Finally A Translucent Meerschaum

[cshubhra]

Congrats. Can’t wait to see a series of posts on how it colors

Thank you! I am also looking forward to see it color.

 

[cshubhra]

Very nice. Congrats

Thank you ?

 

[brian64]

Wow, I've had plenty of meers before but I had not heard of this. Now I want one!
Are they marketed as 'translucent meerschaum'? What are they called when buying?

Thank you! Altinay marks them as translucent - From what I heard the supply is very low and tend to sell out fast so you need to be browsing the website at the right time.

I am sure other carvers would work with this grade, but I have not seen marked as such. Other members who are interested in meerschaum may chime in.

This is my first Altinay but I am quite impressed, so if you can score a translucent meerschaum from his shop, you would be very impressed by the workmanship

It seems Altinay coined the term Translucent for these types of blocks. I don't know that for certain but I had never heard of it before and apparently no one else has either. And as far as I know, no other seller has marketed them in any specific way like Altinay does.

I can't help but wonder if these types of blocks may have even been thought of by some as flawed and less desirable in the past?

There was a member here with one who said it fell onto a hard floor (I think he said from the top of a refrigerator if I recall correctly) and it did not break, so there's no reason to think these are any more fragile than "ordinary" meer blocks.

 

[SpookedPiper]

Congrats and thanks for placing me on yet another mission! Translucent Meer added to the list ...?

 

[cshubhra]

Congrats and thanks for placing me on yet another mission! Translucent Meer added to the list ...?

Thank you. I am smoking this for the second time today - some indication on how much I like it.

And it changed color by the second smoke. Only slightly but noticeable

 

[hawky454]

Damn, that is cool! Now I want one! I think the coloring is the best part of a Meerschaum and these translucent Meers look stunning when colored.

 

[SpookedPiper]

Men on the hunt...Group buy,anyone?

 

[cshubhra]

Damn, that is cool! Now I want one! I think the coloring is the best part of a Meerschaum and these translucent Meers look stunning when colored.

Thank you ? Get one - Looking into the photo @alaskanpiper shared it would color exquisitely

 

[Chasing Embers]

I can't help but wonder if these types of blocks may have even been thought of by some as flawed and less desirable in the past?

Or just regularly occurring. A couple of my IMPs have that appearance.

 

[timt]

Or just regularly occurring. A couple of my IMPs have that appearance.

My last IMP also. It colored fast compared to my other meers.

 

[brian64]

Or just regularly occurring. A couple of my IMPs have that appearance.

Well, all I know is that I've owned about 20 or so meers...still have most of them...less than half of which are Altinay, and the only "translucent" block among them is the one Altinay that was sold as such.

They claim these types of blocks are somewhat rare.....how true that is I have no idea, but it seems true to me based on personal experience. I wonder if some of these meer producers intentionally weed out those blocks because they don't look as pristine?

 

[cshubhra]

The way I see it …

1. Translucent blocks are rare - Otherwise at least Altinay who specifically markets them would list more for sale
2. Having said that … translucent blocks are lightweight and extremely porous blocks, so other carvers would also get them time to time and carve a pipe out of it. They would treat it as a regular block and won’t market it as a special grade, but owners would know looking at how the color is rendered after smoking

This is the most logical explanation at this point

 

[Chasing Embers]

if some of these meer producers intentionally weed out those

That's very possible. When I first saw them, I imagined they would be fragile.

 

[LotusEater]

Congratulations!
Smoke it in good health and please post pictures as it colors.

 

[autococker07]

That is very cool, thanks for the info!

 

[kcghost]

That's really nice meer!!

 

[karam]

Nice, enjoy!

 

[JOHN72]

Beautiful pipe, my friend. What kind of tobacco are you going to smoke in this?

 

[cshubhra]

Congratulations!
Smoke it in good health and please post pictures as it colors.

Thank you. Will absolutely post more pictures as it colors.

 

[cshubhra]

That is very cool, thanks for the info!

Thank you!