First Meerschaum

[phil67]

Just had to get it out of my system and purchase at least one Meerschaum. I’ve been looking off and on for some time at the pipes at Altinok and also at Meerschaum Store. I’ve also checked out a few on eBay, but for the most part they seem like cheao crap. Then again, I didn’t delve too deeply on the offerings there. I didn’t want anything fancy, i.e. floral design, eagle claws, faces, etc. Just something catching to the eye without being ‘too much’ in terms of artwork/carving.
I’ll have to tip my hat to the great CS at Smokingpipes.com. I was looking at some of their AKB Meerschaums but wasn’t sure if they were screw in stems which I did not want. Upon calling them they told me that all of them were screw in stems so I asked if, in his opinion, he considered that to be a problem with these types of pipes. He was quite honest with me and told me stay clear of them and that I would be better off in purchasing something like an IMP pipe, which I finally did from Altinok. If I really enjoy the experience of smoking a Meerschaum I have my eye on the Lee Van Cleef model. Love the looks of that pipe!
I haven’t fired it up yet as I first wanted to take a few photos, but I’ll do so tonight after dinner with a bowl of either 1-Q or Boswell’s Pennsylvania Dutch Treat. Then again, I just might be in the mood for Peterson’s Irish Oak. Then again... decisions, decisions, decisions.

 

[deuce26]

Beautiful pipe. Enjoy.

 

[Perique]

Great choice. Beautiful. I need to get one myself one of these days.....

 

[blueeyedogre]

Sharp looking pipe. I lean towards the smooth shapes and not the carved ones.

 

[tbradsim1]

Lovely pipe, clean design.

 

[sidious]

Very nice! I love the shape and colour of the stem.

 

[saint007]

Very nice, like the smooth bowl. It should start to color after 10-12 bowls.

 

[condorlover1]

That is a very nice pipe. Is that a push in stem as I gather from your post it is not threaded in any fashion?

 

[phil67]

No, it is not a threaded stem. From what I gather, from talking to CS at Smokingpipes, is that the threaded stems on Meerschaums can cause a lot of problems and become dislodged over time quite easily. The stem on this pipe, and all of their pipes, are a Briar-type Teflon tenon.
By the way, and for what it's worth, I just smoked a bowl of Boswell’s Pennsylvania Dutch Treat. Smooth smoke and quite dry with about 3 re-lights. I'll have to say that I wish the stem hole was a tad larger, but no big thing when all is said and done. No break in, just a quick wipe out of the bowl with a paper towel, a run through with a pipe cleaner, and I'm set to light 'er up again!

 

[mso489]

Handsome pipe. I'm afraid to get into Meerschaums, for fear it would start a whole new accumulation. I do

like the way briars age better than all other materials, but that's my quirk. Really like the design of this

Meerschaum, elegant but simple, less is more. The shape is realized to a T.

 

[blazze]

Nice score. Been wanting to pick myself up a good quality meerschaum that didn't have a lot of fragile carving done to it. I agree with the issue with threaded stems. I picked up a cheaper one from ebay a while back. It smoked just fine but the stem thread eventually wore out and it was useless. Will have to check out Altinok. Thanks

 

[brian64]

Very nice meer...good choice regarding the stem. Congrats...enjoy.

 

[petes03]

That's a great looking meer! As of now, I have one "true" meer (a floral calabash/bell dublin shaped) Meerco, and a Meer Queen GS calabash w/meerschaum bowl. I really like the looks of smooth meers in more traditional shapes, and would eventually like to have one in a straight bulldog.

Congrats on your new meer, I hope it's a great smoker for you!

 

[condorlover1]

The threaded ones can be a little tricky. I just cured a loose stem last night with black thread - a sort of heliocoil fix for a meerschaum pipe.