Meerschaum Coloring End Game

[hoosierpipeguy]

Here are the 3 Meers I presently smoke almost every day, 1 time per day. The top two are Altinay, the bottom is Altinok. The top has 15 bowls smoked, middle is oldest and has something over 750 bowls smoked. The bottom Altinok has somewhere around 600 to 700 bowls smoked.

I find it interesting how different the coloring process is from one Meer to the next. The Altinok shank started coloring immediately and obviously has gotten quite dark while the bowl hasn't done a lot yet. The newer Altinay seems to be taking a similar path but too early to tell for certain. On the other hand, the middle Altinay has kind of darkened all over. It was as white as the newer Altinay when it was new, fresh out of the box. The bottom of this pipe has colored significantly the last 50 bowls.

I smoke the Meers daily because they are light weight and deliver a superb smoking experience. The enjoyment of witnessing the coloring process is a nice side benefit. Kudos to Ryan Alden for fitting the Altinok with a nice stem, great work! Altinay makes a nice stem, at least for my clinching needs, right out of the box.

 

[fishmansf]

So I have been working on a Meerschaum claw, and think I’m at the end of its coloring journey. I haven’t really noticed any further coloring or saturation.

Is there just an end point to how much a pipe that colors will color?

From my understanding, there is a point when a pipe will not color anymore. Why is this? Not idea. However, if I rely on the knowledge that the wax is really what colors the meerschaum, my guess is that the tar and nicotine move through the pipe, through the porous cells of the meerschaum and then is absorbed by the wax. Once the wax is entirely saturated, there is not more room for tar and nicotine and therefore will stop coloring. My guess is that this is when the true meerschaum begins to collect such particle and colors itself.

 

[Chasing Embers]

From my understanding, there is a point when a pipe will not color anymore. Why is this? Not idea. However, if I rely on the knowledge that the wax is really what colors the meerschaum, my guess is that the tar and nicotine move through the pipe, through the porous cells of the meerschaum and then is absorbed by the wax. Once the wax is entirely saturated, there is not more room for tar and nicotine and therefore will stop coloring. My guess is that this is when the true meerschaum begins to collect such particle and colors itself.

The wax is just there to prevent scratches on the soft material. Even an unwaxed one will color.

 

[fishmansf]

The wax is just there to prevent scratches on the soft material. Even an unwaxed one will color.

For sure but I am sure it would color differently. I remember your pipe experiment where you cut it in half and the inside was all white (slight gray) until it hit the wax on the outside.

 

[Chasing Embers]

For sure but I am sure it would color differently. I remember your pipe experiment where you cut it in half and the inside was all white (slight gray) until it hit the wax on the outside.

That coloration was just from the warmth of smoking. You can do the same thing with a hair dryer or heat gun. For all of the color this one has, the only internal coloring is at the back of the jaw line.

 

[fishmansf]

O that’s interesting. I’ve read that thread so many times but never caught that. Always thought it was just the byproducts moving their way through the meerschaum and getting trapped in the wax like a protective seal

That coloration was just from the warmth of smoking. You can do the same thing with a hair dryer or heat gun. For all of the color this one has, the only internal coloring is at the back of the jaw line.

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[Chasing Embers]

O that’s interesting. I’ve read that thread so many times but never caught that. Always thought it was just the byproducts moving their way through the meerschaum and getting trapped in the wax like a protective seal

They'll color almost instantly from use but the internal coloring takes hundred to thousands of smokes.

 

[isaac]

They'll color almost instantly from use but the internal coloring takes hundred to thousands of smokes.

You frequently post that skull. Have you noticed that it continues to color throughout, or has it kinda just hit that point where you’re not noticing anything.

 

[Chasing Embers]

You frequently post that skull. Have you noticed that it continues to color throughout, or has it kinda just hit that point where you’re not noticing anything.

I've mostly quit paying attention to the coloring on my pipes. It is darker now than that photo as that one was taken back in 2020 after I'd had the pipe for about four months.

 

[ThebigFil]

Morning guys! Here is an example of extreme color caused by years and years of smoking. The color is not any form of Oxblood and when the pipe came into my hands the bowl had 1/8" inch of smooth crap build up that had to be carefully chipped out. I believe this one is from the late 1890s or maybe early 1900s but the silver work has no hallmark to help in dating.
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Gorgeous