Finally A Translucent Meerschaum

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B88D36D4-00B4-4179-B507-20117A088A18.jpeg43BB5C3A-E062-4B4C-B264-88BC7414850C.jpegI wanted a translucent meerschaum since I heard about it last year. They are not offered for sale often, and when they do they tend to get sold fast.

I was also looking for one final meerschaum in my collection with a generous bowl, classical form, open draw and lightweight. The following pipe from Altinay checks all the boxes. Fast shipping as well.

Now breaking it with Cornell & Diehl Eight State Burley
 
Why is it called translucent? Looks plenty opaque to me. ?
On close examination with the naked eye it looks like curdled milk with veins which are translucent. Overall the material looks translucent although such a thick block eventually looks white.
The veins are generally colored much darker than the rest of the substrate producing very unique patterns (The last part of the info is of course from looking into well colored translucent pipes belonging to other members here - mine is still virgin)
 

olkofri

Lifer
Sep 9, 2017
8,053
14,668
The Arm of Orion
On close examination with the naked eye it looks like curdled milk with veins which are translucent. Overall the material looks translucent although such a thick block eventually looks white.
The veins are generally colored much darker than the rest of the substrate producing very unique patterns (The last part of the info is of course from looking into well colored translucent pipes belonging to other members here - mine is still virgin)
Gotcha. Thanks.

Yeah, I did a quick search and found a sample that looked veined, but not knowing, I assumed the translucency was something else.

EDIT: Yup, that one @alaskanpiper just posted whilst I typed is the one Startpage spat out.
 

brian64

Lifer
Jan 31, 2011
9,636
14,758
Congrats...that's a really nice one!

On close examination with the naked eye it looks like curdled milk with veins which are translucent. Overall the material looks translucent although such a thick block eventually looks white.
The veins are generally colored much darker than the rest of the substrate producing very unique patterns (The last part of the info is of course from looking into well colored translucent pipes belonging to other members here - mine is still virgin)
Yes, all true. You can't really see the difference in a pic of a new meer, but even unsmoked if you have it in hand and compare to an ordinary block meer you can clearly see the difference...an underlying pattern just beneath the surface.
 

highwindows

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 16, 2022
187
2,330
Gibraltar/Georgia
View attachment 146550View attachment 146551I wanted a translucent meerschaum since I heard about it last year. They are not offered for sale often, and when they do they tend to get sold fast.

I was also looking for one final meerschaum in my collection with a generous bowl, classical form, open draw and lightweight. The following pipe from Altinay checks all the boxes. Fast shipping as well.

Now breaking it with Cornell & Diehl Eight State Burley
Wow, I've had plenty of meers before but I had not heard of this. Now I want one!
Are they marketed as 'translucent meerschaum'? What are they called when buying?
 
Wow, I've had plenty of meers before but I had not heard of this. Now I want one!
Are they marketed as 'translucent meerschaum'? What are they called when buying?
Thank you! Altinay marks them as translucent - From what I heard the supply is very low and tend to sell out fast so you need to be browsing the website at the right time.

I am sure other carvers would work with this grade, but I have not seen marked as such. Other members who are interested in meerschaum may chime in.

This is my first Altinay but I am quite impressed, so if you can score a translucent meerschaum from his shop, you would be very impressed by the workmanship