Olive oil for coloring ?

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caa55

Lurker
Aug 27, 2015
23
0
Hello folks,
Just watched a video on youtube and a gentleman recommends 'painting' extra virgin olive oil on the meerschaum bowl/stem to greatly speed up the coloring process. He reapplies every 6 to 10 bowls. He stated he has used bees wax previously as well but the olive oil was so much quicker to color and less labor intensive. One of the commenters stated their method was to mix the melted bees wax with the olive oil.
Anyway, does anyone here have experience with this technique?
thanks.

chuck

 

toobfreak

Lifer
Dec 19, 2016
1,365
7
I've never understood this desire to color meers! If it happens or when it happens or how it happens doesn't matter much to me. When it gets there it gets there I say. Frankly, I like the whiteness of meer. But if dark caramel coloring is a sign of a well-smoked mature meer, then it would seem to me that all these other techniques for darkening it are a cheat--- they render the darkening meaningless, because you don't know HOW it was darkened! Was it darkened through hundreds of hours of careful smoking or about two hours of slapping some crap on it just to make it dark?
I would much rather have the pipe darken naturally, irregularly, as the meer sees fit than some artificial process.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,700
16,209
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
Rancid olive oil! Yup, that's what I want my pipe to reek of.
I had the patience to color mine naturally. If you can't wait, buying a used, well smoked, one would be my suggestion. Meers color at different speeds, mostly dependent on the structure of the mineral. I've seen lots of different methods suggested and sworn by to speed the process but, I have no idea if they really work. One would have to find two or more identical pipes and try the different methods to see if one was faster than the other. Or, if in fact one method actually works at all. I suspect meerschaums, internally are much like snowflakes, no two exactly alike.

 
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tennsmoker

Lifer
Jul 2, 2010
1,157
7
I'm with toobfreak. Au natural is by far the best. I don't want anything touching my beautiful meers but my white gloved hand.
Yes, I hold my meers with a white glove to prevent body oil or grime dirtying up that gorgeous white that is so very pure and hails from the long, long ago.

 

toobfreak

Lifer
Dec 19, 2016
1,365
7
to prevent body oil or grime dirtying up that gorgeous white that is so very pure and hails from the long, long ago.
tenns, the first meer I bought in the early '70's had a tag on it I think saying it was from Tanzania and that the meer was 2.5 million years old.

 

theloniousmonkfish

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 1, 2017
943
497
Who is this guy that's slathering Olive oil on these poor pipes? Every 6-10 bowls? Bet they feel gummy like an old cutting board full of rancid oil. They're a mineral, millions of years old, why the need to artificially enhance?
"I don't want anything touching my beautiful meers but my white gloved hand."
So no tobacco/fire?

 
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Reactions: BPatrick
Apr 26, 2012
3,352
5,159
Washington State
Before the use of beeswax on meerschaum pipes was standard practice by the carvers, whale oil was common. Of course over the years (couple hundred), whale oil became difficult to obtain, and now days its basically impossible to obtain. Beeswax became a very good substitute in the absence of whale oil. The idea behind the beeswax isn't to color the pipe any faster, but the beeswax is what holds the color in (or allows the pipe to show off the color). Over time through smoking and handling the pipe the beeswax can wear off; which is why some individuals will re-wax their pipes. Now days many carvers soak their pipes in beeswax and apply enough wax on the pipe that re-waxing isn't necessary. Though some meerschaum smokers do enjoy the process of re-waxing their pipes to have a solid layer of beeswax. In doing so some pipes may darken a bit. Now some will say the new coat of wax has brought out more of the oils/tars/nicotine that were already in the meerschaum (showing more color); while others will tell you you're just staining the pipe with an artificial color temporarily. I'll let you pick what camp you want to be in for that argument. As for olive oil... I've never used it on my pipes; however, I've heard some people say it works wonders in place of beeswax while others say it doesn't provide any benefit to the pipe. Again, I'll let you choose which camp you want to be in for that one. I can't say one way or the other.
With all that said I have re-waxed my meerschaum pipes twice over the years. At first it was more for experiment to see if the pipe changed in regards to its color. It didn't really change much. It just made the previous color a little more pronounced. Also, I'm one that just handles my meerschaum pipes like any other pipe, and as I smoke them frequently I have noticed over the years that the beeswax does wear thin on some pipes. If I notice the wax on my pipes seeming to be thin then I'll apply another coat, but it's not to color the pipe any faster.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,570
27,077
Carmel Valley, CA
Good points, metal! I find that when I wash my meers in hot water, the color comes through a bit. As it dries, it returns to its original color. Thus, it seems to bolster the contention that beeswax does't advance coloring, but maybe shows off what's there a bit better.

 

huntertrw

Lifer
Jul 23, 2014
5,223
5,349
The Lower Forty of Hill Country
"Olive oil for coloring ?"
Here you go:
th

Just remember to try and stay within the lines.

 

didimauw

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 28, 2013
9,895
31,635
34
Burlington WI
I attempted this on a Grabow that I sanded the finish off of. I obviously used too much, because it got slimy and eventually sticky. I eventually used alcohol to get rid of it.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I'm not a Meer owner or smoker so I'm not registered to vote here, but based on my experiences with unfinished briar pipes that color themselves, I say leave your Meers alone and let it happen. That's the beauty of it. It's not a salad; that's where you need the olive oil.

 
Apr 26, 2012
3,352
5,159
Washington State
My guess is that the original poster had watched a YouTube video from Jason the Meerschaum King. If not, I know he's talked about Olive oil on meerschaum pipes. I know he's used Olive oil on some of his pipes in the past as well. He's the most knowledgeable person I've come across in regards to Meerschaum pipes. He has an amazing collection of old and new meerschaums, and I know he takes very good care of them. I trust that he wouldn't do anything to his pipes that would damage them. However, if you're going to try something in regards to pipe care then I strongly suggest reading up on your efforts before actually attempting them to verify what to expect from the process and outcome. Never hurts to do a little research before actually doing something that you might not be able to undo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3Fnc9iFSNU

 
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