Meer Coloring Experiment That Worked

[lawmax3]

Here is a Meer that I did some coloring experiments with. Yeah I know it's cheating, but I like to tinker.

Let meknow what you think.

It started out basically white with some very mild coloration on the shank.

It looks a little darker in person with a butterscotch tint. The photos were taken by a phone camera.

I will send a follow up post to let you know how I did it.

 

[gtclark]

Looks good! How did you do it?

 

[zitotczito]

Nice work and as above how did you do it? I have 2 new meers and am very interested.

 

[lawmax3]

How I did it:

First, I got some old tobacco that I did not care for and put it in a jar with water.

Then placed the jar on my grill on low heat and stirred until the mix boiled for a while and turned very dark.

Next, I lowered the heat until the boiling stopped and very carefully placed the pre-warmed pipe bowl into the hot water and tobacco mix.

I stirred the mix very carefully for about 15 minutes then removed the bowl from the jar. The bowl color had drastically changed already.

I gently wiped off the excess tobacco water mix and let the bowl dry for a several hours in front of a small fan.

After the bowl was fully dry I placed it in the oven at around 200F for about 10 minutes then waxed it with beeswax and buffed with a clean cloth. Then I smoked it for a few days.

At this point the color was fairly nice but still needed more depth.

So experiment #2:

I melted a small quantity of beeswax and mixed it with tobacco juice that I gotten hot in the microwave. I had to mix frequently or the mixture would separate.

The pipe was placed in the oven again for about 10 min same as before and the dark wax/juice mix was brushed onto the pipe. Then placed back into the oven to melt the wax and buffed with a clean cloth.

It came out looking great (in my opinion).

 

[gtclark]

Very interesting. Using tobacco probably gave you the most authentic coloring possible, since the meerschaum absorbed the same oils that it would have absorbed from years of regular smoking. Thanks for sharing!

 

[johnnyreb]

Don't know how it might work on new meerschaum but strong hot tea works great for staining old antique elephant Ivory or Elk Ivory teeth. It may not get as dark as your pics but the tea will give it a nice soft caramel stain. The more imperfections from wear & tear the Ivory has the less uniform the stain will be and will often form some interesting patterns in the grain & imperfections. After a couple of applications the stain will hold up well, even areas subject to handling & wear.

 

[warren]

It's certainly not cheating to artificially color a meer.
The problem is, in my experience, meers color from the shank towards the bowl and then up. And, never are they uniformly colored except in exceptional cases with very old meers that have fully colored.
Yours looks very nice though. If that is the look you were going for, you achieved it. I'll be very eager to see what it looks like after a couple of years of heavy smoking.

 

[cortezattic]

Nice uniform color. It may not stay that way. Color within the meer migrates and changes with an ebb and flow. That's part of the fascination of watching it color over time. That will probably still happen with this pipe, though I think that what pleases you now will change -- hopefully for the better.
I'm guessing that you had an inner dissatisfaction with this pipe, and that you therefore didn't mind taking such risks as you've described.

But tinkering is OK. That's why this is a hobby.
That pipe is interesting: coral paneled, half-bent Dublin with a diamond shank, and a saddle bit. I especially like how the shank transitions into the panels of the bowl.

 

[lawmax3]

You guessed it Cortez. It was a cheap pipe that I had broken the stem on while trying to get better airflow. Seemed like a good candidate for tinkering.

I had suspicion that I could color the pipe, But I wasn't sure how well it would look.

After the first coloring experiment. I had Norwoods replace the stem. Then I was back to the same problem with poor draw again. So after opening up the stem, successfully this time, I continued with my coloring attempts.

Anyway it was fun and I am curious to see if it changes much with further smoking.

My problem is, I like to smoke a variety of pipes, so further coloring will advance at a snails pace.

 

[cortezattic]

We are two of a kind, Lawmax. My biggest beef with meers is the restricted airflow.

When are meer producers gonna learn that the draft diameters they use make it seem like you're suckin' a milkshake through a swizzle stick.

 

[jkrug]

Well done! That is now a great looking Meershaum pipe! :clap:

 

[av8scuba]

They look good. I've taken several Meers I didn't care for and smoke them while rubbing beeswax on them while smoking. I've got some interesting patterns over the years. Keep experimenting. ::