Thanks guys. Yes Unclearther, I've seen it as well. For me the test of a good
Figural is whether or not you can tell what the expression on the face is or not.
This is where technical achievement falls short and art begins.
The cake buildup on the bowl's plateau can be dealt with Fredvegas. In the past, my
approach was aggressive but lately my concerns about the length of time to restore
what patina the Pipe has developed is the priority. Cleaning the chamber, shank
and bit involves cake removal, Everclear, shank brushes and plenty of Pipe cleaners.
The rim char can be softened a bit when I wipe the outside of the bowl with a clean
white cotton cloth soaked in Everclear. With a sharp edge it can be gradually
scraped close to the Block, leaving a thin layer of cake. With repeated applications
of Beeswax, the char will mostly rub off and what is left will become diffuse,
blending into the patina. Likely, flushing the Block will take a dozen or so smokes,
followed by cleaning, as was done initially. It will take longer for the volatiles
of the smoke contained in the Block to show as patina on the Block's surface, which
is enhanced by the Beeswax. The plateau will always be a bit dark and in time, the
patina will be displayed there as well. If you sand the char off the plateau, it
will take considerably longer to develop the patina. It is important to use the
sharp edge to scrape and avoid carving. Some prefer a blackened plateau on a
Meerschaum, to the point where a good number of African Block Pipes came from
manufacture with this effect. I prefer to avoid charing the plateau and removing
what I find on estate Pipes that I purchase. This effort to get a Meerschaum
back on it's evolution in both performance and display takes time, but the rewards
are great. Like everything else with these Meerschaums, you learn patience.
The next article deals with waxing Meerschaums, Carver applied finishes and
a number of methods employed to develop patina.
