pipemakersforum.com

I ran a search and can't seem to find what I want to know. I was watching the weather last night and saw it was going to rain today, so I decided to go all meer all day. I got to digging through my estate pipe bins and dug out the most smokeable. Over first break and lunch I have had two quite enjoyable smokes, but the pipes are ugly. They are colored nicely, but are covered in scratches, dings, nicks, etc. I was wondering about sanding them down and refinishing them, but I don't know what to use.

So to the point of the post: What does one use to finish a meerschaum pipe? Tung oil, Danish oil, carnauba, beeswax :dunno: ? I'm not so worried about what it will look like (I'm going to sand them smooth or rusticate) but what will make it hard/durable but won't penetrate all the way to the bowl and kill me (like smoking is healthy anyways, but that's another topic), or worse, make the pipe taste like, what was that term I learned here-Grizzly butt?.

Thanks in advance for any advice, opinions, or fresh ideas for me to try.
Aaron

I have heard that the normal way to finish a meerschaum pipe is to plug both the ends with rubber stoppers. It is then submerged in boiling hot beeswax and then hung to dry.

In regards to meers:

If your meers are relatively newer pipes, yes, plug both ends and dip in molten beeswax.

If it's an older pipe (like early 1900s or before), odds are it used spermaceti as a finish. Now, obviously, spermaceti is Not An Option Anymore (because, well, they used to get the stuff from whales, and whaling is now banned in most countries; I am sure the whales appreciate it though ).

One option that *may* be of use as a substitute for spermaceti is cetyl esters (basically, cetyl esters are what are used in the cosmetics industry as a substitute for whale-derived spermaceti; the substance is now derived from coconuts, and is just about identical chemically to spermaceti). If you need a source for this, drop me a line and I can let you know where I got my stuff (I've been experimenting with finishing meers in cetyl esters instead of beeswax, and it's turning out quite well so far).