Africian Meer Picture

[nsfisher]

To everyone who answered my Thread, thank you very much. I feel sort of sheepish showing this as I am not even sure it is worth the lousy $20 bucks I paid, but I won't know untill I try it I guess. Anyway, this is the "Africian Meer", I don't know any more about it.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/150893597016?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

 

[mick]

Have you seen this:
http://pipedia.org/index.php?title=Kiko
Seems legit compared to the ebay auction.

 

[nsfisher]

Hmmmmm, does not sound as though I got a very good one then, lol, o well, live and learn. Thanks for the link mate.

 

[mick]

You're welcome! As for quality: yes and no. Your biggest concern was its authenticity, right? So at the very least, it seems authentic. The quality is probably most likely on par with what you paid. As long as it smokes well, it seems like a cool addition to any collection! How many people have an African pipe!? 8)

 

[nsfisher]

I wanted it because I have a Turkish Meer of a similiar shape.

 

[gwtwdbss]

I really like the shape. It may be turn out to be one fine smoker!

 

[keith929]

Hard to say without holding it closely, but looks like you did quite well (to me anyway).

+1 It sounds like you got a good deal considering African block meers are no longer being made.

 

[nsfisher]

Thanks for the return comments guys. I was aware that they are no longer made and even though the quality is not very good, I am still surprised it went for such a low price.

 

[numbersix]

nsfisher- I read this:

This meerschaum is not so good as Turkish one, because it is more compacted and do not less so well leaving out from the pipe the tar and nicotine.

I think when it comes to any natural product, a blanket statement like the above may not always be true in all cases—this pipe might surprise you.
Either way, it is a cool looking pipe—you might have a winner one your hands. Hope you'll let us know!

 

[keith929]

That pipe looks like a winner.

 

[cigrmaster]

If it smokes good and you like it then it is a winner. I hope it smokes well for you.

 

[trevert]

I have had two African meers over the years. One was a factory pipe that had a nasty flavor right from the start, which I traded off fairly quickly. The other is a Somali meer that I made myself from block, and it smokes as good as or better than my Turkish meers. In fact, it's probably the favorite pipe of my collection. So, there's an experience range for you on the quality of African meer! :D

 

[keith929]

Trevert,pictures please. ::

 

[trevert]

Trevert,pictures please.

I don't have any current pics of it, but here are a few from when I made it back in 2003.

Today the entire shank is nearly black and the bowl is brown and gold. It isn't anything special, I just made it as a beater/tester, but it's turned out to be a really nice smoker and has become one of my favorite pipes.

 

[photoman13]

Wow that's amazing trevert. I'm glad your on this forum.

 

[keith929]

I love it !

 

[trevert]

The funny connected story is that this pipe taught me why meer companies don't sandblast meerschaum (Well, Turkish is also really too soft and doesn't produce the same look for blasting, either). After I blasted it, I was ready to dip it into its liquid wax bath. Ordinarily you'd just let the hot pipe soak up some wax and then buff it off and voila, but (Brilliant thinker that I am) I did not stop to consider the surface wax results of a sandblasted surface that had the texture of coral. I took it out of the wax and there was no way to rub off the excess wax and in about 40 seconds I had a solid ball of wax on a stick. I ended up having to go over the surface inch by inch, heating it with a heat gun and using a Dremel soft polishing wheel to work into the details and recesses to scrub out the accumulated wax and make the whole thing look proper. Thinking ahead - Sometimes I does it, sometimes not...

 

[photoman13]

I put beeswax on a sultan head meer today and I had the same problem with his beard. I don't have a buffer so I just got the excess off with a paint brush.