My First IMP Meerschaum

[hawky454]

I just got a new IMP bent egg lattice Meerschaum! This is my first quility meerschaum pipe. I’ve had several lower end meers in the past but I never smoke them, mainly because of the restricted draw. Finally, wanting to have a decent meer, I decided it was time to get myself an IMP.




Based on the photos above I’m betting you can tell where I bought it. I’m not great at taking pictures but I’ll share one I took anyway. It passes a pipe cleaner and the draw is great. Once I get over this cold, I look forward to smoking this bad boy!



What are your thoughts on IMP’s? I know we have some fans here. How do they hold up and color over time? The main reason why I bought this is because I look forward to coloring it by simply smoking it, I don’t plan on doing anything fancy like using a coloring bowl, I just want to smoke it… A LOT!

I gotta say, it really sucks being sick when a new pipe arrives but I'm hoping I’m at the tail end of it. Fingers crossed. For now, I’ll share my excitement with you all.

 

[seanv]

Meer madness around here these days lol. That is a nice pipe. Get better and enjoy in good health

 

[Waning Embers]

What are your thoughts on IMP’s? I know we have some fans here. How do they hold up and color over time?

I've had nine of them. I like them and they make some of the only acrylic stems I find comfortable. Though I used to like the idea of a permanent mortise insert, I had one fail and come out of the pipe which cost $100 to have repaired. The utility of the screw in inserts is more attractive to me now. They color fairly well and of the few that I've kept, they're pretty durable.

 

[Coreios]

Great pipes. Thats a pretty one congrats. Hope you feel well enough to smoke it soon.

 

[hawky454]

I've had nine of them. I like them and they make some of the only acrylic stems I find comfortable. Though I used to like the idea of a permanent mortise insert, I had one fail and come out of the pipe which cost $100 to have repaired. The utility of the screw in inserts is more attractive to me now. They color fairly well and of the few that I've kept, they're pretty durable.

View attachment 199823

I’m curious who you sent it into for repair? If you want to keep it a secret, I completely understand.

I like how that one is coloring. How long have you owned it?

 

[Waning Embers]

I’m curious who you sent it into for repair?

The distributor, Meerschaum Market.

How long have you owned it?

Commissioned it last January.

 

[hawky454]

The distributor, Meerschaum Market.

Got it, that’s good to know they do repair work. How long did it take? The one and only time I sent a pipe off for repairs took 14 months to get it back, which I thought was just a bit much.

 

[Waning Embers]

How long did it take?

The commissioned pipe took three days, the repair was done overnight.

 

[hawky454]

I originally bought this Tekin pipe but returned it for the IMP. The Tekin had a deep scratch on the stem and an issue with the draft hole that I just couldn’t get over. So, needless to say, I’m really practicing patients this go round.

 

[Waning Embers]

I’m really practicing patients this go round.

Just don't baby it, meerschaum pipes are a lot tougher than tales say. I'm keeping a promise to @didimauw to smoke my newest one 100 times before cleaning it, and at 13 smokes it's showing no sign of even needing it.

 

[hawky454]

Just don't baby it, meerschaum pipes are a lot tougher than tales say. I'm keeping a promise to @didimauw to smoke my newest one 100 times before cleaning it, and at 12 smokes it's showing no sign of even needing it.

That is a good suggestion and one that I will have to consciously try to practice as it is so often thought that you have to be very careful with meerschaums, I’m glad you said that because my instinct is to baby it. I will do my best to break out of that mindset.

If I clean it less will it color quicker?

 

[Waning Embers]

If I clean it less will it color quicker?

Absolutely

I've taken up the usual practice of only dumping the dottle and cleaning them just prior to smoking them again to allow more time for the material to absorb moisture and tobacco residue.

 

[didimauw]

Just don't baby it, meerschaum pipes are a lot tougher than tales say. I'm keeping a promise to @didimauw to smoke my newest one 100 times before cleaning it, and at 13 smokes it's showing no sign of even needing it.

Yesss. I barely use them anyways, so it'll be easy for me. And since you mentioned this, I've had multiple people on and off the forum tell me they don't use pipe cleaners on meers!

 

[didimauw]

Beautiful meer!

And when people say you can smoke the hell out of it, they mean it! I now treat my Altinay like I did with my Grabow year stint. Last water flush took coloring off the shank. Never again.

 

[Waning Embers]

Yesss. I barely use them anyways, so it'll be easy for me. And since you mentioned this, I've had multiple people on and off the forum tell me they don't use pipe cleaners on meers!

Yeah, just blow them out and they're fine.

 

[kcghost]

That is a very nice looking meer!!

 

[STP]

Very nice! Enjoy

 

[brian64]

I'm keeping a promise to @didimauw to smoke my newest one 100 times before cleaning it

Now you're making promises to @didimauw about your smoking?

What's next, smoke only Carter Hall for a year and have a cake building competition?

 

[Waning Embers]

have a cake building competition?

That one is already in play.

An Observation of the Coloring of Vintage Meerschaum :: Meerschaum Pipes

The modern dogma for meerschaum pipes is to keep the chamber clean as carbon buildup prevents coloring and may lead to cracked bowls. I'm going to give up that practice temporarily after noticing something about these old pieces. They're heavily colored and have quite a bit of buildup. I think...

pipesmagazine.com

 

[didimauw]

Now you're making promises to @didimauw about your smoking?

What's next, smoke only Carter Hall for a year and have a cake building competition?

Well yeah, if it's not promised to me, it's not real....