How to Light A Meerschaum Pipe
Serious Tools For Serious Smoking
In order to enjoy your Meerschaum pipe, you should learn how to light your bowl. The main difference between lighting a briar pipe and a Meerschaum pipe is that you should be MORE careful to not char the rim of your bowl as this cannot be buffed out of a Meerschaum pipe.
The first thing you need in order to light your Meerschaum pipe will be some sort of flame. This can come from a match, a soft-flame lighter or a burning stick from a campfire if you like. One thing you need to know is DO NOT USE A TORCH LIGHTER.
For those of you who don't know the difference between a torch and a soft-flame lighter, look at the image above. The flame on the lighter at left is perfect for use with your Meerschaum Pipe. The lighter on the left is a torch and is not suitable for lighting your pipe. A torch flame will not only scortch your bowl but runs the risk of spot-heating the Meerschaum stone, running the risk of cracking it.
Light your pipe you must;
with a torch, you must not!
-- Yoda
If you choose to use matches, there are two things we recommend. First would be to allow the match to burn long enough to burn the sulphur off the head before applying the flame to your tobacco. The second would be to ensure that you use wooden matches instead of paper matches. Paper matches will not provide you with enough burn time to properly light your bowl, in particular if you are lighting a less than full bowl.
No matter what you are lighting your Meerschaum pipe with, you'll find the following steps will put you down the path to smoking nirvana.
- With your light match or pipe lighter you will want to pass it evenly over the bowl while drawing on your pipe. This is known as the char or false light. As the top layer of tobacco gets charred, it will expand upwards. At this point, stop smoking and let the tobacco go out. Then use your tamper or pipe tool and tamp down the charred top layer of tobacco.
- Some people suggest that you repeat the previous step one more time before moving on to what should be your final light.
- For your final light you will want to repeat moving the flame around the bowl slowly in a circular motion while puffing on the pipe. When the top surface of your tobacco is evenly lit your job is done.