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A while ago I posted about my PAD attack and a new meerschaum pipe I ordered. Well, it arrived yesterday.
A couple of housekeeping details first and then on to my initial thoughts.
My first question was whether the pipe, given its very low cost, was pressed meerschaum. Thanks to the member that suggested the "saliva test" I licked my finger and touched it to the inside of the bowl. Sticky as can be. I guess I have a solid block pipe.
Second question was the stem connection. There's a metal tenon protruding from the stem and its a nice fit into a metal lined mortice in the stummel (is that the right word?) Looks solid enough, but time will tell.
First smoke. The moment of truth. I packed the bowl with Mac Baren Vanilla Creme, fired up the Zippo and did my initial light. Following my usual routine, I let that sit for a minute and then did the true light and sat down to evaluate the smoke.
The first thing I noticed was, meerschaum definitely smokes drier than briar. There was not even a trace of steam, just smoke. The first few minutes were not much different than my briars in terms of flavour, but about a quarter of the way into the bowl the flavours started intensifying. I started tasting a ton more of the vanilla and there was definitely more of the citrus flavour of the virginia.
As usual, when I started tasting ash, I stopped the smoke and let things cool down for a couple of minutes before emptying and cleaning, not that the bowl got even close to hot. I was surprised to see that there was no dottle.The tobacco had burned completely.
Today, the pipe will get a bowl of Golden Extra burley and we'll see how that does, but I now see the what all the fuss was about when it comes to meerschaum. I will never stop smoking briar, but this is a wonderful change of pace and adds a new dimension to one of my go to blends. All in all, a very nice experience.
A couple of housekeeping details first and then on to my initial thoughts.
My first question was whether the pipe, given its very low cost, was pressed meerschaum. Thanks to the member that suggested the "saliva test" I licked my finger and touched it to the inside of the bowl. Sticky as can be. I guess I have a solid block pipe.
Second question was the stem connection. There's a metal tenon protruding from the stem and its a nice fit into a metal lined mortice in the stummel (is that the right word?) Looks solid enough, but time will tell.
First smoke. The moment of truth. I packed the bowl with Mac Baren Vanilla Creme, fired up the Zippo and did my initial light. Following my usual routine, I let that sit for a minute and then did the true light and sat down to evaluate the smoke.
The first thing I noticed was, meerschaum definitely smokes drier than briar. There was not even a trace of steam, just smoke. The first few minutes were not much different than my briars in terms of flavour, but about a quarter of the way into the bowl the flavours started intensifying. I started tasting a ton more of the vanilla and there was definitely more of the citrus flavour of the virginia.
As usual, when I started tasting ash, I stopped the smoke and let things cool down for a couple of minutes before emptying and cleaning, not that the bowl got even close to hot. I was surprised to see that there was no dottle.The tobacco had burned completely.
Today, the pipe will get a bowl of Golden Extra burley and we'll see how that does, but I now see the what all the fuss was about when it comes to meerschaum. I will never stop smoking briar, but this is a wonderful change of pace and adds a new dimension to one of my go to blends. All in all, a very nice experience.
