Meerschaum smokers, I need opinions.....

[fred]

Indeed, Fikri Baki's pipes are excellent and have been available only from Deniz Ural

for years. I have 26 of them. I will add that others also employ the same style of mortise/tenon connectors with large drafts, such as IMP, Tekin, Cevher and Sami. Sinan Altinok has also switched to this style of connector and large draft as a requirement for many of the carvers he employs. I've also heard reports that SMS does this as well with their new pipes. Things are changing as the preferences of the meerschaum community of pipe smokers are being taken into account with an increasing number of carvers.

 

[martiniman]

Are meers more fragile than briars?

I understand the intricately carved ones with tiny creatures hanging off them would be but mean more ornamental or faces.....

 

[carlosviet]

Are meers more fragile than briars?

Yes they are. A lot. Not glass-fragile, but sepiolite (the mineral name of meerschaum) has a hardness of 2 Moh, just above talc and equal if not inferior to chalk. The carving is made often by hand and pocket knife. It gets scratched very easy. Think of plaster, it is that kind of fragility.
Concerning briar, the tenon (where the wood meets the mouthpiece) is the most likely part to fracture due to the lever-like force than can be applied there with the mouthpiece if one is not careful. Other than that, it is a wood in the border between hardwood and somewhat hard wood. Not easy to scratch or chip.

 

[martiniman]

Yes they are. A lot. Not glass-fragile, but sepiolite (the mineral name of meerschaum) has a hardness of 2 Moh, just above talc and equal if not inferior to chalk. The carving is made often by hand and pocket knife. It gets scratched very easy. Think of plaster, it is that kind of fragility.

That is what i thought but when looking at estate Meers I wold have assumed there would be more beat up and scratched ones. The look fairly clean.

 

[baronsamedi]

I keep mine in its case, rest it in its case and try to be careful when smoking it. To me the discoloration, scratches and dings are just part of each individual Meer's personality.

 

[instymp]

great info & read Freds article, but what about the waxing all the time? If you have to do it, what kind of bees wax & where do you buy it? I am into great smokers and don't want to work at it anymore than what is neccesary.

 

[photoman13]

You don't have to do that. You can get it from any tailor. I also see it on ebay.

 

[timely]

I have never waxed my old meer I bought years ago. I just do the same as rothnh, and it smokes like a champ. It's an African solid block meer that I had bought for $20.00 on ebay, one of my better buys.

 

[colcolt]

They are fragile indeed. I was pulling mine out of a sock on the computer desk to fill up and go outside to smoke and it slipped from my hand-about 2-3 inch drop and chipped off a small piece from the lip of a lattice work meer. I didn't even know it till I started to clean it later.
Here's where I got my beeswax.
http://www.ebeehoney.com/beeswax_1_oz.html

 

[keith929]

As someone has previously stated I would be extremely careful when buying an estate meer on the web. Not being able to closely examine the pipe for flaws can lead to disappointment. The only site I trust when it comes to estate meers is SmokingPipes. Never a concern about hidden flaws.

 

[photoman13]

Beewrangler probably has beeswax as well.

 

[foggymountain]

I agree with rothn. Don't rewax meers. It may help the patina, but may also hurt the taste. Do you care more about outside appearance or inner value?

 

[timely]

well put, foggymountain. I care about the pipe smoking well.

 

[topd]

I also hadn't put extra beeswax on a pipe before until I started this experiment some time ago....

I'm still working with this particular pipe and it's coming along well. One thing I haven't noticed

is a change in the taste of my tobacco.
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/experimenting-with-a-meerschaum

 

[crazypipe]

well as for me i'm having a hard time finding a web site to buy a merrschaum pipe .

went to storient saw a few i like , so i sent them a email to get more info. on the pipes ,that was a week ago never head one thing back from them .

so there off my list, if any of you know of a good web site , let me know , thank you

 

[sixmp]

I have 3 Storient meers (4 including a mini) and they all smoke great. Workmanship is spot on and even after waiting around 2 months for the PM2012 pipe to arrive i would gladly wait 2 months for another.
The mini pipe was a great surprise. I wasn't expecting it to smoke as well as it did.

 

[sixmp]

Ah cool. Can i have mine in tobacco? :rofl:
Oi! :nana: You reworded your comment now this makes no sense :nana:

 

[shawn622]

I have one meer I picked up on eBay for less than $20. It is from the 70's and was unsmoked. I had to bend the stem to my liking and it has a few imperfections, but it has become my go to pipe. It smokes cooler and drier than any of my briars. I will be adding a couple more to my rotation when funds become available.

 

[crazypipe]

I'm going to buy my new merr. here. ::
http://www.royalmeerschaumpipes.com/default.asp

 

[timely]

I have heard good things about royalmeerschaumpipes.com, also Altinok, and IMP. Just do your homework and you will find a great pipe.