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Bulk meerschaum for interested buyers
Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 8:14 am
by TreverT
FWIW, I know a fellow who offers some pretty good African meerschaum for sale, albeit only in bulk quantities (about 1000 lbs or more, IIRC). It's inexpensive, however, and IS white instead of the greys and weird colors some African meer comes in. It is rougher in texture than Turkish meer and is not really well-suited to smooth pipes, mainly carves or blasts. It does color, albeit slower than Turkish, if properly waxed, and it smokes excellently - I have a pipe I made for myself and it is one of my best smokers. If anyone out there can get a few friends together and wants to group-buy a load, email me and I will provide his address and contact info. I'm not posting it here because I know the fellow doesn't want to be bothered with a hundred repetition emails of, "Hey, I know you only sell in bulk orders, but could you sell me just a few pieces of the very best quality?" - this is a mining operation on a large scale, looking for serious inquiries only. It would be great stuff for the hobbyists to play with, however, if a bunch could get together for one big order, or if anyone is interested in purchasing it for resale. Just FYI!
Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 8:48 am
by Nick
Hehehe. I can see it now.
Nick: "Honey, about the garage. We won't be able to park our car in there anymore...."
Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 10:53 am
by KurtHuhn
That's *very* tempting. Anyone else interested? Trever, could you define "inexpensive"?
Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 11:53 am
by TreverT
KurtHuhn wrote:That's *very* tempting. Anyone else interested? Trever, could you define "inexpensive"?
I don't have any idea what his prices would range to, but I'm sure a lot would depend on the purchased quantity. I doubt it's any more than briar in equivalent quantities, given the prices that African meer pipes usually sell for. It would be great stuff to fit molded stems into, sandblast, and sell for around the $100 mark. The fun thing about it is having the huge slabs of the stuff... I have a block of it in the shop that's the size of a small table, which I am perpetually tempted to carve all as one pipe!
Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:07 pm
by ArtGuy
I know some ceramic artists... I can see if they are interested in this. What would the shipping and customs charges be on 1000 pounds of meer??? It may end up costing us hundreds just to pick it up.
Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:20 pm
by TreverT
ArtGuy wrote:I know some ceramic artists... I can see if they are interested in this. What would the shipping and customs charges be on 1000 pounds of meer??? It may end up costing us hundreds just to pick it up.
I have no clue. I have no business interest in this whatsoever, beyond tossing the idea out for any potential buyers. My best advice would be to talk to various guys and see if you can line up a group all willing to contribute at least several hundred dollars each, and if so, start talking to the meer seller.