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What's your take on meerschaum lined briar pipes?

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
I just scored a WWII era Kaywoodie Supergrain with a meer lined bowl. Haven't had a chance to smoke it yet, still cleaning it up. I've smoked both meers and briars, but not a meer lined briar.What's your take on this arrangement? Is it a worthwhile attribute or just a gimmick?
 
Nothing to contribute here, but I'm curious as to what others will have to say. I've seen a few of those pipes online and they seemed like a good idea. On the other hand, if I'm looking for cheap meers I can usually find some pressed ones around...
 
I have one, and it's one of my best smokers. Mine is a Japanese brand, the name escapes me at the moment. I believe that the same rules apply for caring for it as you would a meer, no cake building and let it rest a while before cleaning.
 
I have a meer-lined billiard that smokes great. Whoever had it before me reamed it and put one scratch/gouge near the bottom of the bowl, but it doesn't seem to be hurting anything.
 
I have a meer lined LL Bean. Shes a great smoker & as common as hen teeth Im told.
$LLBean CurvedBrassRim3.jpg
 
I have two, one of them the meer lining is pretty cracked right near the bottom of the bowl. I'm thinking of "repairing" the crack with some pipe mud and letting that harden/dry really well before smoking it. Anyone with more experience know any downfalls of the idea, or if it's an outright fail?
 
IIRC, the advantage is that they smoke well from the get-go, without break-in, and you might be able to smoke two bowls in a row in the same pipe (although I'm not sure enough if the meerschaum is thick enough to really be able to do that successfully).
 

Commander Quan

Commander Yellow Pantyhose
Ah right.

I don't have a meer lined pipe, I had found a site a couple years ago selling NOS Grabows and some of them were meer lined but I never pulled the trigger.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but other than the resistance to ghosting, wouldn't a meer lined pipe have all the unfavorable qualities of a pressed meerschaum pipe, and none of the benefits of a brair?
 

Hirsute

Used to have fun with Commander Yellow Pantyhose
I think of them as great driving pipes. You get protection from wind-driven burnout and rim softening from the meer insert, but the durability and fuss free handling of the briar pipe.
 
I have a Butz-Choquin Cappadoce and it is a great smoker. I don't have any other meers to compare too, but I can say it smokes great and cool. Say I definitely don't give it the attention it deserves in rotation because some favorited with sentimental value dominate, but that is nothing against its performance.

I've seen a few on SP that I was very tempted to grab.
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
Thanks for the replies guys. I got it cleaned up and smoked it last night. It did fine, nothing special about it though. I suspect it will take several smokings with different tobaccos to prove or disprove any advantages.
 
I am only a weekend pipe smoker, but have a handful of pipes that I got from my uncle, including a Kaywoodie meerschaum lined billiard (#40, I believe). It is a fabulous smoker. A piece of the meerschaum has chipped off, so I'm hoping to pick up a better condition one.

Dave
 
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