Meerschaum Pipe Issues- or Operator Error?

[olkofri]

I've only smoked mine once, and I did notice that it was getting hot after a while, and my tongue was heated up a bit. My problem, however, and what I blame the heating up on is the very many relights that I had to do as it was going out constantly (mixture of packing, condensation from a cold environment—it's winter here—, and tobacco that wasn't very dry—you can't dry aromatics too much without them losing taste). Mine doesn't seem to have thin walls (at least they don't look thin to me), but the bowl is enormous, so I didn't pack it all the way to the top, more like 2/3's of the way up.

 

[BROBS]

also you should never pack a meer to the top or you'll permanently blacken the top.
also that space on the top of the chamber allows it to color.. if you let the cake or the "black shit" inside the pipe go all the way to the rim it blocks the pipe from coloring more easily. At least that's what I read... and back in the late 1800s there were quite a few instructions out there on how to color your meer.. they said never to pack full and never to smoke the heel.

 

[bmdfm]

Is the airway constricted between the shank and the stem? It might be that and have nothing to do with the material.

did you break it in with at least 10 half bowls?

Pipe has a nice, easy, open draw. I am not sure if I have hit 10 bowls or not, but I would have to think so. Just smoked 4 bowls this week, but can't recall how many when I first got it. Hasn't been a whole lot though. Plan to keep smoking it in the hope that it finally comes into it's own.

 

[bmdfm]

Where is the draft hole? Is it under the bowl? Mine is under the bowl, not drilled at an angle, like a briar. It’s a Tekin. If it’s smoking that hot, it has to be gurgling too. Dry your tobacco bone dry and see if this will cool it down. What tobacco are you smoking in it?

Drilling looks almost perfect to me. Perhaps very slightly off to one side, but nothing really to worry about. Draft hole meets the bowl just like a briar would. No gurgling and it is bone dry when I wipe out the bowl when I am done. I have been smoking a few different tobaccos in it. Finished off some El Nino I had from Pipes & Cigars Hearth & Home Marquee line, some Hearth & Home AJ's Va/Per and a Sutliff Match for Dunhill's Elizabethan. I did dry it out a bit but that didn't really help. Not super moist to start with really.

 

[bmdfm]

You only allow two options so I vote for "operator error." It is easier to blame the tools than the workman though. I think the answer lies, at least partially, in the fact that you don't like the pipe and feel you might have spent too much on it.

Sorry if I wasn't clear. I really do like the pipe quite a bit. What I was trying to say is that I wasn't happy with the experience so far. I guess I was under the impression that there wasn't any break-in period with a meerschaum pipe and that it should be smoking much cooler than a briar, but it is starting to sound as if that may not be correct.

As for the money spent, that isn't the issue. I decided that if I was going to buy a meerschaum or two, I would spend the money for a good one, so I did some research into it and picked out one I really liked. I have no problem with the money spent. Just expected it to be a much more pleasant experience than it has been so far. This is the most expensive pipe I own, but so far, the least enjoyable. I am remaining hopeful that it is just an issue of needing to be broken it at this point. I would love to get a second one because I really like the idea of the meerschaum, just don't want to spend the money until I am sure that a meerschaum pipe is going to actually work out for me.

 

[bmdfm]

Warren has a point. I have a CAO meerschaum that was given to me by the original owner because he said he didn't like it because the bowl always got hot, the tobacco didn't taste "right" and felt he had paid too much for it back in the 70s. I find it to be a great smoker and once I had smoked about 10 bowls through it, find it doesn't get as hot as my three Preben Holm briars.

Interesting. I will just need to keep smoking this for awhile I guess. I would hate to have to suffer through the crappy bowls, just to give it away as it was starting to improve and become a good smoker.

 

[bmdfm]

I have noticed my newer meers get a bit hot at times. I slow down, push through and over time they get better. I also had the same issue with a morta. But now all is good.

Yeah, now that you mention it, my only morta, a Vermont Freehand Cherrywood, gets really hot as well. I had heard that morta did that though, so I wasn't super concerned about it. I don't end up smoking that one as much because of it. Although, I have been trying to get to it more often lately. Just trying to get it broken in more. Did your morta get to a point of not getting as hot after a while?

 

[anotherbob]

Frankly my briar peterson sucked with smoking hot at first. Some pipes need breaking in more then others. I also think there is a user error that no one talks about excitement about a new pipe. It's easy to smoke hotter when you're really jazzed up about a great new pipe.

 

[bmdfm]

Nice pipe. Have you tried smoking Latakia/English blends? Since they tend to burn cooler, they might make it more comfy to smoke if it just needs to be broken in. If you don't like latakia, an Oriental-heavy VaOr or burley based blend might be the ticket.

I do like latakia in small doses. I will try that out. Thanks!

 

[bmdfm]

also you should never pack a meer to the top or you'll permanently blacken the top.
also that space on the top of the chamber allows it to color.. if you let the cake or the "black shit" inside the pipe go all the way to the rim it blocks the pipe from coloring more easily. At least that's what I read... and back in the late 1800s there were quite a few instructions out there on how to color your meer.. they said never to pack full and never to smoke the heel.

I used to pack right to the top, but for the very reasons you mentioned, I tend not to pack any of my pipes right to the top anymore. I can always just pack a second bowl if desired!

 

[bmdfm]

Frankly my briar peterson sucked with smoking hot at first. Some pipes need breaking in more then others. I also think there is a user error that no one talks about excitement about a new pipe. It's easy to smoke hotter when you're really jazzed up about a great new pipe.

I just got 2 Peterson's recently, an unsmoked 2015 Christmas 106 estate, and a green spigot 68. Both of them smoke ridiculously hot and wet. I have never had such an experience like that with any other brand. The moisture part, not the smoking hot part. I know that Peterson's are notorious for stubborn break ins though. I am more used to Savinelli which seem to smoke great from the very beginning.

 

[anotherbob]

I just got 2 Peterson's recently, an unsmoked 2015 Christmas 106 estate, and a green spigot 68. Both of them smoke ridiculously hot and wet. I have never had such an experience like that with any other brand. The moisture part, not the smoking hot part. I know that Peterson's are notorious for stubborn break ins though. I am more used to Savinelli which seem to smoke great from the very beginning.

oh yeah, once it broke in it became wonderful. But that breaking in period required so much care. I had to smoke it like I was afraid of it and it wanted to bite me.

 

[condorlover1]

The only time I find meerschaums smoke hot is if you smoke finer cut tobacco in them. Courser cut or plain plug tends to burn slower and thus cooler in my opinion. You might want to try putting a Philt Pad in the bottom of the bowl and using a courser grade of tobacco like a flake of twist, but not cut too fine. I have only had one modern-ish
meerschaum purchased in the 1980s which I think I gave Pipe Dreamer which I could never seem to get on with but he thought it was fine and dandy. Older pipes have thicker walls and I have never experienced any issues.

 

[jpmcwjr]

....The 2 main issues I seem to be having are that this pipe smokes incredibly hot and as a result, the tobacco tastes awful. I have been smoking it as I do my briars and have tried to be conscious of smoking it as slowly as possible. The bowl heats up to where it is much too hot to hold and the smoke just wants to scorch my mouth....

Two issues: The temp of the bowl, and the temp of the smoke. The former is due to thin walls and conductivity of meerschaum. The smoke you get that's too hot is operator error.

Try some English or Balkan blends and dry them a bit more than you've been doing.

 

[diamondback]

The only time I find meerschaums smoke hot is if you smoke finer cut tobacco in them. Courser cut or plain plug tends to burn slower and thus cooler in my opinion. You might want to try putting a Philt Pad in the bottom of the bowl and using a courser grade of tobacco like a flake of twist, but not cut too fine. I have only had one modern-ish
meerschaum purchased in the 1980s which I think I gave Pipe Dreamer which I could never seem to get on with but he thought it was fine and dandy. Older pipes have thicker walls and I have never experienced any issues.

Thank you for the advice my friend! I’m on the hunt for my first meer, and advice like this is gold

 

[bmdfm]

Two issues: The temp of the bowl, and the temp of the smoke. The former is due to thin walls and conductivity of meerschaum. The smoke you get that's too hot is operator error.

Try some English or Balkan blends and dry them a bit more than you've been doing.

I will try that. Thanks!

 

[Chasing Embers]

Try some English or Balkan blends and dry them a bit more than you've been doing.

That's not fair John, those smoke cool in anything!

 

[warren]

I will point out that holding a meer by the warm bowl was a no-no in my days unless you had cotton cotton gloves or something between your dirty hands and the bowl. Especially true if you are going for a nicely colored meerschaum. This of course will trigger a discussion about coloring a meer. I can only cite my personal observations. Body oils and dirt on the outside of the bowl do not inhibit true coloring but they make the pipe look ... well, dirty.

 

[seanv]

The only meers I own currently are African meers. All 6 I purchased as estate pipes. I have noticed no issues at all. The Turkish meers to me look and sound way too fragile for my taste. As for breaking in pipes, some are harder than others but are generally worth the effort.

 

[Johnny_Pipecleaner]

On the subject of meerschaum and operator error..

Having had to recently unfuck my only meer, I can offer this advice- never put it away in its case while wet.