How to select a Meershaum

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brass

Lifer
Jun 4, 2014
1,840
7
United States
Can someone point me to an article or posting on how to select a Meershaum? I purchased a couple and like them in general, but the stems get easily clogged and are difficult to clean.

 
So, where does one find information on who is a master carver? I mean, if a website says that their carver is a master carver, do we just believe them? Why are there no publications or websites that compare the carvers, so that we can get an idea for ourselves who is a master?
Remember that there is no ghost left by tobacco in meers

This is where you lose me. I mean if I fastidiously cleaned my briars after each smoke to prevent cake, I might not ever get a ghost there either. But, I do have a small meer that still holds a ghost of lakeland's past. So, I don't buy this 100%. But, yeh, I see the point in keeping in clean of cake and that could help keep a ghost out, but it is absorbent, and surely should absorb aromas as well.

 

zekest

Lifer
Apr 1, 2013
1,136
9
What I dislike about meerschaum pipes:
  • I don't want to smoke a figurine.

    I don't want to stuff tobacco into a hole in obama's head.

    I don't want to pack my Virginia's into a women's back while she rides on a giant penis.

    I don't want to smoke a Masonic symbol.
I just want to smoke a simple straight Billiard.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,687
16,127
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
I find that meers do indeed ghost a mite. I'm guessing that the oils seeping into the mineral alter taste even as they alter the smell of the bowl.
Straight shank billiard meerschaums can be found all over. I have one that is ever so slightly bent. I have one that is very ornate with many different plans and surfaces which assist in disseminating the heat.
The one semi-lewd pipe, my wife gifted me with, is a very delicate mermaid exiting a seashell. The bowl is set on the shell and is smooth. It's a small bowl and gives me about half an hour per bowl.
Meers are good!

 

brass

Lifer
Jun 4, 2014
1,840
7
United States
Zekest, I agree with your points but of course, they are just a matter of taste.
However, billiard meers are plentiful and readily available plain or carved. The two I own are carved lattice billiards and I find the craftsmanship incredible and the design fascinating.

 

voorhees

Lifer
May 30, 2012
3,834
937
Gonadistan
While I won't discuss the maker of my favorite meer, I will agree that I did not want a decorated one. That's why I ordered a LVC(Lee Van Cleef) version.

Thankfully construction was good and will pass a cleaner 75% of the time(if you get the bend just right). It has the push-pull tenon and seems to be holding up just fine.

It came a bit pre-colored and has developed a lot of character over the last two years.
Brand New




 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,687
16,127
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
I disagree. High grade, high priced meers are indeed available. They may not have the amber bit but, other than that outstanding meers are indeed available and at premium prices, of course. I've run across one or two in GB, not seen a one in Ireland for sale, however.
Some have had good luck going to Turkey and buying close to the source. Much as I like my meerschaum pipes, I'm not going into a war zone to add to my little collection. Been there, done that, years ago and never saw a pipe for sale! Still, I do keep my eyes open when traveling in Europe. You never know what you might stumble onto.

 
Gorgeous Meers, Vorhees.

What makes some patina and some not? I was looking at some very old estate meers (turn of the century) at The Briary yesterday, and most looked very well smoked, but no patina at all. They had teeth marks, scorch marks on the rims, and very well used bowls, but stark white still on most of the pipe, except at the bottom of the stummel.

Do they require decades of constant use to get a good color?

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,687
16,127
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
I have one which I've smoked for 3 decades at on average of once or twice a week. It is slowly turning into a deep chocolate brown. The stem and the bottom third of the bowl are fully colored.The bowel itself is mostly still a lighter tan as the deeper color works its way up the bowl. I suspect I'll be dead before I achieve a pipe that is fully colored in a rich, deep, almost black, brown. As I near my 69th I've started insuring that I smoke a bowl an evening in this one. It's become a very personal race!
My other meers, all at least ten years old and smoked regularly, show the same characteristics in coloring fairly evenly from "back" to "front."
It really does depend on the caliber of the meer. I've not found that waxing increased the speed of coloring. Others swear by regular applications of wax. I've just not seen results myself. I attribute speed of coloring to the meer and the rate it is smoked. I have a thought that the type of tobacco may have an effect but, no hard evidence that this is true.

 

voorhees

Lifer
May 30, 2012
3,834
937
Gonadistan
Michael, I don't know why. I have a very old meer with a amber stem. Smoked, but almost no color on the outside of the bowl. I also see that a lot with the older ones.

 

saint007

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 22, 2013
630
0
This will answer many questions; http://altinokmeerschaumpipes.com/meerschaum_care.asp

 
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