Crack in Meerschuam pipe

[starrynight]

I’m not sure when I noticed it, but I think as the pipe has been (slowly) coloring, it might have become more prominent. In the attached picture, you can see a long vertical hairline crack to the left of some scratches. It’s hard to get to come through in the picture, but it looks different, perhaps deeper than the scratches.

Is there anything to worry about here? If so, anything to remediate, or prevent it from getting worse?

 

[irishearl]

No words of wisdom to add but just wanted to say I've owned 5 meers over the course of many years and had to ditch 3 of them because the bowls cracked from heat over time.

 

[didimauw]

That just looks like a scratch to me.

 

[Chasing Embers]

If it gets really bad, I'd fill it with a paste made of chalk dust and egg whites.

 

[Puffaluffaguss]

I wouldn't worry about it until you need to. If it smokes fine leave it be, just don't drop it is all I can say.

 

[georged]

Once in a while they go off like a hand grenade and kill everyone within 15 feet or so, but not often enough that you need to worry about it very much.

Plus, you won't notice it for more than a few milliseconds.

Enjoy the pipe.

 

[starrynight]

That just looks like a scratch to me.

Yeah, it definitely looks like a scratch in the picture, but in real life it looks like a tiny hairline fracture.

My concern isn’t with the crack now, but, since I wanted this to be a hand me down, I wasn’t sure if these things happen, and not to worry, or, if this is a sign that it’s just going to split in half someday, lol.

 

[irishearl]

Yeah, it definitely looks like a scratch in the picture, but in real life it looks like a tiny hairline fracture.

My concern isn’t with the crack now, but, since I wanted this to be a hand me down, I wasn’t sure if these things happen, and not to worry, or, if this is a sign that it’s just going to split in half someday, lol.

Only time will tell. But, as I implied with my earlier post, prolonged heating of the bowl may eventually cause the crack to worsen. This is the chief reason I'm a bit leery of meerschaum, though have 2 others which I've had a long time that never developed cracks. 1 of them is an African meer which is denser, however.

 

[LeafErikson]

That reallllly looks like just a scratch in the pic you posted. I know you’re insisting that it’s a crack but I just don’t see it.

 

[LeafErikson]

Either way that’s unfortunate. How did that happen?

 

[starrynight]

This might be a bit better. It’s the irregular pattern, and zig zagginess of it.

 

[starrynight]

Either way that’s unfortunate. How did that happen?

It’s never been dropped. Just kind of appeared while smoking. I’m guessing it’s superficial so not too worried, but this material is newer to me.

 

[LeafErikson]

This might be a bit better. It’s the irregular pattern, and zig zagginess of it.

Damn that does look like a crack. I wonder how that could’ve happened if it wasn’t dropped.

 

[starrynight]

Yeah. Maybe transit? Whatever the case, I need another one anyways. So, it’s a good excuse to preemptively get another: who knows, maybe it won’t grow?

I’ll keep on eye on it. If there is a way to patch it, that’d be nice, but… it doesn’t seem to go all the way up, and does seem like a hairline…

 

[irishearl]

Damn that does look like a crack. I wonder how that could’ve happened if it wasn’t dropped.

The 3 I had that developed cracks had never been banged on anything let alone dropped.

 

[starrynight]

The 3 I had that developed cracks had never been banged on anything let alone dropped.

So of the three, did they all start out small then get bigger? Or, was is just all kind of at once? If it was small to large, about how long did it take?

 

[georged]

Meer is like any other natural material. It ranges from unsuitable for pipe stummel use to magical in its gently transluscent uniformity.

If your pipe was made with a marginal chunk of it, Gradual Bad Things will happen over time ranging from cosmetic to structural.

 

[irishearl]

So of the three, did they all start out small then get bigger? Or, was is just all kind of at once? If it was small to large, about how long did it take?

If I recall correctly, it showed up "over-night" so to speak.

 

[orlandofurioso]

I once mended a hole in the chamber ( overzealous reaming ) with plaster of Paris and egg white.
Worked fine. Maybe egg white, or the mixture, to seal the crack ?
Do not let it "cake" . It causes cracks because of the heat accumulated .

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

The way to stop a crack in most hard materials is to drill a hole at the end of the crack and then plug the hole. But this can be tricky with meerschaum because drilling can cause rapid disintegration... Egg white and meer dust or plaster can be used as an adhesive/filler on meerschaum.

A proper fix on that would be to drill the crack and plug the hole, then put a silver cap on the rim. This is all easier said than done.