Can I see your meerschaum pipe(s)?

[warren]

I never bothered with wax. I just smoke the hell out my meers. I did wax a couple of pipes years ago, every now and then, never noticed that it helped with coloring the mineral. I think waxing gives one a feeling of participating but, in my opinion, it's rather a waste of time and money.

 

[rottingcorpse]

Thanks, Warren. I'll wax less than advised then, maybe every 100 smokes. I'm a bit frightened to, because I hear it can get messy. When you did apply wax, how did you do it? I've seen a lot of methods on Youtube. I don't want to do the dipping method; that's just too advance for a newbie such as myself.

 

[blueeyedogre]

For waxing I just have a chunk of solid beeswax and a heat gun. I'll wave the pipe in front of the gun then gently rub the chunk against the pipe and repeat. Once the pipe has taken a bit of wax I let it cool and then just buff it up with a cotton cloth.

 

[warren]

The few times I did wax I simply applied it to a warm bowl, let it set up and then gently rubbed with a soft cloth. Even then I was not a big proponent of waxing. I never understood the reasoning behind it.

 

[jpmcwjr]

The waxing probably started as a method to keep finger and hand oils off the finish while it was being handled by prospective buyers. Well, it could be true!
I just don't understand the physics of why beeswax would tend to pull the coloring through; it would seem to go faster with less barriers on the outside surface.

 

[rottingcorpse]

Just an update if anyone's reading: I went ahead and rewaxed it today, rubbing on a little bit of melted beeswax and wiped the rest off. A lot of coloring came through, and I decided to give it a break for a week, maybe two. I'll post pics in a few weeks if anyone's watching. Thanks, everyone for the photos and advice!

 

[rottingcorpse]

Couldn't wait even a day. I ended up smoking two bowls yesterday. Screw restraint.

 

[mirain]

I smoked this one everyday for a while then dropped back to smoking it on occasion. Before and after:

 

[skaukatt]

I have a few but this one is my favorite. Carved Viking by Yunus Ege.
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