Meerschaum Availability?

[toadie]

Question that popped into my head out of the blue-
How much raw meerschaum is left in the world?
It's one thing to just plant and harvest more briar, but I'm pretty sure you can't recreate a naturally occurring mineral.
Just imagine- you're a master carver, your pipes have gone up ten times in price, and you're sitting there holding the last lump of meerschaum in the world and it's your decision what it's going to be.

 

[topd]

That's a good question, and I'd like to know myself. African Meerschaum ran out some

time ago.

 

[hawk60ce]

Guess i never gave any thought to it running out.

 

[gmwolford]

Seems I recall Storient saying there was 100 years or more left in Turkey. If that memory is correct, no one here needs to worry about it running out.

 

[jah76]

Going farther then that. I'm sure there's more naturally occurring somewhere, but I wonder about the feasibility of "harvesting" new material. I'm not a business man, but the meerschuem market can't be in excellent shape if it's true that the carver occupation isn't being replenished.
It's such a niche, that I wonder about anything NEW in the industry. Anyone know?

 

[eaglerico]

I think the pore pertinent worry is not having enough skilled carvers to carve what meerschaum is available today. The artisinal trades are not being replenished as they once were. And, like anything else, I am sure once the worlds meerschaum supply does wane we will find something else to smoke from. I have thought several times that at some point someone will develop a clay hybrid that is more durable then traditional clay but soft enough to be carved like meerschaum is today. In the end, I don't think we have to worry about any of this in our life times.

 

[strongirish]

Judging by the internet and the amount of new meers on the market, it can't be in short supply too much.

 

[gmwolford]

+1 Eaglerico
In fact, the lack of skilled carvers was one of the reasons that Storient have for hoping that Turkey would open up the trade of raw block, which hasn't happened. And as far as I'm aware, it doesn't look like that will happen any time soon.

 

[lonestar]

Well to answer a few of the things brought up; Briar is not something that can be cultivated. It is harvested from the wild, from bushes that are 30+ years old. Technically it is a renewable resource, but its not as easy as planting a few seeds and waiting for harvest. My understanding is that its harder and harder every year to find suitable burls for pipemaking.

For African Meerschaum, as far as I know there is still plenty of it to go around but there are no longer any companies mining it. It is more widely distributed than Turkish Meerschaum and is actually found in several other places around the world.

Turkish Meerschaum is only found in a few places in Turkey, and from what I have heard the highest quality blocks are becoming harder to mine.

 

[zanthal]

I think the pore pertinent worry is not having enough skilled carvers to carve what meerschaum is available today

You're right. Pipe making seems to be alive and well, though. There are a lot of makers out there, including many who make a relatively few number of pipes.

 

[weezell]

Seems I recall Storient saying there was 100 years or more left in Turkey

But..with the turmoil in this part of the world today...who knows?