Meerschaum Lined Pipes

[edger]

I have two meer lined Falcon bowls. Falcon uses the std bowl and adds the meerschaum so I get thick walls and very small tobacco chambers. My preference. They smoke great whether block or composite.

 

[kcghost]

I've never liked meerschaum lined pipes and felt they were just a gimmick but it seems I am wrong as usual. Still not going to get one.

 

[Zapasta]

I've never liked meerschaum lined pipes and felt they were just a gimmick but it seems I am wrong as usual. Still not going to get one.

I don't believe you are wrong. In my experience they smoke nothing like block meerschaum. They are usually marketed as having the durability of briar with the smoking qualities of meerschaum but I find them to be subpar.

 

[Hillcrest]

Someone who knows pipes told me that the old Peterson kapmeers are fantastic smokers, but I have yet to try one. I have an unsmoked meerschaum-lined Mastercraft that I might try out soon.

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I agree. I have a '68-'71 Peterson Kapmeer 999 - the one where the stem goes into briar not into a tenon fitted in the shank. Peterson used a block meerschaum cup that ends just above the draft hole. The theoretical advantage was that the pipe would smoke cooler and the meerschaum would act like a filter. The real advantage is that they cool down quickly and you can smoke a second bowl almost right away. Mine smokes great. I hated it when I first got it 40 yrs ago but now that I actually know how to smoke a pipe I love it and it has become one of my favorite smokers for a quick smoke - the chamber is 17mm x 35 mm. Its best to sip the tobacco with a slow cadence rather than stoke it like a furnace.

 

[jhowell]

Aren’t there two types of meer lining? Like one which is made up of composite and added to the sides of the chamber like putty, and one which is a whole piece dropped into the chamber with the draft hole being pre drilled through it?

3 actually... I discovered a long time ago that Kiko meer-lined pipes while marked block meer use a 2-piece insert. For quite a while I thought the inserts were just cracking. However after observation I realized there were actually 2 pieces of meer in the insert - the heel to half-way up the chamber and a second piece on top of that. Little meer dust and egg-white fixes the problem...

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I have about eight Meerschaum lined pipes from various marques (Big Ben, Brebbia, Dr. Grabow, Kiko, Peterson, Ropp, Savinelli) and no complaints here.