Originally Posted by Mister Moo

Set a cob on fire with the torch, then use the softly burning pipe to light your tobacco in the meerschaum.

Meerschaum, unlike briar, doesn't much hold a scent (or a "ghost" as we say here in the pipe fraternity) so you can smoke all kinds of tobacco in one or two meers. Briars, sooner or later, need to be segregated according to tobacco types (don't ask - long story). Meerschaum doesn't get soggy when you smoke two or three bowls in a day; brair does get soggy and likes to dry out for a day or more after a few bowlsful. Briar needs to build a dime-thick carbon cake inside the bowl to smoke cooler and dryer as time goes on and, when too thick, needs scraping or reaming; meers are kept more-or-less cake-free - smoke and scrape lightly with a pipe tool or bristle-type pipe cleaner to discourage buildup.

A cob is like a $4.00 meer - they're also great with moisture and tend not to ghost very much.

Get a straight pipe for starters. They're way easier to pass pipe cleaners through when gurgling begins.