The Wizzard
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Post by The Wizzard on Jul 12, 2023 9:55:54 GMT -5
What are the pros and cons of Meerschaum lined pipes? Are they worth purchasing? I was looking at a Meerschaum lined Brebbia.
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Post by coalsmoke on Jul 12, 2023 10:12:00 GMT -5
I have no experience with them but have only heard of problems with the lining developing cracks after a while. Perhaps other members can share more about this.
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Post by Darin on Jul 12, 2023 10:23:52 GMT -5
I agree ... better to just get a Meerschaum rather than a briar lined with it.
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Post by peteguy on Jul 12, 2023 13:51:06 GMT -5
I have handled a fair number of these that were saved from the garbage bin. All of them are junk. The inner bowl almost always has issues but they are also never taken care of. I do not understand why they always get trashed - maybe at the price point they are just throw aways. When removing the inner bowl the amount of glue is insane. It almost seems the softer meer doesn't play well with the harder glue and it is the weak link to fail. Whether from over reaming, over moisture or over heating, the meer goes first.
On the other hand, I have handled a few that were pristine and I assume smoked wonderfully. Owners must have stored them in a cool dry place, reamed carefully, wiped out the bowl, etc., etc. All the usual stuff (just my guesses on why they are still nice).
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Post by turbocat on Jul 12, 2023 14:35:20 GMT -5
I’ve owned probably fifty lined pipes mostly acquired in collections over the past twenty five years. I’ve only smoked a few of them, which was mostly due to their size, they tend to be the same size as most pipes, and I generally only use larger pipes. Standard size pipes just don’t interest me very much. Some things I’ve noticed. First on the cracking issue. From having so many used ones that I got along side regular briar, plain briar pipes seem to crack at rate higher than lined pipes. I recall a few cracked ones, but at the same time I’ve thrown out probably a hundred cracked regular briar pipes I’ve gotten in collections. I believe the cracking issues to be mostly parroted anecdotes and therefore an inflated perception. Also, I believe many people treated them like briars when reaming them and damaged the meerschaum. Don’t use a reamer on anything meerschaum, it may work fine for a while, but you will crack the meerschaum. Of course human nature will blame the meerschaum rather than the owner’s ignorance of its care.
As far as smoking, they smoke without the taste of briar obviously and handle heat much better. They won’t burn out.
My overall view is that they are inferior to fully meerschaum pipes as they still have issues that briars do. The biggest is moisture. Meerschaum pipes absorb nearly all moisture and are dry about as soon as they cool. But this happens in the mass of meerschaum that makes up the bottom of the bowl and shank. With a lined pipe, those areas are briar so that advantage is lost.
The last thing that I think may have created detractors about them is breaking in. I see people regularly saying that you don’t need to break in meerschaum and that’s true, partially. You can count on your first five to ten bowls to have greatly reduced flavor as the meerschaum sucks in the oils and moisture from the tobacco. You won’t really get the experience of how it smokes until you’ve passed about ten bowls. I’ve seen a lot of negative comments about meerschaum pipes and lined ones because of this lack of understanding.
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The Wizzard
Junior Member
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Posts: 104
Favorite Pipe: Vauen Friddo
Favorite Tobacco: Hunting Creek
Location:
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Post by The Wizzard on Jul 12, 2023 15:40:50 GMT -5
Thank you all for your input. I will stick with unlined briar. The last thing I need is to add another pipe to my collection but I have a severe case of PAS (Pipe Acquisition Syndrome). You know how it is. Check the link below. Smoking
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Zach
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Post by Zach on Jul 12, 2023 19:23:05 GMT -5
I only have one meer-lined pipe from the late 1960’s of my grandfather’s; a Citation 509 rusticated straight bulldog, and although the meer is all totally scratched up in the bottom of the bowl and airway region, it smokes perfectly well.
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Post by Ronv69 on Jul 12, 2023 21:39:37 GMT -5
I bought a couple of estates when I first got back into pipes and they were too far gone to be saved. I bought a new one that's OK, but it's not going to make the rotation. It smoked fine for the one bowl.
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Post by Goldbrick on Jul 13, 2023 8:18:24 GMT -5
I swore of meer-lined pipes after one from a Tinder box basket, that was a total piece of crap. Years later, in a massive estate purchase, I came to own a nice looking meer-lined straight billiard, marked Meer Deluxe...this one is a whole nother animal, It smokes like a dream, but I've never reamed it, I wipe out with the corner of a napkin after every smoke and put it away to rest for a few months till I run across it again... Can you smoke them daily, like a block-meer? no, and if your thinking of something for regular rotation forget it, but if you find the right shape and price in an estate pipe, and it's clean{ mine was unsmoked} give one a try...I'd never pay real money for one.
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Post by Goldbrick on Jul 13, 2023 11:51:42 GMT -5
I swore of meer-lined pipes after one from a Tinder box basket, that was a total piece of crap. Years later, in a massive estate purchase, I came to own a nice looking meer-lined straight billiard, marked Meer Deluxe...this one is a whole nother animal, It smokes like a dream, but I've never reamed it, I wipe out with the corner of a napkin after every smoke and put it away to rest for a few months till I run across it again... Can you smoke them daily, like a block-meer? no, and if your thinking of something for regular rotation forget it, but if you find the right shape and price in an estate pipe, and it's clean{ mine was unsmoked} give one a try...I'd never pay real money for one. Swore of??? Swore off, swore off, SWORE OFF, for goodness sake!
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Post by Ronv69 on Jul 13, 2023 11:56:37 GMT -5
I swore of meer-lined pipes after one from a Tinder box basket, that was a total piece of crap. Years later, in a massive estate purchase, I came to own a nice looking meer-lined straight billiard, marked Meer Deluxe...this one is a whole nother animal, It smokes like a dream, but I've never reamed it, I wipe out with the corner of a napkin after every smoke and put it away to rest for a few months till I run across it again... Can you smoke them daily, like a block-meer? no, and if your thinking of something for regular rotation forget it, but if you find the right shape and price in an estate pipe, and it's clean{ mine was unsmoked} give one a try...I'd never pay real money for one. Swore of??? Swore off, swore off, SWORE OFF, for goodness sake! We knew what you meant. My meer lined pipe would be fine if it was my only pipe, but I have a dozen Peterson's and 14 Radices, plus so many more great pipes. I even have about 8 Meerschaum pipes. So, there's really no place for it.
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Post by Goldbrick on Jul 13, 2023 13:00:20 GMT -5
Yes, I guess any pipe would be fine, if it was your only pipe...unless it was a drain pipe. Like you, I have pipes from lots of different countries, at lots of different price points, and yes, some meers too, plus ten or more corn-cobs, but briar is always my first choice.
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Post by trailboss on Jul 13, 2023 19:42:10 GMT -5
I have a couple Meer lined pipes, both were estates that were heavily smoked, I cleaned them up and they smoke fine.
I do not count them among my best pipes, but they smoke better than some great grained briars that I possess.
Them briars are headed to EBay some day, I will keep my meer lined.
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Post by adui on Jul 13, 2023 20:28:38 GMT -5
I don't have a whole lot of experience to judge them, but I always thought that a meer-lined pipe was the best of both worlds. I have one, a Brebbia Sun. I like it and smoke it as often as any of my pipes. I'm still learning the subtleties of the pipe, so I can't say it smokes better or worse than any of the nice pipes I have. Edit: It is the same shape as the Brebbia Sun 602W I just saw, but mine has the Meer lining. It's basically this www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/brebbia/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=442797
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Post by Ronv69 on Jul 13, 2023 23:28:09 GMT -5
The worst part is that the pipes use pressed meer dust and aren't as absorbent as block meer or bare briar.
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