Making the Morta Calabash
Making the Morta Calabash
I just finished up a little project for this month, making a calabash from sandblasted meerschaum with a removable morta bowl cup. If anyone is interested in how this went together, I posted a set of step-by-step pics on my pipe blog:
http://talbertpipes.blogspot.com/2011/0 ... abash.html
http://talbertpipes.blogspot.com/2011/0 ... abash.html
Happy Smoking,
Trever Talbert
www.talbertpipes.com
My Pipe Blog:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/pipeblog/
My Lizards & Pipes Web Comic:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/lizards/
Trever Talbert
www.talbertpipes.com
My Pipe Blog:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/pipeblog/
My Lizards & Pipes Web Comic:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/lizards/
Re: Making the Morta Calabash
Holy sh*t, that is cool!
- KurtHuhn
- Site Admin
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Re: Making the Morta Calabash
Not only does the guy have time to make a pipe from materials that nobody has ever tried, but he also manages to get me hooked on Zombie Lane - aaaannnddd he somehow reaches level 21 in the same game.
Curse you Talbert....
Curse you Talbert....
Re: Making the Morta Calabash
Nah, I've just been playing it for a while. Em and I are both slightly hooked on it. I'm not far off getting the achievement of the chicken suit, so don't be surprised if you stop by and find me dressed as Big Bird.
Happy Smoking,
Trever Talbert
www.talbertpipes.com
My Pipe Blog:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/pipeblog/
My Lizards & Pipes Web Comic:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/lizards/
Trever Talbert
www.talbertpipes.com
My Pipe Blog:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/pipeblog/
My Lizards & Pipes Web Comic:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/lizards/
Re: Making the Morta Calabash
That is pretty sweet Trever! I like your use of both materials, nice execution.
I have heard meerschaum is impossible to get, I'll look through the threads here about it, but is there somewhere it can be purchased?
*Edit* I realize there are 'carve your own' kits, but what if you want to start from scratch. I found a few threads that said Turkish meer is basically illegal to export and African meer is not as good (not too sure about that one), but wondered if this was till true?
I have heard meerschaum is impossible to get, I'll look through the threads here about it, but is there somewhere it can be purchased?
*Edit* I realize there are 'carve your own' kits, but what if you want to start from scratch. I found a few threads that said Turkish meer is basically illegal to export and African meer is not as good (not too sure about that one), but wondered if this was till true?
Re: Making the Morta Calabash
Nate wrote:That is pretty sweet Trever! I like your use of both materials, nice execution.
I have heard meerschaum is impossible to get, I'll look through the threads here about it, but is there somewhere it can be purchased?
*Edit* I realize there are 'carve your own' kits, but what if you want to start from scratch. I found a few threads that said Turkish meer is basically illegal to export and African meer is not as good (not too sure about that one), but wondered if this was till true?
Turkish cannot be exported raw. I used Somalian. As far as "not as good" goes, that's up for grabs. It is not as pure white and creamy as Turkish - the surface is more granular and pitted, a bit like fine coral. That's why I sandblasted it. It does, however, smoke just as well - Often better, IMO. I've been smoking an earlier one I made for years now and it is one of my absolute favorite pipes to smoke. It's very rugged and durable, it smokes bone-dry, and it has colored more evenly than all of my Turkish meers. I think most of the attitude toward African meer is just snobbery, where people see it used on $45 factory pipes and sniff and assume it's low grade material. It really depends on what you do with it, just like briar.
Happy Smoking,
Trever Talbert
www.talbertpipes.com
My Pipe Blog:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/pipeblog/
My Lizards & Pipes Web Comic:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/lizards/
Trever Talbert
www.talbertpipes.com
My Pipe Blog:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/pipeblog/
My Lizards & Pipes Web Comic:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/lizards/
Re: Making the Morta Calabash
Thanks for the info and your thoughts on the differing sources and materials, that is good to know! And if that is Somalian, it looks fantastic! YOur experience smoking from it also lends credence to its quality. Thank you very much for your time, I really appreciate it!TreverT wrote:Nate wrote:That is pretty sweet Trever! I like your use of both materials, nice execution.
I have heard meerschaum is impossible to get, I'll look through the threads here about it, but is there somewhere it can be purchased?
*Edit* I realize there are 'carve your own' kits, but what if you want to start from scratch. I found a few threads that said Turkish meer is basically illegal to export and African meer is not as good (not too sure about that one), but wondered if this was till true?
Turkish cannot be exported raw. I used Somalian. As far as "not as good" goes, that's up for grabs. It is not as pure white and creamy as Turkish - the surface is more granular and pitted, a bit like fine coral. That's why I sandblasted it. It does, however, smoke just as well - Often better, IMO. I've been smoking an earlier one I made for years now and it is one of my absolute favorite pipes to smoke. It's very rugged and durable, it smokes bone-dry, and it has colored more evenly than all of my Turkish meers. I think most of the attitude toward African meer is just snobbery, where people see it used on $45 factory pipes and sniff and assume it's low grade material. It really depends on what you do with it, just like briar.
Re: Making the Morta Calabash
Zombie Lane Rocks!KurtHuhn wrote:but he also manages to get me hooked on Zombie Lane - aaaannnddd he somehow reaches level 21 in the same game.
Curse you Talbert....
I just sent you a FB friend request.
Re: Making the Morta Calabash
mathias65 wrote:Zombie Lane Rocks!KurtHuhn wrote:but he also manages to get me hooked on Zombie Lane - aaaannnddd he somehow reaches level 21 in the same game.
Curse you Talbert....
I just sent you a FB friend request.
Between that and Urban Dead, I get all the "5 minutes a day" online gaming action I need. In UD, my zombie mandrill continues to do his best to make the SE of the city a completely terrifying place for humans to be. When Zombie Mandrill breaks into your safehouse, it's going to be messy.
Happy Smoking,
Trever Talbert
www.talbertpipes.com
My Pipe Blog:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/pipeblog/
My Lizards & Pipes Web Comic:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/lizards/
Trever Talbert
www.talbertpipes.com
My Pipe Blog:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/pipeblog/
My Lizards & Pipes Web Comic:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/lizards/
Re: Making the Morta Calabash
Nate wrote: Thanks for the info and your thoughts on the differing sources and materials, that is good to know! And if that is Somalian, it looks fantastic! YOur experience smoking from it also lends credence to its quality. Thank you very much for your time, I really appreciate it!
It only looks good because it is sandblasted. It doesn't work at all as smooth - That's the primary problem with African meer in general, it's not that it smokes badly, but that it's too rough to be pretty. If you try and sand it off smooth it ends up looking a lot like a sanded rock, full of small pits and grain. I'm really surprised no one has tried sandblasting the stuff before, to my knowledge.
Happy Smoking,
Trever Talbert
www.talbertpipes.com
My Pipe Blog:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/pipeblog/
My Lizards & Pipes Web Comic:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/lizards/
Trever Talbert
www.talbertpipes.com
My Pipe Blog:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/pipeblog/
My Lizards & Pipes Web Comic:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/lizards/
Re: Making the Morta Calabash
That is a nice finishing technique for it! Quite a handsome finish, I wonder how a blasted meer will color? Now I want one...TreverT wrote:It only looks good because it is sandblasted. It doesn't work at all as smooth - That's the primary problem with African meer in general, it's not that it smokes badly, but that it's too rough to be pretty. If you try and sand it off smooth it ends up looking a lot like a sanded rock, full of small pits and grain. I'm really surprised no one has tried sandblasting the stuff before, to my knowledge.
- Mike Messer
- Posts: 546
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- Location: USA
- Contact:
Re: Making the Morta Calabash
Maybe your photo's don't show it, but your pipe looks consistently, creamy white.
Not to distract from your pipe, which is great looking, I think. I've never seen anything you made that wasn't (I don't want to borrow any money. I swear ).
Can you tell what kind of meershaum Arne Urup is using? He's Danish. Works exclusively in meer, I think?
The pipe of his, below, at bisgaard is selling for $185 USD, pretty cheap.
I thought the case was really cool, like a little hard-shell guitar case. He, also uses wooden stems, sometimes, but usually amber.
Not to distract from your pipe, which is great looking, I think. I've never seen anything you made that wasn't (I don't want to borrow any money. I swear ).
Can you tell what kind of meershaum Arne Urup is using? He's Danish. Works exclusively in meer, I think?
The pipe of his, below, at bisgaard is selling for $185 USD, pretty cheap.
I thought the case was really cool, like a little hard-shell guitar case. He, also uses wooden stems, sometimes, but usually amber.
Mike Messer
http://handmade-briar-usa.com
http://handmade-briar-usa.com
Re: Making the Morta Calabash
Nate wrote:That is a nice finishing technique for it! Quite a handsome finish, I wonder how a blasted meer will color? Now I want one...TreverT wrote:It only looks good because it is sandblasted. It doesn't work at all as smooth - That's the primary problem with African meer in general, it's not that it smokes badly, but that it's too rough to be pretty. If you try and sand it off smooth it ends up looking a lot like a sanded rock, full of small pits and grain. I'm really surprised no one has tried sandblasting the stuff before, to my knowledge.
Well, you be the judge - The pipe in front is my own sandblasted Somali meer and the one in back is a Turkish meer. I've been smoking both roughly equally, since around 2005. The sandblasted one has actually colored more smoothly and evenly than the smooth, though it's not as dark in the darkest parts.
Happy Smoking,
Trever Talbert
www.talbertpipes.com
My Pipe Blog:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/pipeblog/
My Lizards & Pipes Web Comic:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/lizards/
Trever Talbert
www.talbertpipes.com
My Pipe Blog:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/pipeblog/
My Lizards & Pipes Web Comic:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/lizards/
Re: Making the Morta Calabash
Beautiful! I reckon with that coloring it is similar to the Barling meer, which I think look quite nice. Just needs a fumed rim! I really like the look of your sandblast finish of your meers, well done sir!TreverT wrote:Nate wrote:That is a nice finishing technique for it! Quite a handsome finish, I wonder how a blasted meer will color? Now I want one...TreverT wrote:It only looks good because it is sandblasted. It doesn't work at all as smooth - That's the primary problem with African meer in general, it's not that it smokes badly, but that it's too rough to be pretty. If you try and sand it off smooth it ends up looking a lot like a sanded rock, full of small pits and grain. I'm really surprised no one has tried sandblasting the stuff before, to my knowledge.
Well, you be the judge - The pipe in front is my own sandblasted Somali meer and the one in back is a Turkish meer. I've been smoking both roughly equally, since around 2005. The sandblasted one has actually colored more smoothly and evenly than the smooth, though it's not as dark in the darkest parts.
Re: Making the Morta Calabash
Mike Messer wrote: Can you tell what kind of meershaum Arne Urup is using?
Other than by surface texture differences between African and Turkish, I'm not aware of any visual way to source meerschaum.
Happy Smoking,
Trever Talbert
www.talbertpipes.com
My Pipe Blog:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/pipeblog/
My Lizards & Pipes Web Comic:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/lizards/
Trever Talbert
www.talbertpipes.com
My Pipe Blog:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/pipeblog/
My Lizards & Pipes Web Comic:
https://talbertpipes.com/category/lizards/
Re: Making the Morta Calabash
That's probably the coolest thing I've seen in a long time.
I bet it'll smoke like an absolute dream.
I bet it'll smoke like an absolute dream.