Meerschaum - Block or African

[smokertruck]

when i look at the older meerschaums in "antique" shops how does one differentiate between african & block -

also is african a form of block or is african actual african meerschaum as opposed to block meerschaum?

i understand african is the one to find but is it just a better block meerschaum or is it a specific african meerschaum ( not block ? ) ?
most of the older meerschaums do not note which - i saw one noted african on the shank did not buy it though bad crack in bowl now sorry ... anyways ....

 

[pitchfork]

Most meerschaum is from Turkey, but it's also found in Africa. "Block" meerschaum, wherever it's from, is a pipe carved out of a solid block. The term block differentiates it from pipes made of ground meerschaum powder that's mixed with binders and molded.

 

[jgriff]

"African" is from African, usually Tanzania, as opposed to Turkish meerschaum. Essentially, all Meerschaum pipes are from one of those two regions. However, the African mines shut down around 1990 or so and there isn't any current production from that region.
"Block" refers to a solid block instead of "pressed" together fragments/dust/resin. My understanding is that Pressed meerschaum hasn't been used in a long time. The bigger issue is the quality of the block. Like briar but probably even more so - there are high quality blocks and inferior ones. There is some interior grading of block quality used in initial sales but it doesn't usually get marked onto the finished pipe. The best indication of quality is the signature of a master carver on the pipe itself. These carvers use the best blocks generally.
It's an unsettled question of opinion but my belief is that Turkish meerschaum is usually superior. It's at least "purer". African meerschaum has a larger number of impurities so tends to be heavier. Some people find that a plus as it also tends to be more durable that Turkish for that reason.
African is almost always "calcinated" (I'm unsure of the exact term and spelling). Essentially, there is a finishing done that pre-colors the top. I rarely see it in Turkish meerschaum. African meers can color but tend to more slowly than high-quality Turkish block.

 

[rcstan]

What they said and : African Meerschaum is a lot heavier than Turkish, and even briar. It has more of a rocky appearance. The trouble with used Meerschaum pipes is that former owners sometimes assumed since it requires less resting than briar, or no rest at all, then it doesn't require any cleaning either. I'm really weary of buying one that's heavily used and unrestored, sometimes you can bring them back to life, most of the time they make nice decorations for your pipe area....

 

[captainsousie]

The trouble with used Meerschaum pipes is that former owners sometimes assumed since it requires less resting than briar, or no rest at all, then it doesn't require any cleaning either. I'm really weary of buying one that's heavily used and unrestored, sometimes you can bring them back to life, most of the time they make nice decorations for your pipe area....

+1 I've resurrected a couple of old meers and I've also failed at resurrecting a few. It put me off trying because if I can't get it clean, I really don't want to use it.

 

[meerqueen]

even in Eskisehir /Turkey there are may different grade block meerschaum.
But if we compare the highest grades of African block and Turkish block : The highest grade of African block corresponds to grade 4 of Turkish block (out of 6)