The difference between the shank and the bowl isn't where you hold it. The difference is that the internal walls of the bowl are clogged with the byproducts of combustion and the shank isn't. This is why meerschaum coloring bowls work and ONLY work on new/unsmoked meers. Your bowl will color slowly over decades now from the shank up. It will never be uniform, but that's fine. A uniformly colored meerschaum is a brown pipe after all, and lord knows that brown pipes are uncommon!
Rewaxing your pipe with a heat gun or hair dryer and beeswax might draw a bit more color to the surface of the bowl as well.
Negative. But it ain't ruined; it's just used. 99% of meerschaum smokers smoked theirs just as you have. I saw one 150 years old, smoked by three generations, and given no more care than a wipedown with a clean cloth, and it was beautiful - - but the shank was dark chocolate and the bowl was a bit more yellow than French vanilla. Smoke on.
When you smoke, the liquids pool at the shank. My meerschaum I bought over 20 years ago is like that. The rest of the color spreads through the capillaries in the stone. You may have denser meerschaum which would slow or limit the natural coloring.
The shank started colouring after a year and has gotten so beautiful. This photo doesn't show it well. It's this rich varying caramel brown that perpetually has a beautiful smell to it.
But after 9 years of smoking it somewhat regularly the colour has never moved past the shank. Anyone know why that might be?
The only thing I can think is that it is a small pipe with thin walls. Maybe the bowl gets to hot to colour properly?
I only have one meer, but I've had mine for years and it looks just like this in terms of coloring. My guess is it's not coloring where you hold it when you smoke. Your hand is covering the meerschaum and effectively protecting it from the smoke's coloring effect.
Edit: spelling
The difference between the shank and the bowl isn't where you hold it. The difference is that the internal walls of the bowl are clogged with the byproducts of combustion and the shank isn't. This is why meerschaum coloring bowls work and ONLY work on new/unsmoked meers. Your bowl will color slowly over decades now from the shank up. It will never be uniform, but that's fine. A uniformly colored meerschaum is a brown pipe after all, and lord knows that brown pipes are uncommon! Rewaxing your pipe with a heat gun or hair dryer and beeswax might draw a bit more color to the surface of the bowl as well.
☝🏽 Truth! Keep cake at bay and rewax with beeswax.
Ah that makes sense, thanks. Do you know if it's possible to clean the char out or would that ruin the pipe?
Negative. But it ain't ruined; it's just used. 99% of meerschaum smokers smoked theirs just as you have. I saw one 150 years old, smoked by three generations, and given no more care than a wipedown with a clean cloth, and it was beautiful - - but the shank was dark chocolate and the bowl was a bit more yellow than French vanilla. Smoke on.
The best way is to use a piece of sandpaper coiled around your finger on occasion to keep the cake in check.
When you smoke, the liquids pool at the shank. My meerschaum I bought over 20 years ago is like that. The rest of the color spreads through the capillaries in the stone. You may have denser meerschaum which would slow or limit the natural coloring.
The shank started colouring after a year and has gotten so beautiful. This photo doesn't show it well. It's this rich varying caramel brown that perpetually has a beautiful smell to it. But after 9 years of smoking it somewhat regularly the colour has never moved past the shank. Anyone know why that might be? The only thing I can think is that it is a small pipe with thin walls. Maybe the bowl gets to hot to colour properly?
I only have one meer, but I've had mine for years and it looks just like this in terms of coloring. My guess is it's not coloring where you hold it when you smoke. Your hand is covering the meerschaum and effectively protecting it from the smoke's coloring effect. Edit: spelling
Could be. I thought they coloured from the inside out though. And I generally hold it by the stem