Meerschaum Pipes: A Beginners Guide

In anticipation of my first meerschaum pipe, I’ve put together some information, from various sources, that might be helpful for those who are new to this type of pipe. Anyone who has experience with meerschaums, please feel free to add your comments and recommendations.

[SIZE="3"] Now that you have your new meerschaum pipe, what do you do with it?[/SIZE]

Well the obvious answer to this question is simple…smoke it. That is unless you want to put it on a mantle and look at it.


If you are going to smoke it, you’ll want to take good care of it.

[SIZE="3"]Caring for Your Meerschaum Pipe[/SIZE]

Take care not to drop your meerschaum on a hard surface. These pipes are quite fragile and require more careful handling than other pipes.

Handle the pipe lightly and with clean hands. There is evidence that suggests that handling the meerschaum while warm can remove the beeswax layer(s) on the outside of the pipe and any dirt or oils that might be on your fingers may discoloring the pipe.

Meerschaum pipes are coated in beeswax which aids in the coloring process and protects the brittle meerschaum. As the pipe heats during smoking (and be careful not to get it too hot) the beeswax melts. If your hands are dirty, the beeswax will pick up that dirt. Though some suggest not touching the bowl of a meerschaum pipe while smoking it, that may be a bit extreme. Just take care that your hands are clean and dry.

When lighting, keep your flame source over the tobacco. Pay careful attention when lighting your pipe, so that it does not char the rim of your pipe. It is near impossible to remove this rim charring from a meerschaum pipe, so it pays to be extra careful in this department. Also during the smoke, you may notice that a more thorough cleaning is in order if the pipe begins to taste sour, salty, or just plain bad, then it’s probably time for a good cleaning.

At the end of each smoke, dump out the ash and dottle, and run a bristle pipe cleaner around the inside of the bowl to remove any possible cake build-up. Unlike a briar pipe, a meerschaum requires no cake, and in some instances, a cake can be detrimental to a meerschaum, either slowing the coloring process, or causing the pipe to crack. Avoid digging into the heel of the pipe when cleaning the graft hole by not allowing the pipe cleaner (NOT Liquid) to extend too far into the bowl.

Do not tap your meerschaum against a hard surface. If you tap it in your palm, be sure to support the shank firmly with your hand. This is sound advice for briar pipe smokers also. To empty a meerschaum, tip it upside down, and if the ash does not fall out on its own use a pipe tool gently to loosen it.

Clean out the stem with a bristle pipe cleaner. Repeat, if necessary, until the pipe cleaners come out clean. When using a pipe cleaner, take care not to push the cleaner too far into the bowl. The wire can eventually wear a hole in the heel of the pipe.

Blow gently through the stem of the pipe to dislodge any leftover ash.

You can wipe the outside of your pipe with a soft cloth after each use.

Place the pipe back on it's rack or stand and allow it to cool.

You will want to, periodically, give your pipe a more thorough cleaning.

[SIZE="3"]More Thorough Cleaning[/SIZE]


~To start this cleaning, carefully remove the stem of the pipe from the bowl and lay the two pieces on a paper towel.

~Clean your pipe only when it has cooled down. When warm, meerschaum is softer and thus more vulnerable to damage.

~Be careful when removing the stem of your meerschaum by pulling it and twisting it CLOCKWISE while supporting the shank with your fingers. Replace the stem by pushing it and twisting it CLOCKWISE also. Twisting counter-clockwise could unscrew the tenon, and doing so repeatedly can strip out the shank.

Note: On some pipes, the stem will have a female thread, with a matching male thread in the shank. To remove the stem twist counterclockwise and clockwise to replace it.



~Dip a regular pipe cleaner in alcohol and run it through the stem, from the tenon to the mouthpiece, pulling it through. It will most likely come out with a bit of black or brown gunk on it. Follow this pipe cleaner with a dry one, and repeat until the moist pipe cleaner comes out the same color it was when it went in. Push one final dry pipe cleaner through to remove any moisture and set the stem aside.

~Use a paper towel or a Handi Wipe and gently wipe out any residue left in the bowl. You can use a bristle brush or a fine kitchen type scrubber for a more thorough bowl cleaning.

~You do not want a meerschaum bowl to build a cake like a briar (some say that a little cake, 1/16”, is ok). Therefore don’t worry about "breaking in" your meerschaum. These pipes, unlike briars, do not burn and hence need not be protected by a carbon cake. Besides, the meerschaum is softer than the cake and it may crack very easily, since the cake expands with heat faster than the meerschaum does.

~You can ream it out, but you should be very careful in the process--the reamer will remove meerschaum faster than cake, so you need to watch for spots where you have reamed away the cake and stay away from those. Again, use caution.

~It is not recommended to use pipe sweeteners or alcohol when cleaning a meerschaum pipe. The porous mineral will be soaked with the sweetener/alcohol causing it to lose its functionality. If you have to, for a deeper cleaning, you may use a paper towel wetted with a 40%-50% alcohol solution to rub the chamber. Stronger alcohol may cause damage.

~Replace the stem being careful not to over tighten.

~Wipe your pipe down with a soft dry cloth and put it back in it’s case.




Sources for further reading:
Frequently Asked Questions
Encyclopedia of Meerschaum Pipes
How to Clean Your Meerschaum Pipe

[SIZE="3"]What is Meerschaum?[/SIZE]

Meerschaum is a German word meaning “sea foam”, referring to the belief that is was compressed white caps of waves. It is , in fact, a hydrous magnesium silicate mineral formed underground. The highest quality, purest, and whitest, meerschaum is found in the city of Eskisehir, Turkey.

Meerschaum is extracted from mines where working conditions are very primitive and miners find their way through openings, like the one in the picture, to go as deep as 500 ft. below the surface, where they start opening sideway galleries by simple tools in very limited working spaces.




Meerschaum is soft when first extracted and comes in various size, “soap like” masses which hardens over time. The raw lumps of meerschaum are washed to remove the dirt and gravel.




[SIZE="3"]How is a Meerschaum Pipe Made?[/SIZE]

Raw blocks are brought into the workshop. The first process is the cleaning of the natural blocks by shaving off the soil. The blocks are then cut into various sizes of smaller blocks to be made into pipes.

After the pipe is hand carved and drilled, it is allowed to dry approx. 24-36 hours. A specially trained sand-paper professional will remove the impressions of the knife-work and any scratches or scars.




The final stage of the meerschaum pipe making is the "beeswax" process. The pure and highest grade of beeswax, the correct temperature while heating, and the exact "dipping" timing of the pipes are all vital factors for the completion of a perfect meerschaum pipe. How well the meerschaum will color is largely determined by the waxing. The pipes are dipped in molten beeswax as many as 8 times to ensure proper coloring.





In finer quality pipes, a case is then hand-made to be fitted to the individual, finished pipe. No pipe will fit another case and no case will fit another pipe. The individual pipe is outlined on a light piece of wood. The piece is cut and slit into 2 halves, the inside is scraped off by hand, and then sanded for smoothness and lined with velvet. The outside is sanded also to become smooth; and it is lined with leather. Hinges and clasps are then attached to finish off the protective carry case.




Here’s a video you can checkout:

Meerschaum Pipes from the ground up.

Sources:
History of the Meerschaum

The Story of Meerschaum

[SIZE="3"]Coloring[/SIZE]

One of the joys of owning and smoking a meerschaum pipe is watching it slowly change color, from a milky white to golden to a deep reddish brown. This results from the oil in the tobacco and wax on the outside of the bowl.

“A new meerschaum pipe is generally either pure white or a very pale, creamy yellow color. As it is smoked, tars and oils seep closer to the waxed surface of the shank and then the bowl. Pinks dissolve into deepening amber reds and the golds become a richer, golden brown. The coloring ultimately approaches black-brown or a muted, dark cherry. These changes take place very gradually, the seasoning progressing so slowly that it almost goes unnoticed. It is as if one were watching a very cautious but exquisite autumn slip stealthily into its colors.” -Carl Ehwa, Jr. The Book of Pipes & Tobacco.1974.

The length of time it takes to change colors depends greatly on the porosity of the meerschaum, the type of tobacco smoked, and the frequency of smoking. While a better quality meerschaum will begin to color almost immediately, the complete coloring process is gradual and could take a year or even longer.

“There are many different ways to go about coloring your meerschaum pipe, but one of the simplest is as follows:
Smoke your meerschaum several times a day for about two weeks. Unlike a briar pipe, meerschaums do not need long periods of rest between smokes, and can safely be smoked multiple times in a day. Do, however, allow the pipe to cool between bowls. After this two weeks, your meerschaum should be noticeably heavier than when you began, owing to the amount of tars and oils now trapped inside the meerschaum. Put your meerschaum aside for a period of about one month. During this time, the beeswax will wick the tars and oils towards the surface of the pipe, coloring it in the process. Repeat and enjoy!” -from smoking pipes.com

thank you, very informative

That is a very good job covering the subject. Maybe a moderator could make a 'sticky' out of this thread?
Ken

Dave, could you do a little research and get back to us when you're done?

Wow, I really had no idea. I also didn't have much interest as I casually almost dismissed Meers as a purely decorative pipe that held no real interest for me. Well thanks for changing all that. Very interesting process, both for manufacturing and maintenance/use.

Thanks for the great post

What a boring thread!


just kidding, its a great thread, i knew most of the information here from my own research, which took many days of interent browsing, however it is really nice to see it all compiled into one article, if only i hadnt wasted all that time LOL

nice thread thanks for taking the time to put it together.

Originally Posted by EvanS

Wow, I really had no idea. I also didn't have much interest as I casually almost dismissed Meers as a purely decorative pipe that held no real interest for me.

No way... you need a meer! ( push, push, push...)

http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showthr...aum#post312536

Great that this showed up,because I have a meer that is unused as of yet and I just picked up and old meer at a flea market that I want to restore.

Originally Posted by Hoplophile

No way... you need a meer! ( push, push, push...)

I agree, maybe I DO need one

[SIZE=1]argh - wife looking over shoulder.......[SIZE=2] I mean NO!!! I don't need one....I have more pipes than I'll ever need already......You CS guys don't scare me, you can no longer MAKE me buy pipes like you did for the first 12 or so...........[/SIZE][/SIZE]