Intentionally Blackening the Rim of a Meer to Imitate Van Cleef

[brian64]

If I recall, Eastwood even cast him as a good guy in one film just to expand his repertoire.

Actually it was Leone that did the casting and LVC was a good guy in the first role...bad guy in the second.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Didn't you once post pics of a meer you had done this to or am I imagining things?

That was just blackened wax. It wiped off.

 

[aspiring_sage]

That was just blackened wax. It wiped off.

This has me thinking.
Since it'll be smooth, maybe I don't need to worry, since I can probably recover the surface finish.

I understand Meerschaum to be quite heat resistant. Read about some people putting them in kilns at 2000 degrees and they come out white. So it isn't the meerschaum that changes colors at all.

I wonder if the black is something impregnated into the meerschaum, then heating oxidizes that something. I read something about varnish then heat. Also toying with the idea of water containing dye, then dry out the water, then heat.

There seems to be few options to experiment with.

 

[Servant King]

I just pulled the trigger to buy my first meer. Waiting for it to arrive. It was difficult to swallow the price, most of my previous purchases have been cobs.

I had my eye on two styles:
The Lee Van Cleef style from the Dollars trilogy.
A meerschaum cutty.

I couldn't find any cutty pipes in meerschaum. I suspect a couple of forum members here own ALL of them.

The Van Cleef style looked good. I purchased one copying the shape, not the coloring. In the end, I maybe made the right choice. Color doesn't matter right? No, it does count for something.

Now I'm thinking I may intentionally blacken the rim by intentionally charring occasionally when lighting. I'm not sure it is a good idea, and am extra concerned since the pipe isn't cheap (to me).

As a hobby, I've done some pretty good fine woodworking and gunsmithing. I've got an OK set of skills, tools, and techniques. I could probably fix cosmetic damage myself, but that doesn't mean I want a project.

I've seen a lot of posts discussing how to get rid of char, but no info for intentionally blackening the rim. Anybody with experience have any tips? Anybody without experience want to throw out an opinion anyway?

Colonel Mortimer, I presume! ?

 

[warren]

I realize I'm being a bit oversensitive, but I don't think it's nice, you laughin...

My abject apologies for bruising your sensitivities. (Hat in hand, toe scrapping the dirt, with eyes respectively cast downward.)

 

[warren]

So it isn't the meerschaum that changes colors at all.

Turkish meerschaum, not African, is extremely porous, the color is from the tobacco residues traveling through the meer to the surface.

 

[Donb1972]

Van Cleef was so expert at looking evil, the details of the pipe barely mattered. He could look murderous eating a plate of food. If I recall, Eastwood even cast him as a good guy in one film just to expand his repertoire. With him, though, evil was high art.

He also did a TV series where he played a good guy who stayed in Japan after the war and became a karate master. Along with one of the Van Patten boys. I have to admit...seeing him be the good guy is disconcerting

 

[Donb1972]

I just pulled the trigger to buy my first meer. Waiting for it to arrive. It was difficult to swallow the price, most of my previous purchases have been cobs.

I had my eye on two styles:
The Lee Van Cleef style from the Dollars trilogy.
A meerschaum cutty.

I couldn't find any cutty pipes in meerschaum. I suspect a couple of forum members here own ALL of them.

The Van Cleef style looked good. I purchased one copying the shape, not the coloring. In the end, I maybe made the right choice. Color doesn't matter right? No, it does count for something.

Now I'm thinking I may intentionally blacken the rim by intentionally charring occasionally when lighting. I'm not sure it is a good idea, and am extra concerned since the pipe isn't cheap (to me).

As a hobby, I've done some pretty good fine woodworking and gunsmithing. I've got an OK set of skills, tools, and techniques. I could probably fix cosmetic damage myself, but that doesn't mean I want a project.

I've seen a lot of posts discussing how to get rid of char, but no info for intentionally blackening the rim. Anybody with experience have any tips? Anybody without experience want to throw out an opinion anyway?

I also considered getting a Van Cleef, or a plain version and doing it myself. In the end, though, I couldn't get past the idea that a blackened rim just looks wrong. But I keep almost pulling the trigger, so maybe I'm getting over it.

 

[jpberg]

I equate this to wearing a jersey to a football game, you know, in case Tom Brady goes out and they need to pull you from the stands.

 

[aspiring_sage]

I also considered getting a Van Cleef, or a plain version and doing it myself. In the end, though, I couldn't get past the idea that a blackened rim just looks wrong. But I keep almost pulling the trigger, so maybe I'm getting over it.

I love that blackened rim. The top of the pipe just ambiguously disappears into its own chamber somewhere. It’s mysterious.

It took me quite a while to pull the trigger on this one.

I might not blacken it. I saw a meer with only 20 smokes looking great with the chamber blackness still contrasts against the white. Worst case scenario I decide I like it and leave well enough alone. It might not be worth the experiment. We’ll see how brave I am once I actually have it in my hands.

 

[jpberg]

Or buying a deerstalker to wear while you’re watching Sherlock Holmes.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Read about some people putting them in kilns at 2000 degrees and they come out white

I've read that about clays, but never meerschaum.

 

[aspiring_sage]

I equate this to wearing a jersey to a football game, you know, in case Tom Brady goes out and they need to pull you from the stands.

Yeah I understand that. Think that’s why I got crotchety earlier. There’s something weird about a grown man wearing anothers’ jersey and I don’t like the assumption I’m doing that here. I do however like that pipe.

There is a difference between liking a pipe vs trying to Be Van Cleef.

On the other hand, the PAD desire for a meer must come from some amount of peer pressure. I’d probably be more satisfied if I spent less time on the forums.

 

[aspiring_sage]

I've read that about clays, but never meerschaum.

Yeah, i’m still not sure I believe it. It was some guy in some other forum who could be stupid or lying. Then again, it is worth considering until have reason to believe it does burn.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I might not blacken it. I saw a meer with only 20 smokes looking great with the chamber blackness still contrasts against the white.

You'll still get some toasting from the heat and rising smoke.

 

[condorlover1]

@aspiring_sage: It is simply not true that yours truly and Weezell have cornered the world supply of 'cutty' pipes! All of mine are ancient and 100+ years or more old since I am way too lazy to break in a new pipe. You can buy a new meerschaum 'cutty' pipe from Meerschaum Depot which is run by a chap called Ramazan who supplies meerschaum pipes to Pipes & Cigars who are sponsor of this forum. Ramazan does a line of meerschaum 'cutty' pipes that were copied from pipes in my regular rotation that I lent him since I have known him for years. I also believe he sells these on Ebay as well but I have not searched them out in ages. Good luck with your Lee Van Clef pipe. I am afraid I cannot offer you any words of wisdom regarding new meerschaum pipes since my knowledge such that it is remains firmly rooted in the early 20th century and before then. Anything I may know is gathered from people who are now long since pushing up daisies and sadly no longer around. @Chasing Embers has probably got the best knowledge in regards to newish meerschaum pipes and his opinions in this area are very sound.

 

[warren]

I’d probably be more satisfied if I spent less time on the forums.

But, you appear to be a good fit here. And, if you succumb to the pipe, by all means, at least get the hat to wear while enjoying one of the spaghetti westerns. I'm laughing with you not, at you.

 

[Chasing Embers]

On the other hand, the PAD desire for a meer must come from some amount of peer pressure.

Probably curiosity. This monster really started me down the path and within a year's time I had 13 of them.

 

[OverMountain]

More superstition than fact floating around out there. What I know came from talking to a few Turkish carvers and forum meerschaum owners.

Always keep them cake free. This can be done by wiping the camber with a damp paper towel after smoking. Avoid bristle pipe cleaners as they can score the meerschaum.

The tans and pinks you see as you smoke a meerschaum are just the wax reacting to the warmth of the pipe. The real coloring doesn't happen until several hundred smokes and generally starts in the heel as a dark gray discoloration. Put off cleaning the pipe until ready to smoke again to give the pipe time to absorb the tars from the tobacco you just smoke to aid in coloring.

Don't be afraid to handle your pipe with clean hands and don't be afraid to smoke them frequently.

Aim for brands that no longer use screw in mortise and tenon inserts such as IMP, SRV, Altinay, and the newer AKBs.

View attachment 139764View attachment 139767View attachment 139770

If no screw in tenons, what would you recommend?

 

[Chasing Embers]

If no screw in tenons, what would you recommend?

Brands like the ones I mentioned use a briar type tenon system with no removable inserts.



Others use the screw in inserts that can either come out of the stem or mortise if the stem isn't removed correctly.