| -- End Ad Box ---> | | | | smoking hands-free. |
| The big question that many pipe smokers have heavily | | | | The color of a meerschaum pipe arguable gets more |
| debated over the years is which makes the better | | | | beautiful over time as you smoke it. Basically, the |
| material for pipe smoking - meerschaum or briar? I'm | | | | natural white color of the meerschaum starts to |
| going to give you a few things to ponder and consider | | | | darken over time and can become as brown as briar. |
| before making your next pipe purchase. | | | | As you smoke it the tobacco which is absorbed by |
| When compared to briar, meerschaum is a more | | | | the stone is drawn to the surface by the beeswax |
| neutral material for smoking pipe tobacco. It's much | | | | coating which colors the stone over time. |
| friendlier on your palate by not imparting any additional | | | | Meerschaum can get hot to the touch, especially if |
| scents or flavors beyond that of your fine tobacco. | | | | your drawing down on it a lot, but unlike briar - it won't |
| Meerscham makes a great pipe for someone who | | | | burn. Traditionally, you'll work to build up a "cake" of |
| enjoys a wide variety of pipe tobaccos. | | | | carbon along the bottom of the bowl of a briar pipe to |
| One of the great smoking qualities of meerschaum is | | | | provide a protective layer against burning. No need to |
| that it provides a much cleaner smoke due to its | | | | do this with a meerschaum pipe. Due to this lack of |
| porous nature. The porous stone absorbs tars and | | | | "cake" build up with a meerschaum pipe, you end of |
| other unwanted by-products enabling you to better | | | | with a much purer smoke, unpolluted by the cake |
| enjoy the taste of your tobacco. This allows you to | | | | found in a briar pipe. |
| truly appreciate the subtle differences between certain | | | | Smoking a strong Virginia for a period of time and then |
| pipe tobaccos by providing a much smoother smoking | | | | switching to a lighter aromatic might cause some |
| experience. | | | | havoc on your taste buds as the two flavors are |
| A light-weight stone that is mined only in Turkey; | | | | combined through the cake residue at the bottom of |
| meerschaum makes the perfect material for a | | | | your bowl. Of course this becomes a non-issue if you |
| smoking pipe. Meerschaum is noticeably lighter when | | | | own several pipes and only smoke similar tobaccos in |
| compared to the same sized briar pipe. This lightness | | | | the same pipe. |
| makes it ideal for pipe smokers that like to hang the | | | | I'm sure that we could fill a few pages of pros and |
| pipe from their mouth while smoking it. Since pipe | | | | cons for both meerschaum and briar pipes, but this |
| smoking is considered to be a relaxing pastime, the | | | | should give you a few things to consider when picking |
| added lightness found in meerschaum requires less | | | | out your next pipe. Either way, you can't go wrong, |
| pressure from your jaw to support the pipe when | | | | they both make for an enjoyable smoking experience. |