Refurb an old Meerschaum

Take a paper towel or cotton balls with some alcohol on it and wipe the bowl out. That should do the trick

Other than that, try a smoke in it and see how it does.

This is great, I'm working on cleaning and sanitizing several pipes I recently purchased on ebay. One is a Kaywoodie Poker with Meerschaum lining and I was at a loss as to cleaning the bowl. I have the stem (along with several others) soaking in some high octane white rum (63% alcohol). I'm going to go ahead and try wiping out the bowl with cotton swabs dipped in the rum.
I'm excited about the Kaywoodie- I've always loved Pokers. The only "problem" is that is has a stinger that can't be removed. The stinger actually acts as the tenon and is how the stem attaches to the shank of the pipe. I have a couple of Longchamps that came with the funny "cork screw" type stinger, those were simple to remove. Any thoughts on stingers? I had a Dr. G years ago that had a stinger and always smoked wet and gurgled- I put it down to the stinger but realize it might have been my smoking technique (this has been some 20 years or so ago and that Dr. G was my first pipe). In your experience, does the stinger really do anything (positive or negative) to the quality of the smoke? Would a pipe outfitted with a stinger perhaps be best suited to aromatics (I'm not much of an aromatic smoker, but occassionally smoke them for the room note).

The use of a doubled over Pipe cleaner with Everclear on it, followed by reaming with a paper towel is a good idea. The ignition of any flammable liquid in a Meerschaum's chamber is not a good idea. Routine maintenance using this technique is a good idea. I also use a sharp blunt tipped knife to trim cake in the chamber, as Meerschaum can have a black, tar-like plaque build up in the bowl, which will impart a bitter quality to the smoke. This is especially a risk for those who smoke heavily cased blends and/or Aromatics. It's a good idea to keep the Everclear off the Pipe's exterior.

I have a question along these lines...

Can I sand the exterior of a Meerschaum pipe? I have a smooth bowled Meer that has scratches on it and seeings how it was only smoked a few times I would like to get them out, if possible, before it colors. A friend of mine is a bee keeper so I can get all the real wax I need to coat the bowl again.

Yes, you can wet sand with 600 grit to 12000 grit with good results, but it will take years to re-establish the patina that age has brought to this Pipe. Better to use white Beeswax.

Yes, we love pics!

Thank you Fred