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bubbadreier

bubbadreier

Lifer
Jul 30, 2010
3,011
3
Norman, Oklahoma
I guess as many of you might know I got my first Meerschaum pipe the other day at an antique shop and I decided that I would do a monthly update on the coloring of this pipe.
Seeing as it was an estate Meer that had a lot of cake, I was surprised at how white the pipe actually was, but after one week the difference is huge! I only smoke this pipe once a day and I rub it with beeswax during every smoke. During the first couple days I used a bleached beeswax that I got at a fabric store, but it didn't work out so well. I finally got ahold of some natural beeswax, albeit low grade beeswax, and it made a huge difference in the coloring process.
This is what the pipe looked like before I had smoked it...
IMG_4570-1.jpg

And here is the difference after one week of smoking this pipe...
IMG_4642.jpg


IMG_4643.jpg

So I will be back once a month to update you on the progress. I am looking to get my first brand spanking new Meerschaum pipe and when I get it I will keep you updated once a month one this thread as well.
Also I got the beeswax from a local beekeeper and he was nice enough to give me about half a pound for free. I suggest that if you want to get some beeswax then look online and see if you have a local beekeeper. But if you can't find one and you would like some beeswax, the guy I got mine from said he was willing to send out to some members. Just PM me if you are interested!

 
nathaniel

nathaniel

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 4, 2011
788
485
Sweet... That is one heck of a patina change so quick! Have you decided whether to handle the bowl while hot, or not?

 
mlaug

mlaug

Part of the Furniture Now
May 23, 2010
908
2
Iowa
I'm not sure that's patina, Bubba. It looks like wax... a lot of it.
Maybe I'm not doing it right, but one doesn't need to wax at every smoke. I'd keep smoking the hell out of it, but hold off on anymore wax for awhile and see what happens.
That's going to be an attractive pipe.

 
hauntedmyst

hauntedmyst

Lifer
Feb 1, 2010
4,006
20,751
Chicago
Bubba, if you want to color it up quick, get a big enough jar thats clean and when you are almost done smoking it, take some deep puffs and then blow it into the jar and seal the pipe in it. Then while you smoke other pipe, blow smoke into the jar and resealed. Doing that will greatly speed up the process. We did that once at the tobacco shop I worked as an experiment. Every time someone smoked, they'd blow into the jar and after two weeks, the pipe looks 100 years old. lol

 
bubbadreier

bubbadreier

Lifer
Jul 30, 2010
3,011
3
Norman, Oklahoma
@mlaug - I thought so too when I first started using the wax but then I came back to it the next day and the colors had all mellowed out. The dark spots in the lattice work is actually coloring, it comes and goes with each smoke. Once the pipe has sat for 24 hours the darkness starts to fade as the tars get pulled back into the block. When I smoke the pipe I only rub a very thin layer of wax on the bowl. So the rim gets one layer, then the top of the bowl, then the middle and then the bottom. I don't put enough for it to get into the lattice work. I will take a picture of the pipe tonight before I smoke it again!
@haunted aka John - I might do that once I get my new pipe. I am not reall looking into speeding up the process by any means other than sming more! :puffy: I really just like focusing on the process. When the new one comes in, then this one might have to go into a jar!

 
mlaug

mlaug

Part of the Furniture Now
May 23, 2010
908
2
Iowa
Just for clarification-- when the pipe goes in the jar...is the old tobac left in the bowl?

 
hobie1dog

hobie1dog

Lifer
Jun 5, 2010
6,888
233
67
Cornelius, NC
There's always an airbrush....Pipes & Tobacco magazine had a Meer coloring contest and it would have been so easy to color one with an airbrush.

 
fred

fred

Lifer
Mar 21, 2010
1,509
4
I agree with Mlaug, that is a lot of wax... Yes, a smoke jar will produce results, but the patina display will look nothing like what you get when you smoke and wax the Pipe. It is a speedy process, along with baking in tobacco solutions and immersion in tobacco juices. The pattern of coloration will be the opposite of the results produced by smoking the Pipe. The coloration will be flat, without depth and will come off if you wax the Pipe, since it is not resident in the Block's interior, but just of the Pipe's surface. Shortcuts to development of coloration never produce the patina character and quality sought by the Pipe community. You are better off investing the time and use the Beeswax sparingly while you smoke the Pipe.

 
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mlaug

mlaug

Part of the Furniture Now
May 23, 2010
908
2
Iowa
The only way I know to shortcut the whole coloring process is to use a coloring bowl.
I'm not sure why or how they work faster than just smoking the pipe itself, but they seem to.
Have any experience with a coloring bowl, Fred?
How is it they seem to work faster than regular smoking a meer?

 
fred

fred

Lifer
Mar 21, 2010
1,509
4
Having no personal experience with a coloring bowl, I can only report that some of the ATM members have used one, with mixed results. The result that is reported is a more evenly distributed patina development.., not necessarily faster. The most important determining factor is the quality, character and size of the Block used to make the Pipe. Coloring Meerschaums is the most discussed topic in the Meerschaum community. A well colored Pipe is highly prized, so shortcuts have been employed for centuries and these Pipes can bring high prices in the marketplace. The principle to a coloring bowl is that the heat of the smoke doesn't burn the wax off of the Pipe, resulting in more even coloration. The coloring bowl uses the same principle of absorption as the smoke jar, only the coloring bowl introduces the smoke into the interior of the Block, where it migrates to the surface, rather than just being on the surface, with little penetration. The modern coloring bowls are clumsy to use, which is why I've not bothered with them. I do have a couple of Figurals, carved in the old tradition where the bowl is a coloring bowl that sits on the top of the Pipe. These are Pipes that are best smoked while sitting and doing little else, as they don't clench easily.

 
bubbadreier

bubbadreier

Lifer
Jul 30, 2010
3,011
3
Norman, Oklahoma
So I guess I must clarify that I only added wax during the first 8 bowls because I was under the impression that if the Meerschaum felt "rough" to the touch then you were supposed to add wax until it felt smooth. I guess I was wrong? Certain spots do still seem rough where as other spots have smoothed out tremendously.
I have taken special care to make sure that wax didn't get into the lattice work on the pipe, Fred's article let me know wax shouldn't get into those areas or you will have to dig them out. . Those I can say for certain have very little wax on them. So I am not certain if it is too much wax on the pipe, but I can say for certain that those dark spots in the lattice work showed up the first time I smoked it even before I had wax to rub on it!
I also told you I would show you what it looked like after a cool down so here is the pipe right after I smoked it...
IMG_4642.jpg

And here it is after a 12 hour rest...
IMG_4644.jpg

I might also note that the stem of the pipe has had just as much wax added to it as the bowl has. It would get even lighter if I were to let it sit for longer.

 
mlaug

mlaug

Part of the Furniture Now
May 23, 2010
908
2
Iowa
That's going to be a handsome pipe, Bubba. I'm looking forward to seeing whole the process.
Thanks for the coloring info Fred, its a fascinating part of the meer story.

 
fred

fred

Lifer
Mar 21, 2010
1,509
4
The Block will absorb the Beeswax according to the grain and where the hot spots on the Pipe are. This is why some parts of the Pipe will feel smooth and others a bit rough, which is where the Beeswax has been more readily absorbed into the Block. Waxing the Pipe will give you an idea of how it will eventually color, as the patina will fade with use until it becomes resident. It helps to remember that this is a heat driven fluid dynamic going on within the Block and on it's surface. The typical pattern of coloration will start in the shank, which is the site of condensation of the smoke, and spread to the bottom of the bowl, before working it's way up... I say 'typical' because these Pipes all color differently. The Muse plays with us all in respect to coloration. Old accounts of coloration techniques include the use of buttons and plugs. After a brief discussion of Meerschaum Pipe selection, the unknown author of this collection of essays goes into a detailed discussion of the use of plugs and buttons to color these Pipes. Frankly, I prefer the clarity of the smoke a clean Meerschaum provides, so I've not used this technique. For me, the display of patina is secondary to the quality of smoking experience the Meerschaum provides. As I age and evolve, so do my Pipes.

http://books.google.com/books?id=TBIlAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA338&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false

 
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