I just got a little wierded out by Missouri Meerschaum

[jchaplick]

I sent an email to MM to ask what wood their cherrywood and maple(?) stained Ozark mountain pipes are made from, and apparently they have no idea....
They said they get the pre-turned bowls from a company on the east coas, and are made from hardwood, maybe apple or birch. The lady even told me she wasnt sure.
Isnt that quite strange that they dont even know what their pipes are made from?

 

[baronsamedi]

Now that is weird.

 

[rhogg]

I'm certain you likely talked to the wrong person. Someone has to know.

 

[kf5eqv]

+1 to what rhogg said.
More interesting to me is the fact that MM doesn't turn the bowls using the same process as their cobs? The construction looked so similar I always assumed they were made on the same tools.

 

[drsam]

They used to make the hardwood pipes out of Hickory.

The wooden pipes were originally made by another company (Busch) in Washington Mo.

which MM purchased several years ago and added the wooden "Ozark" style to their

line of corncob pipes.

The lady that answers the phone, Marilyn, runs the office and is not technical at all. (Very nice though.)

 

[brewshooter]

They're not made of briar?!?!!?!?? Ever feel like you've been cheated?

 

[tiltjlp]

I'll ask Phil the next time I happen to talk to him. Why anyone would assume any pipe that sells for under #5.00 might be briar is amusing, which I hope was his intent.

 

[colorduke]

I always thought they were made of popular,ow well i still like &smoke them often still a good pipe for working around the house ect.

 

[unclearthur]

Regardless, they are decent smoking pipes for the cost.

 

[jchaplick]

Ive never had one before, I was honestly hoping they were actually made from cherrywood, because i was going to attempt to recreate one myself with a few upgrades. But they didnt seem to actually know what they were made from and that seems somewhat concerning to me haha, maybe corn is all they know lol

 

[wildcat]

Regardless, they are decent smoking pipes for the cost
I picked one up the other day at Park Lane Tobacconist. My first time in there and I felt I should buy something as I spent some time browsing... I paid way too much for it @ $7 plus dollars b4 tax! (I found their prices a bit high) I could have/should have picked one up at Cup O Joes for under $5 as mentioned by titjlt earlier. Live and learn... cool little smoker tho when you don't have all the time in the world.

 

[unclearthur]

Cherry makes a nice pipe. If you have access to a way to do the drilling then whip one up! It ain't that hard.

 

[jchaplick]

. If you have access to a way to do the drilling then whip one up! It ain't that hard.

Not sure if I do have a way to do the drilling, I am a master of improvisation (a gift and a curse, curse if you ask the woman)
I am sure there is a way to do it without some hardcore tools
any ideas?

 

[unclearthur]

Sure! Have someone with the proper toys do the drilling for ya. Not sure what I have on hand for cherry but I could do a pre drilled block if I have some. Otherwise you can do it with a hand held drill and some way to clamp it so you don't have a cherry propeller whipping round. Takes a fair eye and a sharp bit a modified spade works well for me. a regular spade is liable to poke the guide point through the bottom.

 

[wildcat]

Cherry makes a nice pipe. If you have access to a way to do the drilling then whip one up! It ain't that hard
Funny u should say that... I spent some time today looking for info on cherry found in the wild, as I thought a fun winter project would be to make one from a fork where trunk is the bowl and stem is the shank or stem. Ever done this unclearthur??

 

[unclearthur]

Yep! They used to be fairly common like that. Most I saw came from Switzerland.

 

[wildcat]

I checked William Goldrings THE PIPE BOOK/A HISTORY AND HOW TO out of the library and he has directions in there. He mentions leaving the bark on to aid in cooling. Your opinion...?

 

[jchaplick]

Sounds cool, how would one modify a spade bit to make it easier?

 

[jchaplick]

cherrywood seems like a difficult wood to find, i wonder if there is a cheaper wood that is readily available to attempt to carve pipes from

 

[ace57]

I made one from apple wood from a tree in My yard. Smokes good.