Intentionally Blackening the Rim of a Meer to Imitate Van Cleef

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aspiring_sage

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 7, 2021
556
1,945
West of the Twin Cities, MN
That was just blackened wax. It wiped off.:(
This has me thinking.
Since it'll be smooth, maybe I don't need to worry, since I can probably recover the surface finish.

I understand Meerschaum to be quite heat resistant. Read about some people putting them in kilns at 2000 degrees and they come out white. So it isn't the meerschaum that changes colors at all.

I wonder if the black is something impregnated into the meerschaum, then heating oxidizes that something. I read something about varnish then heat. Also toying with the idea of water containing dye, then dry out the water, then heat.

There seems to be few options to experiment with.
 
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Servant King

Lifer
Nov 27, 2020
4,111
22,276
38
Frazier Park, CA
www.thechembow.com
I just pulled the trigger to buy my first meer. Waiting for it to arrive. It was difficult to swallow the price, most of my previous purchases have been cobs.

I had my eye on two styles:
The Lee Van Cleef style from the Dollars trilogy.
A meerschaum cutty.

I couldn't find any cutty pipes in meerschaum. I suspect a couple of forum members here own ALL of them. :cry:

The Van Cleef style looked good. I purchased one copying the shape, not the coloring. In the end, I maybe made the right choice. Color doesn't matter right? No, it does count for something.

Now I'm thinking I may intentionally blacken the rim by intentionally charring occasionally when lighting. I'm not sure it is a good idea, and am extra concerned since the pipe isn't cheap (to me).

As a hobby, I've done some pretty good fine woodworking and gunsmithing. I've got an OK set of skills, tools, and techniques. I could probably fix cosmetic damage myself, but that doesn't mean I want a project.

I've seen a lot of posts discussing how to get rid of char, but no info for intentionally blackening the rim. Anybody with experience have any tips? Anybody without experience want to throw out an opinion anyway?
Colonel Mortimer, I presume! ?
 

Donb1972

Can't Leave
Feb 9, 2022
415
1,079
Erie, PA
Van Cleef was so expert at looking evil, the details of the pipe barely mattered. He could look murderous eating a plate of food. If I recall, Eastwood even cast him as a good guy in one film just to expand his repertoire. With him, though, evil was high art.
He also did a TV series where he played a good guy who stayed in Japan after the war and became a karate master. Along with one of the Van Patten boys. I have to admit...seeing him be the good guy is disconcerting :ROFLMAO:
 

Donb1972

Can't Leave
Feb 9, 2022
415
1,079
Erie, PA
I just pulled the trigger to buy my first meer. Waiting for it to arrive. It was difficult to swallow the price, most of my previous purchases have been cobs.

I had my eye on two styles:
The Lee Van Cleef style from the Dollars trilogy.
A meerschaum cutty.

I couldn't find any cutty pipes in meerschaum. I suspect a couple of forum members here own ALL of them. :cry:

The Van Cleef style looked good. I purchased one copying the shape, not the coloring. In the end, I maybe made the right choice. Color doesn't matter right? No, it does count for something.

Now I'm thinking I may intentionally blacken the rim by intentionally charring occasionally when lighting. I'm not sure it is a good idea, and am extra concerned since the pipe isn't cheap (to me).

As a hobby, I've done some pretty good fine woodworking and gunsmithing. I've got an OK set of skills, tools, and techniques. I could probably fix cosmetic damage myself, but that doesn't mean I want a project.

I've seen a lot of posts discussing how to get rid of char, but no info for intentionally blackening the rim. Anybody with experience have any tips? Anybody without experience want to throw out an opinion anyway?
I also considered getting a Van Cleef, or a plain version and doing it myself. In the end, though, I couldn't get past the idea that a blackened rim just looks wrong. But I keep almost pulling the trigger, so maybe I'm getting over it.
 

jpberg

Lifer
Aug 30, 2011
2,904
6,540
I equate this to wearing a jersey to a football game, you know, in case Tom Brady goes out and they need to pull you from the stands.
 
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aspiring_sage

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 7, 2021
556
1,945
West of the Twin Cities, MN
I also considered getting a Van Cleef, or a plain version and doing it myself. In the end, though, I couldn't get past the idea that a blackened rim just looks wrong. But I keep almost pulling the trigger, so maybe I'm getting over it.
I love that blackened rim. The top of the pipe just ambiguously disappears into its own chamber somewhere. It’s mysterious.

It took me quite a while to pull the trigger on this one.

I might not blacken it. I saw a meer with only 20 smokes looking great with the chamber blackness still contrasts against the white. Worst case scenario I decide I like it and leave well enough alone. It might not be worth the experiment. We’ll see how brave I am once I actually have it in my hands.
 
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aspiring_sage

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 7, 2021
556
1,945
West of the Twin Cities, MN
I equate this to wearing a jersey to a football game, you know, in case Tom Brady goes out and they need to pull you from the stands.
Yeah I understand that. Think that’s why I got crotchety earlier. There’s something weird about a grown man wearing anothers’ jersey and I don’t like the assumption I’m doing that here. I do however like that pipe.

There is a difference between liking a pipe vs trying to Be Van Cleef.

On the other hand, the PAD desire for a meer must come from some amount of peer pressure. I’d probably be more satisfied if I spent less time on the forums.
 

condorlover1

Lifer
Dec 22, 2013
7,994
26,608
New York
@aspiring_sage: It is simply not true that yours truly and Weezell have cornered the world supply of 'cutty' pipes! All of mine are ancient and 100+ years or more old since I am way too lazy to break in a new pipe. You can buy a new meerschaum 'cutty' pipe from Meerschaum Depot which is run by a chap called Ramazan who supplies meerschaum pipes to Pipes & Cigars who are sponsor of this forum. Ramazan does a line of meerschaum 'cutty' pipes that were copied from pipes in my regular rotation that I lent him since I have known him for years. I also believe he sells these on Ebay as well but I have not searched them out in ages. Good luck with your Lee Van Clef pipe. I am afraid I cannot offer you any words of wisdom regarding new meerschaum pipes since my knowledge such that it is remains firmly rooted in the early 20th century and before then. Anything I may know is gathered from people who are now long since pushing up daisies and sadly no longer around. @Chasing Embers has probably got the best knowledge in regards to newish meerschaum pipes and his opinions in this area are very sound.
 

OverMountain

Lifer
Dec 5, 2021
1,296
4,689
Western Caccalack Hinterlands
More superstition than fact floating around out there. What I know came from talking to a few Turkish carvers and forum meerschaum owners.

Always keep them cake free. This can be done by wiping the camber with a damp paper towel after smoking. Avoid bristle pipe cleaners as they can score the meerschaum.

The tans and pinks you see as you smoke a meerschaum are just the wax reacting to the warmth of the pipe. The real coloring doesn't happen until several hundred smokes and generally starts in the heel as a dark gray discoloration. Put off cleaning the pipe until ready to smoke again to give the pipe time to absorb the tars from the tobacco you just smoke to aid in coloring.

Don't be afraid to handle your pipe with clean hands and don't be afraid to smoke them frequently.

Aim for brands that no longer use screw in mortise and tenon inserts such as IMP, SRV, Altinay, and the newer AKBs.

View attachment 139764View attachment 139767View attachment 139770
If no screw in tenons, what would you recommend?
 
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Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,249
108,349
If no screw in tenons, what would you recommend?
Brands like the ones I mentioned use a briar type tenon system with no removable inserts.

Remini20220413233614763.jpg

Others use the screw in inserts that can either come out of the stem or mortise if the stem isn't removed correctly.

Remini20220413233710072.jpg