Meerschaum smokers, I need opinions.....

[martiniman]

I see a lot of reviews of Briar but no meerschaum.

how big of a difference is there between...........

makers? they all say they are block?

estate vs. new?

 

[cortezattic]

Fred Bass's blog should go a long way toward answering common meerschaum questions:

The Meerschaum Pipe Experience, and Slave To The White Goddess.

 

[baronsamedi]

What Cortez said. Fred is the Meerschaum dude! TopD has quite a bit of experience with the white goddess as well. My meer is the favorite of my small collection. Nothing smokes like it and I got it broken and used for $10. My first Ebay fix-r-upper.

 

[lazydog]

there is a very nice meer on ebay right now. Old pot with great patina but I can't pull the trigger on it because in one picture the shank has a pretty deep indentation. I'd say be careful with estate meers, looking for chips and who knows if the stem to shank confluence is in good shape. That said, I'll probably take a chance on an Estate meer eventually, since the new mmers are a little pricey and I don't care for the figural or most of the new shapes. Good luck, Meers are great pipes.

 

[topd]

I know a little bit, but I bow to Fred

 

[treeder13]

One of these days I'm going to have to get a meerschaum they look amazing but anyone know where you can get a custom carved one? I want something wolf like :D

 

[waznyf]

+1 cortez

 

[profpar]

I have a couple of meers right now in my collection, one was an estate pipe. Both are great smokers.

 

[brian64]

Definitely read Fred's articles. If my mistakes can be of help, I'd advise not to buy an inexpensive, new meer. I bought 2 years ago and they're a big disappointment both in terms of construction and performance...both are supposedly block meers, one is AND, the other a no name generic...almost kept me from ever trying another. Recently after learning more here, I bought a Baki, and I'm absolutely in love with it. The difference between it and the cheaper ones cannot be overstated imo. If the new ones are out of your price range, then I'd say go for an estate. In addition to Bakis, I understand Altinok and IMP are supposed to be good quality as well, but I don't have any experience with those yet.

 

[pipemama]

Among my meers are SMS, IMP and CAO. I always look for block meerschaum, and for walls that are on the thicker side. Past experiences showed me that a thin wall really puts out the heat, and the thicker wall, slower to color, but cooler to hold. I also own a couple of estates, but I did buy them in person at a show. You might want to visit this site and see some of the offerings and $$.
http://www.smspipes.com/

 

[nsfisher]

Sometimes, if you are persistant, you can find old ones at antique stores. They don't go for alot as I find Antique Shops often do not know much about them.(where I live anyway) here is a latest one I picked up for $10.00. It needed some TLC with an additional cost of $3.00. If may not be pretty, but dam it does smoke fine.

 

[billinsfl]

In the old days meerschaum pipes were the most expensive pipes you could buy. Even until the 1950's-'60's a rather plain meerschaum was more expensive than most Dunhill, Barling and Charatan pipes. For that reason, it may have made sense to use reconstitiuted meerschaum scraps (pressed meerschaum). Today meerschaum pipes are as affordable as they have ever been, and I really have no idea where you could find a new pressed meerschaum pipe. I can tell you many places to buy carved, block meerschaum pipes for under $50, though.
You get what you pay for with a meerschaum. No one alive today can compare with the best European carvers from the past 2 centuries, but the Turks are getting much better. For some of the best work extant, seek out pipes from Sadik Yanik; I have three of his, and they look and smoke great. I have 10 meerschaums in my collection, and most of them are good smokers. You will not get hurt one bit to save $100 and buy a pipe online from one of the Turkish concerns, but again a Sadik Yanik is hard to beat, even if only for their aesthetic qualities.

 

[flipflopsandshades]

Meers are the best pipes. I have one SMS and one AND; it is fun watching them color and I can smoke them multiple times a day without any ghosting.

 

[martiniman]

Thanks for the info and i'm off to read----

Fred Bass's blog should go a long way toward answering common meerschaum questions:

The Meerschaum Pipe Experience, and Slave To The White Goddess.

i also seem to hear good things about meers. the only negatives seem to be when someone says "not my thing"

 

[rigmedic1]

My meer is nice, but I always go back to the briar. I guess that's my comfort zone. But I have been jonesing for another meer here lately, and I am thinking about pulling the trigger on an Altinock soon.

 

[romanza10]

IMHO a meer is a lot like a corn cob, but not made out of a corn cob. You can smoke bowl after bowl in one, maybe running a pipe cleaner through it to remove condensation, but they stand up to abuse in way that a briar won't. I treat my own meer like a really bad ass cob. But that's just me, YMMV.

 

[carlosviet]

I tried to love meers, really. I thought it was the best quality/price pipe rack one could own. After the first one (an IMP apple, huge bowl, very light), although I was very pleased with the way it smoked (one of my best smokers) I don't love it as much as the briars. Some things put me off:
First, the smell. They smell, especially when they get hot, like chalk.

Second, they are dirty. Until they get that amber look after years, they show small scratches and burns that in my eye makes them ugly. In that sense, I would recommend a carved rather than a smooth shiny meer. It will look pristine just 2 weeks.

Finally, the mouthpiece. It looks and feels cheap. Indeed something unworthy of a 100++ dollars pipe.
In conclusion, I am happy of having one. The enormous bowl gives me a long dry smoke, but in the end I get a less enjoyable experience than a briar.

 

[fred]

Thanks guys but I still have a lot to learn & I'm having fun while doing so.

The article that deals with estate meerschaums is The Thrill of the Hunt, which

I wrote in 2010.

http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/put-that-in-your-pipe/the-thrill-of-the-hunt-a-guide-to-estate-meerschaums/
I've recently finished another article, titled Time Travelers, which discusses more facts

of life in the estate meerschaum marketplace. If Kevin likes it then it will be

published in Pipes Magazine.

 

[baronsamedi]

Cool. Can't wait to see the new work!

 

[docwatson]

Brian64 mentioned the Baki meers, and from my experience they are the only maker that has a more open draw with a larger tenon. Most makers use the screw in fitments in the shank and a push bit tenon which is a much smaller diameter which restricts the smoke. And the Baki meers are all block meerschaum not pressed which makes them light as a feather to smoke, and they have a fine selection of figural, classic, or other designs. They had a fine display in Chicago for sale and the next meer that I purchase will be a Baki.