Yes, these Bekler Meerschaums can color well, as yours is doing now. As others have already mentioned, continued smoking & the use of white Beeswax will not only help the coloration, but it will provide protection for the Block's surface. What you are seeing is a 'typical progression' of color, if you can say anything is typical with these Pipes and the development of patina. The top of the bowl can be the last thing to color. In the past, this was desirable with Figurals and Pipe smokers used both plugs and buttons to help this happen.
From: An arm-chair in the smoking-room: or, Fiction, anecdote, humour, and fancy for
dreamy half-hours
Publisher: S. Rivers and Co., 1870
THE MEERSCHAUM:
HOW TO CHOOSE, SMOKE, AND COLOUR IT.
How do I manage my meerschaum ? How do I give it that depth and richness of colour in
the bowl,—colour which I can compare to nothing but the tone of pineapple rum,—and
that creamy softness in the stem, which is the admiration of every smoker ? Well, to an
extent, I believe the colouring of a pipe is not so much an art as a gift. It is like a cook being gifted naturally with ' a hand' for a light crust; like an artist who produces effects with colours that are the despair of imitators— that artist, for example, who, when
bothered for his ' secret,' and asked how he dressed his palette, replied, ' With brains.'
Still, though your smoker is born, not made, just as much as your poet, there are certain
rules, hints, and suggestions, the results of experience, that may be communicated. It is
possible, to an extent, to show another what to do, and what to avoid,—just as you may
not be able to make a fellow a good yachtsman ; but you may give him a chart showing
where there is safe and pleasant sailing, where dangerous currents and sunken rocks
threatening destruction.
My experience with the pipe dates from the Crimea. That, no doubt, is the case with
many others. It was a great school for rising talent in the smoking way. Had the colouring
of pipes been a lost art, I believe the exigencies of that campaign would have been equal
to its re-discovery. We were always smoking: our pipes were the comfort, the consolation, of our lives. We coloured everything that came in our way; often converting, by a sort of alchemic process, the commonest fragment— the broken-off bowl of a despised clay, for instance— into a gem of priceless worth. I have one such trophy —a picture. It is quite black—the colour, and with the polish, of ebony; not a flaw or spec upon it; not the faintest cloud or variation of tint. I have it mounted in gold and amber, and prize it as one of the choice features of my collection. But I am not writing here of the clay, but of the meerschaum; and it is not my purpose to enlarge on my own collection or my own smoking exploits, but to threw out a few hints and suggestions that may be practically valuable to others. One great point—shall I say the great point ?—is the choice of a meerschaum. The
novice in search of a pipe looks in at a shop-window, and sees a number of creamylooking
specimens cosily reposing in their purple-velvet cases; and the natural questions
arising in his mind are: Which of these ought I to buy ? Is one better than the other ? and
if so, how am I to test its superiority ? Does price alone determine the question ? and will that for which I give the most money inevitably give me the most satisfaction ? Very
natural questions, to which I will endeavour to give practical answers. And, to begin with, price has nothing to do with the matter. In the choice of a pipe, there are four points to be considered, namely, Form, Colour, Weight, and Mounting. Let us take them in order.
1. Form. — The pipe best suited to the novice is the ordinary straight-stemmed billiard
pipe, with the upright bowl. It is not handsome, but has this peculiar advantage, that, from the uprightness of the bowl, there is no tendency on the part of the oil to settle otherwise than straight down into the plug; consequently, there is an equal amount of absorption all round, giving a uniform colour. A more popular shape is that with the straight stem, but projecting bowl. The objection to this, so far as the neophyte is concerned, lies in the fact that, unless great caution is used, the oil saturates the lower side of the bowl only; and, in cases of quick smoking and careless lighting, the upper part becomes burnt, and so the beauty of the thing is lost. There is a clumsy pipe,—a cross between the upright and the projecting bowl, — with a thick flattened stem, somewhat in vogue; but this is to be avoided. The bore is generally imperfect; the draught, consequently, irregular; and thus great difficulty attends anything like perfect colouring. While I recommend a straight pipe to the beginner, the curved pipe is decidedly finer in appearance, and so better repays the trouble of colouring. Greater variety of shape is also attainable. But, undoubtedly, this form of pipe requires more careful smoking; and it is difficult to get the stem properly coloured. There is also the drawback as to comfort, that in its use the smoke is constantly getting into one's eyes. All fancy pipes— those adorned with figures, or otherwise ornamented— should be avoided by the novice. Not only are they. easily broken, or chipped, which is as bad, even from not being laid exactly in their right place when returned to the case, but they rarely colour evenly; and you cannot get the delicate gradations of shade that give a charm to the plain pipe. 2. As to Colour.—It is difficult to lay down an invariable rule for the choice of
meerschaum by its colour. The true colour is a delicate cream; but there are gradations in
tint. The one thing to be avoided is a perfectly dead white: that is bad. Put a white piece
of meerschaum out of the question, and you may secure that which is light and soft, even,
sometimes, with the faintest possible flush on it, as if caught from the rising Aphrodite by the creamy foam. But the true cream is the only really reliable colour.
3. Weight.—New meerschaum is very light: it speedily increases in weight through
smoking, from the oil absorbed. Bear this in mind, and do not purchase that which is as
heavy as a smoked pipe. Of course, the actual weight will depend on the size and style of
mounting; but this can be judged of. The great thing is, that the material itself should be
essentially light, like the foam of the sea, from which it is named. 4. Mounting. — This is the surest test of a good pipe. Let the inexperienced look to this.
Comparatively few people are able to form an accurate opinion from colour; but the
mounting speaks for itself. If a pipe is mounted with a long piece of good amber without
a flaw in it, and that amber fits accurately at the join, it is pretty sure to be a good pipe. Those of an indifferent quality are seldom carefully and artistically mounted. Of the two kinds of amber, the clear and the clouded, it is advisable to choose the latter. The clouded is tougher, less brittle, and less liable to break in the mouth.
Now, we will suppose that you have your pipe, one of the very best. Happy possessor of a
treasure •— a source of delight, or of perpetual worry and weariness of spirit, just as it
may happen ! For the pipe is little: it is the smoking thereof that is everything. Come,
then, let us light up. Stay ! for that purpose tobacco is needed; and it is most natural that you should at once propound to me the query: What kind of tobacco is best for colouring ? A simple point; yet never was there one with a greater diversity of opinion upon it. 'Tobacco!' shouts my old friend Sabertache, — 'Tobacco ! How can there be two views about it ? Cavendish will colour a pipe twice as quickly as any other kind of tobacco, and render it blacker than any other possibly can. Besides, it is pleasanter in flavour.' Granted, old boy, provided your internal organisation is of the robust quality which will enable you to emulate the ostrich in digestion. But strong meat is not for all: I could as easily digest a horse's saddle as a saddle of horse; and, in the matter of tobacco, I find shag strong enough for me. It is strong enough, too, I believe, for all colouring purposes; but it must be admitted that the process is slower, because it contains a less quantity of the essential oil. To those who are impatient, let me recommend a compromise. Mix cavendish and shag in the proportion of one-third of the former to two-thirds of the latter.
This mixture is capital, and is more agreeable than cavendish itself, inasmuch as it
prevents that copious oozing of oil through the pores of the pipe, often very unpleasant.
Moreover, cavendish fouls a pipe very rapidly. What about bird's-eye ? Well, it is
pleasant to smoke, but too dry for colouring purposes. Blended with shag, it gives a nice
light tone to meerschaum ; but he must be clever who can extract from the two in
combination that deep ebony hue we all so much admire.
Old hands are all agreed that the tobacco itself is not so much a point, as the manner in
which it is used : and more especially in respect to that indispensable little contrivance—
the plug. I am not prepared to say that a pipe will not colour without a plug, because there
are men so gifted in this art—men whose style of smoking is so admirable—that they will
colour anything. Put a stem into a pipkin, and they will colour it for you—turn it out a
bright mahogany, with nothing stronger than latakia to do it with. But the ordinary
smoker must have a plug. It may be formed of meerschaum, of cork, or of tobacco.
Meerschaum is the worst material of the three — because, being equally porous with the
pipe itself, it absorbs the oil which you want to form your colouring matter. This kind of
plug is, moreover, likely to get fixed in the bowl, and to require force for its removal—
force which often results in the splitting of the pipe itself. The worst of cork as a plug is,
that it is liable to get charred, and so to impart a disagreeable flavour to the tobacco ;
besides, it does not hold the oil long enough for the pipe to absorb it properly. No; there
is only one good material for plugging, and that is tobacco itself. There is but one
objection to it; which is, that in a thoughtless, preoccupied moment, it may be smoked
beyond the line fixed on, whereby the symmetry of the colouring is spoiled. Some
smokers use tobacco covered with bone or metal; but there are objections to both plans.
The bone chars and injures the flavour; the metal heats so rapidly, that it often seriously
injures the pipe.
Having, then, decided on tobacco in all its simplicity as the material of the plug, we have
next to decide how it is to be used. Form the plug, if possible, of one piece, judging the
quantity, and carefully manipulating it into its place. If composed of layers, the upper one
is apt to come off, unnoticed by the smoker, when he is cleaning his pipe, and then the
colouring line is broken. Care should be taken not to press the tobacco down too hard; for
if it is too much compressed, there is no room for the oil between the fibres; and then one
of two things will happen— either the plug will swell and rise above the line, or else the
oil will run through and foul the pipe, and in either case a too-frequent change of plug
will be necessitated. Remember, by the way, always to fix the line of colouring a little
above what appears to be the correct mark, as indicated by the plug. How often should
the plug be changed? Well, the amount of smoking indulged in will in a great measure
regulate this. Under any circumstances, one ought to last a week; and, where moderation
is exercised, it may be left in for a fortnight, or even for three weeks.
Thus far we have settled three important points: we have chosen our pipe; we have
plugged it in the best practical manner; we have secured fitting tobacco. And now, what
next ? Next, we will begin to smoke. In doing so, lay these rules to heart: 1. Smoke as
slowly as possible; and for these two very sufficient reasons, viz. in order that too much
of the oil should not be dried up in the process; and also, in order to avoid over-heating
the pipe, and thereby causing it to become baked to a degree of hardness that would
render it incapable of absorbing the oil from the plug. 2. The pipe should not be smoked
in the open air, as any little breeze will cause the tobacco to burn more quickly than is
desirable. This only refers to the first stage of colouring; when that is got over, and the
colour is well set, careful out-door smoking is permissible. 3. Always load the pipe
immediately after having smoked it. By this means, ash and fragments of tobacco are
kept out of the case—a very important matter, though it seems trifling; but the slightest
thing will scratch, and so destroy the beauty of, a pipe, when it is in first-rate condition. 4.
Be careful in lighting up; see that the tobacco is well ignited all round; and watch, during
the smoking, that one side does not burn lower than the other. 5. When you have smoked
one pipe of tobacco, allow the pipe to cool before smoking a 'second. This is most
important, as the effect of smoking continuously is as bad on the pipe as many authorities
declare it to be on the smoker. 6. When it becomes foul, the pipe should be cleaned with
great care. One mode, often adopted, is preferable to the poking of wires down the stem.
It is this : remove the plug; half-fill the 'pipe, light it, put a piece of gauze, or the corner
of a thin handkerchief, over the bowl, and, applying your mouth to that end, blow
strongly, holding the stem downwards during the operation. By this means, you will be
able to liquefy the deposit in the stem, which will slowly ooze out at the amber-pointed
extremity. The operation must be conducted with great care. A little gin, or other spirit,
may afterwards be poured through the pipe quickly.
These are the main rules for the smoking of meerschaums. Very simple, you see, and
guaranteed to be very effectual. One or two practical suggestions may be added. It will
often happen that, when the pipe has attained great beauty of tone, the colour will
disappear in parts, and it will become spotty in appearance. If this should be the case
below the line, no uneasiness need be experienced, though the cause remains a mystery.
Steady smoking will set all that right. Some people advise as a remedy the application of
oil or white wax. I set my face against this practice, as it gives the pipe an increased
tendency to heat rapidly, and ultimately to burn. Steady smoking is, I am convinced, the
best cure. If you have a valuable pipe, and wish to preserve it in perfection,—and if,
moreover, you can resist the pleasure of contemplating its budding charms, its slowly
developing loveliness,—why, there is nothing so desirable as having it covered with
chamois-leather. I say advisedly ' having' it covered: don't try to do it yourself; you will
only scratch it with the needle in sewing it on—a feat which only an experienced person
can achieve.
What next? Much more might be said, for the theme is inexhaustible; as one may suppose
from the lion's share which the colouring of their pipes holds in the conversation of so
many men in society. But I think this will do. Like many another art, that of smoking
meerschaums, though demanding some study, is soon imparted. The rudiments are
simple; the results depend on the genius of the student; but I can promise this with
confidence—that, if these suggestions are carried out, no smoker need despair of
possessing a pipe that shall be a pleasure by reason of its sweetness, and an ornament by
reason of its beauty.
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