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BornCountryBoy
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Gremlins in my Meershaum??
I have a Kirsten pipe with the Ex-Large Meerschaum bowl, this is my first experiance with Meer. I have been smoking everything from heavy Aro's to Squadron leader to Va/Pers in this and I am beginning to notice an undesirable oder from the bowl, when my briar pipes get this way I give them the salt and Alcohol treatment, but I read somewhere on this forum to avoid pipe sweetener products with Meer. Does that include Salt and Alcohol treatment? any advice would be apreciated. I have been wipeing out bowl with paper towel so far and the interior is a chocolate brown with no noticeable cake. 
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AKA "Handheld campfire stoker"
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Jun/17/09, 11:54 am
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tedthebear
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Re: Gremlins in my Meershaum??
Sounds like you've got a serious problem...possibly fatal! There is no hope, I'm afraid....send it to me for proper disposal. 
S&A isn't good for a meer, but you can swab the bowl and shank with alcohol. I'm not sure how tight the seal is between bowl and the shank on your Kirsten, but you want to avoid getting alcohol on the outside of the bowl if possible. Start with a half hour soak and let it dry overnight. If you still have a "ghost", soak it for an hour. I wouldn't go more than that without a thorough drying...the meerschaum could soften. Wipe it as you have been...paper towel works best.
A quality meerschaum has a bees wax coating on the outside to promote the coloring of the pipe. Not sure about the quality of the meer in Kirstens...could even be pressed meerschaum...low grade stuff. Being as it's holding "ghosts" of all these strange baccys you're pouring through it, that would seem to be the case.
Give this a try and let me know what happens.
HTH
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The Bear
"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it."
The PHB
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Jun/18/09, 7:52 am
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Jimbo44
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Re: Gremlins in my Meershaum??
...and also note that meers should not be allowed to cake.
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Jun/18/09, 9:13 am
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Johnnycake
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Re: Gremlins in my Meershaum??
Not wanting to hijack this thread, but on a related note: since Meers are kept clean of cake, can they actually "ghost", nevertheless ? I've always wondered about this...
Johnny
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"If you can't send money, send tobacco." -George Washington to
the Continental Congress, 1776
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Jun/18/09, 9:32 am
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tedthebear
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Re: Gremlins in my Meershaum??
They can Johnny, if over-smoked or smoked with a strong scented tobacco like Condor or some aromatics. They also clean up easier...for the most part. I have a small straight billiard that Burl gifted me a couple of years back...my dedicated Condor/St. Bruno's pipe. A while back I decided to tinker. I smoked it every night for a week...5100 exclusively. For the first few days, the Condor actually dominated the 5100. By the end of the "experiment", the floral ghost was *almost* non-existent. this is a nice quality piece of meerschaum...not pressed. It seemed to clean itself as I smoked it...pretty cool!
As for BCB's pipe, I suspect it is a pressed meer bowl, which will retain ghosts much like briar. I have to be careful what I smoke in my meer-lined pipes for the same reason.
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The Bear
"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it."
The PHB
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Jun/18/09, 11:24 am
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BornCountryBoy
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Re: Gremlins in my Meershaum??
The metal base is just held on with a hollow screw, so I will dis-asemble it tonight then cork the bottom of the bowl with a rubber stopper. Hopefully that will keep the alcohol off the exterior.
Kirstens web site calls it "Hand carved from block Turkish Meerschaum" availible in smooth or carved latice....mine is smooth. I do not know if this is the "good stuff" Kirsten wants $110 for bowl only but I paid less at pipesandcigars... it is a bit heavy, but not as heavy as say porclin. The only other Meer I have to compair is a Meer lined bowl from Falcon, it looks like white clay was cast inside a standard bowl, and has some porosity. My Kirsten is very smooth and solid, glossy exterior matte interior. Hope this helps!
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AKA "Handheld campfire stoker"
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Jun/18/09, 12:00 pm
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tedthebear
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Re: Gremlins in my Meershaum??
Sounds like decent meerschaum there BCB. As it is "heavy" (a relative term, I know) it might well be African Meer, rather than Turkish meer. African meer is denser, thus heavier than Turkish...a bit less porous. It's not as fragile either. PeterWD and Jimbo both have some very nice African block Petersons...maybe they can chime in here as to how they clean theirs.....
Meer-lined pipes are almost always pressed meer...formed into a paste and then used to line the briar bowl. up side...they are more absorbent. Down side...they will crumble after time, especially if not left to dry.
Keep us informed with the clean up!
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The Bear
"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it."
The PHB
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Jun/18/09, 12:09 pm
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BornCountryBoy
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Re: Gremlins in my Meershaum??
Thank you for all the help! I guess I should stop smoking so many diferent styles of Tobacco in it, I found that Squadron Leader just "sings" to me in this bowl so I was trying some other blends hoping for another winner. If I can get this current ghost to leave maybe I will devote this bowl to Squadron Leader only, but this will not be my last Meershaum!
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Jun/18/09, 1:21 pm
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BornCountryBoy
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Re: Gremlins in my Meershaum??
well I found that there actually was a thin cake starting to form, I find these Kirsten bowls with there "V" or cone shaped walls (I have 3 briar Kirsten bowls) actually cake much faster than my standard vertical walled pipes. So a bit of sanding and alcohol cleaning then left to dry overnight and she is smoking Squadron Leader like a dream again ghost has left the building!
I will keep a much closer eye on the cake now, it was so even that i did not even notice it was cake, i thoght my bowl was just coloring. I got most of it with the sand paper, then the Alcohol and paper towel got the rest.
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AKA "Handheld campfire stoker"
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Jun/20/09, 9:36 am
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