Altinok Meer Review

I've had this smooth volcano-shaped meer for a few years now. The company, Altinok http://altinokpipe.com/default.asp, was very easy to deal with. It did take longer than expected to receive the pipe (about 8 weeks as I recall), but the wait was well rewarded. It came in a fitted case with a certificate that I've since lost. It's the only meer I own. The only meer I've ever owned, in fact. I don't treat it with kid gloves like some pipesters recommend. Perhaps this is why it hasn't colored as evenly or deeply as I hoped. At the same time, this isn't so important to me. The aesthetics of a nicely colored meer are nice, but the chief asset is the ability to smoke repeatedly with only limited need for rest. The pipe is made of quality block meerschaum and smokes well. It gets smoked fitfully. That is, there are months during which it sits in a drawer and others during which it gets smoked a couple times a day. I'm not sure why this is, but it is. It's seen exclusively latakia blends, and as one would expect, really highlights their smokey sweetness. I've let cake build up in it and rarely clean the interior or exterior of the pipe. Approximately once a year I reapply beeswax. I used to do this in a pretty involved way--qtips and hair dryers were some tools of the process--but now I just make sure the pipe is clean and rub a piece of beeswax on it as it heated up during a smoke. Again, I'm not sure if my laziness, the pipe's size, or its finish is the reason the pipe hasn't colored as well as I hoped.

The pipe has a delrin tenon and mortise insert, which was an important criterion for my first meer. Altinok did a nice job with this. The overall engineering is good, though not superb. For one thing, a few superficial scratches are noticable, probably unavoidable with smooth finished meers. More importantly is an airhole that is drilled a little too low in the bowl. Consequently, there's a trough down there that can be difficult to clear if it gets plugged. This doesn't happen often, but when it does, I have a bitch of a time getting the clog out. Other negatives include its weight and the plastic stem. The weight I accept as the tradeoff for a large pipe. The stem, though not as bad as a Grabow, feels too plastic-like for my taste, and I've been tempted to get it replaced. That being said, the stem has also held up well to my clenching and has a tasteful silver ring on it. Overall I'm very pleased with this pipe. It has a large capacity and stands up to abuse. The shape is nicely designed with strong sharp lines at the bottom complimented by a rounded variation of the volcano on top. The pipe was part of series themed by mountains around the world. I believe this is supposed to be Mt. McKinley, but I'm not entirely sure.

Because of my experience with this pipe, I will probably buy a lattice or figural meer in the future. The smooth just picks up too much dirt and uneven coloring is too egregious with no contours to obscure it. I would definitely consider buying from Altinok again and recommend them as etailers with the only caveat that buyer's gratification may be delayed.