March Meerschaum Madness - Let the Madness Begin!

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didimauw

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 28, 2013
10,664
37,350
SE WI
That taste should go away after a couple bowls. Some people experience a weird taste when first smoking a new meerschaum. I've had a few that gave off a weird flavor at first, but it will go away. Power through, and enjoy that pipe.

When I get a new or estate meer that's unsmoked, I always blow through it and get as much meerschaum dust out, and follow that up with a pipe cleaner or two. It helps sometimes.
Chalk. The horrible horrible chalk.....ugh....but knowing what a nice broken meer is like, is worth the chalk for a few bowls!
 

LeafErikson

Lifer
Dec 7, 2021
2,173
19,060
Oregon
View attachment 208194

I’ve been smoking this one several times per day to participate in the March Meerschaum Madness. I’ve had it since 2015 and it’s been reamed many many times but is just now starting to color a little on the shank, which is okay with me (I’m a tad disappointed it isn’t coloring more but it’s for smoking not ogling 😉).

The original orange stem was crap - poor draw, poor fitting and not comfortable. I had a new tortoise shell saddle stem made with an open draw and now it’s perfect!
Where did you send it for the stem work? Looks awesome!
 
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Jbyrd

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 4, 2023
629
1,299
41
Springfield MO
That taste should go away after a couple bowls. Some people experience a weird taste when first smoking a new meerschaum. I've had a few that gave off a weird flavor at first, but it will go away. Power through, and enjoy that pipe.

When I get a new or estate meer that's unsmoked, I always blow through it and get as much meerschaum dust out, and follow that up with a pipe cleaner or two. It helps sometimes.
This one has been smoked a lot by someone and i cleaned it very well and it still tasted very bad.
 

Jbyrd

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 4, 2023
629
1,299
41
Springfield MO
Meers don't typically ghost, but I've heard of it happening. Maybe use it as a Lakeland pipe. LOL
Its been sitting around since 2012 I think ill try to clean it and maybe try it again now. I have always hear that meers don't ghost so i wasn't worried when I bought it but it's a foul tasting pipe or it was. I got it pretty cheap so I can't complain and its a cao beckler so I'm sure its worth the 75$ I paid for it lol.
 
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Apr 26, 2012
3,585
8,063
Washington State
If you smoke the same tobacco in the pipe all the time then yes it could potentially ghost. If you are smoking a Lakeland style tobacco then yes it could potentially ghost. If you allow cake to build up then yes it could potentially ghost.

If you switch up your tobaccos, and have zero to little cake then you shouldn't have a ghost. It doesn't mean you won't. Every pipe is different. None of my 23 meers have ever ghosted, and I smoke English, Virginia, Burley, Aromatic, and the occasional Lakeland and no ghosts here.
 

condorlover1

Lifer
Dec 22, 2013
8,467
29,975
New York
Everything I own has the smell of Rose Geranium or RB Plug so if my pipes ghost I have never noticed. I have observed on odd occasions the faint ghost of whatever was smoked in the pipes decades ago by the long dead previous owner. This might be my imagination but it seems very real and quite pleasant to me.
 

pipesbywoo

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 7, 2023
109
805
37
Los Angeles
www.etsy.com
I'm a little late to the party here but I wanted to share my small meerschaum collection with you all. I smoke meerschaum pipes almost exclusively for a few reasons. First, I clench my pipes so being lightweight is important. I also like how cool and dry they tend to smoke. And lastly, I love watching the coloring process.
Here's my small collection of pipes by @Said.ALTINAY. They've been smoked more than a few times and are well loved, as you can see... however, I make sure to clean the chamber walls after every smoke to prevent excessive carbon buildup.
Regarding ghosting, I mostly smoke Va/Pers and non-aromatic Burleys so it's not an issue. When I decide to smoke anything with Latakia, I have a couple of designated pipes set aside.20230310_030534.jpg
 
Jun 9, 2015
3,970
24,838
42
Mission, Ks
Everything I own has the smell of Rose Geranium or RB Plug so if my pipes ghost I have never noticed. I have observed on odd occasions the faint ghost of whatever was smoked in the pipes decades ago by the long dead previous owner. This might be my imagination but it seems very real and quite pleasant to me.
A few of my older meers give a fleeting taste of DGT, It doesn't bother me.
 
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Searock Fan

Lifer
Oct 22, 2021
2,202
6,045
Southern U.S.A.
View attachment 208194

I’ve been smoking this one several times per day to participate in the March Meerschaum Madness. I’ve had it since 2015 and it’s been reamed many many times but is just now starting to color a little on the shank, which is okay with me (I’m a tad disappointed it isn’t coloring more but it’s for smoking not ogling 😉).

The original orange stem was crap - poor draw, poor fitting and not comfortable. I had a new tortoise shell saddle stem made with an open draw and now it’s perfect!
Beautiful pipe. You're doing something right! puffy
 

Said.ALTINAY

Might Stick Around
I'm a little late to the party here but I wanted to share my small meerschaum collection with you all. I smoke meerschaum pipes almost exclusively for a few reasons. First, I clench my pipes so being lightweight is important. I also like how cool and dry they tend to smoke. And lastly, I love watching the coloring process.
Here's my small collection of pipes by @Said.ALTINAY. They've been smoked more than a few times and are well loved, as you can see... however, I make sure to clean the chamber walls after every smoke to prevent excessive carbon buildup.
Regarding ghosting, I mostly smoke Va/Pers and non-aromatic Burleys so it's not an issue. When I decide to smoke anything with Latakia, I have a couple of designated pipes set aside.View attachment 208351
@pipesbywoo Nice collection!
 

PipeIT

Lifer
Nov 14, 2020
5,095
30,341
Hawaii
@Said.ALTINAY it is so nice to see you here on the forum chatting among us. ❤️

You make really beautiful looking meerschaum pipes. :)

I hope you will please consider making some pipes with Cumberland stems in various colors.

Also acrylic stems in various colors, that have ‘Swirls’ ‘Streaks’ would be really nice.

I’m not really a fan of black stems, I only own a few pipes with black stems, which I think is great if you are going for a more ‘Traditional’ look. But you also create some very modern styles, I find odd with black. I think modern looking pipes should also have modern looking colored stems too.

Hey, I didn’t make up this idea, many carvers and companies are using colored cumberland and acrylic! 👍

Castello does a really nice job of colored acrylic stems with swirls/streaks in them, to give you and idea of what I am talking about for looks.

995DEFCE-2491-4996-8BF4-D10546620924.jpeg


264D4096-F11E-49C7-A8CE-549666829235.jpeg

F1A0B96F-0BCF-49E2-9C95-BAFCC56E8F0A.jpeg

A cumberland stem on one of my pipes.

C155CE72-201F-4F18-979C-ABA9DC2C5F0D.jpeg

If you’ve never seen smithhousepipes on Instagram, look them up. They make pipes with a lot of various cumberland colors, to also give you color ideas.

Thanks... 🙏
 
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