Baki Meerschaum

IMO higher quality and better construction. Where's Fred on this post? He's the meer master.

for classic shape pipes, baki, IMHO, isn't worth the extra money compared to altinook, imp or even sms pipes.

they all offer pretty good meerschaum, well drilled, with quality construction. i own classic-shaped pipes from all four companies and am happy with all. YMMV, but i bet you'd feel the same if you could afford to buy a pipe from each and be able to compare them personally.

people will tell you baki is superior when it comes to intricately carved figural pipes; i have no first-hand experience that suggests baki, or anyone else from this group, is head and shoulders (lol) over the others.

but the baki advocates are more vocal in extolling his figural offerings. he represents well-known carvers.

"storient," a member and poster here is now supplying meerschaums to at least one respected on-line retailer and probably sells direct via a webstore. check him out.

read the other posts about meerschaum pipes and you'll find references to several other meerschaum specialists, with opinions about price, quality, service and the like. all have their advocates (and some will have detractors too, i suppose).

good luck in your quest..smoking meerschaums is a special experience for sure. i love mine, but some smokers are uncomfortable with meerschaum's supposed fragility; i smoke mine for taste, others are intrigued with the coloring properties. some, like me, are satisfied with classic pipes, others love those specially carved figurals. but generally, regardless of which type we choose, meerschaums hold a special place in our smoking rotations.

jr/john

I had a meerschaum I got in Turkey in 1962. Tried to use it on and off for years, and finally gave it away. I could not stand the hardness of the bit. Too hard.

I've kinda been waiting for Fred to 'chime-in' on this, but I've got to have a say now. Baki is not a company, but the artist himself. There are many good pipe makes and exporters, and have some dang fine pipes. But owing a Baki is akin to owning a Picasso or van Gogh in my book.

There are many other carvers/makers in his caliber, but he's one of them.

Weather his or the others are worth the extra cost is up to personal preference.

To be sure, my post was confusing in that I lumped Baki, the carver, together with ALL of the various carvers represented by IMP, SMS and Altinok.

But my point remains the same: Baki advocates swear by him and gladly pay (generally ) higher prices for his work.

Whether he rises to the comparison with VanGogh or Picasso, I don't know, but apparently TopD and others think so. My recollection is that history was kinder to VanGogh than contemporary critics.

I own a Baki and love it, BUT, again, IMHO, he was/is overpriced compared to pipes from Altinok, IMP, and SMs.

What do I know...I drive and love my Toyota Camry. The only Mercedes I ever owned wasn't nearly so reliable. But it did turn heads!

YMMV...buy the Baki and you'll know once and for all, lol!

jr/john

A picture paints a thousand words. While I'm sure that IMP, Altinok and others are wonderful pipes, I have not yet noticed anything quite comparable to Bakis such as this one. And, especially considering the huge size of this meer, the price difference is really not that great IMO.

I agree Brian64, Baki's pipes are high grade block meerschaum art.

I own 27 of his pipes along with a number of pipes from other carvers

from reputable sellers... Here are some of my pipes.
http://pipesmagazine.com/members/fred/album

Fred's collection can only be described as MAGNIFICENT; mouthwatering also comes to mind.

A question...how many of your meerschaums actually get smoked regularly Fred? some look too beautiful to have seen frequent use.

jr/john

Here is a nice Baki.

and the link to my pipes... (Thanks storient).
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/my-meerschaums

I'd be afraid of dropping it. It's to nice to take that chance.

That is a very cool sculpture Fred! I do plan to acquire a "figured" meer some day, but will have to stumble upon just the right one that really grabs me...something different than all of the typical ones you normally see.
I do think the third pipe down on the below linked page is pretty cool...an Olmec by Ertugrul Cevher:
http://www.meerschaumpipe.us/xl-meerschaum-pipes.html

I'm too polite to ask how much Fred's cost, but...

That's an Exceptional Pipe Fred! I'm Jealous!!

Fred, of course you don't, nor need you, reveal prices paid and I had hoped you understood my post was meant to be offered in jest. jr/john

I own 2 Baki's and 1 high end altinok, the quality of the Baki pipe is better, cumberland stems on the Baki's, the Altinok has a Acrylic stem (cheaper type acrylic) the Altinok has a silver bowl rim and shank cap which had sloppy glue on it which I have since removed, all pipes are drilled & shaped well and don't get me wrong the altinok is a nice pipe but in my opinion the overall quality of the Baki's is better...





Another thing about Altinok is if it is not a "Ready Pipe" the pipe you receive may be similar but quite different than the pipe pictured, which was what happened in my case, but I actually like the pipe a receive more than the one pictured, it was larger and I liked the shape better...

The pipe I ordered (site photo)...





The pipe I received...



And as far as Yanik goes, he's a great carver but his mechanics leave a lot to be disired, I bought one and will not buy another, if you notice he never shows the inside of the bowls in any of his pictures, purposely IMO, that way you can't see the misdrilled airways, usually too low and he uses the cheap old style screw in tenon type plastic fittings.