Meer Experiment

[pawpaw]

Think I have read ya dont need to rest a meer and I happen to have a cheap estate no name block meer billiard and I am thinking of smoking it all week as my only pipe. So will a week straight of puffing add to the colour of this meer?

here is the starting pic

 

[tobakenist]

Colouring of a meer can take years, yours has already started to colour and looks to be a fairly old good quality meer, just because it has no name doesn't mean it it a cheap pipe, not many meers are named. Don't try to rush, this is not what pipe smoking is about, take your time and enjoy. ::

 

[baronsamedi]

Fred may have better info but I've heard of several people passing a Meer around and smoking it multiple times a day for weeks to color it.

 

[pawpaw]

I aint gonna hurt it doing this am I? FTW I aint really rushing it just seeing if I can make a diffrence with a week of deicated smoking.Speaking of "cheap" I only paid five dollars for this pipe.

 

[tobakenist]

You got a bargain, you won't hurt it, the best thing about meer is that it doesn't need to rest for a few days between smokes, not that I always rest my briars, you have got a good meer there, the plain looking ones are sometimes high quality, enjoy. ::

 

[pawpaw]

Its box sez it is from Austria

 

[tobakenist]

That's where the top quality ones used to be made, I would say that it is fairly old, the stem look like genuine amber, if so it could be very old.

 

[pawpaw]

No the stem has been replaced thanks to Uncle A, think it is lucite

 

[fred]

http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/put-that-in-your-pipe/slave-to-the-white-goddess/

 

[pawpaw]

ok I read that and I was wondering about spermaceti if this is an old pipe can ya tell the diffrence in finish compared to beeswax? I handle this pipe like my cobs never seen a finger print or mar in the finish and I will probly be floggerd but it had a nasty ghost when I first smoked it and a thick cake so I did a boiling water treatment to it and it still shines like a shellaced briar.

 

[fred]

Personally, I cannot tell the difference between a Beeswax finish or a Spermaceti finish. Spermaceti use has been banned for a very long time. What is a 'boiling water treatment'?

 

[pawpaw]

I poured boiling water into the bowl to loosen the cake and this pipe doesnt seem to take any wax it is always shiny

 

[fred]

How long did you leave the boiling water in the bowl? How are you trying to wax it now and with what kind of wax?

 

[billinsfl]

I would suggest to leave the meerschaum pipe alone (boiling water, wax), use it normally and don't worry about the colouration. Lots of old wive's tales out there about coloring meerschaum pipes. Many of the old ones were dyed (colored) by the maker, and did not get that way by smoking. True, smoking a meerschaum pipe will color it, but those that exhibit fully and uniform color were probably made that way. Using gloves, renewing wax, all this other stuff is really not needed at all. I have about 15 finely carved meerschaums, smoke 'em all (without gloves) and enjoy watching them change color over the years. I'm in no hurry to manipulate this process by "artificial" means.

 

[pawpaw]

well last night I started using natural bees wax on it just rubbing the block of wax as I smoked it and buff it off when its cooled .and WOW what a diffrence that has made

Fred I left the water in the bowl less than 2 mins i was trying to get out a very nasty ghost i aint to sure it wernt Mix 79. hope to get a new pic up soon gotta wait on the battery charger

 

[fred]

It's likely good Block since it survived that rapid change of temperature without cracking. Admittedly, this is the first time I've heard of this boiling water method to clean up a Meerschaum. I have read where one e-bay Seller will boil estate Meerschaums in water with olive oil to clean them up prior to sale. I have not tried this, nor have I purchased any estate Pipes that he has cleaned up, so I cannot report anything about it in my own experience. The Beeswax will help to protect the surface of the stone, which is soft and easily scratched. This is the main reason I use white Beeswax. Yes, it does help to color the Pipe, along with further smoking, but the primary factor with coloring will be the character and quality of the Block used to carve the Pipe.

 

[pawpaw]

here is the pic I need to take one in the sun shine it really has some great colour i think the flash washes it out

 

[pawpaw]

here it is on a white background and the other side

 

[spartan]

Yeehaw!
That's some rapid color change right there.
I can't wait to see it after a week of straight smoking. ::

 

[pawpaw]

Been smoking River Boat Gambler, Solani Aged Burley Flake and Hal O the Wynd in it.