Show us your Pipes

[2jakes]

I'm in the process of ordering an Altinok Meerschaum from Turkey.
It's a custom made pipe.
The meerschaum will come in it''s pure
form from the earth in Turkey. No processed or pressed meer.

 

[2jakes]

This is the style in white meerschaum.
I was going to order amber stem but
have read that amber lucite material
is more durable and not as fragile as
amber stems.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

My pipes...

 

[2jakes]

Thank you for the nice comment on my 35 year hobby I started in college and have just enjoyed my pipe (I did quit for about 4 years 10 years ago... and then I just remember how much I enjoyed a pipe on the deck after work).

To answer your question about blends. Yes and no. The Dunhill Elizabethan has Perique in it. Sometimes my tummy tolerates Perique and sometimes not. Mostly I smoke a nice easy aromatic blend, and makes it easy. If however the season is right and I am in the mood for an English Blend, I'll use 190 Grain/Kosher Salt and I'll pretty much clean up the two pipes I plan to smoke the English Blend in.

Hope that answers your question, if not let me know, I'll smoke a bowl and try and answer it correctly. Have a great evening.

Have you ever been to TobaccoReviews.com ( http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/ ) there's some pretty good reviews on the various blends etc.

I've read that aromatic blends are best for
meerschaum which produces a nice hue to
the outside of the pipe.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

I've read that aromatic blends are best for
meerschaum which produces a nice hue to
the outside of the pipe.

Because of the toppings & casings on aromatic blends they are supposed to help promote the coloring of meerschaum. You can also help speed up the coloring by regularly waxing the outside of the bowl & by handling the bowl sparingly. Handle by the stem as best you can.

Keep in mind that you can not clean the chamber of a meerschaum with anything including alcohol like Everclear. You should only wipe out the chamber with a damp paper towel.

If you enjoy aro tobacco blends then start cellaring away your favorites, as most of them will be discontinued under the new FDA guidelines on pipe tobacco, cigars & vape juice.

 

[2jakes]

Because of the toppings & casings on aromatic blends they are supposed to help promote the coloring of meerschaum. You can also help speed up the coloring by regularly waxing the outside of the bowl & by handling the bowl sparingly. Handle by the stem as best you can.

Keep in mind that you can not clean the chamber of a meerschaum with anything including alcohol like Everclear. You should only wipe out the chamber with a damp paper towel.

If you enjoy aro tobacco blends then start cellaring away your favorites, as most of them will be discontinued under the new FDA guidelines on pipe tobacco, cigars & vape juice.

Found this list. Not sure how complete it is.
English Blends:
Balkan
Barrister
Home from the Hills
Stanhope
Blend #7
Winthrop
Corinthian
Old College
Professor
Unique
Scanlish
Orient Express

Burley Blends:
Kelly's Coin
Safe Harbor
Scot's Heather
Bag Piper
Trinadad
Competition Blend
Shandygaff
Merlin's Choice

Virginia Blends:
Ridin' the Raid
Gray Ghost
Brandy Staion
Woodstock Races
Guilford Courthouse

There may be more.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Found this list. Not sure how complete it is.
English Blends:
Balkan
Barrister
Home from the Hills
Stanhope
Blend #7
Winthrop
Corinthian
Old College
Professor
Unique
Scanlish
Orient Express

Burley Blends:
Kelly's Coin
Safe Harbor
Scot's Heather
Bag Piper
Trinadad
Competition Blend
Shandygaff
Merlin's Choice

Virginia Blends:
Ridin' the Raid
Gray Ghost
Brandy Staion
Woodstock Races
Guilford Courthouse

There may be more blends,but I'm not too
far from the border!

If your still experimenting & learning what you like you might want to do some reading & research here:

http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/search

 

[hatsRme]

Because of the toppings & casings on aromatic blends they are supposed to help promote the coloring of meerschaum. You can also help speed up the coloring by regularly waxing the outside of the bowl & by handling the bowl sparingly. Handle by the stem as best you can.

Keep in mind that you can not clean the chamber of a meerschaum with anything including alcohol like Everclear. You should only wipe out the chamber with a damp paper towel.

If you enjoy aro tobacco blends then start cellaring away your favorites, as most of them will be discontinued under the new FDA guidelines on pipe tobacco, cigars & vape juice.

When are those to take effect, Jack?

 

[hatsRme]

Everyone will have a different answer on that. Here's mine, for whatever it might be worth.

Meershaum gives a sweet smoke, the porosity of the stone absorbs moisture and tars. Meer is like clay in that there is nothing about the material that adds or changes the flavor of the smoke. It is also fragile, a bit temperature-sensitive (get one that is cold too hot, too fast, and it can fracture). You have to be a little careful with it, let it cool before cleaning, protect it from bumps and rubs, etc. Stems can be a problem as well, in that the mortise and tenon joint where the stem inserts can crack easily--early meers usually had threaded joints that relied on the thread strength to hold the stem, rather than the tightness of a mortise joint.

Briar, on the other hand, will also absorb some moisture (typically not as much as meer), but it is far more durable and abrasion/impact-resistant. The wood is heat-resistant, and serves to keep the bowl cooler, making it easier to handle while smoking. You can clean the pipe right after smoking. You don't have to be as protective.

My kid brother talked me out of a nice little meerschaum pipe. He smoked it maybe 1-2 times a week, cleaning immediately after smoking, and set it on his desk to cool and dry for the next smoke. After a couple years, he brought it back to me: he'd managed to wear a hole in the bowl with the tip of the pipe cleaners he used, and there were small "flats" worn on the sides from laying on his desk. I gave him a nice briar that he's still smoking almost thirty years later. . . .

Today, I've smoked the same tobacco (Five Brothers) in several different pipes. The 100+ year old meerschaum I inherited from a great uncle, a briar Dinwoodie estate pipe I just finished cleaning, a new clay, and a briar I've had so long I can't remember when I got it (but I remember it was one of three I bought at the same time--go figure).

Each gave a different flavor to the smoke, and each had different "room notes". The meer and the clay were closest to the same. The Dinwoodie was OK, and once the carbon cake returns will be a good smoker. My old briar performed as always, with the bowl just getting warm about the time the tobacco was ash.

For me, the difference is that the meerschaum doesn't often leave the house. For many reasons, it is irreplaceable to me and I choose not to risk it. (I remember how I worried the entire time it was away when I had to have the stem replaced.)

The Dinwoodie. . . it is a lovely briar, with the original stem, but it is nearly a hundred years old. I'll be careful with it, but wouldn't hesitate to take it with me for a picnic.

The clay smokes nice, but I know at some point it will get broken (my late cutty lasting as long as it did was a fluke). I won't worry about it, but it will likely stay on my desk.

The old briar has gone on more than one trip. If I break it I'll wonder how I managed to do it; if I lose it I'll mourn it and move on.

My everyday goes everywhere with me pipe for around 30 years was a clay cutty, but now that I'm seeking a replacement it will almost certainly be a briar. Maybe a Dr. Grabow, maybe a Peterson or Dunhill or nameless maker, and maybe one off from the basket on the counter of the local tobacconist--I'll know it when I find it--but a briar. That way in 30 years I won't be trying to find a replacement.

I was just going to say that the reason for my preference is the same reason as why some folks prefer either chocolate or vanilla, @2jakes...

 

[2jakes]

I was just going to say that the reason for my preference is the same reason as why some folks prefer either chocolate or vanilla, @2jakes...

Obviously, meerschaum has characteristics of it' own as far as to where it decides to age or color.

I saw on vid about a guy who tilts his pipe upside down so the smoke covers
the pipe.

But I'm just sticking to just smoking the pipe for now and let it age naturally.
Can't wait to try Briar pipes and blends.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

When are those to take effect, Jack?

It's already starting to have an effect, Charlie. McClelland's Tobacco has already gone out of business, partially do to this ruling.

Basically these products were put under the administration & policy of the FDA while cigarettes remain under the ATF. The FDA believes flavored tobacco for pipes, cigars & vape juice have caused the increase in the rise of teens using such products. In a broad stroke the FDA has mandated any such products <10 yrs old be removed from the market; those products >10 yrs old such as the OTC codger tobaccos have been grandfathered in. i.e. The FDA is after the so called "boutique" tobacco products regardless of their nicotine content or their purity of products. The FDA has established protocols for certification to bring new products such as those <10 yrs old that have been effected, to the market but most companies say the hoops are too gigantic & the expense too great.

No mailorder or internet sales. The goal of the FDA is obviously to limit availability of these products & their point of sale, & thus reduce the number of growers & manufacturers.

The blending of dried leaf tobacco in the press to make English, VaPur, Oriental blends, etc can continue as long as the finished product meets the 10 yr market rule. But the topping & casing of tobacco leaf with flavorings common in aromatic pipe tobacco & some cigar leaf will disappear.

There's more to it but that's the ruling in a nutshell.

 

[hatsRme]

It's already starting to have an effect, Charlie. McClelland's Tobacco has already gone out of business, partially do to this ruling.

Basically these products were put under the administration & policy of the FDA while cigarettes remain under the ATF. The FDA believes flavored tobacco for pipes, cigars & vape juice have caused the increase in the rise of teens using such products. In a broad stroke the FDA has mandated any such products <10 yrs old be removed from the market; those products >10 yrs old such as the OTC codger tobaccos have been grandfathered in. i.e. The FDA is after the so called "boutique" tobacco products regardless of their nicotine content or their purity of products. The FDA has established protocols for certification to bring new products such as those <10 yrs old that have been effected, to the market but most companies say the hoops are too gigantic & the expense too great.

No mailorder or internet sales. The goal of the FDA is obviously to limit availability of these products & their point of sale, & thus reduce the number of growers & manufacturers.

The blending of dried leaf tobacco in the press to make English, VaPur, Oriental blends, etc can continue as long as the finished product meets the 10 yr market rule. But the topping & casing of tobacco leaf with flavorings common in aromatic pipe tobacco & some cigar leaf will disappear.

There's more to it but that's the ruling in a nutshell.

No "like" for this, Jack...

I better stock up.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

No "like" for this, Jack...

I better stock up.

I've got plenty of tins cellared & jarred but I did miss the boat for some of my favorites from McClelland. Prices for sealed tins on the secondary market have skyrocketed.

 

[2jakes]

I've got plenty of tins cellared & jarred but I did miss the boat for some of my favorites from McClelland. Prices for sealed tins on the secondary market have skyrocketed.

HJ, I gave you a "like" because I enjoy
your images and vast information.
Sorry about McClelland.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

HJ, I gave you a "like" because I enjoy
your images and vast information.
Sorry about McClelland.

Thanks Jake. I enjoy your's also, & good conversation.

Here are the type of old meers I really like:

This next one has had a stem replacement.

 

[2jakes]

Thanks Jake. I enjoy your's also, & good conversation.

Here are the type of old meers I really like:

View attachment 159018

View attachment 159017

View attachment 159016

This next one has had a stem replacement.

View attachment 159012

View attachment 159013

View attachment 159014

View attachment 159015

What blends did you use to turn these meers a reddish hue?

I getting this one

but prefer to have it color as such.

Was thinking "aromatic" blends would do
it.

Edit: I've always wanted a skull pipe without
any smiles or grotesque features.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

What blends did you use to turn these meers a reddish hue?

I getting this one
View attachment 159019
but prefer to have it color as such.
View attachment 159020
Was thinking "aromatic" blends would do
it.

Edit: I've always wanted a skull without
any smiles or grotesque features.

Mostly time, I think. These meers are about a hundred yrs old. But I think English blends help that a bit. I have pics somewhere (from the museum) of Jefferson Davis' meer that he smoked during his imprisonment, one of the few pleasures he was allowed. It's a beautiful pipe.

I like old timey & old timey looking pipes. I see Boswell has a 2019 version of their Civil War Minie Ball pipe. Not sure if I like the blast; not sure what that is supposed to represent. But I do like smoking my Minie Ball; sort of like smoking a Churchwarden.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Over 100 yrs old & hard to find in good shape today but there were pipes with bodies made of vulcanite rubber & stems, with screw on meer bowls. Vulcanite is hard to keep from oxidizing.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

I have pics somewhere (from the museum) of Jefferson Davis' meer that he smoked during his imprisonment, one of the few pleasures he was allowed. It's a beautiful pipe.

Quote:

The Meerschaum is described in the “American Heritage” section of the U.S. Army Historical Foundation web page, as the creation in 1865 of Kaldenberg and Sons of New York, a company in business from 1858 until 1893. The manufacturer worked in Meerschaum, ivory and amber and made pipes, cigar holders, canes, ivory combs. The Davis “meer” pipe bowl is egg-shaped and clutched in the talons of four carved eagle claws. The pipe is described as being 8.5 inches long and weighing 8 ounces.

A silver metal band fits around the shaft and the stem appears to be pure amber and there are some bite marks on the bit. The bowl, heavily scratched and dark from much use, has been colored beautifully by the tobacco of that time, probably a Virginia or Kentucky leaf.

End Quote

 

[2jakes]

HJ,thank you for sharing.
You've got me wanting to know more!