Meerschaum Cleaning

[Anonymous]

Hey guys, I like to smoke my meers filled with English alot. I noticed that my billiard had some junk (remember Im a snuffer and often have tobacco soot/ash on my fingers) on and and was rubbing it off with spit.

Do you guys have any tips for keeping the OUTSIDE of the bowl clean? Or just smoke it and don't worry about it?

 

[Winslow]

Wash gently with a mild soap and water,buff with a soft cotton cloth.
Scrape inside the bowl with a sharp penknife after every smoke.That's
about the extent of my knowledge. :|

Winslow :sunny:

 

[mark]

talk about opening a can of worms,,,,,,I just wash my hands well before smoking meers to cut down on the accumulated extra crud,but you'll hear everything from "just smoke the damn thing",,,all the way to " you should wear a smoking glove",,,some say you mess up the wax on the outside causing uneven coloring,,,when I'm dead and gone it'll be someone elses problem,,,, :lol!:

 

[Anonymous]

talk about opening a can of worms,,,,,,I just wash my hands well before smoking meers to cut down on the accumulated extra crud,but you'll hear everything from "just smoke the damn thing",,,all the way to " you should wear a smoking glove",,,some say you mess up the wax on the outside causing uneven coloring,,,when I'm dead and gone it'll be someone elses problem,,,, :lol!:

Yeah my first ever meer, that I bought locally: there was a fella there that asked me if I owned a white glove... this made me not want to own meers.

At this point in my life, I enjoy meers especially for English blends such as Plum Pudding. I considered buying a coloring bowl, but haven't yet (since I have 3 Imps all different sizes).

Washing my hands is probably the best advice. I always have some soot from putting my fingers in bowls and snuff residue.

How about using a moist microfiber cloth?

Or just quit worrying? Why does the outside have to be clean, huh? :joker:

 

[Anonymous]

The deal was, in the old days meers were finished with a combination of beeswax and sperm(-whale) oil. Perspiration ate through this in no time, making it (eventually) not color on the handled areas. (Coloration was a big obsession with meer guys). Cheaper ones (like I got from Turkey) were boiled in the stuff, and never stopped tasting like crapoleum no matter how long they were smoked. Cheap ones were made of recycled scraps, ground-up & pressed once Turkey made it illegal to export raw meershaum. These never colored worth squat anyhow, even though they were often much better made (the nice ones, in Austria). Then there was African meershaum, which is a different story.

Anyhow, once it's cleaned, you could probably use one of the wipe-on waxes Finepipes makes (paragon or halcyon) and, except for periodic touch-ups, not have to worry much about it (assuming you do).

:face:

 

[Anonymous]

Okay, dumb question alert.

What about using the briar wipe brand spray?

 

[Richard Hester]

Sir
I read in a very old magazine called the pipe lore and they say you can make your pipe white as the day you bought it if you boil it in sweet milk then let cool clean with tap water and the final step is to re apply bees wax. I will also say I never tried it and I am more on the line of just smoke it and enjoy the fine tobacco
Best Regards
Richard

 

[jrtaster]

late to the party again.. a brochure i received with my servi meerscaum recommends cleaning the outer bowl with a clean cloth moistened with "a drop of after shave." or another product containing a small amount of alcohol.

i always alcohol was a no-no but that's what the manufacturer itself suggested.

john

 

[Smokey Joe]

I actually use a little rubbing alcohol and water mixed in a small squirt bottle. Dab little on a clean cloth and wipe the chamber and bowl after each smoke. This may be difficult if you have an ornamental Meer though.