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Is meerschaum better than briar for pipe smoking? This is a great question that has been the object of much debate over the years. Why would you select a Meerschaum pipe over that made of briar, corncob or other material? Let me give you a few things to ponder.
When compared to briar, meerschaum is a more neutral material for smoking pipe tobacco. It's much friendlier on your palate by not imparting any additional scents or flavors beyond that of your fine tobacco. Meerscham makes a great pipe for someone who enjoys a wide variety of pipe tobaccos.
One of the great smoking qualities of meerschaum is that it provides a much cleaner smoke due to its porous nature. The porous stone absorbs tars and other unwanted by-products enabling you to better enjoy the taste of your tobacco. This allows you to truly appreciate the subtle differences between certain pipe tobaccos by providing a much smoother smoking experience.
A light-weight stone that is mined only in Turkey; meerschaum makes the perfect material for a smoking pipe. Meerschaum is noticeably lighter when compared to the same sized briar pipe. This lightness makes it ideal for pipe smokers that like to hang the pipe from their mouth while smoking it. Since pipe smoking is considered to be a relaxing pastime, the added lightness found in meerschaum requires less pressure from your jaw to support the pipe when smoking hands-free.
One beautiful characteristic of meerschaum is that the white stone tends to color and get more beautiful over time. It's not uncommon to see a meerschaum pipe become as dark as its briar cousin and even become hard to distinguish the difference between the two materials from a distance. This coloring and sometimes "graining" comes from the pipe tobacco that's been absorbed by the pipe over time being drawn to the outside surface by the beeswax coating that treats a meerschaum pipe.
It may get hot, but meerschaum won't burn. To help prevent you from burning a hole in a briar pipe, you will traditionally allow a cake of carbon to form on the inside of the bowl to protect it. While this "cake" protects your pipe, it causes a challenge for briar pipe smokers that their meerschaum smoking counterparts don't have - worrying about "polluting the cake" and muddling the taste/aroma of your fine tobaccos.
You may find it a bit unpleasant to smoke a lighter tobacco blend in a briar pipe right after you've been smoking bolder tobacco. This is why you tend to see many briar pipe smokers that own several pipes - it allows them to dedicate different pipes to different tobaccos.
I'm sure that we could come up with a few more reasons to purchase one pipe over the other, but at the end of the day you won't go wrong with purchasing either meerschaum or briar. I hope that you have the pleasure of smoking your favorite tobaccos in them both. Enjoy!
Chad Meisinger has been enjoying his pipes and cigars around the globe for many years and owns several tobacco related businesses. For great briar tobacco pipes and meerschaum pipes feel free to visit http://www.tobacco-barn.com .
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