Who Has Tried the MM Freehand

[mso489]

Who is smoking the Missouri Meerschaum Freehand, and how do you like it? I'm intrigued by the larger,

much deeper bowl, and also by the fact that the good folks at MM have decided to provide the pipe with

a Vulcanite stem, a more permanent stem than most of the MM cobs. There seem to be two versions of

the pipe, though both are bent and unfiltered; they are the Freehand and the Natural Freehand, and the

difference seems to be the finish. I have wondered about the deeper bowl, how that works. It does not

seem to be quite as deep as their longstanding General MacArthur pipe, which I believe took some technique

for most pipers to get it to burn well down into the bowl. Nonetheless, this (to me) newer version looks

like it could be a good addition to the rack, at about $32. But I am so pleased with my three cobs, all

more traditionally sized, and recently supplied with Walker Briar Works Forever stems, I'm not sure I need

this additional cob. Whatever I do about it, I'd be interested to hear about Forums members experiences

with it. Is this a good recommendation for some of our new pipe smokers and students who want to build

a rotation of pipes on a budget?

 

[onepyrotec]

I have a couple. One is the "Natural" version, and the other is what R.Santia based my last custom on. BOTH are great smokers. I yanked the original stem from the "Natural" and replaced it with an 4 3/4" green swirl acrylic stem I got off ebay for around $10.00 and the pipe from Riccardo, well, you wouldn't even recognize it as have stating life as a "Freehand" ::
Even at only $31& change, I wouldn't call the MM Freehand budget cobs for new smokers. For the size a budget cob IMHO would be the General or even a take Mac for the long shank and cut the bowl down a little bit.

 

[mike73]

I have a finished Freehand and one of their Generals as well. To be honest I do not see anything different about them but price. Both have about the same chamber depth and steam. The only difference is the appearance. I love them. I drive from site to site with my job. Some sites are over an hour from each other and these are perfect for the trip. I would say they would easily provide a two hour smoke. They are pretty big and I have gotten more then one thumbs up from a by passing cars on the freeway.

 

[lqjones]

I love the MM Freehand,it's my favorite of all their pipes. I only own another little Mizzou, but want to get a Country Gentleman and or Patriot. The freehand smokes great. Nice long smoke, but like the other poster said, they are not what I call budget pipes for the price. They are on the high end of cobs but one of the best IMHO.

 

[warren]

Mine came on a plaque it mounts on. It's at near 30 years old and is now my main shop pipe. I turn to it when sitting at the bench trying to visualize a solution to woodworking problem (read: mistake to be corrected).