So far I have to say in all honesty that corn cobs consistently score the highest for their general utility. They work well with any tobacco and though I'm not a fan of their looks it hardly matters since I also have a couple of lookers if I feel the need to show off a bit!
You are, or should be, smoking a pipe to please yourself not anyone else, so whatever works for you is what's right!
Please don't fall into the trap of thinking that this, that or the other 'pundit's' opinion matters or carries more weight than your own. It doesn't. Those that say otherwise are pretentious prats that you can safely ignore as being irrelevant.
Missouri Meerschaum sells a grab bag of 7 cob pipes that for whatever reason didn't make it into the full sale line. They have some visual defect - a scratch or something - but nothing affecting the... more