Obtaining estate (used) meerschaum pipes is certainly a way to acquire high quality pieces at reasonable prices. Of the approximately two dozen meerschaum pipes I currently possess only one was purchased new. Virtually all were obtained via an online auction site. There are both benefits and risks. The positives include the following:
Pipes by carvers who have gone out of business are available only used. Andreas Bauer of Austria, David P. Ehrlich of Boston, Paul Fischer and WDC (William Demuth Co.) are some of the non-Turkish carvers who produced pipes from block meerschaum. Their estate pipes function as well as, or better than, new.
Estate pipes on internet auction sites (eg., eBay) are often being sold by non-smokers who are completely unaware of their actual value. I obtained two genuine Austrian (not Konçak) Andreas Bauer estate pipes for $12 each as part of a four pipe lot.
The negatives include the following:
There is a lot of garbage being offered for sale. Some pipes are what can be considered counterfeit and that is often not the seller’s fault. For example, when Bauer sold its business to Sadat Konçak of Turkey, it apparently also sold its inventory of pipe cases that were already embossed with “made in Austria.” Konçak packed his own Turkish made pipes in these cases and offered them for sale. He later produced his own Bauer pipes, legally because he had bought the business, but the logo was slightly different in color and font. (Konçak is no longer in business.) The remedy is research, observation and patience. Learn “the market.” Watch what is being offered for at least two months before making a purchase.
Most estate meerschaum pipes offered for sale have been abused to some extent. The worst is a pipe with a cracked stummel. Buy it only if it will never be smoked. Many are caked with carbon and have air holes constricted with uncleaned residue. A pipe upon its arrival is usually subjected to an hour of cleaning and bowl reaming. Many are half a century to a century (or more) old but look pale for their age and obvious usage. After the stummel’s exterior surface has been cleaned, usually with 600 or finer grit sandpaper and water, it is dried then coated with a beeswax compound. It almost always begin to show color, sometimes very dramatically. Simple restoration will transform a meerschaum into a pipe that will deliver a smoke far superior to that of a new pipe.
Pipes by carvers who have gone out of business are available only used. Andreas Bauer of Austria, David P. Ehrlich of Boston, Paul Fischer and WDC (William Demuth Co.) are some of the non-Turkish carvers who produced pipes from block meerschaum. Their estate pipes function as well as, or better than, new.
Estate pipes on internet auction sites (eg., eBay) are often being sold by non-smokers who are completely unaware of their actual value. I obtained two genuine Austrian (not Konçak) Andreas Bauer estate pipes for $12 each as part of a four pipe lot.
The negatives include the following:
There is a lot of garbage being offered for sale. Some pipes are what can be considered counterfeit and that is often not the seller’s fault. For example, when Bauer sold its business to Sadat Konçak of Turkey, it apparently also sold its inventory of pipe cases that were already embossed with “made in Austria.” Konçak packed his own Turkish made pipes in these cases and offered them for sale. He later produced his own Bauer pipes, legally because he had bought the business, but the logo was slightly different in color and font. (Konçak is no longer in business.) The remedy is research, observation and patience. Learn “the market.” Watch what is being offered for at least two months before making a purchase.
Most estate meerschaum pipes offered for sale have been abused to some extent. The worst is a pipe with a cracked stummel. Buy it only if it will never be smoked. Many are caked with carbon and have air holes constricted with uncleaned residue. A pipe upon its arrival is usually subjected to an hour of cleaning and bowl reaming. Many are half a century to a century (or more) old but look pale for their age and obvious usage. After the stummel’s exterior surface has been cleaned, usually with 600 or finer grit sandpaper and water, it is dried then coated with a beeswax compound. It almost always begin to show color, sometimes very dramatically. Simple restoration will transform a meerschaum into a pipe that will deliver a smoke far superior to that of a new pipe.
