Too esoteric a discussion for me. I was told at one time pressed meerschaum was from Africa. Don't know and don't care.
I wasn't attempting to be difficult, I simply didn't understand the need to know. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. I also believe the only way to tell for certain if his.Meerchaum is block, or not, would be to slice it into pieces for examination. This seems counter to any logical level of curiosity.
You shouldn't assume my pragmatic approach to life is an attempt to be contrary. You should direct your passive aggressive BS elsewhere.
Permanent goodbye, you've been ignored.At least you're happy. Bye.
Yep.That one doesn't look heavily smoked. Wet your finger and touch the inside of the chamber. If it sticks it's block.
This pipe has only been smoked a few times, so it hasn't had enough use to color much. I prefer briar. My only other meerschaum is a calabash and it's hardly been smoked either.The fact that the bowl does not seem to be coloring very well, I would suggest that it is Pressed Meerschaum. Found this online:
Meerschaum pipes are fascinating! Let’s dive into the differences between block and pressed meerschaum:
Remember, the highest-quality meerschaum typically comes from Eskisehir, Turkey. Happy smoking!
- Weight: Block meerschaum pipes tend to be heavier than pressed ones. If you can compare the weight of a known block meerschaum pipe to another, you’ll get a sense of whether it’s block or not1.
- Texture: Lick your finger and touch the inside of the unsmoked bowl. If it feels sticky, it’s likely block meerschaum. If it doesn’t, it’s probably pressed. Keep in mind that this method might not work as well on used pipes2.
- Density and Patination: Pressed meerschaum pipes are made from scraps mixed with a bonding material and then pressed into blocks. These pressed blocks have higher density and won’t patinate or absorb color like block meerschaum. Block meerschaum is considered superior due to its quality and resistance to moisture degradation34.
They’ll react differently to CA glue & JoJoba oil?Yep.
block and pressed have different qualities and there will be times when you'll need to know this before working on them.
I was just wondering; not trying to compel you to dunk it again.To tell the truth, I was so happy I forgot to do that. Now I'm going to have to do it over.
I don't own any pressed meers, but I've followed discussions that warned about how pressed responds to things that work fine with block. My point, which is intuitive to 99% of our members (including you ) is that we all need to know how to identify things we collect - both for purchasing decisions, and for maintenance;e.g-amber-colored acrylic or bakelite isn't the same as amber (duh), clay isn't the same as meerschaum (another 'duh', but ebay sellers often sell clay as meerschaum). The OP just bought an inexpensive, possibly pressed, meer, with an orange non-amber stem. Maybe in the future he'll get interested in expensive fancy block meers with real amber stems. Hopefully as he wants to learn more, we'll help him rather than ask him what difference it makes.They’ll react differently to CA glue & JoJoba oil?
This is interesting because i have many many meerschaum pipes, i just bought an estate meer that has an XL bowl and the very first thing i noticed was how lite it was, i was expecting it to be much heaver, larger bowl than my Said pipes yet much lighter. I assumed before even reading your post that this would color well, just because it makes sense right, very light material means that it's more porous on some level.The truth is there is not a lot of pressed meerschaum out there - it takes a lot to make pressed meerschaum and it was usually linings and calabash bowl inserts.
Meerschaum, The Past and Present - https://pipesmagazine.com/blog/pipe-collecting/meerschaum-the-past-and-present/
Just bought!: Over 60 years ago! And the price then seems about right for a decent block Meer.The OP just bought an inexpensive, possibly pressed, meer, with an orange non-amber stem. Maybe in the future he'll get interested in expensive fancy block meers with real amber stems. Hopefully as he wants to learn more, we'll help him rather than ask him what difference it makes.
You just defined pipe smoking. Disagreement is about all that pipe smokers can agree on.I seem to have a knack for starting threads that cause controversy. won't happen again.
So basically, smoking a meer is like smoking cat litter? (I KID! IT IS A JOKE.)Meerschaum/Sepiolite is a soft white clay, a natural material that varies in density, depending on mineral content. SG between 0.988 to 1.279, depending on porosity (low density and high porosity). Since block are not processed/mixed with other materials (just let dried then hardened) each localities will have different characteristic however minor, as facies differs between sedimentations.
Sepiolite | Properties, Formation, Occurrence, Uses » Minerals
Sepiolite, also known as meerschaum, is a clay mineral that belongs to the group of phyllosilicates. It is named after the Greek word "sepion," which means "cuttlefish bone," due to its resemblance to the internal skeleton of cuttlefish.geologyscience.com
Also used as lubricant, fluid loss and viscosifier for Drilling
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I wasn't asking the OP, I was asking you what difference there was.I don't own any pressed meers, but I've followed discussions that warned about how pressed responds to things that work fine with block. My point, which is intuitive to 99% of our members (including you ) is that we all need to know how to identify things we collect - both for purchasing decisions, and for maintenance;e.g-amber-colored acrylic or bakelite isn't the same as amber (duh), clay isn't the same as meerschaum (another 'duh', but ebay sellers often sell clay as meerschaum). The OP just bought an inexpensive, possibly pressed, meer, with an orange non-amber stem. Maybe in the future he'll get interested in expensive fancy block meers with real amber stems. Hopefully as he wants to learn more, we'll help him rather than ask him what difference it makes.