My Old Meerschaum - Scraping Inside Bowl

[smokertruck]

I have my own old meerschaum 60 years - not smoked 50 - no flavor no matter what the tobacco even with a new churchwarden stem -

i did scrape the daylites to remove buildup in it down to smooth but ... inside remains black still from the cake which seems now to be part of the meerschaum itself - - can i take sandpaper to the inside to take it down to white possibly removing a bit of meerschaum ?? inside is very smooth from scraping but little comes off now when scraped - it remains black -

sanding i suspect will remove the rest & maybe take it down to very light gray as the cake probably was absorbed by the meerschaum - no loss i guess in trying - anyone ever done this ?

the wall is very thick so removing a little from the inside wont affect fragility. the black is not that golden aged color from smoking.

if i do get down to some almost clean white again it should rejuvenate it ... maybe
thanks

 

[weezell]

I'm no expert BUT...It's my understanding the meer absorbs tars/nic/etc, so that the bowl colors. I do not think I would do much more to it other than what has been done...

 

[warren]

The meerschaum bowl colors from the inside to out. Be verrrry careful!

 

[smokertruck]

yes i understand but it is black cake embedded into the meerschaum - a heavy cake built up back then.
just tried it - was able to get down to clear meerschaum about 1/3 down from top edge but centre is still black not able to get enough pressure in centre to remove all of the black - so stopped - noticed also an odor so may not be smokeable but it wasnt anyways - smells of wet clay but it is a block meerschaum not the powder form - just had had its day - the outside did not have the nice aged meerschaum color. will let it sit a few days - maybe the sanding did it in also - it probably needs a good reaming & ozoning by walker works - might send it down for the h ... of it -

if anyone can rejuvenate it they can.
regards all

 

[eaglerico]

If it has been smoked more then a handfull of times I doubt you would ever get back to white. I do not think your lack of flavor is a symptom of the pipe but more rather your technique in combination with that particulr pipe.
The meerschaum does not absorb cake, but rather tars and oils released by the tobacco as we smoke it. These fluids are absorbed into the porus mineral and eventually work their way through the block to turn it and it is generally seen as a sign of age / use.
I have had a couplf of older meers and the problem I had with them was that the draw on the stem was very narrow. I think this contributes to a loss of flavor and I could never pack / draw / light it well enough to get what I should out of it. I got rid of these. I have 3 other meers I currently smoke regularly, and it is not the same case with these. I generally smoke them when I am trying a new tobacco because so much more of the actual flavor comes out.
If you want to have it restored I would suggest you send it for an ozone treatment and restoration. Doesn't cost a while lot. I think it is Mike Law that does this but I may be wrong.

 

[smokertruck]

UPDATE -

smoked it this morning - some flavor coming thru from top to about half way down - when it reached the black the flavor disappeared so it seems that black is a flavor problem - underneath the black i succeeded to remove, it was an orange hue so was careful not to disturb it - will try to remove the rest of the black below the half way point of the bowl - the outside surface has no color change as it is still white as when new - back then in the 60's the flavor was excellent smoking middleton cherry.

this morning tried bobs chocolate flake & finally tasted both the lakeland & latakia but as i stated only partially down the bowl - opposite to what it should be.

definitely wont do this with a good meerschaum.

yes the draw in the original curved stem was very narrow 1/16" but converted it to a churchwarden 1/8" air hole in a new stem - nice draw but still needed some flavor.

 

[rcstan]

If you can remove the bone screw or whatever fitting was used back then and scoop out the crap ( if any ) from inside the mortise and bowl airway, it will help a lot, that area is often overlooked. Also, if the attachment in the stem can be removed, a good clean behind there wouldn't hurt either.

 

[fideau]

You should never let a cake build up in a Meerschaum. But I have been given a couple of old ones that were in that condition. I scraped them with a narrow blade and wiped with denatured alcohol.

With Briar pipes I use the alcohol/salt method to sweeten them up. Don't know if you can do that to Meerschaum.

 

[smokertruck]

the pipe in shank is very clean & the stem is new -
strangely as i stated after partial scraping some flavor has returned - will work my way to bottom of bowl carefully not to remove too much just the black - under the black is the orange hue but not the outside surface of the bowl.
thanks for warnings

 

[smokertruck]

ok i did the unthinkable - did a serious number on the inside - with round drummel sander removed a good layer of meerschaum added a significant 1/4" diameter to the inside of bowl with still thick wall took out all that black - also converted it to a churchwarden by local well known craftsman in toronto canada area recommended by brigham pipes. i like looking at the bowl of tobacco when i lite up.
flavor is back in spades - now smoke it with either 3 oaks blended with burley to mellow out the latakia or bobs chocolate flake.
happy smoker
be well all

 

[starcat]

Most of my pipes have been gourd calabash so I have made some research on the matter with one source stating you do not want to allow a cake with a meer bowl.

This always seemed to be my intuition as I kept mine clean from the start, mostly using rum at the time. If you start out and clean semi regular with spirit they will stay very nice. A note for calabash smokers, do not immerse the removable bowl in spirit as this can cause it to shatter. I usually just swab it out good and wet in repeating circles and then finish with a cloth or paper towel. They will clean up good and it keeps the color more uniformly light in fact.

There is more good info out there on the net.

Good Luck