Old Meerschaum Lined Sommer Pipe with Missing Meer at Bottom

[ScienceSmoker]

Hey guys... I have this old meer-lined Sommer Paris pipe. It smokes great and the meer looks like its in good condition around the rim, but in the middle of the bottom of the bowl, there is a patch of missing meer. A few questions... is that repairable? And if not, is it potentially dangerous to the pipe?

 

[lukasstrifeson]

A pictures down the bowl would be more helpful.

By your description, the only real risk is that the missing piece of meer creates a hot spot for burn outs in the briar. If you're careful, with your cadence you can mitigate these problems.

 

[jhowell]

Plaster of Paris or chalk dust and egg white. At the very least pipe mud.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

You could try cleaning up all around the damaged area, apply water with an artist's brush inside the hole.
Then fill it in with non-toxic modelling clay. Should last a lifetime.
The reason for the wetting in is because if you put the clay in a dry hole the pipe will absorb the moisture and lose adhesion.

 

[Ahi Ka]

Plaster of Paris works well. You could also just put a philt pad/meerschaum equivalent/stones at the bottom of the chamber. Some meer lined pipes are a bit sloppy at the bottom too. I wouldn’t worry too much unless you feel like repairing it

 

[ScienceSmoker]

Great advice guys. I really appreciate it. I've been trying to get pictures of the bottom of the bowl, but I have a crap phone camera and they aren't coming out visible. I'll keep trying, and thanks again.