Considering a Meerschaum

[KarlMaldensNose]

So I'm over my obsession with stubby pokers. I still think they look great, but they smoke like doo-doo due to the short stems, putting your mouth waaay too close to the hot bowl. Maybe only a few blends I've tried so far do well in them. Everything else is hot and flavourless.

On the flip side seems to be Meerschaum pipes. I think they generally look horrible, with the tacky carvings, but from what I understand, they smoke very well. Couple questions... How exactly do they smoke "better"? I mean, do they absorb moisture well, smoke cool, dry fast, ghost less? And, are there any companies or carvers who are well known for making quality Meers at reasonable prices? I imagine the elaborately carved pipes are more expensive than more unassuming looking ones. Also, do they need to be treated any differently than briar pipes (e.g. building cake, cleaning, etc.)? Thanks.

 

[nortac]

Check out IMP pipes at Smokingpipes.com. I don't know anything about them, but they look reasonable. Perhaps someone can comment on their suitability.

 

[Price]

I believe James covers meers pretty well in the "Gentlemen's Essentials" sticky at the top of the forum, but in my opinion meers are great. I'm not a big fan of the carved figures either, but meers are also made in standard pipe shapes. They smoke very cool (although the bowl does get quite hot to the touch), and do not require resting - you could smoke the same meer every day if you so choose. No ghosting, either. You do have to take care not to allow a cake to build up, as it might crack the mineral, and you can't treat them too roughly. When buying a meer, look for one that has a standard "briar-type" tenon. Most of the new ones do, but the older ones you might get off the bay may have a screw-in type tenon that is a PITA. I'll second the recommendation for IMP. They are quite reasonably priced, and I've been quite pleased with mine.

 

[COHunter]

I've been drooling over several meers lately and I've heard good things about the IMP brand. From what I gather (as I don't own one yet) is yoiu get what you pay for in many instances, so if it seems like a screaming deal maybe it should be reconsidered. Honestly I kinda dig some of the crazy designs of some of them, but there are many of them in the traditional shapes.

 

[PugslyCat]

I've got a couple of meerschaum pipes and enjoy them both:

One is a big Sherlock Holmes style calabash pipe, actually mahogany shell with a meerschaum bowl. I accidentally destroyed the bowl while cleaning it last summer but was able to get a replacement quite easily. These are actually fairly inexpensive pipes as the meerschaum bowl is a rather small part of the whole. It's a wonderful pipe for sitting at home in the easy chair with, but it's a tad bulky for smoking while being active at all. The smoke chamber under the bowl makes for a very cool smoke. It's also quite cool in the hand due to the composite construction.

My latest addition is a full bent billiard with no fancy carving. It is like any of my other pipes except for having a white bowl and an amber lucite stem. I packed it too tightly the first time and chipped the top of the bowl while trying to dig some of the tobacco out. This one smoke just like my better briar pipes. It isn't any cooler smoking and gets hot in the hand just like a briar.

 

[KarlMaldensNose]

Looks like I'll check out IMP. I'm guessing meers can be hot in the hand because they're so good at dissipating heat, resulting in a cooler smoke. That would also probably account for why you don't have to rest them, as they are more porous than briar and dry out much quicker. Sounds like a great setup. I don't do much when I'm smoking other than sit in a chair and concentrate on the tobacco, maybe a little daydreaming, so I can definitely handle the delicate nature of them. Price, thanks for tip about the Gentlemen's Essentials, I always forget about that.