Meerschaum Lined. Best Of Both Worlds? Or, "Drawbacks Of Both Materials"?

[F4RM3R]

A meer lined bowl would be good to ad to the collection. If you like it then I'm sure adding a full meer in the future wouldn't be a problem either. Meer is very durable and would have no issue being smoked constantly but as another member said, it might be the briar shank which will get a bit soggy after relentless use. This also can affect the ghost repelling qualities that the meerschaum material provides, as the shank might get flavours sticking around while the bowl won't. So if you really want the meer for the pure flavour and less chance of ghosting, then maybe a meer lined isn't the best option.

I think as with most any pipe, overuse isn't really a danger to the pipe, but to the tastebuds...eventually the pipe gets saturated with moisture and subsequent smokes with be less pleasurable. This can be mitigated with dry tobacco and pipe cleaners though, and overnight rest in a dry warm environment can make some pipes smokable with more frequency. Meer is so porous it can take up lots of moisture from repeated smokes. A lined bowl vs full meer will give you less moisture soaking ability, but more so than a full briar. My meer lined pipe doesn't smoke as cool as my full meer, but it does give a dry smoke.

 

[Mis Pipas]

Vauen is a top notch manufacturer, but last time I checked they don't use block but pressed Meerschaum for their sepiolite-lined pipes. That's a deal breaker, at least for me.

THANK YOU - IMPORTANT

 

[forciori]

Well there we go. I trust your judgement. However, why do you think they've stopped making them? I don't see them much.

The Turkish government banned the export of Meerschaum as raw material and only allows export of finished goods; that is why is difficult to manufacture Meer (full or lined) pipes nowadays.

Best.

 

[forciori]

I have one Dunhill from the '60s and I like it a lot.



Best.
: :

 

[Chasing Embers]

The Turkish government banned the export of Meerschaum as raw material and only allows export of finished goods; that is why is difficult to manufacture Meer (full or lined) pipes nowadays.

Best.

Surprised no one has revived mining meerschaum in the U.S.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Surprised no one has revived mining meerschaum in the U.S.

If there's little other use for meerschaum, I'd be surprised if there were a revival.

So, anyone know of alternate uses for meerschaum?

 

[Chasing Embers]

If there's little other use for meerschaum, I'd be surprised if there were a revival.

So, anyone know of alternate uses for meerschaum?

Sepiolite: Properties and Uses

AbstractThe structure and properties of sepiolite are reviewed. Surface properties, such as porosity and sorption are detailed, as well as dehydration…

www.sciencedirect.com

"With appropriate pretreatments, sepiolite is shown to be useful in following applications: Absorbents, environmental deodorants, catalyst carriers, polyesters, asphalt coatings; paints, pharmaceutical uses, decolorizing agents, filter aids, anticaking agents, phytosanitary carriers, cigarette filters, plastisols, rubber, animal nutrition, detergents, cosmetics, agriculture (soil conditioning, fluid carriers for pregerminated seeds, seed coating; fertilizer suspensions) grease thickeners, NCR paper, drilling fluids."

 

[jpmcwjr]

Well, that's something indeed, but is it in fact used in commercial quantities?

While its properties could be used in the above applications, it's likely not.

Sepiolite’s chief use is for tobacco pipes. The most important commercial deposit is the plain of Eskişehir, Tur., where it is found as irregular nodules in alluvial deposits; it is an alteration product of serpentine. When first extracted, sepiolite is soft, but it hardens on drying. Sepiolite also occurs in France, Greece, the Czech Republic, and the United States.

Source: Enc. Britannia.

 

[Wade H]

Well there we go. I trust your judgement. However, why do you think they've stopped making them? I don't see them much.

I believe that they fell out of favor, especially with high end pipes, because they don't hold up. Every meerschaum lined pipe I've owned, eventually had the lining crack and fall out in chunks. It didn't happened overnight, but over the course of a decade (or so). I've thought about why it could happen, and concluded that it's most likely the difference in expansion rates between briar and meerschaum. Briar has greater thermo - reactivity than meerschaum, and the repeated stress can have detrimental effects on the thin meerschaum lining. The linings are made of pressed meerschaum dust, which is quite hard and brittle, but after it falls out, the pipe is not ruined. It just becomes a regular briar pipe, with a slightly larger bowl. This has been my experience with this type of pipe, and I'm sure there are others that may have had better results. I knew several old timers, when I was a young piper, that advised me against them for the same reason. They're great while they last, but they seem to have a limited life expectancy. I stopped buying them a long time ago.