Two New Meers From Astas Meerschaum

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Dyakoff

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 16, 2022
106
341
Ukraine
Kudos to @didimauw for getting me familiar with Astas Meerschaum Pipe master
Mustafa Şekercioğlu.

My two meers have arrived today. Ordered them almost a month ago, well, this is how long it now takes to deliver to Ukraine (and even that method of delivery is now under question with all the blackouts and missile strikes)
18AE37A5-4777-4E5D-B40F-CFC7B295F6A0.jpeg
Now I must say mr. Mustafa really knows how to make great latticework.
And haggling with him also turned out fun (I ended up saving $50, but buying two pipes when I only wanted one). So I daresay he got the best of me here.

I just love this little poker pipe.
It is so light I would hardly believe it. Feels like I could hold it with my tongue alone.
EC0DFFCC-E712-4A4D-BAC3-B1DFF03EAB34.jpeg
Wanted a smaller pipe for a fast smoke.

A bit surprised about the shape.
I kinda expected it to be able to stand on the flat bottom. But the balance disagrees with me. Although to be fair, it can remain vertical…as long as you hold your breath around it.

25539954-C32B-4183-BB95-61514A1DEF8E.jpeg

Lighting it is actually not so easy, cause I don’t see the bowl. Have to take it out of the mouth 2-3 times to study the embers.
Now that was unexpected. But not a dealbreaker of course.

Smokes like a charm thou.

I believe I would happily recommend Astas Meerschaum to anyone interested. Although be wary that there may be big language barriers.
For example I asked whether he could make me a second churchwarden stem. He said he would do this free of charge, but I ended up receiving a nosewarmer, which is actually quite the very opposite of what I wanted, lol. Well, I don’t look a gifted horse in the mouth, but looks like i will be needing one more meer.

Oh and to end up on the funny note:

I asked him to include a pinch of meerschaum dust so that I could probably try to patch my IMP (maybe I won’t bother, but having some meerschaum dust seemed like a good idea anyways).

He did oblige me.
What can I say. In the hindsight I am happy as hell that the customs did not open my parcel…otherwise it would probably take me a few more month to prove I’m not a criminal
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Last edited:

Dyakoff

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 16, 2022
106
341
Ukraine
In case anyone may be interested
(if not, than purely for bragging purposes)
This is its current state after 2 month of heavy use (an unsmoked meer for reference)
It’s now my favourite pipe atm.
 

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didimauw

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 28, 2013
9,895
31,637
34
Burlington WI
In case anyone may be interested
(if not, than purely for bragging purposes)
This is its current state after 2 month of heavy use (an unsmoked meer for reference)
It’s now my favourite pipe atm.
This is fantastic! I was looking that those carbon fiber meers. Looking at the weights alone, I almost pulled the trigger. Unheard of weights for a pipe. I was curious about how those ones color, without a shank lol. Please keep updating! It looks great!

I have been in contact with Mustafa again, and have something big (small?) in the works. Super exciting.
 

Dyakoff

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 16, 2022
106
341
Ukraine
dear gentlemen, do you clean the rim of your meerschaums?
It takes a lot of elbow grease to remove the black, and yes it can be done, but after a few smokes it’s back.
I practiced cleaning it after every smoke but noticed that it slowly but steadily removes etchings from the top.
This picture is after 2 days of smokes after complete good cleaning of the rim.

CBC0784F-AAF3-457F-B6A3-19C200E589D5.jpeg
 
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didimauw

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 28, 2013
9,895
31,637
34
Burlington WI
No no no. I don't clean the rim of any of my pipes. Too much work for it to just come back.
dear gentlemen, do you clean the rim of your meerschaums?
It takes a lot of elbow grease to remove the black, and yes it can be done, but after a few smokes it’s back.
I practiced cleaning it after every smoke but noticed that it slowly but steadily removes etchings from the top.
This picture is after 2 days of smokes after complete good cleaning of the rim.

View attachment 205192
I prefer the look anyways!
 
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Reactions: Briar Tuck
Jan 28, 2018
12,955
134,693
67
Sarasota, FL
dear gentlemen, do you clean the rim of your meerschaums?
It takes a lot of elbow grease to remove the black, and yes it can be done, but after a few smokes it’s back.
I practiced cleaning it after every smoke but noticed that it slowly but steadily removes etchings from the top.
This picture is after 2 days of smokes after complete good cleaning of the rim.

View attachment 205192
Don't pack it so full. The rim will still darken, just not as much. I don't think there's a practical way to prevent a Meer rim from darkening.
 
Apr 26, 2012
3,352
5,165
Washington State
Looks like you got yourself two great pipes. I'm glad you had a great experience talking with the carver and working out the details for your pipes. It can be a fun process. Enjoy your pipes!