Experimenting how much wax a meer absorbs

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pipinho

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 1, 2013
207
21
I decided to do a little experiment to see how much wax a meer would absorb. I bought a small claw and egg pipe that is pretty modern (due to the lucite stem it came with) and decided to weigh it before and after waxing the pipe. Before the waxing the pipe was 18 grams and after waxing it multiple times it weighed 20 grams. I think it may absorb another 1/2 or 1 grams of wax. I imagine a pipe that hasn't been waxed will absorb much more than this fairly new one. The meer absorbed about 11% of it's weight in wax and i think it would be able to absorb more. Just thought it would be an interesting measurement.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,700
16,209
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
I want my pipe to absorb the residues of the tobacco from the inside, not the wax from the outside. Not sure of the point of your experiment. I waxed my meers regularly when I first started many years ago. My experience was that there was no discernible effect on the coloring process so I stopped, years ago. Waxing did give me a sense of "participating" in the process but, I discovered I'd rather smoke the pipes than fuss with them.

 
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jackswilling

Lifer
Feb 15, 2015
1,777
24
There may be more to the effect of wax aside from aesthetics. But the wax should help with the color/aging. I ascribe to the opinions of Mr. Bass in "Slave to the white Goddess." So I guess I disagree with Mr. Warren. as to the O/P's findings, there are interesting to me. Never hurts to quantify.

 

pipinho

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 1, 2013
207
21
lol thanks jackswilling,
Well I was just curious how much wax a meer will absorb. I did another waxing and weighed my meer for the 3d time. It weighs 21 grams. The meer absorbed 16.7% of it's bodyweight. Lets add that this is not an old meer (lucite stem and not the old butterscotch stem) I can imagine that an old meer that that has had it's wax disintegrate over the years would be able to absorb more. That being said. These are only my humble opinions. But i do think that wax helps spread the tobacco residues throughout the meer, also i believe that the wax helps in the structural strength of the meer by filling in the spaces between the meer like an epoxy. This is again just my humble opinion.

 

jitterbugdude

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 25, 2014
993
8
Did it really "absorb" that much or are you just building up a layer of wax on the outside? I think a better experiment would be to use a flat piece of meer ( you get these in the carve your own kits). After submerging the meer into way, let it dry. Scrap and sand off the wax and then weigh. This would give you a more accurate result. I know... just takes the fun out of smoking doesn't it?

 

easterntraveler

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 29, 2012
805
11
I am curious as to what you are trying to prove or show with your study? First, it does not prove it helps with the coloring of the meer. Second, it only proves that meers are absorbent but we already knew that. Anyway it is interesting non the less.

 

sajgre

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 13, 2010
139
1
Why would he need to prove something, even the title says: "Experimenting how much wax a meer absorbs". That is it and I find it interesting.

 

pipinho

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 1, 2013
207
21
My curiosity was: how much wax does a meet absorb when it is waxed? :)
Some of you seem concerned with not enjoying the joy of pipe smoking or rather satisfying this simple curiosity somehow taking away the joy of smoking. It does not, if anything it adds to the little joys of smoking a meet (to me at least). :)

 

posaydal

Lurker
Dec 6, 2015
42
0
Serbia
Wax has multiple effects on meer. From my experience, for starters, it makes a nice protective layer on the surface. Second, well waxed meer is less fragile, kinda seems more elastic. Third, it does help coloring process. Wax on the surface evaporates, pulls absorbed wax to the surface, which then pulls color closer to the surface. Every time i rewaxed my pipes they turned up more beautiful, color wise and surface wise. Most of that color disappears after few bowls, but not all.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,700
16,209
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
I'm not trying to harsh your mellow. I was just wondering what prompted the experiment. Now I wonder how much did the wax actually permeate the meer. Is the majority, or all of it, resting on the surface? The experiment simply stimulated my brain,
Even more questions arise. Does wax evaporate? Or is it simply abraded away through handling and buffing up a shine? Actually, the residues of the tobacco seep into the pores of the mineral and cease doing so when an opening is full or plugged. If the color is disappearing after a few bowls, I would posit that the disappearing color is the wax, not the deposits from the tobacco. I've never experienced color fading in a meer, for me it always darkens as the residues seep into the meer.
Until I see more than anecdotal evidence, I will stick with my anecdotal evidence that wax will provide a bit of color and such color is in fact superficial. The wax is providing the temporary hue. Tobacco coloring is permanent and comes from within the bowl. Surface wax merely protects the mineral and traps the residues under the shell. Without a wax coat the residues would seep out onto the surface of the bowl. Again, these are simple observations from many, fifty+, years of smoking meers almost exclusively in the evening hours.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,700
16,209
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
Damn! I've got to quit thinking about this. Question: Was the pipe heated through when the wax was applied? Was the wax a liquid when applied? Or simply rubbed on? Then, since wax gels quickly away from the heat source, if the pipe wasn't heated fully, would the wax in fact actually permeate into the meer? Was all of the original wax removed prior to the application of new wax?
Experiments often raise more questions than than they provide answers for.

 

pipinho

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 1, 2013
207
21
Warren,
I must be honest. I it is a bit difficult for me to know if you are being honest are asking honest questions or just going out of your way to be difficult. That being said I would like to think that you are not being difficult on purpose just to give me a hard time. Hoping it's the former, i will answer your questions on how I applied wax on my pipe.
The pipe was pre heated in my crock pot (on top of two pieces of wood so the meet isn't in direct contact with the heated surface).

I brushed on melted wax on to the heated meer

I then put the meer back in the crock pot to keep it heated

Repeated multiple times

Then when it seemed like the meet would not absorb more wax I rubbed the warm meet to get rid of any excess surface wax and then let the pipe cool down

 

pipinho

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 1, 2013
207
21
About the question of whether the wax actually colors the pipe or not. We know what the color of waxes we know what the color of the pipe is, a lot of times when you wax the pipe it tends to have her light red or brownish tint. Now these are just my thoughts, but I think it is the melted wax coming into contact with the tobacco residues in absorbing its colors. Then the wax brings the colors to the surface. When we smoke afterwards the heating and cooling of the pipe brings The residue in the heated wax back down from the surface. So I do think that the wax helps cover the pipe. In my opinion, it is like dropping Ink on the dry sponge compared to a wet sponge. We all know that the ink is the color, its just that the water helps spread the ink. Again, these are just my opinions.

 

easterntraveler

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 29, 2012
805
11
I agree with warren. What is the purpose? I do a study to generally solve something. Now that you know how much it absorbs then what? I just do not see how this is useful. I also have begun generating the same questions as warren. What are the variables? Are you going to change the variables? How do you know it is absorbing the wax and you are just not layering it? Are you going to cut it in half to see?

 

pipinho

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 1, 2013
207
21
The purpose was to satisfy my curiosity . Now if I gave the impression hat this was some kind of academic scientific study (that some of you seem to think) it was not.

 

pipinho

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 1, 2013
207
21
Easterntraveler,
I wiped off the pipe while the pipe was warm enough to keep the wax in a liquid state. So I think I did wipe off any "layered" wax.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,700
16,209
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
pipinho: Please do not take umbrage. I think your experiment is interesting. Thanks for the methodology update. I think curiosity is is a perfectly legitimate reason for doing what you did. While I see no life changing information coming from it, I doubt you expected any, my interest was stirred and questions arose. I understand the experiment is what it is and I thank you for an entirely novel and entertaining post. It's a kick and certainly brightened up my morning.

 

tennsmoker

Lifer
Jul 2, 2010
1,157
7
I really enjoy meers. I have several in my collection, and smoke them very, very often, especially a new addition.
It is my understanding that meers come pre-beeswaxed. Maybe that is just the more expensive ones from reputable meer carvers in Turkey.
I have thought about the waxing issue; and I even re-waxed a couple to see if that really does help the coloring. On one it did. The other, not so much.
I now have a relatively new meer Calabash. I smoked it for about a year before re-waxing. It is coloring consistently across the entire pipe.
My plan is to stop re-waxing the Calabash and let it rest. I have a new claw meer on the way and will not re-wax it at all, leaving only the beeswax from the carver to see if there might be a big difference in coloration between Calabash and the claw meer.
I know that some of you might say, well, you have already smoked the Calabash and re-waxed it, so the coloration will be less noticeable in the new pipe.
Right, but my plan is also to let the Calabash sleep for quite a spell, which is also supposed to help the tobacco to migrate to the surface, while smoking the hound out of the new meer.
I'll let you know how this turns out.

 

fordm60

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 19, 2014
598
5
Sometimes we humans do things just to see. No other reason needed. I like that about us lol!

 
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