
MEERSCHAUM
Meerschaum may have white, yellowish, gray or
reddish and mat colors. Its hardness degree is between 2-2.5, and it is
lightly adhesive and porous. It is extracted from 20-60-130 meters depth of
the ground as big and small rounds. Small rounds are collected by digging deep
wells and tunnels connected to these wells.
Some wells are watery, some wells are dry. Stones of watery wells are
much better. Meerschaum is produced in different places like
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Mexico, Madrid, and Nairobi; however,
they are unimportant in quantity and low in quality. Meerschaum with the
highest quality is found in Eskişehir. The property that while drying it
keeps the remains of moisture and gases in its body, makes Meerschaum a
suitable material for making tobacco pipes as well as a good filling
material for absorbent, filter or isolation in industry. It became an
indispensable material in industry for years. It is used in making
cigarette-holder, tobacco pipe and decorative goods and in automobile
paint industry. It is added to porcelain paste, insecticides, powder and
stain removing medicines.
There three geological periods in its formation:
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First Order |
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It is an ore in sandy- clay soil at
10-14 meters depth. |
Second Order |
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It forms between 40-60 meters depth. It is an ore
existing in clay. |
Third Order |
:
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Meerschaum with the highest quality forms in
Conglomera series and it exists in 80-130 |
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meters depth fitting with the topography. Other
kinds of meerschaum are: cotton-piece, granular cast, unit unity and
puny. |
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The places where Meerschaum extracted from are: Sarısu, Yenişehir,
Türkmentokat, Gökçeoğlu, Karaçay, Söğütçük, Sepetçi, Margı, Nemli,
Kümbet, Yeniköy, Kepertepe, Karahöyük and Başören.
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taken from
http://www.eskisehir-bld.gov.tr

Maintanance of the Meerschaum Pipe
Making the pipe
rest
Aiming to make the customers think that this hobby isn’t that expensive the
sellers generally tell them that they should use only one pipe many times in
a day then make it rest for 1-2 days. But this appliance affects the smoking
quality badly. The most accurate way of smoking is to use 1 pipe only one
time in a day then make it rest for at least 1 day for merschaum pipes but
for briar pipes at least 2 days. This both makes the pipe relieved and increases
it quality , greatly. In order to apply this method correctly one can give
numbers to pipes and smoke these pipes according to order of the numbers.
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Breaking in the
Pipes
Unlike the
briar pipes meerschaum pipes doesn’t need any braking in process.
For briar pipes
the breaking in process is done as ;
The breaking in
process that is needed to prepare the briar pipes to the trees warmth and to the
tobacco , before smoking is firstly applied to pipe’s inner wall parts using the
carbon cake , which is formed in a few steps , i.e. firstly the pipe’s bowl is
filled up to 1/3 section, then the pipe is lighted and is smoked. After applying
this 1/3 filling process pipe smoked 2-3 times then filled 1/3 more and 2-3
times smoked again, after the remaining 1/3 section filled and smoked 2-3
times you can use your pipe as you want. The important part is to cool down the
pipe before filling it again , in order not to make the briar burned. When the
carbon cake is formed smoothly the pipe gets broken in.
This carbon
layer protects the Briar pipes from burning , so it is quite important for the
briar
pipes provided
that not exceed
2 mm
thickness.
Moreover the
carbon cake increases the Briar pipes smoking quality and pleasantness. This is
also effective at meerschaum pipes provided that it doesn’t exceed the 2mm
level. If this cake exceeds 2mm then it may affect the quality in a bad way
giving a totally opposite result. Against all the others say some experienced
meerschaum pipe users don’t clean out the carbon cake saying that making this
increases the quality at all.
Cleaning of The
Pipe
Cotton swab is
enough for cleaning the meerschaum pipe. Shaving foam , toothpaste , alcohol
etc. materials emphatically must not be used. Especially Savinelli Company’s
“See Spray” is ideal for cleaning the briar pipes, but it is not suggested for
meerschaum pipes. That is to say , any spray should not be used for cleaning the
pipe , without considering its specialties.
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After smoking
the pipe the remaining tobacco or tar that remains in bowl must be cleaned out.
While doing this process in meerschaum pipes one must be extremely careful ,
because the pipe spoon, pipe reamer, etc. tools may damage or scratch the pipe.
In order to
protect the pipe from blots we must keep our hands clean. Meerschaum pipes come
out after getting polished with beeswax. Especially, being sensitive to outer
effects while it is warm , is you touch the pipe with dirty hands then this dirt
will pass on the pipe, which would end up in unstable darkening. In addition to
this you must pay attention cleanliness of the pipe racks and pipe stands that
you put the pipe on, if you don’t the dirt they possessed will remain trace on
the pipe.
Protection of
the Meerschaum Pipe
The tools that
are used in cleaning process of pipes must be used carefully and the pipe must
not be forced. Otherwise this may end up in cracks and corrosions.
Mouthpiece must
not be forced and must rotate counter-clockwise while removing and while putting
it in , it must be rotated clockwise. Otherwise the pipe’s connection parts
would be worn off and get slacked.
Never try to
remove the remainders out of the pipe by hitting it to a shoe heel , corner of a
table , an ashtray, etc. like you see on movies.
Pay attention
to pipe furniture that they must not be damaged which would scratch the pipe.
Fast smoking, too much smoking ,warming up too much makes the pipe darken with
no balance of inner and outer layers.
Smoking Quality
- Some briar
pipe users use whiskey, lemon , honey etc. to get a fine smoke but these types
of materials are not suggested to meerschaum pipe because these affects the
quality in a bad way, I suggest you aromatic tobacco instead
- Even though
the outlook of the pipe gets better , beeswax must not be used after the first
appliance or the smoking quality will get affected badly.
- As i
mentioned before carbon cake increases the smoking quality and pleasantness of
the meerschaum pipes like does at briar pipes, regardless of what some web sites
say, while it is not a needed material for meerschaum’s at all.
- Again as I
said before , you should make the meerschaum pipe rest for at least a day after
every smoking process which will increase the smoking pleasantness greatly.
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Some
Accessories for Meerschaum Pipes
The
meerschaum pipe
accessories
are
the
same
as
other pipes accessories except
“9mm meerschaum filters” and “meerschaum base stone filters”.
I advise you to be used 9mm active carbon filter or 9mm balsa filter instead.
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The Quality of
Meerschaum pipe
It is hard to
understand this from the outside .The most important method of understanding is
to test pipe’s lightness. Quality of the Meerschaum pipe is parallel to its
lightness (in weight).
The second
method is the change of colors while smoking ,but this would only occur in time.
The meerschaum of good quality changes its color stably.
The other tips
of the quality can only be understood by the experienced meerschaum pipe smokers
which is about the smoking quality.
Burak Demir
The
President of the Pipe Club of Turkey
http://www.turkiyepipokulubu.com
http://www.piposayfasi.com
Brief Historical Account of Meerschaum
At first
Meerschaum
was the two horse statues that bring in 20.000 old France silver liras to Puget
which was made at 1652 by the French Artist Louis Pierre Puget, who was a
student of Berini, in the garden of Vaux-Le-Vicomte Castle in France .At these
times we see 9 art masterpieces at the height of 17 cm. that were worked up
wonderfully of Puget which he considered them with all the details. These works
of arts are by order The Girl , The Eagle , The tree and its body , Victory
Monument , The Relaxing Bushed Brigant , are the first Meerschaum works.
Moreover the Meerschaum was worked up before 1652. Being not able to establish
the artist’s names and the regions they were , we are starting the history at
1652.
We see
the finished pipe, which was formed by the
first meerschaum , was made by a noble Hungarian Evangelist who made it from
two raw meerschaums that were given as a gift from the Sultan of the era. Giving
these two raw meerschaums to his friend Karol Kowates, who is a fancier of
pipes, Hungarian Evengalist Count Andrasay wants him to make something from
them. And Kowates makes the first meerschaum pipes that are displayed in
Budapest Museum now. The interest to meerschaum increases in Europe ,then the
first meerschaum factory gets build in Ruhla Town,
Germany. By 1745 there were 27
factories where over 150 craftsmen work in , in parallel with this the workers
number who work in meerschaum mines increases from 1600 to 6000 in Turkey.
Meerschaum pipe
was first shown to people by the craftsman Kristof Treiss in Leipzig Fair at
1750.
By 1777 in
Frankfurt Industry Fair two craftsmen “Johanın Wolfgank Wagner and
Yakop
Helmann” came from Ruhla showed their products which bring them plumes .- At
1812 meerschaum found its second importer firm named Benjamin Barling which is
an established firm in London.
England draws
attention of the world at 1851s for being a country which is able to use the
industrial explosions perfectly and utilizing the opportunities as well. Thanks
to meerschaum factories and their product the Crylal Plale Exhibition turns into
a world fair.
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B.Bading is an
existing firm even now and like it a well-known firm GBD i.e. “ Ganneval Bondier
Donniger” which was formed by three friends who have these names, starts
meerschaum production at 1851,in France. By 1852 a second Matthissa France Firm
was established which has 80 craftsmen working in. At 1850s the factory number
in Germany increases significantly and with no doubt we see that the German
Industry affects the Hungarian , Italian and Austrian Industries as well with
Hitler’s regime. By this time we see there are at least 50 firms and 10-15
craftsmen in every of these firms just in Austria. It is impossible not to talk
about Vienna, because Vienna is the only place that gives spirit to meerschaum
and Vienna surely is the centre of places that gives woman beauty to meerschaum
and makes the mythology work up with meerschaum well.
By 1850
the number of craftsmen in Europe was 1500 and this quick widening of the
meerschaum industry between 1851 and 1854 makes us see “Brothers M. and Emannel
Lzapek” at
Czechoslovakia
, “E.R” at Belgium Brussels , “Arthur Schneider” at East Germany Leipzig ,
“Snaland” at Sweden and having the title of first woman pipe producer “Helene”
at Bulgaria Sofia set up one each firms. At that period which the meerschaum’s
exporting was hundred thousands covered money
there comes a new market on the scene. Calcuta at Middle-East, India and
D.Macropolo opens three factories at Bombay , Sri Lanka, Colombo .
In the very end
meerschaum was carried to America by the European artist F.J.Kaldenberg in raw
form in amounts of full two chests, which is nearly amount to 300 pipe all , at 1855.The first
American Pipe Factory was build on William Demuth Main Road and the first
meerschaum pipe store was opened in the name of William Demuth Company. Year
1862, the second store at Manhattan, year 1862 follows the firm of this
store,year 1896 the biggest meerschaum factory was opened at the south end of
101th Main Road Richmond Hill Queens, At Park Lane.
Speaking about
meerschaum and America, we shouldn’t forget Vienna craftsman Gustav Fisher who
migrated to America by 1881.The fisher family made meerschaum managing
in a direct
line as 6 generations from 1742 to 1975, that is exactly 233 years. Born at
1887, Jr.Fisher was already a 74 year old pipe carver, who started this job at
14,when he died.
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