CAO Meerschaums

[fnord]

Does anybody have any experience with CAO's offerings?
I know there's a bias on this forum for Storient - and they are lovely pipes - but, before I buy one I'd like to experience the Meerschaum experience with one that would be kinder on the wallet.
I found one on the Bay I like:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/350685462310?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
and I'd appreciate everybody's thoughts. (Not so much this pipe as Meerschaum in general. I've always smoked briars and that's that.)
Cheers.
Fnord

 

[matchstickman]

Theres a young kid that hangs out at the local B&M who has a lion head CAO Meerschaum that he bought from the B&M. I was talking to the older shop proprietor one day and he says that CAO meerschaums are all he stocks because he says theyre fairly easy to get. Anyway, I was talking to the kid about how his smokes and he says he likes it but its the only pipe that he owns, and he said the only thing that hes ever smoked in it is Frog Morton. The CAO Meerschaums at the shop are pretty reasonably priced but a little on the smallish side for most of them, I think the larger ones run around $100. Not really a first hand opinion but I think Id buy one from the local shop if I had the money.

 

[matchstickman]

CAO has quit meerschaum making long time ago.

Now youve got me curious. The Meerschaums that he has for sale arent marked on the actual pipes themselves but that is what he has them marked himself on his display cabinet. Now that I think about it, there is another little rinky dink shop closer to me that has started selling Meerschaum pipes and I think he is also passing them off as CAO. I wonder if those are unsmoked estates or if there is some kind of fake CAO racket going on around my area?

 

[seamusjft]

I recently added a couple of Turkish guys to my Facebook account. I've not ordered yet, but will be, and I've had a decent enough broken English dioloug with them to believe they are in fact carving the pieces themselves. My £ to $ conversion is not 100% accurate but I believe they work out to be around $100 for a regular classic styled meer.

I'll attempt to put a link in another post. Brb

 

[seamusjft]

https://www.facebook.com/WhitePearlMeerschaumPipes

&

https://www.facebook.com/emre.baypipemeerschaum
Feel free to add me too if you like

https://www.facebook.com/sean.pritchard.315
When I recieve an order I'll start a thread and review them

 

[hawk60ce]

This is one I picked up at Iwan Ries. Paid top dollar for it. I hope it's not a fake.

 

[crpntr1]

I have two, one has an oval CAO insignia on the stem and is good quality, the other has no markings and although it smoks fair, it's not the same quality

Make sure you're getting a real CAO

if there's no markings to identify it, I'd pass

 

[crpntr1]

That is just like my "real" one...mines a good smoker

 

[fnord]

It's a lovely pipe, Rothnh, and I do admire the craftsmanship. But, when I pull the trigger it'll be on one less ornate. A plain white bowl would work for me just fine.
Believe me, I have no problem buying an estate. And thanks to this forum, I've become adept - not skilled - but adept at sanitizing a pipe and even shining one up a bit.

 

[fnord]

Almost forgot...
Hawk, your pipe is a beauty and I'd be proud to own one that substantial.
Storient, damned kind of you to weigh in when I'm talking about another maker. Small wonder the Meer guys on this forum regard you as such a class act. If I have a positive experience with my first Meer I'm sure I'll be knocking over old ladies and small children to get queued up for one of yours. Thanks, pal.
Come to think of it, I've got an old Calabash tucked away in a closet basement. (It seemed like a good idea 40 years ago when I bought it.) Smoked it three or four times and it's been in storage ever since.