Don't go near it with sandpaper, especially if you want to keep the rim in good shape. What that stuff is, is a carbon cake applied to the inside of the bowl to ease the break-in period. Not sure if it helps or not. But, it isn't a big deal to just leave it.

Peace of the Lord be with you.
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I have a great Dane Egg and I love it! MM cobs are awesome!
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Great to hear :-) i'd hate to buy a bad pipe for the first impression
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Well the Jeantet has had it's cake "adjusted". I tried w/ some 400 grit sand paper but I couldn't really get my sausage fingers in there and I was worried about miffin up the rim too much. The bowl also seems to kind of flare as it gets deeper, almost a slight oval cut not a straight chamber. I ended up w/ a smooth butter knife as BigFrank had suggested and it worked quite well. I shaved down a lot of the irregularities and smoked it the other day. Seems to smoke great though maybe a bit hot, could be me as well, or the Lane 1Q (seemed tempting at the time). The remaining crevices are already filling in nicely. Now it's on to cleaning the new Brebbia, Calabash, and Peretti sitter I picked up =D

Thank you guys very much
Chris
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A few more questions

Since I've tracked down which pipe I'm going to start off with, and its a corn cob, anything I should know? There appear to be a ton of kinds of pipe tobacco, and from what I read, they can leave after tastes, is this a concern with a cob pipe? How often should I clean it, and how should it be cleaned?

I know it was recommended that I start with the drug store stuff, but I happen to be the kind of person who shoots straight for the good stuff just because I like to hit the ground running. Since I'm not new to smoking, just pipes, is it still a concern to start with something that generally has good reviews from more seasoned smokers? Or is it a don't waste good stuff when you don't know how to fill a pipe sort of thing? Reason being, there is a pipe store close that I normally buy cigars from and since I never looked at the pipes there, I didn't even remember they sold them there (its even called Pipe World :-)) I assume they have good tobacco, and might even have the cheap stuff, so I am going to be starting pipes before I leave more than likely (got someone to buy a few of the handout cigars I was going to take with me :-)) so I will probably buy the pipe, cleaners, and some tobacco (I already have a golf tee :P)

The short version:
What should I know about corn cob pipes?
What should I know about putting different types of tobacco in the same pipe?
Is it necessary to start with drug store tobacco? What if I buy more expensive stuff
Any last advice before I go buy a pipe, pipe cleaners, and tobacco? I.e. should I buy anything else?
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What should I know about corn cob pipes?
Take out the paper filter, and throw it away. I prefer the Straight stems over the Bent stems. The kink where the stem bends makes it difficult to pass a cleaner. The first couple smokes may taste like burning wood until you char the inside of the bowl and the stem in the bottom
What should I know about putting different types of tobacco in the same pipe?
Cobs don't have the tendency to ghost the same way that briar pipes do.
Is it necessary to start with drug store tobacco? What if I buy more expensive stuff
Go for it it's your money you can smoke whatever you want.
Any last advice before I go buy a pipe, pipe cleaners, and tobacco? I.e. should I buy anything else?
That will get you started
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Thanks! :-)
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New Pete with dipped stain and that pre carbon crap in the bowl. I swung into Home depot on my way home today and picked up 100-150-220 sandpaper. Did the trick nicely. Also used some 91% booze with q-tips to remove stain. Worked well.
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Anywhere I can buy Boswell's tobacco other than Boswell? They don't have online ordering.
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I'm one of those who hates the taste of stained bowls. I either avoid such pipes of soak it out before smoking. Others smoke through it out without complaint. Go figure. :-)
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No, you have to call them.
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So I have been cleaning and finished with the salt/alcohol mix and am about ready to start looking for a few pipe tobaccos to taste.

These were my grandfathers and hadnt been touched in at least 10-15 years. They have actually come along way to get to this point.

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I'd recommend reaming the inside of the bowl back to bare wood and performing another booze + salt treatment.
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I have been trying to build up my nerve to stick a butter knife in there and scrape/cut the old cake out. I am worried about cutting the wood.
with the salt/ booze mix, does finer salt work better say kosher salt?
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Conventional widsom says kosher (no added iodine) salt. I never used anything but - no idea what happens with plain table salt. Anyone know firsthand?

Briar is plenty tough if head to head with the dull edge of a butterknife or pipetool scraper. As you drag an edge along that mess (over a wastebasket or outdoors - not over a white tablecloth) and the black chunks and fine black powder sift out you will have plenty of time to see bare wood grin through the carbonization. Work slowly, carefully, under a good light - no drama. You don't need to apply much force to scrape that stuff out, by the way.

In your "bowls eye view" photo the two on the left need work for sure, the two on the right look like they were reamed recently and the one in the middle could use some evening out. The middle one, in another photo, also looks like it is burned on the outside - possibly a defect in the briar or grandpa smoked that pipe hard and fast. If you scrape it out a bit you may find a bad spot inside the bowl, through from the black mark. Go careful with that one - if there is a defect (and you love the pipe) it might be patchable with some pipe mud. Or it might have a little smudge of black paint on the outside in which case, forget what I just wrote. :-)
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thanks
great info
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I have had a pipe for a few years. I smoke it maybe once a week but enjoy it hardly ever. I am having a real problem with keeping bowls lit, and the bowls get fairly hot. As far as I know I am filling the bowl correctly using the gravity/3 push/roll up way that everyone says is best. I am using estate Savinelli briars, which are in excellent shape and very well taken care of since I am very anal about cleaning. I have been smoking a mostly flavored Boswells sampler that I was given with the pipes when I bought them, with the occasional sopping wet store brand thrown in. It seems they all taste very bland to the point where it becomes a chore to make it past a quarter of the bowl.

Now for the questions after my life story.
1. Being a cigar smoker, is it best to get some heavy blends now (like GL Pease Odyssey/Abingdon) that I can really taste the flavors in? I am guessing that some of my problem is user error puffing entirely too fast to try to keep these bowls lit and actually experience some sort of flavor.
2. I think I am going to order a MM Country Gentleman to try new tobaccos in until I find the right blends/styles that I like. Thoughts?
3. What other brands would you recommend for someone who is used to a cigar type taste and not mildness for starting out to really get a feel for pipe flavors?

Thanks in advance old farts.
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After filling the pipe (before lighting) is the draw resistance anything more than verrrrrrrrry slight? I mean, if you put a match to it and draw, does the flame go straight down or is it packed too tight for that to happen? Whattaya think?
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Alright, as some may have seen, I got a pipe :-)

I have some questions about smoking technique
When I fill it, I just lightly fill the bowl, then push the tobacco all the way down as far as it will go while still being mildly springy, then another loose fill and push down until mildly springy. It usually fills 3/4 of the bowl, and the draw is exactly how I like it, like drinking a thick milkshake when tested pre light if that makes sense. Am I doing it right?

When I light it, I do the false light thing by lighting it, tamping it down, and lighting again. I find that after I light it fully, I have to tamp it every puff to get a decent amount of smoke (remember, my frame of reference is cigars) is there something wrong or do pipes not produce mouthfulls of smoke? I also haven't had problems with the pipe going out, but that's because I've been tamping it every puff

How often should I puff? I wait 15-30 seconds a puff

Do I remove the ashes and stuff with the pipe tool when I'm done? I'm careful not to hit the edges with the scoop on the czech tool, but I am mainly after ashes and un burned tobacco

How much tobacco do you guys think I'll need for 2 weeks? :-) I'm a pretty heavy smoker I guess, I've smoked 5 bowls all day, but I didn't touch a single cigar, so it was a little more heavy than I'd normally smoke. I have an Missouri Meerschaum uhh... Diplomat I think, the store just had them in a bin, and they were all the same, but i'd guess its a pretty average sized bowl

Thanks again, this thread has been so helpful its incredible
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The resistance is less than a cigerette I would say. The flame also goes down into the tobacco. That could also be from the cigerette smoking I guess, drawing too hard maybe?
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