Are meerschaum pipes worth buying? What company makes good ones?
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Meerschaum Pipes?
- Thread starter K Williams
- Start date
Craig Mac
BoM 4/10 7/11 12/14
SMS makes some good, affordable Turkish block Meerschaum pipes. The appeal of meerschaum is that it burns cool and is incombustible. It also gets a nice patina to it from the oils on your hands the more you smoke it. The most preferred type of meerschaum is the block meerschaum, which is carved from a block to its desired shape, a truly artistic process. Pressed meerschaum is the shavings pressed in to a mold to make a shape and typically burns hotter than block. Whether it is worth getting is up to you, but most pipe smokers I know that have multiple pipes have at least one meerschaum.
Ive got 3 meers that I consider "regular" smokers.... two were pretty inexpensive.. less than $50 each.. the third one was pretty pricy.. I gave about $250 for it.. but it is a custom, one off, hand carved job that I got from this guy while I was in Turkey this past summer..
http://meerschaumwork.com/index.html
To be honest.. it doesnt smoke any better/worse than the inexpensive pipes.. but it really is a work of art.. and it was really cool getting to spend some time with Bilal in his shop (the guy that carved the pipe)..
All of my meers (to include the inexpensive ones) burn cooler than all of my briars (to include the expensive ones).. and like Craig has already said, theyre incombustible..
but the real appeal for me is visual.. I just like the way they look..
If you decide to contact Bilal.. remember he is a Turk.. this means EVERYTHING is negotiable..
We started out with a price that was MUCH higher than what I paid for the pipe (close to $500.. which was not only ridiculous.. but also well out of my budget..)... and I also managed to talk him into giving me a replacement stem for one of my other meers that needed one.. and a couple of other little trinkets, etc.. while I was in his shop...
This is just how business is done in Turkey.. youre not going to offend him if you tell him he is too expensive... youll more likely offend him if you dont tell him.. bartering, negotiating, and haggling is all part of the process over there.. and most Turks I interacted with really enjoy it (there is a social aspect to it all that they seem to like quite a bit)..
http://meerschaumwork.com/index.html
To be honest.. it doesnt smoke any better/worse than the inexpensive pipes.. but it really is a work of art.. and it was really cool getting to spend some time with Bilal in his shop (the guy that carved the pipe)..
All of my meers (to include the inexpensive ones) burn cooler than all of my briars (to include the expensive ones).. and like Craig has already said, theyre incombustible..
but the real appeal for me is visual.. I just like the way they look..
If you decide to contact Bilal.. remember he is a Turk.. this means EVERYTHING is negotiable..
We started out with a price that was MUCH higher than what I paid for the pipe (close to $500.. which was not only ridiculous.. but also well out of my budget..)... and I also managed to talk him into giving me a replacement stem for one of my other meers that needed one.. and a couple of other little trinkets, etc.. while I was in his shop...
This is just how business is done in Turkey.. youre not going to offend him if you tell him he is too expensive... youll more likely offend him if you dont tell him.. bartering, negotiating, and haggling is all part of the process over there.. and most Turks I interacted with really enjoy it (there is a social aspect to it all that they seem to like quite a bit)..
javajunkie
BoM July '12
as far as I have seen so far, meer is almost immune to ghosting, and needs little to no rest? don't have a meer yet, more's the shame, but I have been listening to guys.
Meerschaum is all I use except for my favorite Calabash which uses a Meerschaum bowl. You do not have any of the problems that you have with wood. The only thing is not to scrape it when it is hot or you can hurt the clay inside as it softens due to excessive heat. You can really smoke anything in a Meerschaum and then smoke something else but I have one just for aromatics (although I rarely smoke aromatics). I highly suggest a Calabash (with a meerschaum bowl, not porcelain). When the smoke hits the gourd it absorbs the moisture and cools the smoke so you get a nice dry cool smoke.