Announcing the WINNERs of the 2013 Cobfoolery Contest

Without any further adieu, we are pleased to announce the winners of the first annual, Aristocob a Cobfoolery Contest.

The winner of the First Prize in the Amateur Category is David Galehouse with his "Ty Cob".  David won a Missouri Meerschaum Freehand pipe on a plaque, and $30 to spend at Aristocob.com.

The second place prize of  a $20 Aristocob.com credit goes to Mike Miller for his Amateur entry. "Cob Comet".

Third place in the Amateur category goes to Joe Skorpen for his "Peace of Corn" pipe.  Joe wins a $10 Aristocob credit.

The winner of the First Prize in the Professional Category is Scott "SparkysPipes" Harris, with his "Aradicalcob".  Scott won a Missouri Meerschaum Freehand pipe on a plaque, and $30 to spend at Aristocob.com.

Second place in the Pro Category, and the prize of a $20 Aristocob.com credit does to Chris Morgan for his Reverse Calabash.

Third place in the Pro Category, and a $10 Aristocob.com credit goes to Riccardo Santia for his "Crown Royal".

Thanks again for everyone who entered, and I'm happy to announce that we will do it again next year.  Stay tuned on the Aristocob Youtube Channel at www.Youtube.com/user/Aristocob and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/Aristocob

Here's the live announcement of the winners, recorded at Big Star Cigar during the first annual Music City Pipe Show and Sale in Nashville TN.

It was bound to happen... I forgot someone

As you may have read we had a major breakdown of our Google account on the last night of the Cobfoolery contest, and as a result it was very difficult to amass all the entries for the voting phase of the contest.  I was informed this morning (a week after the deadline) that I left someone out of the contest!  So here is that entry, which BTW when I received it I thought was a fine cob mod.

From the builder: "The "Cutty Gentleman" was plastered, dyed and distressed brown with a blackened rim. The shank is tension fit with no adhesive, and the stem is from Walker Briar Works. Thanks for the fun! 5H4N3"

5H4N3 (If that is his real name) is an active poster on the PipeSmokersForum, and it is with a sincere apology that we share his creation.

OK, here are all the Professional Cobfoolery entries

The following entries are professional pipe makers who are competing in the "Pro" category.
Some of the pics will Biggie-Size if you click them.

TO VOTE:
Review all the entries below and make a note of the ONE pipe that if you could, you would love to add it to your personal pipe rack.  (Note, you will not win the pipe!)  Once you've made your choice, click this link to cast your vote:

VOTE FOR THE PROFESSIONAL COBFOOLERY WINNER HERE
Make sure to click the "Read More" link on the bottom of the post to see ALL of the entries.

Entry A (below): SparkysPipes.
See Scott's Supporting video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mamAIP2b3Y

 









Entry B (below): Joe Case.
Joe did a great how-to video on a different cob than his entry, but it's worth watching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBfTazi2Bzc

Entry C (below): Chris Morgan
See Chris' supporting video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DqJIkUu1Ys 

Entry D (below): Riccardo Santia
See Riccardo's supporting video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v15Bf3zIv_E

Entry E (below): Basil Meadows
Note: Basil has two entries.
See Basil's supporting video here: http://youtu.be/4vkUSlunemQ 

Entry F (below): Basil Meadows
Note: Basil has two entries.

Entry G (below): Brian Cantley
"It is a Missouri Meerschaum I bought at my local shop, I cut out the standard change and bought a ear of corn shucked it and cut of the actual corn, then I dried the cob, whittled it as far as I could, coated it with plaster of Paris then sanded it then applied carnuba wax and attached it and whittled a mouth piece from a dowel."

Entry H (below): John Barrett   www.etsy.com/shop/rekamepip
John shared about his pipe: "The Cob was Panel shaped, smoothed and waxed. Fitted with a hand shaped black walnut shank I decided to just use a Missouri Meerschaum Danish Bit as i really like these for form and comfort (and hey this is going to be my pipe and I am smoking it) Final touches to the pipe included a special treatment Jack Daniels Honey Whiskey." 

Entry I (below): Jeremiah Sandahl
"I call this the "Blowcob" because I modified the bowl to be more or less a blowfish shape. I made a briar reverse calabash shank and a hand-cut vulcanite stem, which is permanently epoxied to the shank."

A few more Amateur Cobfoolery entries

We have a few more entries that for whatever reason Blogger wasn't allowing be to add to that previous post.  Make sure to click the "Read More" link on the bottom of the post to see ALL of the entries.

Entry 13 (below): Scotty B. (aka: Scotty B on YouTube)
Scotty posted a video of his "44 Mag Devil Anse" pipe at:  http://youtu.be/cXfoYZxJA-A

Entry 14 (below): Randy K. (aka: KnottHomeR on YouTube)
Randy posted a video of his pipe at:  http://youtu.be/aEp0hFxLcmo

Entry 15 (below): Randall (aka: Shad Rac on YouTube)
Shad Rac's "MacArthur Thorn Pipe".  Randall posted a video in support of his entry: http://youtu.be/1ACLfDZWtok

Entry 16 (below): Mike C. 
The bowl part is briar - 2 1/4" tall; 1 3/4" wide; 7/8" bowl.
The total length is 6 5/16"
Nebraska 'Cornhusker' logo is hand carved on the front. The rest is rusticated.
The shank is a 'country gentleman' bowl, that I turned down to make into a reverse calabash chamber.
The stem is hand cut acrylic, ironically called 'Husker'. It has 3 thin acrylic bands on it, black, white and the swirled 'husker' acrylic sandwiched in between.

Entry 17 (below): Jeff (aka: SLVshadow on YouTube)
Jeff posted a video in support of his entry: http://youtu.be/5vGElFQ-Dao 

 

Entry 18 (below): Jason (aka: SlightOfPipes on Youtube)
Jason posted a video in support of his entry: http://youtu.be/sGPfHtuBhuc

Entry 19 (below):  Shane H.
Shane made several cobs using a variety of stems, and Shane also posted an entire step by step photo album on Facebook.

Here's the first batch of the 2013 Amatuer Cobfoolery Entries!

The following entries are amateur pipe makers, and in many cases first-time pipe makers!  These folks are competing in the "Amateur" category, which is being juried by a team of professional pipe makers and judges from the pipe industry, so these pipes are shown here for your pleasure.

Make sure to click the "Read More" link on the bottom of the post to see ALL of the entries.

CLICK HERE to Vote in the Professional competition

You can learn more about the judges here: http://cobfoolery.blogspot.com/2013/08/meet-judges-of-2013-cobfoolery-corn-cob.html

Shown in no particular order:

Entry 1 (below): Mike M.  (aka: DukeAvan on Youtube)
Note: Mike has two entries.
For the "Cob Comet" Mike modified two cobs into one, and added some modified clothespins for good measure.  Mike said that though he's been woodworking for 20 years and has experimented with making his own pipes for the past few months, he's never done anything like this before.  
Mike made a video in support of his entry: http://youtu.be/hpKtp0vDLNI

Entry 2 (below): Mike M.
For his second entry, "The Seadog", Mike began with a Missouri Meerschaum "General" pipe and custom turned a new shank and drilled the cob to accept it at quite a unique angle.

Entry 3 (below): Angela M. (aka: angelasbrandnewbag on YouTube)
Angela's pipe, "A rose by any other name", began as a previously smoked Missouri Meerschaum "Missouri Pride" pipe.

Entry 4 (below): Jason G. (aka: Armypipesmoker on Youtube)
Jason submitted the first of several Steampunk inspired pipe designs.  This pipe began life as a Missouri Meerschaum Country Gentleman pipe.

Entry 5 (below): Drew W. (aka: The Burning Bowl on YouTube)
Drew says "She smokes like a dream, all the beauty of a Missouri Meerschaum with the smoothness of a church warden".  At the heard of Drew's pipe is a Missouri Meerschaum Legend pipe.
Drew did a video in support of his entry:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x3_HjjOaIE

Entry 6 (below): Greg H.  (PipeSmokersForum member: Summit)
Greg says his pipe started as a Missouri Meerschaum "General", which he then "chopped about a 1/4 inch off the top and slanted it to give it a cherry wood look.  It sits well and the stock stem has a nice little curve too it. It is quite clenchable now."

Entry 7 (below): Dave G.
Here's that Dave said about his pipe: "I had a Tyrolean shape in mind, so I call this "The Ty Cob Pipe".  I started with a Missouri Meerschaum General, added a MM mini cob pipe, some copper plumbing, and yes - i even used an actual piece of dried corn for the piece that connects the bit to the downtube! And in case anyone freaks about the copper tubing, I did line it with wood so I'm not at risk of any toxic copper fumes."

Entry 8 (below): Joe S.
Joe submitted FOUR pipes, and while that kind of volume like the work of a professional pipe maker, these four pipes are the first pipes he's ever made.
First up, "The Stalker" was made from a Missouri Meerschaum MacArthur (Polished) and American Pipe (Mark Tinsky) Plateau Briar.  Shank: Sugar Maple with Amber Acrylic.  Stem: Acrylic. Tamper:  A modified MM “General” stem topped with a piece of plateau briar. Pipe Rest: Stalks of corn made from California Redwood (base), Hickory (stalks) and Sugar Maple (leaves).

Entry 9 (below): Joe S.
"Peace of Corn" was made from a Missouri Meerschaum MacArthur (Neked) and features American Pipe (Mark Tinsky) Plateau Briar.  There are two separate cob inserts; one being larger than the other for those days when you’re feeling extra corny.  Shank: Sugar Maple, Turquoise Acrylic and Deer Antler. Stem (bit): Acrylic Horn. Pipe Rest: Canoe made of Maple, Leather, Turquoise, Wooden Beads and Turkey Feather. Tamper:  Briar shaped as an oar with modified metal stud."

Entry 10 (below): Joe S.
"The "Cob Commandeer" started as a Missouri Meerschaum MacArthur (Neked). Shank: Missouri Meerschaum Stem, Black Acrylic. Stem: Missouri Meerschaum (flashing removed and polished). Tamper:  A section of MM stem fitted with brass hardware on each end.  Bottom:  1944 wheat penny.  It was on December 18, 1944 when MacArthur was promoted to the rank of 5-Star General.
Rest: General’s Hat made of California Redwood adorned with metal stars.  Magnetic pipe hold.
This piece of briar had more sand than briar … But what could be more appropriate for a pipe named after a guy who made beach landings famous?  Yes, a copper penny is NOT magnetic, but when a magnet is cleverly mounted beneath it is.  Works well. "