African Meerschaum

[frennchy11]

Does anyone know of a website to buy african meerschaum pipes?

 

[tobakenist]

You won't find a new African Meerschaum unless it is new old stock as the supply of A-M dried up about 10 years ago, most Peterson Meerschaums were made out of A-M and you can find these regularly on ebay, the newer ones are Turkish which is better quality than African. There are quite a few different brands about that you can find on the estate market like Amboseli, Kiko and Manx. I personally like A-M as it is not so fragile as Turkish, it is more dense and not so absorbant but the ones I have are excellent smokers.

 

[fred]

The Laxey mines shut down in '06 and the Somalia supply has been cut off due to the political instability in that part of the world. As tobakenoist has already pointed out, the estate market is where both used and new-in-the-box African Meerschaums can be found, but the prices range from 3-4 times what the original purchase price listed for, due to the relative scarcity of these Pipes. When considering a purchase, it is wise to ask the Seller about the bit-to-shank connector, as some are made of metal - which I personally prefer to avoid.

 

[rigmedic1]

I have a Pioneer Meerschaum, which was African sourced. You may have to look one eBay or for an estate, as Pioneer is out of business, I believe. But it is a fine pipe.