Meerschaum Pipe Write Off!

condorlover1 · Apr 1, 2014

I purchased a small unsmoked meerschaum pipe on Ebay 2006 in a rather nice case. I was probably twenty odd years old and I picked it up for about $25.00. I have been smoking it ever since and whatever I put through it, the pipe steadfastly remained white without any sign of color - probably should have given it to the guy who wanted to de-color his meerschaum! I tried the bees wax thing, I even purchased a tin of Gold Block but nothing seemed to work. Yesterday as I am walking down to the train station on my way to four days of the NJ office the pipe slipped out of my mouth and the stem snapped clean off from the bowl. This was good news as I was starting to hate this damned pipe and I was about to put it up for adoption. Anyway when I examined the stem and bowl the meerschaum was pure white without any trace of tar or tobacco water absorption. The case was marked AB Pure Block Meerchaum from Vienna. Has anyone else ever had an experience like this one? Since I purchased the two new pipes last week and I own god knows how many more I was not upset but just bemused by the fact I must have been smoking a water proof meer all these years.

jerry · Apr 1, 2014

I am guessing you had an inferior block meerschaum pipe in an Andreas Bauer case. Genuine AB pipes are generally very high quality, and "imposters" being sold as AB pipes (often in AB marked cases) are very common on Ebay.

saint007 · Apr 1, 2014

Meer from Vienna? They make tasty little sausages for when one is really hungry but I would suspect what you purchased was pressed meerschaum and not high-grade block in an AB case.
Turkish high-grade block meerschaum is far superior to African.
I would suggest not buying any meers from ebay unless it is from a reputable maker or you know what you are bidding on. Lots of poor quality meers as well as sloppy meer carvings on ebay.

condorlover1 · Apr 1, 2014

Saint007 I think you are right. I am not complaining as I have had 6 1/2 years use out of it and it was the pipe I carried so as not bring valuable old meerschaums out and expose them to the risks of getting broke. I think it was a 'knock off' but it did smoke well for a 4 3/4 inch in length pipe. As I said I don't buy the carved pipes as I just think they are too heavy on the teeth and look strange to my mind. I have just seem a meerschaum poker on Ebay which is plain and under 10 years old for $30 and that will fit the bill very nicely as a disposable travel out of the office pipe. Who knows this one might even turn yellow, although I will not be making a habit of busting meerschaums as this the first one I have broken in 30+ years. I see Dunhill make some quite nice small pipes and although I don't usually smoke briar and only own one verses my massive meerschaum collection does anyone here have any thoughts/suggestions?

masspiper · Apr 1, 2014

I am loving my first Meer. It is 9 days old and about 22 bowls in. I am starting to get a little color in the shank(turning a light golden color). The outer part of the rim is turning a light salmon color sort of speckled. I am a newbie to smoking and I really don't know what I am doing in terms of coloring besides smoking out of it. I try to keep the bowl somewhat cool during smoking and I don't handle the bowl.

saint007 · Apr 1, 2014

Condorlover, I too prefer smoking a meer over a briar. I have a small SMS meer smooth bent apple that travels well. I've even taken it fishing in the gulf and smoke it on the way out or in. I just have to be careful not to smoke it while I am actually fishing so as to not get my fishy hands all over it. For that, I have an old Savinelli billiard.

condorlover1 · Apr 1, 2014

Tell me about it junkyarddawg! I never bothered to post a picture of it as I assumed it would not be of interest but thinking about it I think it was a mixture of meerschaum and maybe pipe clay or something. It never even got finger prints on it so it is something of a mystery. I will be smoking my new toy when I get home on Thursday which I posted a picture for you guys last weekend. I hear you Saint007 on the fishing situation and for that I usually take a couple of clays with me. How is the fishing down your way these days?

saint007 · Apr 1, 2014

The Redfish action has been steady. With all the fresh water coming down, I'll have to start fishing further out. Speckled Trout are just beginning to show up and they'll bite on anything right now. I prefer fishing with plastic baits. Lots of controversy regarding the Federal Wildlife officials and the June Red Snapper season. I had some Flounder for dinner so, I'm not complaining :wink:

condorlover1 · Apr 1, 2014

Wish I hadn't tossed the pipe as I could have put in a box and mailed it to you Junkyarddawg. I gave it a good pasting with bees wax 2007 with the full hair dryer treatment which resulted in nada!

saint007 · Apr 1, 2014

Sometimes, I'll melt a pellet of clear bees was and apply to my fingers or I'll apply some Burt's Bees Wax to my fingers and work it into the hottest areas of the pipe while smoking. I also don't clean them after every smoke. I'll wait till I'm ready to smoke it again and then run a cleaner down the stem.

topd · Apr 2, 2014

Although it was marked Block Meerschaum, I'll wager it was pressed. (Made from meerschaum powder and a glue mixture). It's the same material that most calabash bowls are made from now. I'll never color. I was taken by these types of pipes in the early 70's when I first started smoking in Europe. If you still have the pipe you can easily check. Touch a drop of water to the side of the pipe. If it's genuine meerschaum, it'll immediately soak in. If it's pressed meerschaum powder, the water will just set there.

rmbittner · Apr 2, 2014

Is it possible it wasn't any kind of meerschaum at all? Because even the pressed meerschaum I've had -- on a meer-lined briar in my early days, on a calabash bowl -- colored to some extent. The fact that Condor's pipe showed no signs of coloring after years of use leads me to believe it was another material entirely. (But I don't know what could pass for meerschaum on the faux market.)
Bob

topd · Apr 2, 2014

Good point rmbittner. It could have been porcelain, or almost anything. But my first calabash had a pressed meerschaum bowl that I smoked for years before I got one with a block. I guess you could say it colored somewhat. But in my case I think it was the blacking inside and on top, and some brown and yellow staining near the top. I don't know if I'd call it coloring in the true sense. A meerschaum gets it's color from the bees wax 'drawing' the tars and oils through the pores of the stone to the surface, rather than staining I think...

saint007 · Apr 2, 2014

Don't forget moisture. I think the reason most meers begin to color at the shank is that this is where the first real collection of moisture occurs. Then, the heel surpasses the shank after, again aided by moisture.

condorlover1 · Apr 2, 2014

That is what threw me guys. When I picked up the shank there was no sign of absorption at all. You know for someone who is a meerschaum nut I didn't think to do the water drop test. I never remove stems either and just use a pipe cleaner with the occasional bowl scrape. All very strange and top it all the chap on Ebay wont sell me his meerschaum pipe as I am in the US! I just bid on another one that is about 100 years old and is a duplicate of one I already own so lets see how that works for me as a knock about travel pipe. Thank you for all your imput and any other thoughts would be of great interest.

cortezattic · Apr 2, 2014

Saint007's suspicion that it is African meer resonates with me. Back in the late '60s a wise old clerk at a B&M told me African

meers won't color, and, in fact were frequently stained. He said they would produce a fine smoke though. My only experience

with pressed meerschaum was in a Pioneer calabash, and the bowl took on a rosy yellowish gray color with some mottling

-- and those old Pioneers were considered among the best of pressed bowls. But like Steve (TopD) said, not the coloring

for which block meers are renowned.
BTW, the convention, as I understand it, is that pressed meerschaum is usually labeled "Genuine" Meerschaum.

Rather, look for the word "Block" meerschaum.

topd · Apr 2, 2014

Spot On Cortez, I didn't even think about an African Meerschaum, but I totally agree. They are great smokers, but you could smoke one for 1000 years and it might begin to color a bit. The block is way more dense than Turkish.... (I missed Saint's comment, and I apologize for that!)

Good Call!

condorlover1 · Apr 2, 2014

That is a great observation Cortez and makes sense after 8 years of smoking the damned thing. Well it's on its way to a NYC municipal rubbish dump to be dug up in 100 years time and sold as a curio on Inter-galatic Auctions for 30 Zongs or whatever the currency will be in the future.

masspiper · Apr 2, 2014

@SAINT007 is there a benefit of not cleaning your meer after each smoke and just running a pipe cleaner through it before you smoke it again? I keep reading that it should be cleaned after each smoke but there is so many different opinions on these meers that it makes my head spin. :crazy:

saint007 · Apr 2, 2014

Masspiper, I think the doodle at the end of the smoke absorbs into the meerschaum. So, why dump it when it hastens the coloring. BTW, that's my theory and like most meer smokers, we tend to have our rituals and superstitions :lol:

Meerschaum Pipe Write Off!

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