Taking Care of Your Meerschaum
Remember that your choice of tobacco will determine how the meerschaum will color, and that each pipe will color to a different shade, even using the same tobacco blend. Quality meerschaum will begin to color almost immediately, though it may take up to a year to color completely.
Note that no break in period is required for a meerschaum pipe. Keep any cake from building as it is not needed to protect the bowl.
Exercise care to not overly tighten the bit of the pipe, as excess tightening could cause the shank to crack.
Meerschaum pipes are fragile. Avoid tapping your meerschaum pipe on hard surfaces. Hold it carefully and tap it into your palm or other soft material when emptying or removing cake.
Warm meerschaum is soft and can be damaged when cleaning, so let your pipe cool down before cleaning it after a smoke. Use your pipe tool carefully to avoid damaging the meerschaum, or use a paper towel or wipe to clean out any bowl residue.When removing "cake" from your meerschaum pipe use extreme caution to avoid damaging the pipe. The cake can be harder that the meerschaum and reaming too vigorously can damage the meerschaum.
Remember that the meerschaum will be soft and somewhat wet just after being smoked.
The porous meerschaum will soak up pipe sweetener, so you should avoid using it in your meerschaum pipe as it will affect the flavor of the tobacco you choose.