Maybe I Bought a Fake Meerschaum Weed Pipe Instead?

[oldguyoldpipes]

I recently bought an advertised "antique" meerschaum tobacco pipe on Ebay. I received it and was cleaning it and several things peaked my curiosity that makes me think I bought a weed pipe. Can y'all look at the pictures and let me know your opinions and any way to determine if it is real meerschaum? I don't smoke weed and have no criticisms of those who do, but I have seen and handled enough weed pipes to turn my head about the similarities to this advertised meerschaum. Although I have never seen a weed pipe made from what looks like plastic.

Here are my observations while cleaning it (for over an hour):

1) The interior of the tobacco bowl is amazingly small. Much like a weed pipe. I compared it to my other known real meerschaums and they are all larger.

2) The stem looks to be a nice amber acrylic stem. Too clean and undamaged to be very old.

3) The mortise (?) area where the stem is inserted has what looks to be a cork ring that appears to be the tightening device so the stem does not fall out. I've never seen this type of set-up on any of my other pipes.

4) The residue in the bowl and stem was very foul smelling and syrup-like. I scrubbed the hell out of the areas using several different tools, bristled pipe cleaners and Don Q151 Rum. Horribly dirty. Like a weed pipe.

5) The feel of the pipe is too smooth compared to my other meerschaums. The coloring is too even and the shine has that plastic look.

6) The carving is too precise in all the areas. Don't know how to describe this as it is subjective, but I have one or two very nicely carved meerschaums and they are not this precise and they are larger pipes with more area to work.

7) No markings anywhere on the pipe. This might be the one thing that leads me to think it is a real meerschaum.

I have not yet smoked the pipe because I really want to keep cleaning it. I guess I could take some sandpaper to the interior of the bowl and if it comes out chalky instead of plastic, I'll know?

If it is real meerschaum, it will be the nicest (but damn smallest) one I currently have, but I am not holding my breath. Any help is appreciated. Thanks

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title

 

[sandollars]

It's definitely a small pipe. Surely you could smell the remnants of weed if that's what it would used for?

 

[briarbuck]

If it was for bud you'd smell it. Stuff wreaks like cut pine (so I hear).

 

[oldguyoldpipes]

It's definitely a small pipe. Surely you could smell the remnants of weed if that's what it would used for?

If it was weed, it was skunk weed. The pipe does not smell like tobacco smoke. It smells a bit rancid.

 

[danimalia]

I'll mostly leave this for the meer experts here, but I know what you mean by meerschaum weed pipe, and honestly, this doesn't really look like that to me.

 

[condorlover1]

It is Cheroot holder. Did it come with a case? Weezell has got a collection of the things caused by me bidding on stuff on Ebay and realizing its a cigar holder after winning the auction. He will no doubt chime in when he see this post!

 

[seldom]

Marijuana pipes frequently have a carburetor. I don't believe this was made for marijuana. Kaiser Wilhelm I would be a strange choice for a marijuana pipe! At any rate, I believe this is made for cheroots.

Edit: I see Condorlover beat me to it.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Well, antique if antique is defined as within a few years is my guess.

 

[sandollars]

If it was weed, it was skunk weed. The pipe does not smell like tobacco smoke. It smells a bit rancid.

If it's for Cheroots, it would smell bad...

 

[oldguyoldpipes]

It is Cheroot holder. Did it come with a case? Weezell has got a collection of the things caused by me bidding on stuff on Ebay and realizing its a cigar holder after winning the auction. He will no doubt chime in when he see this post!

I have no idea what a Cheroot is. In my mind it is some type of cigar, but I will have to look it up, but at least it is a start to gaining some more knowledge about these things. Thanks.

 

[oldguyoldpipes]

Does anyone think this may be made out of Bakelite?
Also, That would explain why the top of the bowl is lacking any burn marks from a flame. One of the other things that made me skeptical about it's authenticity. Guess I will get to even more cleaning and I guess it will be my shortest smoking pipe. Hell, I thought some of my Operas and Nosewarmers smoked fast..

 

[Frozenoak]

I have no idea what a Cheroot is. In my mind it is some type of cigar, but I will have to look it up, but at least it is a start to gaining some more knowledge about these things. Thanks.

A Cheroot is a cigar. It is cylindrical and both ends are cut (there is no front/back). When I was a boy, the cowboys on our ranch carried them but used them more for chewing than smoking.

 

[lightmybriar]

I won a beautiful gourd calabash pipe with a meerschaum bowl once on eBay, and when I received it, it was permanently ruined by someone using it to smoke marijuana. I sanded the meer down to stark white and soaked the interior of the gourd with alcohol and even carved out as much of the visible interior as I could without ruining the pipe, but it was irreversibly ghosted. It was a bummer.

All that to say, if someone used that for marijuana, I think you’d know immediately, because it would smell so bad you wouldn’t be able to attribute it to anything else besides animal waste haha.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Well, antique if antique is defined as within a few years is my guess.

I take back the above assertion; could be authentic. Looks like a cheroot holder, and that'd also explain lack of sooting around the rim.

 

[danimalia]

Cheroot holder makes perfect sense. There are some rather decent cheroots, mostly made in Italy from dark-fired Kentucky seed tobaccos. Well worth checking out.

 

[seldom]

I'll mention that meerschaum cheroot holders are common on German Ebay (the fact that yours depicts Kaiser Wilhelm I is strong indication that if originaly comes from Germany). Very often they are incorrectly identified simply as meerschaum pipes or small meerschaum pipe. The prevalence of them here makes me conclude that it was a very popular way to smoke in Europe at the turn of the last century. Here are links to some examples on German Ebay:

Meerschaumpfeife / Pfeife / Bernstein / Tabak / Rauchen / Pfeifenraucher
Antike Biedermeier Meerschaumpfeife mit Jagdhund im Etui
Details zu Wiener MEERSCHAUMPFEIFE Pfeife ° Etui ° Hirsch ° Bernstein um 1900

 

[seldom]

From 1900. "Our beloved German-American. He would have a happier time if he looked through American-made spectacles.". Interesting that a caricature of Germans at the time includes smoking a cheroot out of a holder.

 

[oldguyoldpipes]

I'll mention that meerschaum cheroot holders are common on German Ebay (the fact that yours depicts Kaiser Wilhelm I is strong indication that if originaly comes from Germany). Very often they are incorrectly identified simply as meerschaum pipes or small meerschaum pipe. The prevalence of them here makes me conclude that it was a very popular way to smoke in Europe at the turn of the last century. Here are links to some examples on German Ebay:

Meerschaumpfeife / Pfeife / Bernstein / Tabak / Rauchen / Pfeifenraucher
Antike Biedermeier Meerschaumpfeife mit Jagdhund im Etui
Details zu Wiener MEERSCHAUMPFEIFE Pfeife ° Etui ° Hirsch ° Bernstein um 1900

Thank You. This seems to be what this pipe is going to be. I had absolutely no clue about the habit of smoking a cigar in what looks to be a small meerschaum pipe. An interesting learning lesson. Now time to go learn more about this as this information is putting more at ease for my purchase. You are correct as it was sold as an antique meerschaum pipe, but did not mention anything about cheroot smoking. I had never heard about is until I reached out for information here. Thanks again for shedding light on this. Now I just wonder how old this pipe is?

 

[oldguyoldpipes]

It is Cheroot holder. Did it come with a case? Weezell has got a collection of the things caused by me bidding on stuff on Ebay and realizing its a cigar holder after winning the auction. He will no doubt chime in when he see this post!

I am trying to figure if it could in any way be Bakelite? When I research Bakelite cheroot holders, they have pictures of exactly what the stem on this holder looks like. Could the holder itself be made of Bakelite? Since Bakelite is an early form of plastic, I would suspect that they might use that material to make the holder and stem since there is no actual heat being applied to the holder. Only the smoke from the cheroot. If it is Bakelite, that leaves out any smoking of tobacco directly from the bowl. I have seen the 409 test or the hot needle test explained on the Bakelite sites and I am guessing I will try one or both of those to try and determine if it is Bakelite. Seems to me the possible date of this holder falls in the era of Bakelite production/use : early 1900s-1930s.

 

[jonasclark]

Oldguyoldpipes, just send it to me and I'll tell you all about it! Cost: one old pipe (this one)!

Serious answer: No, your pipe absolutely, positively IS real block meerschaum. Stem definitely not original-- it would have been amber and yours is lucite. The subject is Kaiser William, wearing his Pour le Merite medal. Give it some love. Send it to Ric at Briarville and ask for a straight, amber-looking stem (this was not made for a bent stem). It's a holder for a cheroot, which is a narrow cigar. Cheroots were the popular cigar style before the wider cigars we know today became popular. It seems odd to smoke a cigar poking up like it would be here, but at the time it was very common.

Bottom line: You bought a really great meerschaum pipe, likely German-made, probably in the 1880-1890 era (William died in 1888 and this depicts an older William, see below - the Pour le Merite is just below his collar). I have one cheroot holder of the Kaiser, and if he's really not to your taste, let me know.