I firmly believe in the white, cotton glove or, very clean hands, when handling a pristine meerschaum pipe. At least until there is a good color in the base and stem. Then I think one can handle the colored part however they wish, keeping in mind that added oils from the hand, dirt and grime, will still add/or detract to the pipe's look.
I think this bit of an inconvenience helps to ensure the best possible coloring. But, there is no way to tell as each pipe colors according to the structure of the sepiolite so no way to run a decent test. Each pipe is different.
So ... all this pontificating by me and others is simply laying out what we have observed over the years. You can't smoke a meer one way for a few years, then clean it, start over with a different technique and then make comparisons.
I think this bit of an inconvenience helps to ensure the best possible coloring. But, there is no way to tell as each pipe colors according to the structure of the sepiolite so no way to run a decent test. Each pipe is different.
So ... all this pontificating by me and others is simply laying out what we have observed over the years. You can't smoke a meer one way for a few years, then clean it, start over with a different technique and then make comparisons.
