Myths and mysteries abound about meerschaums. I have always accepted them pretty much without question. When I made a blanket statement (you know the one, stuck on an island, one pipe and one tobacco) while smoking with a friend he had the audacity to call me on it. A Meer and Carter Hall. Three months. I decided to kill two birds with one stone pipe and torture test it to death. I had purchased an un-smoked estate from smoking pipes. Eleven days into it, 4 - 5 bowls a day. Often back to back filling a hot bowl. Dirty hands and often puffing until the bowl is too hot to hold, then grabbing the shank. I figured it would last three days. At the moment it smokes great, no problems and looks like all my other meers. The only tender loving care it gets is a pipe cleaner left in it at night and reamed with a damp paper towel at night.