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I have acquired a used estate pipe that needs some work.

What can I do to add a liner to a briar pipe that had (looks like clay or yellow bowl liner) a liner which is crumbling and needs to be cleaned
out. I am looking for the least expensive way I can accomplish this.
The liner is almost crumbled off of bowl. Any suggestions??
Thanks, Patrick

It sounds like you had a meerschaum liner in the pipe. I would just scrape out the meerschaum and that's that. The pipe should be briar otherwise, and as long as the bowl walls are thick enough, I don't think you will have any problems with it. I feel the meerschaum liner idea was just a gimmick anyway.

Oh, and you can remove the liner with a pipe knife, which is just like a pocket knife but without the pointy tapered tip. If you don't have a pipe knife you can grind the tip off an old pocket knife. The tip will scratch the bottom of the bowl.

I have come across pipes that have been variously lined with meerschaum, ceramic and what looks to be a type of plaster (possibly plaster of paris).

It's very likely that after you've removed the old stuff, the walls might be relatively thin, I've noticed not much more than 1/8" thick. Also, the bottom of the bowl will be well below the draught hole after you've removed the old lining. It takes some work to get the old lining cleanly off. That stuff sticks to the briar like dried pooh on a monkey's bum.

The cheapest way to go, if you still want to reline it, is to try experimenting with plaster. Unless it's a very valuable pipe, it's not worth using meerschaum.

I agree with Frank. I'd experiment with plaster of paris first. That seems like the easiest and cheapest way to go. Your local craft store should have some for cheap.

If the draught hole is high, I'd use the old cigar ash trick. I've even used cigar ash mud to fill an interior bowl burn and it's held up for over 15 years now without burning out. I'd be hesitant to use plaster in a pipe, but that may be just me. For the meerschaum liner, they probably used cast meerschaum, which is meerschaum dust, water and some binding agent, so it is similar to plaster or clay, but meerschaum is taste neutral and dries somewhat porous, but it is not as porous as true meerschaum block.

kbadkar wrote:For the meerschaum liner, they probably used cast meerschaum, which is meerschaum dust, water and some binding agent, so it is similar to plaster or clay, but meerschaum is taste neutral and dries somewhat porous, but it is not as porous as true meerschaum block.

With reference to the meerschaum, you're very likely correct in that they probably use what's called "pressed meerschaum dust".

Thanks for all the infromation.

What I did was to clean out remaining liner. Then painted honey inside
walls and bottom of bowl, added some pipe tobacco and smoked it.
The results were that the honey helped hold the tobacco ashes to inside of bowl. I will repeat a few times 'till I arrive at a little more thickness.

Will plaster of paris really work with the heat?
Is it safe regarding any fumes, etc?

Thanks, Patrick

Patrick wrote: Will plaster of paris really work with the heat?
Is it safe regarding any fumes, etc?

I would think so. It's routinely used as mold material for casting silver and other precious metals - and is heated in a kiln to a pretty high temperature before the actual casting.

As far as fumes, yes. It's pretty safe in that regard.