Meerschaum Already Colored but Unsmoked

[Gavrin]

Title edited for caps. Rule 9. -jpm

About all I knew about Meer pipes was they were white and made from material that would color over time as one smoked it. That was from my first foray into the pipe world about 25+ years ago. Ffwd to now and reading all these posts and looking at meer pipe sites I see unsmoked “butterscotch-like“ colored pipes. What is that about? Also is there a way to tell from a photo whether a meer pipe is block or pressed?

 

[warren]

Pre-colored are usually African meerschaum. You need to get on your computer and do a bit of research. Man-made? Turkish? African? What you decide on depends on what you desire out of your "meer." So, "due diligence" is required.

 

[isaac]

Also take into account the wax that is being used. Some people have secret recipes in their wax. White vs Yellow and so forth

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

The carvers color some of the Meers. I believe the gold ones are just the wax they use being heated. Then you see all kind of other colors, I assume they use some kind of stain or dye. None of those appealed to me as I find a significant part of the appeal with Meers is how they color as you smoke them.

I don't know if a way to discern block from pressed by looking at the photo. Perhaps there is. But any reputable dealer or carver is going to list this in the specifications. Go to the website for Altinay or Meerschaum Market and browse.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Also take into account the wax that is being used.

Yep, some carvers prefer natural amber colored wax to the bleached white wax.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Also is there a way to tell from a photo whether a meer pipe is block or pressed?

I usually only buy from trusted brands that I know use block.

 

[sablebrush52]

There's nothing new about pre-colored meerschaum. I have a beautiful little Barling meerschaum from 1925, and much earlier examples, dyed a rich cark red have been around since before that.

 

[OzPiper]

Turkey produces the world's best meerschaum. These are generally white, but can come pre-coloured. Sometimes an unbleached wax finish is applied which results in yellow/honey tones.

African meerschaum (from now closed mines in Tanganyika) is poorer quality and because it is rarely pristine white, are usually precoloured.

I have a few African meers which I like be caused they are more robust and stand up to less gentle handling.

An example of a well-coloured 1896 meerschaum cutty. The stem is a replacement

 

[shanez]

Without pictures I'd hazard a guess it's just wax.

I have, I'm not sure how many, pipes from the same carver with at least 4 different finishes.

Untreated, a couple different kinds of wax, and flame treated.

I think it's neat to see the differences.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Sometimes an unbleached wax finish is applied which results in yellow/honey tones.

Sadik Yanik is a big fan of unbleached wax.

 

[OzPiper]

An oyster-cased 1917 BBB meerschaum with army-mount stem with a lovely honey-toned patina.
And a 1920 straight billiard (pre-coloured) "Ox blood" Goudron with gold band and Amber stem

 

[OzPiper]

3 pre-coloured African meers, all from mid-1970s
A 1974 hallmarked Peterson and 2 Kikos

 

[jpmcwjr]

Oh, such nice examples, all of them!

 

[Gavrin]

Thanks for the info folks. I was curious and know, from what I read here, a number of you really like them and this would be a pool of dependable information. I am not intending on purchasing any at the moment but now if I find one that strikes my fancy I know a bit more and can look into it further.

 

[Chasing Embers]

a number of you really like them

What would have given you that idea?

 

[kcghost]

I new in Africa they colored their pipes but I didn't know others were doing it as well.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I new in Africa they colored their pipes but I didn't know others were doing it as well.

 

[orlandofurioso]

There's nothing new about pre-colored meerschaum. I have a beautiful little Barling meerschaum from 1925, and much earlier examples, dyed a rich cark red have been around since before that.

The Barling meerschaum pipes were stained with a wonderful mix of two colors , one I do not recall and the other being ox blood red. The stain was then burned in with an alcohol lamp.
It took quite some time to retrieve the elaborate article from the www . I started searching fot it contemplating restaining and antique Barling billiard with a silver cap and a militairy mount stem. It needs repait; overzealous reaming left a hole ion the bottom of the bowl. Meer is more vulnarable than briar and this what often occurs.
I kick myself for accidentily not saving the article
Meanwhile decided not to restain it; too much risk involved and once done it cannot be reversed.

 

[orlandofurioso]

Slave to the White Goddess

By Fred Bass Whenever the discussion starts on Meerschaum Pipes, the most frequent topic for the last 300 years has been about the development of patina. A well seasoned Meerschaum Figural and the more conservative Plain shapes have long been regarded as desirable in the Pipe smoking community...

pipesmagazine.com

 

[lukasstrifeson]

Pre-colored are usually African meerschaum. You need to get on your computer and do a bit of research. Man-made? Turkish? African? What you decide on depends on what you desire out of your "meer." So, "due diligence" is required.

Have you not notice the huge influx of newby using New Threads like Google search?

They're all *here* doing their research.