Dangers of smoking very old pipe?
- Thread starter msza
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Nice to have so much history on that stunning heirloom. Just make sure that your kids understand the historical significance of that pipe, so when you're dead and gone they don¿t just send it out to the trash with the rest of your treasured pipes!
Thanks everyone.
I know i will have to smoke out of it at least a few times!, but definitely won't do so until I practice on a less sentimental pipe. Xrundog, thanks for the cleaning tips.
The case lining says Genuine Meerschaum and Real Amber is written on the outer case. Those are the only markings I have found
I know i will have to smoke out of it at least a few times!, but definitely won't do so until I practice on a less sentimental pipe. Xrundog, thanks for the cleaning tips.
The case lining says Genuine Meerschaum and Real Amber is written on the outer case. Those are the only markings I have found
Right young man you have a very nice pipe there. I agree with xrundog but with a few caveats. I would suggest you very gently unscrew the stem from the bowl. If it is stuck in anyway do not try and force it and do not apply force to the end of the mouth piece as it will snap. Once unscrewed the threaded bone part of the stem will have a duck quill stinger. I would suggest you soak the stem in warm soapy water for an hour or so. This will give you time to find a 'Hobby Shop' as you will need a packet of very fine fluffy modeling pipe cleaners which you roll in your hands and then feed directly into the stinger and out through the mouth piece. If you encounter any resistance do not force the matter as you will break the stem. You can scrape the inside of the bowl with a sharp knife of better still very fine sand paper to clean the clinker from the bowl. With that done you are pretty good to go. Good luck and us know how you get on with everything.
Never would have considered that, but now I know.
I have no meerschaum pipes, and certainly no old meerschaums, but it is interesting to find that the moisture problem would have been addressed that way.
Do you find that many of such stingers were removed, as so many are on more modern pipes?
No they always seem to survive and for some reason work really well. In essence they were cemented into a slightly larger counter sunk hole that formed the threaded bone tenion and then screwed into the pipes shank. This novel bit of Victorian reverse engineering had the accidental effect of causing the waters and tars from the tobacco to collect in the shank which turned them yellow in double quick time. It has to be remembered that people didn't wax their meerschaums in those days but smoked them every day.
Very interesting. I Don't think I've seen one quite that old in that shape profile. Thanks for sharing. It was an interesting read.
Just used it today for the first time. It smoked well, though it was quick to 'gurgle'. The bowl is deceptively small in person, a good bit smaller than the other pipes I have that are probably from the 1970s or so.
Thanks all for increasing my appreciation of this cool little apparatus!
Thanks all for increasing my appreciation of this cool little apparatus!
So glad it worked for you mzsa - a few more warm-ups for the pipe and possibly tinkers with your packing technique should stop the gurgles and smooth out the flavours. What are you smoking in it? Any pics so we can see the scale in use? Don't be shy!
Andy
Andy
The original post raises an interesting question that I can't answer, and I'm not sure there is much or any
real science on it. That is, the TB bacteria is reputed to have a long dormancy so it can still be infectious
years after blood or sputum from a patient is swabbed into a crack in the floorboards, etc. I think there is
some truth in this. On the other hand, many buildings that were used as TB hospitals in the early Twentieth
Century have gone on to be used as homes, hotels, and for other uses. I've never heard of an outbreak of
TB from such a source. It is always passed by exposure, usually airborne, from a TB patient to others.
So, are very old estate pipes a peril in this way? I'm dubious, but it seems true that at least in a petri dish,
very old TB bacillus can grow after years of dormancy.
real science on it. That is, the TB bacteria is reputed to have a long dormancy so it can still be infectious
years after blood or sputum from a patient is swabbed into a crack in the floorboards, etc. I think there is
some truth in this. On the other hand, many buildings that were used as TB hospitals in the early Twentieth
Century have gone on to be used as homes, hotels, and for other uses. I've never heard of an outbreak of
TB from such a source. It is always passed by exposure, usually airborne, from a TB patient to others.
So, are very old estate pipes a peril in this way? I'm dubious, but it seems true that at least in a petri dish,
very old TB bacillus can grow after years of dormancy.
You don't have to smoke your great grandpappy's pipe to catch TB. Whenever I feel like picking up a third world disease I just head over to where the now illegal but soon to be Democratic Party voters congregate while looking for a day's work. It's easy and they'll be more than happy to infect you.
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