sms pipe wax question

[blackop555]

i was given an SMS pipe the other day. it looks like a regular pipe shape but it has a bunch of notches in it. It is kind of shinny on the raised parts and but the lower parts are dull. The lack of shine leads me to htink there is not much wax on it. my friend said they noticed it to and they dug in one of those low spots with their fingernail and they said that there was wax under their nail. i am wondering if there is a low amount of wax on it will i have to touch that up with more wax? or should it still color just fine even without wax in that one small spot. about the size of the end of a pipe cleaner. thanks. The reason i ask this is most other meerschaum pipes all are shinny and ive never seen a carved pipe with notches in it in real life. My other guess is it dont look like much wax because you cant polish very well in the notches and beeswax is dull until polished

[rrb]

I think that, maybe the pipe wasn't polished good enough and being so, all you have is excess wax there.
I'd give it a good polish with a buffer or a dremel tool carefully. That should smooth the finish.

[RJpuffs]

If its a meerschaum pipe - be VERY careful about what you rub it with. A dremel is a definite no-no. Meer is soft stuff, the "stuff" under your nail after scratching it is probably meerschaum, yes, you can literally gouge chunks off it. If it ain't itchy, don't scratch it.

Best is to simply smoke it top to bottom. The wax, as it may be, will distribute itself. Avoid touching the warm bowl while smoking the first dozen or so bowls. Some use soft (chamois) leather to hold it, or just grasp it by the plastic stem for a while. Once the wax starts doing its thing, you can hold it normally. Don't overheat a meer, the wax will boil off leaving, well, nothing behind.

If its an estate, it may have been abused by the prior owner. Then you may need to consider re-waxing - there was recent thread about how to.

[Dzrtrat]

I agree with Ron..It's very easy to ruin the pipe using machinery..And can happen very quickly, especially if you haven't the knowledge to do so....Smoke on.