Making a corncob pipe: the greenest form of pipe smoking?
Though corncob pipes often conjure up "good old days" images of American farmers or Huck Finn floating on the Mississippi, they are still popular in the 21st century among some tobacco enthusiasts, as well as actors and costume-producers who favor the authenticity of the real thing. Whether making a corncob pipe as a prop for a community theater or hollowing one out for tobacco use, the process is much easier with an electric or battery-powered drill.
Instructions
1. Skip the time required to sun dry corncobs and opt for the modern convenience of a dehydrator or oven.
Select a corncob with a wide diameter and plenty of pith (the whitish core of the cob). Snap or cut the cob in half. Dry the cob, preferably by using a dehydrator or baking it in the oven for several hours at 100 degrees--naturally drying cobs in the sun can take up to two years.
2. Choose a sharp blade for hollowing out the pipe's bowl.
Carve the pipe out of the dried half-cob with a sharp pocket knife. Dig out the pith one to two inches, depending on the size of the cob, and make sure to leave walls just thick enough to avoid burning when handling.
3. Drill a narrow hole in the belly of the pipe bowl and allow to dry. Begin construction on the stem, which can be made from bamboo or a slender tree branch. Drill a hole through the center of the branch and whittle the ends with a pocket knife to produce a smooth end, for the mouth, and a slanted end, to be inserted into the pipe.
4. The hole for the stem should be slightly smaller in diameter than the stem itself in order to secure the stem properly.
Drill a hole above the base of the cob with a diameter slightly smaller than that of the pipe stem. Insert the stem and line up the hollow of the stem with the hole in the pith.
Tags: corncob pipe, Drill hole, pipe bowl, pocket knife, slightly smaller