The White Goddess has arrived!

[baronsamedi]

I got my meerschaum yesterday. It was an estate pipe I got on Ebay for $10. It's a Paykoc billiard with a simple grape leaf pattern and it came with a fitted case. The only down side is the former owner had cracked the mortise. He had rigged it so the mortise is stuck to the tenon and you put the pipe together by screwing it back into its place when you put the pipe back together. It was also pretty dirty from someone handling the bowl with dirty fingers.
I made a metal ring for it so it would go together properly and cleaned it off very carefully with cotton balls and some lemon juice. I gave it the wax treatment and now it's a great looking, great smoking pipe. I have to baby it until the replacement mortise/tenon gets here, but it's awesome! Eventually I will get a brand new pipe, but right now tweaking on these old ones is giving me some knowledge that I can use later. Hell. Can't beat a large meer for $10.
You guys weren't kidding when you said a meer is a whole different smoke! The bowl is huge so I can smoke for like an hour and a half! I'm gonna use it to try out new tobaccos like some of you guys do.

 

[cortezattic]

It's great that you rescued a wonderful sounding pipe. I hope that many great smokes emerge from what

appears to have been a neat project, as well as a super deal. :clap:

 

[baronsamedi]

Me too. i have to say that reading the info on these forums has helped me quite a bit, steering me away from some mistakes I otherwise would have made. It's made being a beginning pipe smoker less frustrating, too. :worship:

 

[romeowood]

i have to say that reading the info on these forums has helped me quite a bit, steering me away from some mistakes I otherwise would have made. It's made being a beginning pipe smoker less frustrating, too.

That's awesome! welcome to the club!

 

[ssjones]

What no pictures?

 

[baronsamedi]

I guess it would have been smarter of me to post pix of the repair job. I'll post a pic of the pipe as soon as I can. Th new mortise/tenons arrived today. The old, cracked mortise had been superglued onto the old tenon. I used nail polish remover to break up the glue and was able to get it off. The old tenon was still in good shape, but was too narrow for the new mortises, so I heated a nail with a torch and carefully inserted it into the tenon. The heat made the tenon stretch out when it cooled, it was wide enough to fit snug. Gotta be careful though, I almost melted the sucker. The pipe is good as new now.

 

[baronsamedi]

Here are some pix of the finished product. $10.99 on Ebay plus about $3 worth of parts.

 

[unclearthur]

Looks pretty darn good!

 

[papipeguy]

Good rescue and I think the heated nail trick is a great tip.

 

[pstlpkr]

Looks like a great smoker!

I love the grape leaf pattern, really nice.

Well worth 14 Samolians.

 

[igloo]

Well done , many happy smokes .

 

[baronsamedi]

Thanks, everyone. The nail trick was one I read on here and modofied for my purposes. I wasn't able to find the original link or I would link it. I used a propane torch to heat the nail, but a little patience and a bic lighter may have better results and fewer risk factors.
I just got a tin of Hearth and Home's Magnum Opus and I'm going to give it a go this evening!

 

[bubbadreier]

Looks great to me! Good job!

 

[hobie1dog]

Thanks for the pics....let us know how that Magnum Opus is to smoke.

 

[fred]

It's been fun reading of your creative exploits with this Meerschaum. For future needs, here's a

useful source of derlin push/pull connectors. http://www.pipemakers.org/misc_products.html

Working with these old estate Meerschaums is an education in itself and can result in bringing

a good Pipe back into service. Good for you!
Here's some good information about push/pull connectors...

http://bestmeerschaums.homestead.com/REPAIR.html

 

[baronsamedi]

Thanks, Fred! I know you're the meerschaum dude here! I'm bookmarking all this stuff.

 

[expatpipe]

Man that is a solidly beautiful pipe! Good job all the way around.

 

[baronsamedi]

Thanks, Briar Bully. The simplicity of the design was one reason I was interested in it. I like some of the art carved stuff, but for me I like something simple and effective. The grape leaf pattern suits me since I'm a wine/meadmaker and the billiard style works for me. Turned out to be a dynamite pipe!

 

[htmn246]

enjoy your mer it is a whole new realm of smoking

 

[baronsamedi]

Just posted a review of the Magnum Opus here