Nearly 300 years ago, the first meerschaum pipe was carved by hand. And today, these unique pipes are still carved by hand. The carver, a craftsman of unique ability and long experience, examines each piece of meerschaum, calculating the lines of cleavage along which it should be split. The split block-meerschaum is soaked in water for 15-30 minutes until the material achieves a cheese-like consistency. Working with the softened material, the carver determines the rough shape of the pipe before the bowl and draft hole are bored. Like all fine hand-crafted articles, no two meerschaums are alike. The carved meerschaum goes into a kiln at high temperature, a process that removes all moisture from the mineral. The shank is threaded and fitted with a stem. After meticulous polishing with the finest grade abrasives, the meerschaum is ready for waxing. Though there are many different wax formulas, beeswax alone yields the rich coloring associated with the finest meerschaums. Melted and then bleached, the beeswax is ready to receive the pipe itself. The subtle differences in color and tone among pipes are intentional, achieved by careful dipping of the pipes a specific number of times.


WHY BUY MEERSCHAUM? *
Simply put, because it affords a unique smoking experience. Meerschaum is the most flavorful and beautiful pipe you can own. Meerschaum - one of the most porous substances found in nature - acts as a filter, absorbs tobacco tars and nicotine, and yields a most satisfying smoke. Meerschaum smokes cool and dry with a flavor unrivaled by any other pipe. As it ages, meerschaum colors a rich honey-brown, improving both in appearance and taste.

Meerschaum Pipes - with a minimum of proper care - will last for a lifetime. They will not burn out as briars do.

A meerschaum is an investment in smoking pleasure. As beautiful as meerschaum is to the eye, its true beauty must be experienced. A meerschaum is made to smoke. Hold it. Enjoy its light weight and silky feel, its distinctive taste, its ripening to a mellow golden-brown. Justly deserving its reputation as the "aristocrat" of pipes, the meerschaum is not meant for the connoisseur alone. All pipe smokers can appreciate the unique pleasure of meerschaum.



TIPS FOR TAKING CARE OF YOUR MEERSCHAUM *
Do not be afraid to handle or hold your meerschaum with clean hands. Remember, you purchased a meerschaum primarily for your smoking pleasure. The "added" pleasure you derive from a meerschaum is watching it color as you smoke it. The conventional wisdom on this topic is that handling a meerschaum while warm removes the beeswax coating on the pipe, which highlights its coloring. While this is true, only the purist - the smoker far more concerned with the look of his pipe than his own smoking pleasure - need worry about it.

Clean your pipe only when it has cooled down. When warm, meerschaum is softer and thus more vulnerable to damage. Be careful when removing the stem of your meerschaum by pulling it and twisting it CLOCKWISE while supporting the shank with the fingers. Replace the stem by pushing it and twisting it CLOCKWISE also. Twisting counter-clockwise could unscrew the tenon, and doing so repeatedly can strip out the threads in the shank. A little care here will be repaid through a lifetime of smoking pleasure.

Do not tap your meerschaum against a hard surface. If you tap it in your palm, be sure to support the shank firmly with your hand. This is sound advice for briar pipe smokers also. To empty a meerschaum, tip it upside down, and if the ash does not fall out on its own use a pipe tool gently to loosen it.

Do not let a cake develop in a meerschaum. Therefore do not worry about "breaking in" your meerschaum. Meerschaum pipes, unlike briars, do not burn and hence need not be protected by a carbon cake. Besides, the meerschaum is softer than the cake and it may crack very easily, since the cake expands with heat faster than the meerschaum does. You can ream it out, but you should be very careful in the process--the reamer will remove meerschaum faster than cake, so you need to watch for spots where you have reamed away the cake and stay away from those.

It is not recommended to use pipe sweeteners in meerschaum pipes. The porous mineral will be soaked with the sweetener causing it to lose its functionality.

Clean the cake or residue inside the bowl of your meerschaum. Use a sharp-edged, blunt-ended tool. Avoid digging into the heel of the pipe when cleaning the graft hole by not allowing the pipe cleaner to extend too far into the bowl. The meerschaum is WET and SOFT in the heel immediately after a smoke.

If you have to, for a deeper cleaning you may use a paper towel wetted with a 40%-50% alcohol solution to rub the chamber. Stronger alcohol may cause damage.

Smoke your favorite blend in your meerschaum. Each pipe will color differently.


WHAT ARE YOUR PIPES MADE OF?
All of our pipes are made of high quality block meerschaum. We do not sell pressed meerschaum.


WHAT ARE THE STEMS MADE OF?
Our stems are made of lucite.


HOW ARE THE STEMS ATTACHED TO THE PIPE?
Most of our pipes use plastic tenon-mortise connectors. Please refer to this image.


WILL I RECEIVE THE EXACT PIPE SHOWN IN THE PICTURE?
Yes. We have one of each pipe and you will receive the exact pipe you see in the picture. Only exceptions are the calabash pipes and cigarette holders, each of which are extremely similar to their pictures.


CAN I RECEIVE MY PIPE WITH A DIFFERENT STEM?
In most cases, no. We have only one of each pipe (excluding the calabash pipes and cigarette holders), thus you will receive the exact stem shown in the picture.


ARE YOUR PIPES SUITABLE FOR 9MM FILTERS?
Unfortunately our pipes are not suitable for such filters.


QUESTIONS ABOUT OLD MEERSCHAUM PIPES
Time to time we receive e-mails from some meerschaum pipe owners who are trying to determine the value or get some information about the origin of the pipe. We are not an expert on them and cannot determine the value or age for such pipes. You may contact Charlie Strom (charlie.strom@nyu.edu) for information particularly on older pipes produced early in 20th century or before. The following appraisal site may also be helpful: http://www.douglasauctioneers.com/index.php?id=5.


WE DO NOT HAVE A PRINTED CATALOG
AND Meerschaum Pipes is marketing its products via internet only and we do not have a hard copy of our catalog. Every single pipe is individually pictured and placed on our web pages. This gives us an opportunity to serve better for the satisfaction of our customers, because What You See is What You Get. As every meerschaum pipe is a uniquely hand crafted item, there are differences even between pipes that are supposed to be the same model. That and a high turnover of the items make it almost impossible to maintain an updated printed catalog.


WE DO NOT DO REPAIRS
AND Meerschaum Pipes does not offer repairs. Meerschaum pipes, in most cases are impossible to repair. In some other cases it requires very customized work, such as replacing only certain removable parts of a pipe. All AND Meerschaum Pipes has life time warranty against any production errors. In those cases we offer our customers either full refund or replacement of the pipe with a new one.


PRIVACY POLICY
We do not share any client information with any third parties whatsoever. All information is kept strictly confidential.


RETURN POLICY
Money back is guaranteed for all unused items shipped back within 30 days. Shipping and handling charge is not refundable.


SHIPPING METHOD
We ship within one business day after your order and payment is received. If your order is NOT in stock (all products in our online catalog are in stock unless it is marked as "Out of Stock"), you will be notified with the expected shipment date.
We use USPS (United States Postal Services):

Orders from the United States:

• Standard: USPS Priority Mail (2-3 days delivery)
  S&H: $5.00 for the first item, and $1.00 for each additional item. (No additional shipping charge for pipe stands, mini pipes, tampers).

Order from Other Countries:

• USPS Priority Mail or alternatively USPS Express Mail
  S&H: Priority Mail around $23-$27 for the first item, and $2 for each additional item. (No additional shipping charge for pipe stands, mini pipes, tampers).
  S&H: Express Mail around $32-34 for the first item, and $2 for each additional item
  Please refer to this list for specific shipping charges for some of the countries: USPS International.

1 - ONLINE order form.
Fill in the information at our secure Order Form, and click on the SUBMIT button. You will see the submition results on your browser.

2 - Fax.
Fax the billing and shipping information to us at 734-528-9177 (United States).

3 - Mail.
Send the billing and shipping information to us at

AND Meerschaum Pipes
P.O. Box 972903
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
USA

But you may still want to submit an order at our web site choosing the check/money order option. That way we can reserve the pipe for you until the payment arrives.