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artificialme

Can't Leave
Mar 15, 2018
323
37
Indonesia
I’d posit that shattering meers is no more frequent than snapping the tenon off of briars.
Short of straight abuse and bad accidents don’t be skeered. And there’s plenty of meers out there that won’t break the bank for you to dip your toe in the pool.
I thought the same thing but I gave it a try with a lower priced meer. I dropped it on a tile floor and expected the worst. All it did was put a small flat spot on the side of the bowl. I have been smoking it often since with no problems. Give it a try. You won’t regret it.
Nah, they're pretty tough.

View attachment 336968

My big Kenan skull hit my kitchen floor and left a dent in the linoleum without any damage to the pipe.
Wow, so block meerschaum pipe are sturdy but how about the pressed meerschaum pipe? Seems I can only get pressed meerschaum pipe with my budget.
 

Sobrbiker

Lifer
Jan 7, 2023
3,571
45,847
Casa Grande, AZ
If you notice inside the bowl, there is a slight scuff mark. I plan to ignore it because I think that as I smoke it, a ghostly coating will cover it and all will be well, Let me know if I"m wrong; I often am. But understand I have NO mechanical or shop skills at all. A total moron in this regard. And do not wish to develop them.
Nice!
I do not see a “scuff” from the pictures. All I see is what is typical of many meers is that the drilling from the shank is under the bottom of the chamber. I’ve got one like that and it can clog from debris, and I would never use the poker from a pipe tool while smoking.
I’ve been considering getting meer chips/disc for mine drilled like that.
Run a pipe cleaner into shank and peer in from above and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Not a huge deal, but something to be aware of.

As for ghosting and break in, I’d say smoke it like you stole it-but I have a goat palate, and don’t smoke lat.
 

Sobrbiker

Lifer
Jan 7, 2023
3,571
45,847
Casa Grande, AZ
Wow, so block meerschaum pipe are sturdy but how about the pressed meerschaum pipe? Seems I can only get pressed meerschaum pipe with my budget.
I’m no meer geek, but i think pressed meer isn’t as prevalent as it was in the past. Even the budget stuff from meerschaumDOTcom is block and passes the “lick and stick” test. Lined briars may be pressed still, but I’m not sure.
Where are you seeing pressed meers for sale?
 

gord

Can't Leave
Wow, so block meerschaum pipe are sturdy but how about the pressed meerschaum pipe? Seems I can only get pressed meerschaum pipe with my budget.
I landed mine for under $100 Canadian including shipping. That's less than a 14 ounce container of Carter and Hall pipe tobacco in this woebegotten country. I'm on a pension. Mastercard is the answer :rolleyes:
 
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OzPiper

Lifer
Nov 30, 2020
6,510
35,213
71
Sydney, Australia
Pretty little pipe! I always love to see a picture of meerschaum pipe but never have the gut to pull the trigger. Carelessness and clumpsy hands will make it shatter in no time.
They are much more robust than commonly believed
I have dropped a 100yo meerschaum onto a wooden floor :eek: - with NO damage to it
Mind you, I do not want to test it again 😁

However I do smoke my African meers more - in the believe (right or wrong) that they are more robust than their Turkish counterparts.
 

Sigmund

Lifer
Sep 17, 2023
2,604
24,059
France
Your meer chips, even a few, will help that pipe from clogging. I have a il Ducca that is center drilled and they indeed like to clog and pass bits. A layer of chips reduces it significantly. Nice pipe. I like other peoples meers but I just like briar too much for myself.
 

gord

Can't Leave
Your meer chips, even a few, will help that pipe from clogging. I have a il Ducca that is center drilled and they indeed like to clog and pass bits. A layer of chips reduces it significantly. Nice pipe. I like other peoples meers but I just like briar too much for myself.
I was thinking that myself . . . . I've used them to real advantage in several of my pipes that were balky. In this pipe then, I can also "cure" the chips for the fodder. I use a single small, ragged chip in almost all of my center holed pipes - keeps the drain clear for sure and doesn't affect the draw. Thanks!
 

gord

Can't Leave
Nice!
I do not see a “scuff” from the pictures. All I see is what is typical of many meers is that the drilling from the shank is under the bottom of the chamber. I’ve got one like that and it can clog from debris, and I would never use the poker from a pipe tool while smoking.
I’ve been considering getting meer chips/disc for mine drilled like that.
Run a pipe cleaner into shank and peer in from above and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Not a huge deal, but something to be aware of.

As for ghosting and break in, I’d say smoke it like you stole it-but I have a goat palate, and don’t smoke lat.
Just did what you said. Yeah, it's a drill mark, and I think a single meer chip, ragged enought to block the hole but let the draft pass (I've done this in several of my briars that have center draft holes, notably a couple of small churchwardens . . . .) and it works very well indeed. Might start off with four or five, and letting them take the ghost for the pipe as well.
 

gord

Can't Leave
I’m no meer geek, but i think pressed meer isn’t as prevalent as it was in the past. Even the budget stuff from meerschaumDOTcom is block and passes the “lick and stick” test. Lined briars may be pressed still, but I’m not sure.
Where are you seeing pressed meers for sale?
What is the "lick and stick" test? I don't want to find out by crass experimentation! Especially as this pipe is plain and will obviously get a few scuffs in it's travels.
 

artificialme

Can't Leave
Mar 15, 2018
323
37
Indonesia
I’m no meer geek, but i think pressed meer isn’t as prevalent as it was in the past. Even the budget stuff from meerschaumDOTcom is block and passes the “lick and stick” test. Lined briars may be pressed still, but I’m not sure.
Where are you seeing pressed meers for sale?
Some danish pipe shop website sell estate meerschaum lined pipes around by budget, but I can't seems to remember the site's name. Let me search around first.

If you can contact a carver they're often half the price of a retailer.
Let's see if I can search them too.

They are much more robust than commonly believed
I have dropped a 100yo meerschaum onto a wooden floor :eek: - with NO damage to it
Mind you, I do not want to test it again 😁
Glad to know. It's time to look around for some estate block meerschaum pipes of some carvers then.
 
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didimauw

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 28, 2013
10,609
36,914
SE WI
Pretty little pipe! I always love to see a picture of meerschaum pipe but never have the gut to pull the trigger. Carelessness and clumpsy hands will make it shatter in no time.
I dropped my favorite meer put of my mouth onto concrete a few weeks ago. Only a small ding was made. I think a briar would have shown lore damage. Meers are a lot tougher than people think!
 

SmokingInTheWind

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 24, 2024
272
1,577
New Mexico
I think flyrods might actually be worse than pipes . . . ..

Oh yeah, much worse. I just got back into fishing this year after about a ten-year hiatus. I recently bought a new fly rod to fill a niche that my other rods couldn't quite fill. I hadn't bought a rod in about 13 years. I went into sticker shock. The rod alone, without the reel and line, which I also needed, cost more than all my pipes combined. Granted, I don't have many pipes, and none are very expensive, but it definitely cut into my PAD/TAD budget. Thankfully I am good for now on fishing gear.
 
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gord

Can't Leave
I know it... I should have kept that thought to myself.

But since we're already here...

That sweet girl is an American hero, an inspiration to us all.
Yeah, probably. :ROFLMAO: Just filling my pipe with Sunday Picnic for the upcoming ordeal, and no, I did not lick it. There was a piece of tobacco on my pipe exterior, and I tried to blow it off. Wouldn't budge. Licked my finger to wipe it off, and my finger stuck. Went into panic mode. Recovered after looking up "lick it before you stick it" on my computer search engine, and got the answer to my original question from a previous posting about six years ago I think, in this same forum. Some of the same guys, too lol.

Still have lots to learn. Getting there but a long ways to go before the jargon becomes second nature. :rolleyes:

So tonight, the ordeal begins - the dreaded meer break-in, which nobody on forum has seemed to minimize. I'll proceed in the same manner with this pipe that I did with my miniature and am still doing with the meer lined Falcon bowl. Like the Terminator, "I'll be back." :eek: