Translucent Meerschaum
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Dear Gentlemens,
You're right, translucent block, a name unheard of before.
Because the translucen block becomes discernible once it is finished.
Even not noticed if attention is not paid.
It comes out quite rarely anyway.
However, since meerschaum masters usually do not smoke pipes, they have no idea how such a stone will look after smoking.
Thus, this feature did not become a marketing element and not heard.
In fact, it is not much different from the normal block, except that it colorizes quickly and creates a visual feast.
It is also no different from normal blocks in terms of durability.
Also there are a couple types of translucent blocks.
Some have real cracks (black cracks) before they are smoked. Attention should be paid to them. these may be flimsy
I have two rarest ones that I use regularly and one is unsmoked(sorry not for sale).
You can see the progress photos mixed together below
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Awesome! Thank you so much for your reply and information.
Thanks for the info and the great pics Said. I must say I'm a little surprised to learn the above though...I guess I just imagined they were all pipe smokers.
I'm 100% behind Altinay on this one. I have several pipes like this. Some of my Ismet Beklers, abstracts carved for Royal and Golden Horn, are this way, as is a rose-in-hand carved by Huseyin Yanik (while in the process of ordering a pipe, I showed Mr. Yanik my collection, he attested that mine was carved by his late father before he began signing pipes, and he showed a similar one from his collection to prove it), and an unsigned saxophone, a bearded man wearing a turban, with seven shank segments, has it, too.
What is it? You can look at the polished meerschaum under a light, and there's a subtle texture visible under the surface, which looks like you're peering into the meerschaum. I haven't smoked any of mine heavily enough to see how that colors, but it's there and I love it. I believe this is extremely porous, high-quality block, dipped in high-quality wax. It does seem to be very uncommon. I've also seen it on the late-production Beklers (mostly variations on classic shapes, covered partially with ornate geometric relief carvings - had a chance to examine a whole lot of them at one of the two shops that bought out all the stock when CAO quit doing pipes). In the latter era of Bekler's career, CAO was paying premium for top-notch meer, re-grading in-house and giving the top 10% of that to Bekler!
What is it? You can look at the polished meerschaum under a light, and there's a subtle texture visible under the surface, which looks like you're peering into the meerschaum. I haven't smoked any of mine heavily enough to see how that colors, but it's there and I love it. I believe this is extremely porous, high-quality block, dipped in high-quality wax. It does seem to be very uncommon. I've also seen it on the late-production Beklers (mostly variations on classic shapes, covered partially with ornate geometric relief carvings - had a chance to examine a whole lot of them at one of the two shops that bought out all the stock when CAO quit doing pipes). In the latter era of Bekler's career, CAO was paying premium for top-notch meer, re-grading in-house and giving the top 10% of that to Bekler!
My heart stopped beating from the time I accidentally knocked mine off the top of the freezer until the time I picked it up off the concrete floor in the garage, completely unscathed. I can’t even determine what part of the pipe landed on the ground because I can’t see so much as a scuff. Hopefully this will be the only opportunity this pipe has to display its resilience, but I’m quite a bit more confident in its durability, now.
I've seen that pic before...isn't that supposedly Baki's personal pipe that he smoked? I seem to remember that from when someone posted it a long time ago. I didn't know about translucent meerschaum then, but it certainly appears to be one...and definitely the most amazing coloring I've ever seen.
I think, for those questioning the concept, it might be worth taking note of the fact that some of these more prominent meerschaum carvers are keeping these pipes for their own, when discovered. Telling. Telling, indeed.
Every meer colors its own way. That’s part of the fun!
Well, my 7 day Altinay set is now complete, and the icing on the cake is I am now a member of the translucent club:
Should color beautifully, but with a seven day rotation of meers it'll take you a few lifetimes.
You're so right...and I'm so glad you pointed that out...because this one will of course have to be smoked every day...which means it cannot really be counted as part of the 7 day set.
After all, on the 8th day God made translucent meerschaum.
Who ever said a seven day set needs seven pipes?
Very good point...and one I'm surprised I haven't seen made before.
It's simple math: how to determine your requirements for a 7 day set:
avg # bowls per day X 7
So we work our way through all of this meerschaum talk only to end with a conclusion in support of buying another pipe. How fitting! I support that!
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