Anyone who sells retail or wholesale tobacco pipes has been asked countless times by customers if corn cob pipes and meerschaum pipes are the same thing. The confusion is understandable for a couple of reasons. The first being that there's no denying the two share a passing resemblance in that they're both light-colored and obviously not made from briar wood. And then there is the fact that the world's largest maker of corn cob pipes added the word "meerschaum" to their name over 100 years ago for marketing purposes and continues to do business under that name. In this post, we're going to take a deep dive into the differences between corn cobs and meerschaum in the hopes of clearing up any confusion.

What is a Meerschaum Pipe?

Meerschaum is a naturally occurring mineral technically known as “sepiolite”. It’s found in various places around the world but some of the highest concentrations are in Turkey where it has been mined for more than 4,000 years. The word “meerschaum” itself is German and means “sea foam” both because of its resemblance to sea foam and because chunks of the mineral can sometimes be found floating on the Black Sea.

A real meerschaum pipe is carved from a block of sepiolite. The best are hand-carved, but many these days are machine carved. The carving process produces a large amount of shavings. These shavings are sometimes gathered up and used to create pipes that are technically meerschaum, but do not have the same value or durability as a pipe carved from a single block of sepiolite.

While meerschaum has been used to create a variety of decorative items for thousands of years, pipes fashioned from meerschaum have only been around since the early 18th century. They gained popularity in Europe at that time as a viable alternative to clay pipes. Meerschaum pipes are prized for their beauty, timeless qualities and the fact that they do not alter the flavor of the tobacco the way some briar pipes can. Many are rightly considered works of art with one, known as “The Marriage of Princess Louise”, fetching $50,000 at auction in 2004.

What is a Corn Cob Pipe?

The corn cob pipe can trace its origins to the American Midwest of the late 19th century. In that time and place, corn was king and its presence permeated every aspect of local life. As the name implies corn cob pipes are made from the hard cob of an ear of corn. Exactly who first had the idea of transforming a corn cob into a pipe bowl is open for debate but there is little debate about who popularized the corn cob pipe. That honor goes to one Henry Tibbe from Missouri.

Tibbe owned a woodworking shop where he made simple furniture products. According to legend, one day a local farmer came into Tibbe's shop and asked him if he would use his wood-turning machinery to fashion a pipe bowl from a corn cob. Hibbe obliged. After presenting the local man with his corn cob bowls Tibbe produced several more for himself and was quickly able to sell them as tobacco pipes. This was in 1872. Within just a few years Hibbe had abandoned furniture making and turned all his attention to the production of corn cob pipes.

5 years after producing his first corn cob pipe Hibbe’s business moved to a larger facility. 10 years after that he added the word “meerschaum” to his company name for marketing purposes and the Missouri Meerschaum Company was born. The company is still in business and is the largest single producer of corn cob pipes in the world.

The company uses a very specific type of white corn for their pipes that is grown specifically for them in Missouri. The cobs are dried for 2 years before they can be effectively worked. Once the desired shape is achieved the bowls are dipped in a plaster-based liquid, allowed to dry and then lacquered. Shanks are fashioned from pine. The resulting pipes are light, affordable, easy to use and immensely popular.

We love a good success story and the Missouri Meerschaum Company is certainly that. But make no mistake, the corn cob pipes they produce are not fashioned from sepiolite and therefore are not meerschaum pipes, regardless of what is implied by the company name.

Which Tobacco Pipes are Better: Meerschaum or Corn Cob?

Which type of pipe is better is a matter of taste, and taste is always subjective. People drawn to the meerschaum pipe appreciate its stunning beauty and the clean, crisp smoke as well as the fact that it doesn’t foul as easily as a briar pipe.

On the other hand, those attracted to corn cob pipes appreciate the affordability, the lightweight nature of the pipe and the Americana of it all. It also seems in some ways like the perfect pipe for smoking tobacco since that too was first cultivated in America.

The Bottom Line

A corn cob pipe is not a meerschaum pipe. Period. The 2 are fashioned from entirely different materials and have completely different characteristics. Yes, they’re both light colored and yes, there are corn cob pipes sold under the company name “Missouri Meerschaum”. But they are not actually made from sepiolite. They’re made from corn cobs. We hope this clears things up for you and remember; if you need a briar, meerschaum or corn cob pipe Paykoc Pipes has one of the best selections you’ll find online.