Bounced around a bit after I saw this, and apparently this is something that is supposed create a life lasting coating that will color similar to meerschaum but not lose it's color for any reason. Supposedly all Nordcoat pipes should have the big man's signature on them, and the hubbub is that if they don't, they may be seconds. According to another post, there was a page on the Nording site some years ago that "guaranteed these pipes to color like meerschaum and provide a great cool smoke". I read on post that claimed to have one of these pipes from 30 years ago, so they must have been around for some time. Maybe Storient or another meer expert has heard of coatings like these before.. I didn't see anything about the pipes being lower quality briar as such, but I have just discovered the subject and will continue the search. I must say that I have not substantiated this with any official sites or sources, this is just what I have seen on multiple threads of blog/forum postings, some claiming to have checked it out, but yea... I will post again if I find anything more.