One Month Progress

[sardonicus87]

This is the meer my wife bought me this past Christmas (it was made by Hüseyin Ege if anyone was curious).

Took me a while to get around to using it. Color so far after a month, maybe 20-30 bowls in. Haven't been drying tobacco out as much as I normally would, and basically don't clean it. Smoke, set it aside and then wipe out the bowl with a paper towel the next day basically right before I use it again (so any juice sits in for as long as possible).

 

[Jbyrd]

great looking pipe

 

[kcghost]

I must admire your persistence in this undertaking.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

Very nice pipe. Looks like it's taking on color well. May it bring you great smokes for years to come. Happy smokes!

 

[MikeDub]

Looking good! I've got an H. Ege pipe I'm breaking in at the moment and loving it. The coloring on yours is coming along nicely after a month

 

[ukbob]

Nice looking pipe colouring well.

 

[tklee]

 

[LeafErikson]

That's awesome coloring so far!

 

[sardonicus87]

Looking good! I've got an H. Ege pipe I'm breaking in at the moment and loving it. The coloring on yours is coming along nicely after a month

This one is definitely my favorite of my pipes, it's such a good smoker. It's also the only meer I have.

 

[gervais]

Nice meer brother! Getting some nice patina on that beauty

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

I've got an H. Ege as well, fantastic carver. Nice Pipe!

 

[sardonicus87]

Two month progress, still smoking the same blends at the same rate, haven't done anything different compared to the first month. The amount of area that's colored only increased a little, but the part that was already colored has gotten significantly darker:

 

[sardonicus87]

Here we are at 4 months. I don't have the best camera (cellphone with no manual adjustment options), so I'll explain a bit of the changes that I tried to capture as best as I could.

This past month and a half, I have been almost exclusively smoking burley. I'm sure you guys have noticed if you run a pipe cleaner mid-smoke, the juice tends to come out a very pale and lighter yellow color than with other types of tobaccos. Maybe this has affected the shank coloring a bit. Could also be lightening slightly because the "color" is spreading out through absorption?

The top side of the shank has gotten significantly darker. The bottom actually got lighter towards the front, but some spots are getting darker in the heel and the lower 1/3 of the pipe.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Not bad for a month but how many bowls per day do you smoke?

 

[sardonicus87]

Not bad for a month but how many bowls per day do you smoke?

The lastest post is at 4 months, and only one bowl a day.

 

[Steddy]

Looking good, I thoroughly enjoy these kinds of posts.

 

[sardonicus87]

Well, it's been 6 months at this point, figure that's a good number to update. Will wait an additional 6 months to the next one, if I remember. Same as before, this gets smoked once a day almost every day.

I took the photos in front of a paper towel for white balancing and tried to keep it as true to life as possible (only one needed a slight white balance adjustment, the rest were dead on and are unedited).

These are all posted in thumbnail format because there's several, and also something I want to point out after the progress photos:


So, I noticed this before that there was this sort of "hot spot" that was a reddish-tan/orange rather than the yellow-tan of the rest, and then I noticed two more and I thought it was odd that they would be there... until I went to put the pipe up. Those "hot spots" are right where it touches the leather pipe stand I set it on. Otherwise, I don't touch the outside of the bowl with anything except clean hands when I am wiping the chamber (while smoking, I hold it by the stem). Hot spot pointed out by green arrow:

 

[Sobrbiker]

Thanks for sharing, and that is coloring very nicely and evenly.
I applaud your discipline in handling, I don’t think I could ever complete a smoke holding any pipe by just the stem!

 

[sardonicus87]

About one year. No less than 320 bowls, but no more than 340.


I also took a short video, it's hard to get a grasp of the coloring in still images:

 

[fishmansf]

About one year. No less than 320 bowls, but no more than 340.
View attachment 297200View attachment 297201View attachment 297202View attachment 297203View attachment 297204View attachment 297205

I also took a short video, it's hard to get a grasp of the coloring in still images:

Have you been waxing it at all or just smokin it!?