How About a Corncob Pipe
(Page 2 of 3)
January/February 1973
By John D. Meek
It's said — truly, in my experience — that the thicker the walls of the pipe are, the cooler it'll smoke, so don't shave the outside of the bowl. The result won't be as slick looking as the store-bought product, but I like the cushiony feel of the untrimmed ear in my hand, anyhow.
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I make my pipestems from the woody stalks of wild rice, though I'm told that the old-timers used the slenderest part of the cornstalk — cut near the top of the plant — or elder twigs. Whatever material you choose, make the stem about six inches long (shorter, if anything) and about a quarter of an inch in diameter . . . again, less rather than more.
The traditional cornstalk or elder pipestem has a pith that must be hollowed out at some point, either with a hot wire — the old farmers' way — or with a small twist drill. You'll be saner to do this now, before you bore the bowl to receive the twig. It's heartbreaking to split that stick while you're working on it and not be able to find another to fit your carefully prepared chunk of corncob. (After you've pierced the stem, by the way, be sure to blow through it before you suck on it.)
If you use wild rice stalk for your pipestem, cut the mouthpiece just above one of the joints so you'll be able to hold this strong point in your teeth without worrying about splitting the tube. (Yes, the mouthpiece is round . . . and yes, it's comfortable to bite onto.) The other end of the stem — the bowl end — should also be cut just above a joint in the reed. Since the rice plant is already hollow except at the joints, the hard bit at the mouthpiece is the only place you'll have to clear out.
When your pipestem is cut and pierced, prepare the bowl end by taking a flattish slice — about a third of an inch long — off one side to form a U-shaped opening (see the photo). When you put your pipe together, this cut will be on the upper side of the stem.
Next, bore a hole in the side of the bowl just above the bottom of the dug-out portion. If you like to do things the hard way, you can use the small blade of your knife for this job . . . though it'll take you a while to dig through the corncob wall like that, and you're quite likely to end up with a hole in the wrong place when the knife snaps shut on your finger.
To avoid all that trouble, I make the opening in the bowl with a twist drill of slightly smaller diameter than the finished pipestem. I hold the drill with a tap wrench — keeping the bit as near to a right angle with the bowl as possible — and bore with a full twist clockwise followed by a half-twist counterclockwise to clear the hole and prevent it from getting too big for the tube.
When you've drilled through into the hollow of the bowl, press-fit the stem (with the U-shaped cut upward). There's your pipe!
