The Great Meerschaum Cake Experiment

[RustiePyles CPG]

Forgive me for offering a different view for the point of conversation, I'll not make that mistake again. According to posts this evening, I'm taking too many risks and living my life wrong.

Don’t get all weepy and apologetic, I’ve seen you bandsaw pipes in half to prove a point… If you disagree then you disagree. But remember that opinions and science don’t make good bedfellows. Something I think we’ve lost sight of as a society.

Sure, this might be too unscientific for some, and "all my arguments are based on anecdotal evidence" , but it might still be worth it to test old myths or advice, at the very least it is a fun experiment. Although if there is one thing that you should follow it is advice from old generations, even if practices seem very outdated, there might be some part of it helping. It's not like people were more stupid two hundred years ago, but I definetly am more stupid than they are

Don’t misinterpret me, I made no claim about this experiment. I actually encourage it, I’m interested to see what happens.

I’m only pushing back against the claim the cake will not crack a pipe. I’m not saying any cake will crack a meer, I have 100 plus year old meers that had plenty of cake in em and were just fine. I’m only saying that if it is left unmanaged it will crack a pipe.

Didn’t mean crap on everyone’s cake, I’ll see myself out of this thread.

 

[telescopes]

Sure, this might be too unscientific for some, and "all my arguments are based on anecdotal evidence" , but it might still be worth it to test old myths or advice, at the very least it is a fun experiment. Although if there is one thing that you should follow it is advice from old generations, even if practices seem very outdated, there might be some part of it helping. It's not like people were more stupid two hundred years ago, but I definetly am more stupid than they are

I think it is highly commendable what you and others are doing. My meers were caked heavily for two decades plus before I reamed them. I am fairly certain I had taken them to the breaking point. It's a good thing I didn't overly heavily smoke them or the cake would have been even worse than it was.

Anecdotal evidence is important. If it confirms long held wisdom, so much the better. If it contradicts long held wisdom, then asking questions as to why it seems to do so is the next step. Often times, our observations may be slightly off or our understanding behind the long held wisdom is incomplete. Taking the time to break in a pipe can't hurt it, while just jumping in and smoking might be just fine. But what if there is a flaw in the chamber? Properly caking the pipe may just save the pipe from a future burn out.
But to each his own.

 

[ray47]

Should I build cake in a meer or should I not build cake in a meer. I'm going and I've got a headache.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I'm not sure how any smoking experiment with a Meer will reveal much. There's too much variability. Examine the three Meers I've purchased in the last 2 years. The top one has over 750 bowls smoked, the middle well over 500 and the bottom one 50 as of today, the photo taken today. To the casual observer, the bottom one may appear to have colored and been smoked the most. Each has obviously colored quite differently. All smoked by the same person the same way. All have only had straight Virginia blends smoked in them.

 

[Sobrbiker]

I spend most of time doing Root Cause Analysis for components of high speed automation and robotics. That means, my career is determining why mechanical parts failed. I do know a little about this subject professionally. So you can rest assured that I’m not making any of this up or conjecturing.

That’s no defense against anecdotal small sample personal experience backed by emotional investment, supported by scouring the internet for minority opinions that create an echo chamber for one looking to re-invent the wheel in the face of sound conservation developed through over generations of experiential knowledge

 

[TheWhale13]

That’s no defense against anecdotal small sample personal experience backed by emotional investment, supported by scouring the internet for minority opinions that create an echo chamber for one looking to re-invent the wheel in the face of sound conservation developed through over generations of experiential knowledge

I'm literally just building cake.

 

[telescopes]

I'm literally just building cake.

You're such a peasant, LOL.

 

[TheWhale13]

That’s no defense against anecdotal small sample personal experience backed by emotional investment, supported by scouring the internet for minority opinions that create an echo chamber for one looking to re-invent the wheel in the face of sound conservation developed through over generations of experiential knowledge

You can't gain much "experiential knowledge" without experimenting, can you? If everybody accepted blindly what is believed to be common sense or knowledge, then we would still be living in caves and banging rocks together. Questioning things, even without the questioner having professional knowledge of the area, is not something that should be frowned upon.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Should I build cake in a meer or should I not build cake in a meer. I'm going and I've got a headache.

Yes, Ray!

Seriously, I am in the very thin cake arena.

 

[telescopes]

Yes, Ray!

Seriously, I am in the very thin cake arena.

If I could, it would be a flakey, yet buttery tasting pie crust.

 

[simong]

Seriously, I am in the very thin cake arena.

Your own fault for supporting Spurs.
Come with me & cheer on the Gunners & you’ll be in the ‘Layer Cake’ arena.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Well the Gooners did pull it out last minute today, no? A grudging congratulations!
But I'd like to see them play a home game.

 

[didimauw]

Should I build cake in a meer or should I not build cake in a meer. I'm going and I've got a headache.

Dude seriously my head has been hurting for weeks now. This guy's build cake look how dark it is. This guy has never had cake look at how dark it is.

 

[TheWhale13]

Dude seriously my head has been hurting for weeks now. This guy's build cake look how dark it is. This guy has never had cake look at how dark it is.

Why not do it? Go ahead and build that soft, smelly and ghosty cake

 

[didimauw]

Why not do it? Go ahead and build that soft, smelly and ghosty cake

That's the plan! Nice and big! I only smoke burleys, so ghosting isn't a thing in my world.

 

[aspiring_sage]

I'm kinda hoping it cracks. I miss my briars lmao

You’re only like two months in!

 

[brian64]

I'm not sure how any smoking experiment with a Meer will reveal much. There's too much variability. Examine the three Meers I've purchased in the last 2 years. The top one has over 750 bowls smoked, the middle well over 500 and the bottom one 50 as of today, the photo taken today. To the casual observer, the bottom one may appear to have colored and been smoked the most. Each has obviously colored quite differently. All smoked by the same person the same way. All have only had straight Virginia blends smoked in them.

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This is a good point imo, and in line with my own experience and observation...especially since they've all been smoked with the same blends.

The top one seems very unusual to me though...I've never had one color uniformly like that. The bottom 2 are much more typical, but the fact that the middle one has been smoked 10 times more than the bottom with the same blend type clearly shows how there's something about the individual blocks (density?) that makes the difference.

I'm really pleased at the greatly increased interest in meers the last few years on the forum, but I'm also glad that I personally have never really been obsessed with the coloring...to me it's always just been a minor, secondary aspect of meer smoking that I never used to pay a lot of attention to until more recently when there's been such intensive discussion and examination of it on here.

 

[TheWhale13]

This is a good point imo, and in line with my own experience and observation...especially since they've all been smoked with the same blends.

The top one seems very unusual to me though...I've never had one color uniformly like that. The bottom 2 are much more typical, but the fact that the middle one has been smoked 10 times more than the bottom with the same blend type clearly shows how there's something about the individual blocks (density?) that makes the difference.

I'm really pleased at the greatly increased interest in meers the last few years on the forum, but I'm also glad that I personally have never really been obsessed with the coloring...to me it's always just been a minor, secondary aspect of meer smoking that I never used to pay a lot of attention to until more recently when there's been such intensive discussion and examination of it on here.

Is the top ones color caused by actual coloring, or just grime and ash stuck in the carvings? It's a very nice pipe by the way Hoosier.

But the bottom one looking very colored is just because its wax was colored, and being bleached by the heat?

 

[brian64]

Is the top ones color caused by actual coloring, or just grime and ash stuck in the carvings?

It doesn't look like grime to me, but maybe @hoosierpipeguy can answer that more definitively.

But the bottom one looking very colored is just because its wax was colored, and being bleached by the heat?

If so, why didn't the middle one do the same?

 

[TheWhale13]

It doesn't look like grime to me, but maybe @hoosierpipeguy can answer that more definitively.


If so, why didn't the middle one do the same?

Did the middle one have colored wax? I mean that the wax was yellow instead of the usual white.