Will this pipe work?

Last time I tried pipe smoking I was in college 20 years ago. But I saw one of these on ebay and thought it looked cool and bought it for fitty-five bucks, shipped from Turkey.

It's "hand-carved block meerschaum" and comes with a little case..

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...psfubyroxu.jpg

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...pssfeorl9r.jpg

Here's the ad copy:

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Made in Turkey

All hand carved by the local artists of Eskisehir

Brand new and High quality.

Made of genuine block meerschaum from Eskisehir.

Waxed in a hot natural bath of beeswax.

Teflon Tenon.

Acrylic Stem.
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That gonna work? I also have some John Bull English pipe tobaccy coming in with my next cigar shipment from c-bid. Guess I'm gonna have to get one of those little tampers too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ropey

Last time I tried pipe smoking I was in college 20 years ago. But I saw one of these on ebay and thought it looked cool and bought it for fitty-five bucks, shipped from Turkey.

It's "hand-carved block meerschaum" and comes with a little case..

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...psfubyroxu.jpg

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...pssfeorl9r.jpg

Here's the ad copy:

----------------------------------
Made in Turkey

All hand carved by the local artists of Eskisehir

Brand new and High quality.

Made of genuine block meerschaum from Eskisehir.

Waxed in a hot natural bath of beeswax.

Teflon Tenon.

Acrylic Stem.
----------------------------------

That gonna work? I also have some John Bull English pipe tobaccy coming in with my next cigar shipment from c-bid. Guess I'm gonna have to get one of those little tampers too.

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Should work well Ropey, nice stick.

There should be information, either here on CB or elsewhere on the Net about packing a pipe but you don't want your draw to be difficult. A loose can be corrected but not (really) one that's too hard.

Let us know how you're doing and if you have any issues just ask and someone will certainly assist.

Meerschaums are great smokers, but you will want to keep it clean. Do not allow cake to build in the bowl. See this thread to see some Meers in action http://www.cigarbum.com/forum/showth...r-Madness-2015.

@Ropey I tried to PM you but couldn't. I have one that I'll give you. Its actually very nice. I overbought when I started and this is one I bought. Not exactly, but same seller and same size.

Let me know.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PMR

@Ropey I tried to PM you but couldn't. I have one that I'll give you. Its actually very nice. I overbought when I started and this is one I bought. Not exactly, but same seller and same size.

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That's a very kind offer, but this one's already been paid for. Does yours seem like a decent pipe?

Noob question: how does a Meerchum pipe compare to a briar? Sorry to HiJack.


Nice looking meerchum!

Its a very good smoking pipe. Especially good to learn the ins and outs of a meerschaum pipe with. The tenon on mine was not great so I just decided not to take it apart. My stem needed polishing but altogether a pipe worth what I paid.

I hope that helps.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Horseshoe

Noob question: how does a Meerchum pipe compare to a briar? Sorry to HiJack.


Nice looking meerchum!

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This is a very broad response.

Meerschaum is more fragile than briar for starters. You can drop a briar (wouldn't suggest it) and walk away with some dents or scratches. Meerschaum on the other hand has the potential to crack anc shatter.

Meers don't need a break in period, unlike briar. Some pipe smokers subscripe to the idea that meerschaum gives you a purer smoke as many meer fans don't want any cake in their pipes thinking it will crack the meerschaum. There is no nutty briar taste when smoking a meer.

From an aesthetic standpoint, meerschaum is much softer and yields itself to more intricate carvings.

Looks good to me! Let me know how it works! Never smoked one before.

Tamper: a wooden golf tee will work in a pinch.

Re difference b/t briar and meer: what the prior posters said, plus you can smoke a meer over and over, i.e., you don't need to rest and rotate them as with briars. But, as Jack observes, you do want to clean them out & not let junk build up. Also, you may be aware that over time the whiteness of the meer gradually darkens into a creamy brown as it soaks up the tobacco moisture. The beeswax helps wick said coloring agents to the outside surface.

Thanks for the replies. I read that, for the first few smokes, a meerschaum should be held by the stem while hot. Something to do with the beeswax. Does this sound right?

Update:

Ok so I figured the new pipe would want a friend so I spent $35 on an inexpensive briar, just in case I drop the meerschaum or decide I wanna smoke "out and about" or just want something different. Pics below:

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...psylnwrhw0.jpg

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...psnxvli0s3.jpg

As you can see I like the half bent apple shape LOL.. for some reason it just says "pipe" to me. (Although the two in this thread have a sort of billiard-esque shape to them if I'm not mistaken.)

Though if I ever get a third, I think it'll be a straight billiard.. that's another iconic look I like. I think my old college Dr. Grabow was a straight (x)bulldog(x) rhodesian. Wonder if I still have that buried in boxes somewhere?

Anyway, hope this one doesn't suck either. It's a "Molina" which I've never heard of.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ropey

Thanks for the replies. I read that, for the first few smokes, a meerschaum should be held by the stem while hot. Something to do with the beeswax. Does this sound right?

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My technique has been to carefully handle the pipe by the stem until I do something to screw up the pipe (appearance wise), then I just treat it like another pipe. It depends on how much of a slave you want to be to the pipe. Touching the bowl while it's hot can lead to fingerprints in the beeswax, or removing spots of beeswax which leads to uneven coloring, but doesn't affect the smoking at all. And you can always rewax the pipe later if you wish.