carolina just enacted a non-smoking law that has made it impossible to smoke most everywhere. Seth and I are both geeks, so the idea of anything that has a battery is cool to us, so we started researching e-cigs on numerous forums and through about a billion Youtube videos.

Our interest was first piqued by a e-pipe, but upon closer examination we learned that the part of the pipe that does all the work is prone to wearing out. Not a good prize. Then we moved on to e-cigars. This was appealing because we both smoke cigars and what we read told us that they had larger batteries than the e-cigs (longer smoking sessions) and held more of the stuff that makes the smoke. But then we read the reviews and found that these units wern't much better than the pipes.

It was around this point that we learned that these units don't produce smoke at all, but rather a water vapor. The vapor is from a liquid which is refereed to as e-juice, and that this e-juice is available in a wide range of flavors that range from tobacco to food and even candy. The e-juice can have no nicotine or a range from low to high levels of nicotine. One more inportant point to get straight is because they don't actually "smoke", regular users of these things refere to using them as "vaping".

Then we had a mental break through. Why are we so anti e-cig? I guess it's because we don't like cigarettes. But these aren't cigarettes. If there was never such a thing as a pipe or a cigar or a cigarette, what would be the best shape for a e-cig? With that we decided that we wanted to accomplish several things:

We want to be able to "vape" hands-free while driving. Many of the units require the pressing of a button with each puff; while others are very large and cannot be held in the mouth without additional support from a hand.
We don't want to look like we're smoking a cigarette, so the color can't mimic a cigarette and we don't want a red LED on the end. Oh, I forgot to mention, they have an LED on the end to let you know that the battery is working when you puff. This way if you aren't getting vapor at least you know that it's not the battery's fault.
We want huge clouds of vapor. While some argue that any vapor that leaves your mouth is simply wasted flavor and nicotine, the way I see it is this is one of the best parts of pipe smoking, so it's a must.
Whatever kit we buy has to have at least two batteries.

The e-cig has three parts:

The battery
The atomizer, which is what vaporizes the e-juice
The cartridge, which the plastic bit which contains the e-juice

We've decided to buy a small kit with a workhorse of a e-cig atomizer called the 901. This style is generic and is available from a bunch of sites, but due to forum research we decided to buy it from a site called Totally Wicked (TW).

After making our decision to go with TW I registered to become a affiliate, and as such they are extending a 7 1/2% discount when I (or you) enter this discount code at check-out: 1F782

I'll let you know what I think, and may even do a video or two. Scott

Updated 2/11/10
After everything I said above I actually wound-up purchasing a kit from a company called www.cignot.com In addition to changing my mind about the supplier I also went with a push button version. The more we studied the more we learned that the automatic e-cigs require a lot of sucking to get any decent amount of vapor. The push button units are supposed to "charge" with rapers when the button is pressed, and then you don't need to draw so hard. We'll see. Iordered the Joye 510 NoBox with USB Passthru for $62. It includes 2 complete Joye 510 cigarettes (2 atomizers and 2 batteries), 5 prefilled carts, 1 AC Charger, 1 USB passthru, and 2 accessories. This kit was on sale for $62, and shipping was free.

Also last night I ordered a sample kit of e-juice from Johnson Creek for $21.95 + shipping. I'm now $90 into this new hobby and I haven't even tried it yet! More to come.

Update 2/13/10
Got the Johnson Creek e-Juice today. Boy those bottles are TINY! In the photo they look to be about the size of a bottle of finger nail polish, but not so. These little suckers are about a 1/2" in diameter and about 1 3/4" tall. They did come packed in a nice tin and should provide several opportunities to taste test. Hopefully the e-cigs will arrive tomorrow because I'm heading out of town and would like to try them out between cheese steaks. (Can you guess where I'm going?)

What the heck is Weichsel wood?

2010-01-26T19:06:00.003-05:00

I just posted this question on one of my favorite woodworking forums: Workshop Companion Forum
I've been doing some research into Missouri Meerschaum history and the other night I stumbled across an ad from 1913 which mentions that they used German Weichsel-wood for their stems. This is the first I've heard of this wood and after a short Google search I was still a little hazy. I tired to attach the ad to my question on the forum, but it was too large. Here it is.
Click on ad to Biggie-Size

Happy Birthday Popeye!!

2010-01-17T16:47:00.003-05:00

Today is Popeye's birthday (01-17-1929)
and in celebration, we are posting the lyrics to the song and
encouraging everyone to smoke a corn cob pipe,
followed with a can of spinach!!!
ENJOY!!

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man,

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man.
I'm strong to the finich
Cause I eats me spinach.
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man.

I'm one tough Gazookus
Which hates all Palookas
Wot ain't on the up and square.
I biffs 'em and buffs 'em
And always out roughs 'em
But none of 'em gets nowhere.

If anyone dares to risk my "Fisk",
It's "Boff" an' it's "Wham" un'erstan'?
So keep "Good Be-hav-or"
That's your one life saver
With Popeye the Sailor Man.

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man,
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man.
I'm strong to the finich
Cause I eats me spinach.
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man.

Here's a great, unsolisited review of the Missouri Meerschaum Freehand Corn Cob Pipe

2010-01-15T21:51:00.003-05:00

Here's a nice review of the Missouri Meerschaum Freehand Corn Cob pipe from Aristocob.com
I love it when a briar smoker give a cob a fair chance. I would guess that many briar smokers are actually closet Cobbunists.

Pipe and Pint Goes Smoke Free. Wassupwitdat?

2010-01-13T21:36:00.004-05:00

Last weekend my son Seth and my son-in-law Nathan and I took a trip to nearby Burlington NC to buy some tools at Woodworkers Supply. Two cordless drills later we realized that we had some time to spare (Wonder how that happened...) so we stopped at JR's for a stogie.

I grabbed some bulk pipe tobacco and a couple of their Cigar of the Week; a nice 56 ring gauge Excalibur, and we were off to JR's smoking lounge... then... DANG! Where did all these people come from?

This was the first time in ten years of the occasional drop-in that I've encountered more than two other smokers, and this time there were 10 of us! My curiosity got the best of me, so when there was a pause in the obligatory sports talk I asked everyone what they did for a living. Corporate Trainer, Seminary Student, Insurance Sales Trainer, HVAC repairman, British motorcar restorer, pharmaceutical salesman, pharmaceutical disposal (friends), and two Aircraft Mechanics who were strangers before this introduction!

So now the real question: What brings you all out today? Three of the guys and one of the gals said "There's no smoking at the Pipe and Pint". WHAT?

I believe that I've mentioned the Pipe and Pint before, but to recap it's a neat little pipe and cigar store in Greensboro with a friendly and knowledgeable owner named Larry.

One thing that is always present at the P&P is a small group of regulars, just like the cast of Cheers, lounging on the few leather sofas by the door. Apparently one of the pansy-ass neighbors in the tiny strip mall complained to the owner, and emboldened by the current "tobacco is evil" mood he forced Larry to out an end to smoking in the store. The really bad news is that if Larry decides to move the store the new anti-tobacco laws that went into effect at the first of the year will require him to house the store in a freestanding building. This is wrong because Larry's store should be grandfathered, but if he moves he will have to comply with all the new rules. This will be an expensive endeavor, but I hope he can make it happen.

Larry, make sure you have a lounge, because the crew at JR's were missing you something fierce!

Famous Corn Cob Pipe Smokers

2010-01-09T20:19:00.005-05:00

Over several of my past posts I've mentioned several famous corn cob pipe smokers, so I've decided that I need to start a post to compile these name in one place. As new names are found I'll update this post, so check-back from time to time. Scott

H.L. Mencken American journalist, essayist, magazine editor, satirist.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) American author and humorist.
Herbert Hoover 31st President of the United States, professional mining engineer and author.
Fiorello La Guardia Mayor of New York for three terms from 1934 to 1945.
General Douglas MacArthur American general, United Nations general, and Field Marshal of the Philippine Army.
Daniel Boone American pioneer and hunter.
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. American actor and a highly decorated naval officer of World War II.
Allen Dulles Longest serving Director of the CIA.
Norman Rockwell American painter and Illustrator.
Bennett Cerf publisher and co-founder of Random House

Now that's an interesting idea. Corn Cob Pipe modifications

2010-01-01T14:00:00.003-05:00

While surfing for corn cob pipe stuff I stumbled upon an interesting blogger who is taking original Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipes and transforming them into smokeable works of art. To my taste they are not all home runs, but the passion and vision of the artist comes through ever time. Check out Billiard's Cobblings

Now Aristocob.com site is up and running, now we need some reviews

2009-12-27T22:28:00.005-05:00

If you are a Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipe fan I'd welcome your review of the pipes found on our e-commerce site Aristocob.com. Just find a pipe you've enjoyed and leave a comment. I'll moderate the comments as quickly as I can so you can see them posted.

This site has been a labor of love for my Bride over the past few weeks, and while it has a few flaws (we need to harmonize the fonts for example) I'm really impressed. Some of the things we like most are:

As I mentioned above, you'll be able to post product reviews. I really dig this because I don't want this to be only my voice.

We can have as many non-product pages as we want. This will allow us to have more tips, links and product comparison charts to help you make your pipe selection.

Combined shipping on orders is a breeze! With eBay so many times you are forced to wait for the seller to send you a combined invoice. Not so with our new site.

The best thing is that we can now offer volume discounts! What's not to like about that?

eBay is such a pain for folks like us who are selling new products, and they've been killing us with fees. We'll still keep an active supply on eBay, but if you are interested in purchasing more than a single pipe it should behoove you to go to Aristocob.com instead. Scott

IT'S ALIVE! New Aristocob.com is ALIVE!

2009-12-22T00:39:00.002-05:00

It's taken some time, but the new Aristocob.com is finally active. In the future you can get to the Aristocob blog by either going to Aristocob.com and clicking on the BLOG link, or by bookmarking the url: aristocob.blogspot.com.

More to come! Scott

Lots of changes are coming for Aristocob.com!

2009-12-13T00:09:00.004-05:00

We've been toying with making some changes to Aristocob.com, and if you are a Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipe fan I think you'll like what's coming. As for fans of the metal Aristocob pipe, there will be some long-needed separation; meaning that if you are looking for info on the Aristocob System pipe you won't have to wade through all the other stuff that doesn't relate to it.

Make sure to save this url to your favorites, or better yet become a Follower by clicking on the blue "follow" link way up at the top left of this page.

Oh, and speaking of following, if you are into Twitter I'm trying to be more disciplined with my Tweeting, so check it out at: http://twitter.com/aristocob

Scott

November is International Corn Cob Pipe Month!

2009-12-12T22:21:00.004-05:00

Wanna win some SWAG? Check-out the announcement in our new Youtube video, were we declare November to be "International Corn Cob Pipe Month"!

How will we celebrate?

Well, first we are extending a 10% discount on all our Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes during the entire month of November. (NOTE: This offer is now expired. See current posts for current offers)

Second we announced in the video your opportunity to win some sweet SWAG! What's SWAG?
(Click the link) :-) You'll learn more about it in our video and in the "More Info" section in the right hand side of the page: International Corn Cob Pipe Month Announcement.

Happy Corn Cob Pipe Month to all, and we hope you join in the fun! Scott

UPDATE:

WE HAVE OUR WINNER!
CONGRATULATIONS DAMON NEIL, AKA: WaterfordSmoker!

I've been waiting to hear that Damon received his mug before posting a picture of it. I was going to ship the standard mug from my inventory, but something about that just didn't say what needed to be said about the accomplishment. I hope you have a big bladder Damon!

Update 3/22/10
Just got word from Damon that due to some personal hassles in his home town he's removed all of his pipe smoking videos from Youtube. :-( It's a shame that the 2009 winner's video will be unavailable for 2010 entrants to view before they make their entries, but at least that means there's no one to be compared to! We'll miss you Damon! Scott

What's a vintage (used) Aristocob System pipe selling for these days?

2009-12-12T19:31:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've added any completed Aristocob Metal System Pipe auction updates, so here's the latest completed Aristocob auctions:
This trio of used Aristocobs sold on Dec 13th 2009 for $51.00 + 6.50 S&H. Yes that sounds like a lot, but take a look at this:

This single Aristocob, with one used and one new liner sold on Dec 9th 2009 for $47.27 + $5.00 S&H! But that's not the real crazy talk... check THIS out!

The was an auction of two boxes; one in fine condition and one crushed. There's a total of four liners for the Aristocob Metal System, Pipe. With 29 bids this auction ended on Dec 13th for a whopping $41.00 + $3.50 S&H!

I'm in the wrong business.

November is National Corn Cob Pipe month at Aristocob!

2009-11-01T00:01:00.002-04:00

Yeah, we've made it up, but who cares? You'll save 10% on all the genuine Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes in our eBay store the entire month of November! Aristocob US Corn Cob Pipes and Gifts

But that's not all! We're also holding a contest on Youtube! Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/user/Aristocob and you might even win something!

Here's a few of the vidoes:

Going to "Cigar School"

2009-10-30T18:45:00.006-04:00

A couple weeks back I noticed that a HUGE local tourist trap called JR's was opening something called a Cigar Annex near their main building. We've been traveling the 30 miles or so to JR's for years as they have a massive walk-in humidor with great prices. And when I say massive, I mean they have a humidor about the size of two of your local TGI Fridays! Anyway, the new annex wasn't opened for business yet, so today I thought I'd check their web site to see when it was opening. Much to my surprise they are having a Cigar School on Sunday night! I attended this a few years back at the Statesville, NC store and had a ball, so after some slight cajoling my Bro-in-law will be joining me. I'll give you a complete report as soon as I air-off enough for my bride to let me near the computer.

(Two days later)
What a fun evening! We arrived 45 minutes early so we could wander through the cigar store prior to heading to the new Cigar Annex. One of my son's and my favorite spots in the store is the smoking lounge at the back of the cigar store. They have an overstuffed leather couch and several leather chairs circling a large glass-topped coffee table. Around this space are smoking books and magazines of all kinds, and there's always someone who is relaxing with a good cigar or pipe, ready for a pleasant conversation. At this point we still haven't seen the inside of the Annex, but our minds were picturing more of the same.

5:00 was approaching so we left the main store and walked across the parking lot to the Annex. We stood outside for a few minutes thinking we were still too early, but then we noticed that the automatic sliding glass door was opening. The windows are very dark, and the interior lighting was low, so it looked closed, but inside were a few "Sooners" and the Trainers for the evening: Steve, Jackie and Brandon.

Steve was familiar, and as the evening went on I realized that he was present at the previous class I attend years ago in Statesville. Based out of New Jersey, Steve is JR's full-time Corporate Trainer. We really enjoyed his analogies and humorous take on the topics. He was getting over pnumonia, and I was pleased to see that in lieu of a strong cigar that he was smoking a Missouri Meerschaum pipe!

Kackie is another familiar face that we see almost every time we visit JR's. It took us a few visits before we got past our prejudices about how a woman could possibly know anything about cigars, we're happy to she that she's in when we visit. She brought a ton to the evening and I wouldn't mind attending an event with just her at the helm.

Brandon rounded out the crew, and while originally dismissed him as the "young clerk", he really is on his game when it comes to his cigar facts. Every time someone had a question like "Who rolls that cigar" or "when did that particular shape come to market" he had the answer. He spotlighted cigar storage during our session and had some interesting tips on humidification.

As a Trainer myself I would suggest a few changes:
The chairs sucked. As I mentioned, we were looking forward to the casual lounge-like environment touted on the Annex web site, and based on our past experience in the lounge. We hope that JR's is planning an upgrade, and seeing that we are in the center of the Furniture industry in the US, they should be able to solve this.

If they are going to do PowerPoint presentations in the future they've got to invest in a screen to project it on. Anything would be better than an un-ironed, creased bed sheet! Tiger Direst has one of $99 that would do just fine.

There was FREE SWAG included: We were given two nice cigars; an H. Upman and a JR's Ultimate. Both were excellent. We also received a new cutter and a mysterious attache. Why is it mysterious? Because it wasn't branded with a cigar brand, or even the JR logo; it wasn't designed for carrying cigars, and really it didn't make sense. I mean, I'm not one to turn down free SWAG, but it just didn't quite fit.

The thing that we found the most odd was the fact that when the session was over and we exited the Annex (7:10) the main store was closed! Had we wanted to put our new-found knowledge to immediate use (and we did) they should have had the store open for business. Better yet, why not have the class exit the Annex and travel to the store for the last 1/2 hour of the class? They could have walked us past some of the brands we talked about in the class and they could have pointed out some of the special shapes (such as figurados). Even better yet, how about a quick walk through the warehouse? I've been to four of the seven JR's and all of them claim to have the World's Largest Humidor. I asked them to settle it once and for all, which location had the largest humidor and they said that the Burlington Distribution Center was the warehouse for all the locations, and that half of the building was a humidor! The photo shows JR's location. The red lines outline the big store, with the balance of the building being the humidified warehouse! Yeah, I'd say that's big. (That's what she said.) The green outline is the location of the Annex.

Anyway, a tour that ended-up in the Cigar Store would have made sense, and I for one was planning on dropping some cash. Because we live several towns away it's not like I can drop by at any time.

If a JR's is in your town, or on your way to your next vacation spot, I encourage you to drop by their web site to see when the next Cigar School is planned and get into it. If the Burlington JR evenr expands this to include a DC tour I'll be sure to attend.

A Great Article on How Missouri Meerschaum Pipes are Made

2009-10-30T00:18:00.002-04:00

What a neat article! It's a shame that many of the photos are blurry, but you get the picture. (Pun intended)

http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/pipe-manufacturer-retailer-spotlight/corn-cob-pipes-the-making-of-at-missouri-meerschaum/

"A Peek Is Worth A Thousand Guesses"

2009-10-28T17:46:00.003-04:00

"A Peek Is Worth A Thousand Guesses". This is a quote from my father (AKA "Dad) Cal Markwood, and it's one that I always wish I could work into a conversation.

That's all.

I love to listen to music while smoking my corn cob pipe

2009-10-27T23:42:00.004-04:00

Everyone who knows me knows that I must have a soundtrack wherever I go. In my shop the stereo is either blaring 98.7 Simon, or one of a stack of CD's. In my car it's either Simon or one of an old stack of cassettes. In the office it's usually the Elvis Costello, E.L.O. or Queen station on Pandora.com, and when I travel it's either something on my MP3 player or my Slacker WiFi radio. So, when I saw this article in a 1922 issue of Popular Science I just knew I had found my soul mate!

Click on the pic to Biggie-Size it.

Finally, a source for pipe tobacco

2009-10-14T20:09:00.004-04:00

You'd think that living in the heart of tobacco country in NC that we'd be able to offer pipe tobacco with our corn cob pipes, but the reality is that though the weed is grown here it is processed in far off places like the UK, Denmark and Kentucky.

I've been asked before about which blends I prefer, and though I like several, I really enjoy a couple from Tinder Box and a place just outside of Dayton Ohio called the Tobacco Wharf. The bad news is that I don't live in Dayton anymore, and thought the closest Tinder Box store is less than 10 miles from my home, it's buried deep in a mall that I HATE to visit. I've been to some towns where the local Tinder Box is in a strip mall where you can run in and out without much fanfare, but that's not the case here.

So I was happy to learn that we can purchase their online store.

So, which blend do I like? Have you tried their semi-new "Tinder Box Reserve 1928"? Yummy! It's made for them by the McClelland Tobacco Company and is easy to pack, slightly sweet, a little nutty and it has a nice aroma that the ladies love. It's sold in tins and I highly recommend it.
Shop Tinderbox.com for Pipe Tobacco

What others are saying about Aristocob

2009-09-29T18:02:00.003-04:00

MISSOURI'S CORN COB PIPE INDUSTRY, 1909

2009-07-15T19:43:00.000-04:00

Something interesting for nerds like me. Scott

MISSOURI'S CORN COB PIPE INDUSTRY.

Annual report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the State of Missouri‎ - 1911

Worthless Corncobs Converted into a Valuable Commodity—Missouri's Output in 1909 Amounted to 27,733,260 Pipes.

Missouri's unique industry, the converting of crude and practically worthless corn cobs into a valuable commodity, known the world over as "Missouri corn cob pipes," broke all previous records for quantity, quality and value of production during the year 1909.

Missouri's production of corn cob pipes, the modern pipes of peace which make tobacco taste its sweetest, amounted in 1909 to 27,733,260 pipes, as compared with 24,671,460 pipes for the year 1908. This was the output of seven factories located at Washington and Union, in Franklin county; Owensville, in Gasconade county; Bowling Green, in Pike county, and Holstein, in Warren county. In addition there were manufactured by these same establishments 454,236 wooden pipes, 152,784 pipe cleaners and 1,881,484 extra stems.

This vast array of figures furnishes the basis for the most vivid "pipe dreams" when it comes to determining just how many corn cobs were consumed in this gigantic industry. Even allowing two pipes to the cob, it took nearly 14,000,000 cobs for the bowls, not considering the thirteen or fourteen millions of feet of reed needed for the stems. One thoroughly posted on the average yield of corn per acre could go deeper into this interesting subject and establish almost tp a certainty how many acres of Missouri's richest bottom lands were used to raise this amount of maize.

While only one of Missouri's pipe factories makes a specialty of the wooden variety, two others turn them out as a side line. As each cob pipe required a stem, it is close enough to say that at least 30,000,000 stems were manufactured in the same period, not all of reed, but a good many of bone, some of amber and several millions of imitation amber and other substances.

Value of Output.

The 1909 production of the factories, which have made returns, sold for $448,454, as compared with $431,810 for the year 1908. Early reports for 1910 indicate that the production for this year- will be worth $475,000. These figures include the value, not alone of the cob pipes, but also of all wooden ones, the extra stems and the cleaners. At retail these pipes-sell for from five and ten cents up to fifty cents, according to the design, finish and material the stem is made of.

If there are any corn cob pipe factories outside of Missouri their production is so small that their State Labor Bureaus do not herald the fact to the world. Franklin county is the center of the corn cob pipe industry of the world. Its output alone for 1909 consisted of 24,433,300 of "Missouri corn cobs," which is nearly as much as the whole State produced in 1908. In addition, 1,881,484 extra stems and 55.872 wooden pipes came from there.

Many Women Employed.

The process of converting a corn cob, rough and crude, as everyone knows it to be, into a highly finished and pretty "Missouri corn cob," with either a bone or amber mouth piece, worth from ten cents to a quarter of a dollar, is highly interesting, requiring much delicate and rapid handling, and many intricate and fast revolving machines. The workers are highly skilled, intelligent and so keen sighted that no damaged pipe bowl ever passes beyond each individual machine, regardless of the vast number turned out hourly. They enjoy the work and take great pride in producing a perfect pipe, realizing that the fame of the "Missouri corn cob" depends upon their quick, deft fingers. Time has made each so skillful that accidents seldom occur.

Each pipe goes through about a hundred operations and handlings before it is ready to be sent to the packing room, where the finishing touches, such as labeling, sorting and placing in pasteboard boxes, is done by young, neat damsels with rosy cheeks, flashing eyes and nimble fingers. All the machine work is done by male workers, each having his own little part to do. Some run machines which in the fraction of a second cut the cob into the first rough size; others operate borers which in a flash excavates the bowl; others have charge of the piece of mechanism which cuts the hole for the stem, and still others manipulate sanding, -smoothing, plastering, staining and varnishing devices.

Statistical Facts.

In all the seven factories, which reported for 1909, employed 301 male workers and 52 females, who drew in course of that year $137,327 in salaries and wages. The raw material and supplies required to produce pipes worth $448,454 cost $199,981, most of which sum went to farmers for cobs, which were formerly Considered valueless and either burned as fuel or used to fill swamp lands.

Invested in grounds, buildings, machinery, tools, fixtures, etc., the seven factories reported $199,414, a gain in working capital of about $40.000 over 1908. There was paid out for rent, taxes and insurance $2,827 and for other miscellaneous purposes $59,410.

Missouri corn cob pipes are used the world over, being as familiar on the streets of the cities of Norway and Sweden, Australia, Germany, South Africa, New Zealand, not to mention England and Ireland, as they are in St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago and other American metropolises. A corn cob pipe may not strike the casual observer as worthy of much consideration until it becomes known that they are made of a commodity which was once considered to possess no value at all—the ordinary corn cob—an article once so worthless that it was a serious question of how to cheaply and quickly rid the farm of it. After this reflection the observer, if he has ever been fortunate enough to taste of the sweetness of a "Missouri corn cob," can catch the enthusiasm of the poet who sang:

"The pipe that grows in the hayfield, where I so yearn to be—
The old Missouri corn cob, lads, and that's the smoke for me."

The following table gives the number of corn cob pipes produced in Missouri since 1904, and the value of the total pipe production:

1904	25,000,000	$417,881	1907	24,481,824	$427,070
1905	24,920,532	$409,179	1908	24,671,460	$431,810
1906	26,206,934	$431,904	1909	27,733,260	$448,464

In six years Missouri pipe factories have marketed 153,014.010 corn cob pipes, valued at $2,566,295—all this wealth from a side line. A. T. E.

"THE PIPE YOU MAKE YOURSELF" 1895

2009-05-21T23:51:00.004-04:00

From the book "Pipe and Pouch. The Smoker's Own Book of Poetry." from 1895.

THE PIPE YOU MAKE YOURSELF.

There's clay pipes an' briar pipes an' meerschaum pipes as well,
There's plain pipes an' fancy pipes—things jes made to sell;
But any pipe that kin be bought fer marbles, chalk, or pelf,
Ain't ekal to the flaver of th' pipe you make yourself.

Jest take a common corn cob an' whittle out the middle,
Then plug up one end of it as tight as any fiddle;
Fit a stem into th' side an' lay her on th' shelf,
An' when she's dry you take her down, that pipe you made yourself.

Cram her full clar to th' brim with nachral leaf, you bet—
'T will smoke a trifle better for bein' somewhat wet—
Take your worms and fishin' pole, and a jug along for health,
An' you'll get a taste o' heaven from that pipe you made yourself.

There's clay pipes an' briar pipes an' meerschaum pipes as well,
There's plain pipes an' fancy pipes—things jes made to sell;
But any pipe that kin be bought for marbles, chalk, or pelf,
Ain't ekal to th' flayer of the pipe you make yourself.

HENRY E. BROWN.

(Now, buy your pipe from Aristocob!)

Get your Official Aristocob Coffee Mug!

2009-05-13T17:12:00.007-04:00

Finally, we can let the world know that we are Corn Cob Pipe smokers, even when we can't light up! We are in the process of adding several neat new products that feature Aristocob logos and clever (at least my mom thinks so) smoking related sayings. Please check it out and if you feel inspired buy something. Most of the items in the store are available in a variety of colors, sizes and styles, so if the photo you see first doesn't inspire you, click on the link below it and check-out the available options. Let us know what you think. Click here to buy the Official Aristocob Mug

Show the world you are a "Cob-Carrying member of the Cobbunist Party"!

2009-05-13T09:23:00.004-04:00

Sure, it's silly, but while we were adding items to our Aristocob promo store we just had to bring a little pun to life. Now you too can show the world that you too are a smoker of the cob with the "Cob-Carrying member of the Cobbunist Party" mug .

There's lots of other cool Cobbunist Party items, such as key chains and tee shirts, so check it out.

Smokers moving back to the pipe due to tax increase

2009-05-02T15:06:00.005-04:00

We’ve been trying to figure out why we’ve seen a dramatic spike in pipe sales this past month, and now we believe we have the answer: Taxes

On April 1st 2009 many Americans saw tangible signs that our federal government had changed hands and that congress and the new president were hard at work finding new and deceptive ways to take and then spend our money. That was the day that the new federal excise tax increase took effect. Actually most cigarette manufacturers hiked their prices in March in anticipation of the tax increase. The new tax hike is hidden (sort of) because it was imposed at the wholesale level. That meant that consumers won’t see a new or inflated tax detailed on the case register tape, but the retail price will be higher.

What makes this worse is that the way prices are calculated at each step along the way to the consumer. For example, the maker of Camel, Salem and Kool cigarettes, R.J. Reynolds had to hike their wholesale price by 44 cents a pack. Now, for those of you with no retails sales experience, let me explain how things work down at the ol’ 7-11. Retail price is often double the wholesale cost. This mark-up allows the retailer to cover the payment on their property; cover the costs of having employees available to keep the Slurpy machine clean and cold; and to cover the cost of theft and if all goes well leave a little something for the owner to reinvest in new coffee machines and condom dispensers. So, while R.J. Reynolds collects an additional 44 cents and hands it over to our buddies in the Treasury Department, the consumer will actually pay an additional 88 cents per pack at the cash register! And don’t forget that this new tax is in addition to the taxes that were already built into the price. Oh, and let’s also not forget that the sales tax that our cities and states charge are a percentage of the retail price, so if your sales tax is 6 percent, this means your sales tax just went up 5 cents too!

Theoretically the revenue generated from this tax increase will be used to expand coverage under the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Who could be against sick children? Boo-frickin’-woo!

If these children are so needy then let’s ALL take care of them; not just the smokers!

This increase was signed into law in by President Obama in February, and it calls for a 62-cents-a-pack increase, to $1.01, in federal excise taxes on cigarettes as well as HUGE increases in taxes on little cigars, cigars, and pipe and chewing tobacco.

I mostly smoke a pipe, but on occasion I like to pick-up a package of Backwood Smokes. These are sweet little cigars that our congress felt were WAY under taxed, so their tax burden (my new tax burden) went from 3.7 cents per pack to $1.01 a pack!

The pipe tobacco tax increased to $.18 per ounce ($2.8126 per pound), so pipe’s still represent a relative value for the tobacco smoker.

What we believe we are seeing is:

Cigarette smokers trying to quit by switching to pipes, which are not typically inhaled.

Cigarette smokers who wish to continue smoking, but who will smoke a pipe occasionally rather than cigarettes regularly.

Smokers of small cigars who wish to continue smoking, but who will smoke a pipe rather than pay the ridiculous new taxes on small cigars.

Here's the government website where you can learn more about the tax hike on tobacco.

We invite you to think of www.Aristocob.com as your source for cool-burning and sweet tasting Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipes. Since 1869 Americans have enjoyed and insisted on genuine Missouri Meerschaum pipes, and now you know why you should too.

ANOTHER BOX FULL OF ARISTOCOB LINERS FOR SALE!

2009-05-01T21:10:00.008-04:00

May 2009 is looking like a great month for collectors and smokers of the original Aristocob Metal smoking pipe! I just got home from a trip to Atlanta and a buddy emailed me to let me know about an Aristocob pipe that he thought I may have missed. As it turned out it was one that I caught, but what I hadn't seen was that there was a full carton of Aristocob liners for sale! This was the first time I've seen this, and to be honest with you I may just jump in on the bidding too. (Sorry about that.) This box sold on May 6th 2009 for $67.00 +$7.35 S&H!

Well, no sooner did that eBay auction end than the seller posted another full carton of Aristocob Liners for Sale! I contacted the seller to see what was up and to ask if this was the same box that the buyer reneged on, but she assured me that no, this is yet another box! So buys, the game is one again! Bidding ends May 14th 2009. Good luck!
Update: This box sold on May 14th 2009 for $67.00 +$7.35 S&H (Much more reasonable)

She's at it again! They must have found the Mother load of Aristocob liners! Just as before, no sooner did that eBay auction end than the seller posted another full carton of Aristocob Liners for Sale Bidding ends May 21st 2009. Good luck!

NOTE: This seller also has individual 3 pack's of Aristocob liners for sale, but they are miss-labeled as "aristo cob". Bidding ends May 24st 2009

April 2009 was a very good month for Aristocob pipe collectors!

2009-04-25T21:23:00.000-04:00

Time to get caught up. April 2009 was a very busy month for Aristocob pipes on eBay, and May is looking good as well. Below are the Aristocob sales for the month of April.

This Aristocob pipe with one liner sold on eBay on April 12th 2009 for $33.00 + $495 S&H

This Aristocob pipe with two liners sold on eBay on April 12th 2009 for $40.00

This Aristocob pipe with one liner sold on eBay on April 14th 2009 for $18.19

This Aristocob pipe with one liner sold on eBay on April 15th 2009 for $18.19
(Yep, $18.19 again)

This beautiful Aristocob pipe sold on eBay on April 18th, 2009 for $33.00 +$4.95 S&H

What was in the water in April? Even more Aristocobs

2009-04-25T20:09:00.000-04:00

These three unsmoked Aristocob pipe corn cob liners sold on eBay on April 26th for $10 + $2.26 S&H. Sort of crazy when you notice that the box and the liners got wet at some point in their life, and take a look at what the pipe and liners below sold for on the vary same day. Go figure.

This Aristocob pipe with three unsmoked liners sold on eBay on April 26th 2009 for $16.50 + $5.70 S&H

This Aristocob pipe with three unsmoked liners sold on eBay on April 30th 2009 for $26.50 + $6.50 S&H

April 24th 2009: National Pigs in a Blanket Day!

2009-04-24T15:58:00.007-04:00

The day began over breakfast with my buddy "Brew" at Tex & Shirley's in High Point, NC. Being National Pigs in a Blanket Day we of course had to go with the day's name sake.

We spoke with a nice gentleman who said he was the owner (We suspect his name was Shirley) who was surprised to learn of the day's significance. We suggested that the place could have used a few more revilers, and embracing this holiday in the future might help fill the place up a bit. Breakfast was excellent and at only $4.95 it was a steal.

Breakfast was so much fun that we had to keep it going; not to mention that Eddie was upset that he missed-out. So off we went to Pancho Villa's (Or as we call it: "Carnitaville") for pork carnitas. The way we see it, Carnitas + Tortillas = Pigs in a Blanket! Eddie was pleased.

Oh, but wait... Dinner's ahead...

So here's the family. Well, not quite. Both of our kid's spouses were busy tonight, but our kids have their priorities straight and made it over for free food. This evening's PIAB's were whole grain and covered with pureed berries and a dash of powdered sugar. Yum!
From L to R: Our son Seth, a.k.a "Boy"; our daughter Dayna, a.k.a "Stinks" (And the baby on board is Jensen, a.k.a. "Smucker's", due late July) me and my bride Jandy, a.k.a "Guppyhead".

Miss-labled Aristocob for sale on eBay

2009-04-18T00:13:00.004-04:00

Here's one I almost missed. The owner doesn't know it, but they have an Aristocob for sale
It doesn't look bad, but you might want to ask the seller if the ring is loose enough to remove. Also there's a seller with some replacement corn cob inserts. Their listing is confusing because it says $2 shipping, yet to my zip code it's showing $4.55 shipping. Again, double check before you buy. This one is in an eBay store, and therefore is not in an auction, so buy it now! Check them out. This Aristocob pipe sold on eBay on April 21st 2009 for $21.61 + $6.60 S&H

Sportin' a Cob at the TAPS 2009 Pipe Show

2009-04-01T22:27:00.000-04:00

I got to spend this past Saturday with a few of my favorite friends; My Son Seth and my Son-in-Law Nathan. For the past few years we have heard about the TAPS (Triangle Area Pipe Smokers) in Raleigh NC, and finally my travels paused at just the right time. We decided to have a guy's day out, so off we went to Raleigh. The show was being held in a Holiday Inn and after paying the exorbitant $3 admission fee we were off to the races.

The room was smaller than I expected; about 50 X 50, but it was packed to the gills with tables full of pipes, tobacco, and everything cool tool remotely related to pipe smoking. Oddly enough the venue didn't allow smoking, so our loaded pipes had to be slipped into our pockets. (Whose idea was it to have a pipe show at a non-smoking venue?)

Our first stop was the first table to the right of the door. This table had a hundred or so premium brier and meerschaum estate pipes displayed in presentation boxes and on velvet drawstring bags. Of course my eyes were peeled looking for Aristocobs. Nothing here.

Seth and Nathan were digging through a large box of very "experienced" $5 pipes, when Seth handed me a unique, home-made aluminum pipe that was somewhat reminiscent of the Aristocob. "Nope, but close." Now I just had to dig in too. Falcon's with missing bits and cracked bowls... lots of Medico's and Dr. Grabow's... even one funky plastic pipe called "The Pipe".

It was then that I saw it. The absolute dream of every smoker to ever to seek permission to smoke in the family car! An ARISTOCOB!

The rest of the show was a blast. Me with a Freehand Missouri Meerschaum in one pocket and a nice Aristocob in the other. Seth and Nathan learn a bunch and they both learned that they had a favorite pipe style. Nathan was drawn to every Churchwarden he saw, and Seth couldn't keep his hands off the largest pipes on each table.

We talked to pipe carvers, tobaccos blenders and pipe lovers from all over the USA.

As we prepared to leave we asked one of the gentlemen at the ticket table to snap our picture with my hone, and one of them stood with his own camera and said he'd be happy to snap a pic with his camera and email me a copy. The top photo was taken by Bill Doherty. Thanks Bill!

The second photo shows my new Aristocob in the mouth of Carolina Jack. That's my Seth. Our neighbors wold say "That boy just ain't right".

The show was followed by incredible pizza from "I Love NY Pizza", which is where Seth made his second home during his year at NC State. From there it was off to J.R.'s were we finally got to kick back in their smoking lounge to smoke our cobs. "Frog Morton on the Town" was a nice choice.

The day ended with us rejoining our Brides to review all the wonderful crap that they purchased during their day of "garage selling" (This is a misnomer for "Buying") then BBQ at the new Country Barbecue off St Rt 68 just north of High Point.

What a fun day. We should do it again soon, but next time the show HAS to allow smoking.

Visit Our eBay Store for Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes

2009-02-03T20:29:00.003-05:00

Visit our eBay store: Aristocob US Corn Cob Pipes and Gifts for great Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes.

One thing that surprises most folks who see several corn cob pipes side by side is how much the cobs naturally vary in color and texture.

The photo at right is of several shapes and finishes, but best of all it illustrates this variety.

Pipe #1 is a Smooth Egg Shaped Great Dane. This pipe features a surface which is filled with plaster of Paris and then lacquered. This is our most popular finish and is the finish that was granted a US Patent in 1878 to the founder of Missouri Meerschaum.

Pipe # 2 is a Country Gentleman. The bowl is first filled, as outlined in #1, but then it was exposed to open flame and then burnished to a smooth and polished finish. Lastly it received a coat of lacquer.

Pipe #3 is a Free Hand, which is unique in that it is the only production corn cob pipe in the USA which is still completely hand turned. This pipe has undergone the same steps as the Country Gentleman, only these steps are all done by a skilled hand.

Pipe #4 is a Smooth General, which has the same finish as pipe #1. I guess I put it in the photo mostly because I like it!

Pipe # 5 and 6 are actually the same style and finish. I told you the cobs vary! These are both Natural MacArthur pipes, which have absolutely no finish at all. # 5 is about as white a cob as I have ever seen, and #6 is quite red.

Folks who smoke a Natural Bowl often claim that they smoke cooler, which makes sense seeing that the cobs surface is a bit like the fins on a radiator.

When is a Meerschaum Pipe Not a Meerschaum Pipe? When it's a Missouri Meerschaum Pipe! Just ask Mark Twain

2009-01-02T16:32:00.009-05:00

This is a portrait of Mark Twain (AKA Samuel Langhorne Clemens) which was painted by another former resident of Hannibal, MO, Carroll Beckwith. This painting was featured on the cover of Harper’s Weekly, September 26, 1891. Clinched in his mouth is a Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipe. Since 1869 these pipes were sold as H. Tibbe & Son Co. pipes, but this changed in 1907 after a comment from "Mark Twain". It seems that Mr. Clemens was surrounded by snobs who liked to put-down his pipe and cigar choices, and after one such comment about his lowly cob he remarked that it wasn’t a corn cob pipe, but rather a “Missouri Meerschaum”. Meerschaum pipes are those fancy carved pipes that are made from a soft white stone which is mined in Turkey. (Mmmmmm… turkey)

Like corn cob pipes true meerschaum pipes are cool and dry smoking, and over time they absorb the tars and nicotine from the burning tobacco. In the case of a corn cob pipe this process turns the cob dark, but with meerschaum pipes this coloring is highly prized by pipe collectors. The bowl will begin darkening from the inside of the bowl out, so these pipes are usually carved in such a way as to reveal the various depths of color which develop through the bowl.

The genuine meerschaum pipe shown at right is called "Birth of Cupid" is an excellent example of this natural coloring, and this pipe sold on eBay auction on Dec 21st, 2008 for $849!

Purists insist that a meerschaum pipe should be smoked with white gloves on if it is smoked at all. That's like owning a PEZ dispenser and leaving it in the package! If I can't enjoy smoking a pipe what's the point?

Here's a link to current auctions of genuine meerschaum pipes. Watch out for pipes made from crushed and formed meerschaum as they don't smoke or age like genuine meerschaum.

Here's a neat video showing the entire process from mining to carving a genuine Meerschaum pipe.

Here's another great video focused on carving the pipes.

Aristocob Art Deco Metal Corn Cob Pipe sold for $50

2008-12-29T22:07:00.004-05:00

This Aristocob pipe with two unsmoked corn cob liners sold on eBay 3/22/09 for $50 + S&H. This continues a recent trend where Aristocob pipes are selling from $35 and up. I suppose it's not a bad thing, but the more of these that get into the hands of active smokers, the more competition we can all expect when liners come up for sale. Heck, there are currently two nice looking Aristocob pipes on eBay at this very moment. Let's see how high they go. Scott

Click here to see current Aristocob Pipes For Sale

New Aristocob Metal Pipe with three NEW Corn Cob Liners

2008-12-29T22:04:00.000-05:00

Here's the text from the eBay listing:

"This is a new-in-the-box Aristocob by Missouri Meerschaum. It is a metal pipe with a corncob liner. The plastic box includes the metal pipe with three corncob liners and the original paperwork. They are wonderful pipes! They combine the sweet smoking of the corncob with the elegance of the metal pipe - and they are no longer produced. I, personally, have had four of these over a period of years, and this one was meant to be the back-up when I needed it. I am no longer smoking much and I have two still in operating condition. The history of my attachment to the Aristocob goes back may years. I was a Missouri Meerschaum corncob pipe smoker and was planning my first cruise. My daughter thought the corncob pipe was not "classy" enough for the cruise atmosphere and she bought me an Aristocob. It satisfied her and it satisfied me! I have learned that the way to treat them is to smoke the corncob liner until the pipe needs cleaning and a new filter. Then take out that liner and put it somewhere to let it dry, and put a new (or dried) one in and continue. That method will allow you to use the pipe for a long period by rotating the three liners."

This pipe sold on eBay Dec 29th for $49.69 + $4.55 S&H

WOW! An Aristocob Pipe Sells for $76!

2008-12-29T09:16:00.001-05:00

I don't get it. I suppose someone just decided that this was going to be THEIR pipe, no matter what. This used Aristocob pipe sold on eBay Feb 3rd 2009 for $76 + $5 S&H. Makes me wonder what one of the pristine and unsmoked Aristocob's would fetch. Probably $7.

See the comment below by the buyer.

If Mac smoked one, shouldn't you?

2008-12-19T23:59:00.001-05:00

General Douglas MacArthur was such a fan of Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes that he had them make pipes to his own specifications! You can find the latest version of the MAC at www.aristocob.com

Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes from 1945

2008-12-19T22:46:00.005-05:00

Here's the entire Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe line as it appeared in April 1945. This and the other old photos shown on this blog are from Life Magazine.
Click on the photos to biggie-size them.

See more at www.aristocob.com

Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes in Washington MO

2008-12-19T19:01:00.001-05:00

Here's the place. Since 1872!

Time to Make the Corn Cob Pipes!

2008-12-19T19:00:00.004-05:00

Receiving another load of Corn Cobs.

Hummmmm, They Look Dry to Me...

2008-12-19T19:00:00.003-05:00

Missouri Meerschaum Pipe Company stores over two years worth of corn cobs in their drying room! I imagine that they all dream of becoming a Mac Arthur.

Missouri Meerschaum Pipes are availabel from www.aristocob.com

Look at all the Steps to Making a Corn Cob Pipe!

2008-12-19T18:59:00.002-05:00

Another perspective of what it takes to make a Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe.

Steps shown from left to right

Step 1. Cob is cut to length.
Step 2. Cob is bored for tobacco.
Step 3. Cob is turned to shape.
Step 4. Cob is covered with Plaster of Paris compound.
Step 5. Bowl is sanded smooth.
Step 6. Finish is applied.

In the case of the right bowl the cob is burnished, or exposed to an open flame. This gets a final top-coat.

Whew! Visit us at www.Aristocob.com and get one of these pieces of Americana for yourself.

Turning Corn Cob Pipes on a Wood Lathe

2008-12-19T18:58:00.002-05:00

Though most of the Corn Cob Pipe shapes are now turned on automated tools, some are still made by hand. I'm a bit of a wood turner myself and I can't imagine how long it takes to develop the skills these folk have. Nice work Missouri Meerschaum!

The tool this gentleman is using is called a skew. It's one of my favorites and one of these days I'll feel comfortable enough to tell you the story of how I embarrassed myself in front of one of the world's late, great wood turners, Mr. Rude Osolnik.

Applying Plaster of Paris to the Corn Cob Bowl

2008-12-19T18:56:00.002-05:00

The original US Patent granted in 1878 to the founder of the Missouri Meerschaum Pipe Company was for a finishing method that included the application of a proprietary blend of Plaster of Paris and seven herbs and spices. This photo from Life Magazine shows the bowls (and the operator) being covered with this compound.

Polishing the ol' Cob

2008-12-19T18:54:00.009-05:00

Making a Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes take a lot of skill and hard work. Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes from Washington MO are the Corn Cob Pipes sold today that are made in the USA!

Ask for them by name because there are lots of crappy pipes being imported from China.

A Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe Takes a Reaming!

2008-12-19T18:54:00.008-05:00

Reaming the corn cob bowl is just one of the many steps it takes to make a Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe.

Boring a Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe for it's Stem

2008-12-19T18:54:00.007-05:00

Here a worker drills the corn cob bowl for it's stem. Today the stems are made from wooden dowels fitted with a plastic bit, but originally they were made from river reed. This is how they were made when Samuel Clemons (Mark Twain) was enjoying his. Did you know that he gave the Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe Company its name?

Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes Receive Their Stems

2008-12-19T18:54:00.005-05:00

Women assemble new Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes in Washington MO.

Yep, those were the good old days.

Applying Sticker to a Newly Finished Corn Cob Pipe.

2008-12-19T18:03:00.003-05:00

In reality I don't think a Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe is truly "finished" until I'm smoking it, but that's another post.

www.aristocob.com

Finishing Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes

2008-12-19T18:00:00.002-05:00

I don't know if this is still the way finishing is done at the Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe Factory, but at least it once was done this way.

They sure did start 'em young back then!

Click the pic to Biggie-Size it.

Nature's Sweetest Pipe

2008-12-19T17:57:00.003-05:00

Ain't it the truth.

Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes as they appeared in 1945.

Notice how some of the stems used to be made from corn cobs.

Photo from Life Magazine

Here's a Dapper Dude Enjoying his Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe

2008-12-19T17:05:00.001-05:00

Aristocob Art Deco Metal Corn Cob Smoking Pipe & Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe Blog

Watch our "GettingThe Most Out Of Your Corn Cob Pipe" Video Series on Youtube

Just in case you missed it... new upgrade for your Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipes!

Getting a corn cob pipe to arrive in one piece

We have WINNERS in the 2011 International Corn Cob Pipe Month video contest!

Pipe school at JR's in Burlington, NC

November is International Corn Cob Pipe Month at Aristocob.com!

It's November! That means it's International Corn Cob Pipe Month!

Acrylic blanks for the ultimate DIY pipe bits

Stupid Malware!

See the results of an interesting survey of pipe smokers

Ever seen the entire Missouri Meerschaum pipe line all in one place?

Review your Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe at Aristocob.com (Please)

Davy Crockett. An American with Balls!

"I bark at no man's bid. I will never come and go, and fetch and carry, at the whistle of the great man in the White House no matter who he is."

Tom Hanks smokes a Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe... but...

Aristocob presents "Magnacob"

A BRILLIANT idea for the MacArthur pipe

When is a pair not a pair?

Not smoking on Manhattan Beach

QR codes

10 Questions for Pipe Smokers.

How About a Pop in the Mouth?

Posters using Comment Kahuna, Fast Blog Finder and other SEO tools are driving me nuts!

It's time to get "Neked"!

A GREAT Missouri Meerschaum history video

Now this is just Too Cute!

Now THAT'S funny! (That's what she said)

A surprising message from eBay.

OK, I think we can all agree... this is just wrong.

A little more Missouri Meerschaum history

We have a WINNER in the 2010 ICCPM video contest!

It's time to VOTE!

Join Aristocob on Facebook

A blog worth checking-out

Made a couple new smoking buddies

On our way to VA with a U-Haul; thinking of cobs and change

Origins of the Aristocob System Pipe

Patent Art Print of original US Patent for the Aristocob Pipe

This just kills me! Chinese corn cob pipes are CRAP!

Do you have a blog or a web site? Add an Aristocob Widget!

Father's Day at 100: How It Began, Why Dad Gets Fewer Gifts

Why doesn't www.Aristocob.com sell the ENTIRE line of Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes?

Pipe Smoking Tee Shirts and More

Thank you.

Just opened a Facebook account. What's wrong with me?

I ordered some more e-juice from Johnson Creek

Update on e-cig vaping experiment

Did I even show you my New Yankee Redneck sign?

Pale pipes cause red faces

Thinking about an e-cig

What the heck is Weichsel wood?

Happy Birthday Popeye!!

Here's a great, unsolisited review of the Missouri Meerschaum Freehand Corn Cob Pipe

Pipe and Pint Goes Smoke Free. Wassupwitdat?

Famous Corn Cob Pipe Smokers

Now that's an interesting idea. Corn Cob Pipe modifications

Now Aristocob.com site is up and running, now we need some reviews

IT'S ALIVE! New Aristocob.com is ALIVE!

Lots of changes are coming for Aristocob.com!

November is International Corn Cob Pipe Month!

What's a vintage (used) Aristocob System pipe selling for these days?

November is National Corn Cob Pipe month at Aristocob!

Going to "Cigar School"

A Great Article on How Missouri Meerschaum Pipes are Made

"A Peek Is Worth A Thousand Guesses"

I love to listen to music while smoking my corn cob pipe

Finally, a source for pipe tobacco

What others are saying about Aristocob

Other Corn Cob Pipe Videos

MISSOURI'S CORN COB PIPE INDUSTRY, 1909

Annual report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the State of Missouri‎ - 1911

"THE PIPE YOU MAKE YOURSELF" 1895

Get your Official Aristocob Coffee Mug!

Show the world you are a "Cob-Carrying member of the Cobbunist Party"!

Smokers moving back to the pipe due to tax increase

ANOTHER BOX FULL OF ARISTOCOB LINERS FOR SALE!

April 2009 was a very good month for Aristocob pipe collectors!

What was in the water in April? Even more Aristocobs

April 24th 2009: National Pigs in a Blanket Day!