This is what I did. I contacted Burak, told him what I wanted and he made it happen. I will add that Burak was first class all the way in providing service to me. He is a nice guy who cares about his customers.
Do Differences in Meershaum Pipes Quality Exist ad/or Matter?
- Thread starter TN Jed
- Start date
SmokingPipes.com Updates
Watch for Updates Twice a Week
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
Site Sponsors
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
- Status
What do you all think about the MBSD ones on ebay? They seem reasonably priced, but not sure of the quality. Has anyone bought one of their pipes?
They may be alright but at that price point they likely use the plastic screw in mortise and tenon inserts.
They really surprised me. I requested a particular pipe with an orange stem and Burak called me four days later about not one but two pipes. They made identical pipes but didn't know which type of orange stem I wanted so they made two to give me a choice.
Wow - that is exceptional customer service.
The only meer I have is from a now defunct pipe forum and it was their pipe of the year from Altinok. Nothing crazy, but its a nice pipe.
After reading through this, I will break it out tomorrow for the "What are you smoking thread" and may look at adding another.
I reached out to them a couple of months ago, and they confirmed they use the screw-in stems They said they were working with their makers to eventually offer push stems
I have two meers. One with a screw-in stem and one with a push stem. I have had no issues with either whatsoever.
Well I done did it. After months of research and indecisions I bought a meerschaum on a whim and paid more than double my budget. I had what an art dealer friend of mine calls aesthetic arrest. That’s what causes someone to pay ridiculous amounts of money for something they don’t need and what keeps artist of all genres in business. I just finished my first bowl in my new Barling with a vulcanite stem; St. James Flake and it was a magical smoke. So, no buyer’s remorse!
Attachments
My first Meer was an SMS, fairly inexpensive and it smoke like shit.
My next was what was supposed to be a high quality meer was an IMP pictured below. In my opinion the stems on most meers suck. They also smoke hotter than my broken in briars. I paid 250.00 for the IMP off a big seller on Ebay. It is pretty I just can't get past the lousy stem and the way it heats up. Tons of guys love them so don't go by me. I am a very picky person when it comes to my pipes.
Here is the IMP.
My next was what was supposed to be a high quality meer was an IMP pictured below. In my opinion the stems on most meers suck. They also smoke hotter than my broken in briars. I paid 250.00 for the IMP off a big seller on Ebay. It is pretty I just can't get past the lousy stem and the way it heats up. Tons of guys love them so don't go by me. I am a very picky person when it comes to my pipes.
Here is the IMP.
I have three meerschaums, one AKB and two IMPs. All are smooth rather than ornate. They are all good pipes but the IMPs are much better overall, especially in the way the stem is designed. You will note that the IMPs are more expensive, and that is for good reason. They are all excellent smoking pipes and I would not miss briar if only IMP meerschaum were available.
Yes … there are three quality attributes of a block meerschaum
1. Quality of the block. Turkish carvers grade their blocks but I am not clear on how do they grade it
2. Quality of carving
3. Draw - Meerschaum carvers often do not bother about the draw so many meerschaum pipes will have a restricted draw. Remediated if you do your own research and get a briar type tenon, spigot or a 9 mm filter pipe.
Do they matter? Not to me - While I appreciate an open draw, I can smoke a tighter draw quite easily. Not much into figural pipes, but if I buy one, I will carefully observe the carving before making a decision. In terms of the quality of the block - To me it does not matter much as all my Meerschaum pipes are coloring quite nicely.
The smoking quality is not dependent on #1 and #2
1. Quality of the block. Turkish carvers grade their blocks but I am not clear on how do they grade it
2. Quality of carving
3. Draw - Meerschaum carvers often do not bother about the draw so many meerschaum pipes will have a restricted draw. Remediated if you do your own research and get a briar type tenon, spigot or a 9 mm filter pipe.
Do they matter? Not to me - While I appreciate an open draw, I can smoke a tighter draw quite easily. Not much into figural pipes, but if I buy one, I will carefully observe the carving before making a decision. In terms of the quality of the block - To me it does not matter much as all my Meerschaum pipes are coloring quite nicely.
The smoking quality is not dependent on #1 and #2
Not all meerschaum pipes are cut from a solid block of mineral. A number of the less expensive meerschaum are made from powdered mineral that's mixed with a binder and then compressed. They may smoke acceptably but they don't color.
Many of the newer AKBs are equipped with the same mortise inserts as IMP. AKB is a distributor of various independent artists whereas IMP is a workshop. Some of AKB's pipes are by artists that work for IMP and are of great quality. Kenan and Ali are independent carvers who often supply AKB with pipes to sell that outclass all of my IMPS.
Kenan
Ali
AKB also sometimes gets in pipes from apprentice carvers. This one came from AKB and even the carvers I regularly talk to have no idea who carved it. Coming in at 12 inches with a chamber depth of 3 inches, it was nearly $70 less than my least expensive IMP.
Then we come to this no name. Flawlessly drilled with a true lattice carving, it's easily my favorite meerschaum.
Equating quality with price or brand can sometimes cause you to miss out on some very well made pipes. I once had a Baki dublin that I found very disappointing after finding that it had a terrible draw after many comments of how high quality his pipes were. I do really enjoy IMP but with their recent $40-$100 price increase, I'll likely not buy another.
I have one IMP bought within the last couple years and I agree with @cigrmaster , regarding the stem. Mine was utter trash. I've since had the stem replaced and some other mods done. It was a Wedding Anniversary gift from my wife, so it was worth paying to have it "fixed", otherwise I would have moved on from it.
Odd, I hate acrylic stems but find IMP's very comfortable since they went back in business a few years ago.
Thats been my biggest hurdle with Meerschaum pipes.
- Status