Butera Coloring Bowl for Meerschaum Pipes

[samanden]

I have always been fascinated with meerschaum pipes, particularly the way they color. As a member of the "I want it now" generation, I make no secret that I did/do not want to wait for my meerschaum to get that beautiful color I've fallen in love with. After some research, I found out about the Butera coloring bowl. There was not much information out there regarding its effectiveness. What I did find suggested that the product either did not work very well, or didn't work at all. Nevertheless, the premise behind the concept seemed sound, so I gave it a try.
I am submitting this thread as a kind of "coloring journal" for members interested in coloring their meerschaums in a non-traditional way (although the effort to speed up the coloring process is perhaps as old as the meerschaum pipe itself). Below I have posted links to pictures documenting my results thus far. I plan to update this thread until I have reach my desired color, or until I have tired of the cumbersomeness of this awkward devise.
This first link is to a picture of my pipe new and unsmoked. It was purchased in July of this year (2013).
Link 1
This next link is to a photo of my pipe taken this month (September, 2013)
Link 2
The last photo gives a brief description of my smoking process, so I won't extend this post any longer with repetitive information. However, I will say that the effectiveness of the coloring bowl appears to be reliant on the meerschaum being new and unsmoked.
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Sam

 

[papipeguy]

Very interesting. I never heard of this product but after looking at some of the results on other sites I admit that it is intriguing. The only meers I have are a gourd calabash and one that is black, so this would not be useful for my pipes. I am curious as to how it works/

 

[samanden]

Papipeguy, it's pretty cool. The coloring bowl works like a funnel. One simply fills it as one would a normal pipe, sticks it in the top of the bowl, lights it, and smokes as usual. It's a bit difficult to manage as it adds weight to the end of the pipe. The idea behind it comes from meerschaum pipes' tendency to color around the shank much quicker and more evenly than the rest of the pipe bowl. The argument is that the smoke is obserbed around the shank uninhibited by the tobacco, thus producing the desired color. The coloring bowl allows the process to move further up the bowl. In other words, the coloring bowl is used to burn the tobacco while the entire bowl of the pipe functions like the shank, obsorbing the smoke without getting clogged with tobacco oils and moisture. Now this is the theory. I'm no expert on the matter, but the concept seems sound and the results are pleasing thus far. I'll stick with it and see what I get.

 

[brian64]

That’s very interesting, and it appears to work quite well, as you have a very evenly spread coloring going on there. I don’t think it would be for me though...my tendency is to be a traditionalist about such things. Also, I don’t think I would want to deal with the process of smoking the pipe that way...but thanks for the info, I hadn’t heard of these before.

 

[samanden]

Yes, Brian and Roth, I certainly see your point. I admit that initially I struggled with the idea of using this product. The reason I started smoking pipes years ago was for a kind of return to tradition, to purity. Using the Butera bowl seemed, at first, antithetical. However, I found that the desire to color meerschaum pipes quickly is also a part of the history and tradition of this material. There have been stories of wealthy men who have hired servants (slaves perhaps) to smoke their meerschaum pipes continuously, so when those wealthy men received their pipes they would be colored as if having been smoked for decades. (I may be an aristocrat reincarnated.)
I also remember reading an article that referenced an old advertisement (from the 1950s I think, or earlier) promoting a box-like machine to which a number of meerschaum pipes could be connected and continuously "smoked" to speed up the coloring process(I imagine it worked kind of like a bellows). Perhaps Fred Bass can enlighten us.
I will admit, however, that I welcome the moment when I can load the actual bowl of the pipe and some it as it is intended. I will also admit that I do love to see the inconsistent coloration of meerschaum pipes that are nearly 100 years old, or more. I'm just impatient; I don't want to wait that long. My theory is that I can use the coloring bowl to get the color going quickly. When I remove it and smoke from the bowl itself, I will begin to get the inconsistencies that we traditionally see on meerschaum pipes.
I think of the coloring bowl as if it were Marty McFly's DeLorean; it takes my pipe "back to the future," as it were.

 

[fitzy]

WOW! I love that pipe and I love the even coloring that's been done so far. I'm hoping to get a meer someday(had a few about 20 years ago that were lost) and I would be definitely interested in trying the Butera Bowl. I had no idea that it even existed.
Did you buy that pipe online? If so I'm curious what website.
Thanks

 

[voorhees]

The changes are subtle, but consistent.
I have a meer I bought in late January. This is how is looked when it arrived.

I have smoked it about 2-3 times a week since. I also used bees wax on it twice. Here is the change to now.

I also handle my meer like any other pipe (with clean hands of course.) This picture is about 2 months ago.

 

[samanden]

Thanks Fitzy! I got the pipe online from Meershaum Market's eBay store. I always wanted a Sevket Gezer pipe (he has two younger brothers who are also "master carvers"). Sevket doesn't make as many as he used to and finding his pipes has become more difficult over the years. Meerschaum Market has a good number of them in stock. Altinok used to have the most beautiful Seveket pipes I'd ever seen, but sadly they are all out now. There are a number of master carvers who do wonderful work. Search through Fred Bass' threads (he's a member here) and you will get some solid info!
As for the coloring bowl, I got that online as well but I can't remember where. However, I do know that Smokers Haven and Mars Cigars keep them in stock.
And a quick note about coloring consistency: I believe the "traditional" way of coloring a meerschaum pipe indeed yields an inconsistent coloration. Furthermore, handling the pipe, even with clean hands, will result in an even more inconsistent development of color. But I think that's a good thing. The most beautiful meerschaum pipes, the ones that are more than a century old, have a variation of dark and light hues. My using the coloring bowl isn't so much to get an even color as it is to speed up the coloring process. Once I've achieved my desired "base hue," I will forego my coloring bowl and smoke the pipe regularly allowing the shank, rim, and areas where I hold it to darken more than other parts of the bowl.

 

[werdna]

Beautiful pipes, samanden and voorhees, I love the coloring. I saw on eBay a meer that was colored with tea. Any thoughts on that? It's probably not a traditional method, but the color was very nice and uniform.

 

[daveinlax]

I used a butera coloring bowl to color this pipe with good results. 8O

EDIT I thought I might have posted this on PM before, I did.

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/coloring-a-mearshaum

 

[samanden]

Yes, daveinlax, I have seen this photo before and I am blown away every time I see it. I'm pretty much using my pipe with the coloring bowl 1-2 times a day for a month straight, then putting it up to rest for a week or two, then back to 1-2 bowl a day for another month. I have other pipes that I love and I don't want to neglect them. However, I curious as to how often you used your coloring bowl. What was your smoking schedule like to get you pipe to color so nicely?

 

[brian64]

Yes, daveinlax, I have seen this photo before and I am blown away every time I see it.

+1 ... the coloring of that meer is incredible.

 

[daveinlax]

However, I curious as to how often you used your coloring bowl.

I used the bowl from the first ever bowl 2 bowls a day for about four months then I just smoke it as a regular pipe from then on. I don't know if it's true but I heard the bowls don't work after you've smoke it in the normal fashion. 8O

 

[samanden]

I thought it time to update my "meerschaum coloring-bowl journal/experiment" thread (that's a mouthful) with a recent picture of my Sevket. It's been about three years since I began using the coloring bowl and I must say, I'm about ready to give it up. Although I've adjusted to its bulky-ness over the years, I'm not sure if the color is progressing fast enough to justify using it any further. But you tell me--has it changed much since my last post? You be the judge and let me know if I should keep at it, or give it up.
Here it is: Link 3

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yeh, that is not very dramatic. How often do you smoke it? And, have you tried heating it up and adding a little more bees wax?

 

[sajgre]

Beautiful patina. I couldn't smoke it that way but result looks great.

 

[cossackjack]

Yes, slightly deeper hue.

Agree with Cosmic about trying beeswax. White wax may enhance the current patina, while yellow wax will deepen the color. Either may bring out the latent coloration from deeper in the meerschaum.

 

[samanden]

Thanks for the input, guys.
@Cosmic: I smoke it roughly once every two weeks. It's part of an 11 pipe rotation. I smoke aromatics primarily in this pipe. I haven't tried adding beeswax, but have heard of the benefits. I may give it a try.
@cossackjack: Thanks for the pointer. My only concern is that the pipe bowl doesn't actually warm up when I use the coloring bowl. Only the Butera absorbs any real heat. Don't you think I'll need to forgo the coloring bowl if I plan to add beeswax?

 

[warren]

First, you are not smoking the pipe nearly enough. I have five meers which I smoke regularly. I pick one and smoke three or four bowls in one night. When I only had a couple that would mean each pipe was smoked around 12 bowls a week. If you had smoked the pipe twice a night over the last three years you would have a nicely coloring pipe by now. And, without the fuss and bother of wax or a Butera whatever. I do understand that some smokers want to feel more involved in the process.
I prefer meers to wood or corn when at home. To color a meer one needs to be a meer smoker, not a meer dabbler.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I've got to get me a meerschaum. One of these days the right design will fall in my path. I'm just too darn picky.