Meerschaum is a very soft mineral when it’s first mined, which means that it’s easy to carve into just about any shape or design you can imagine.
What is block meerschaum?
Block Meerschaum – There are 2 types of meerschaum used in the creation of smoking pipes; block meerschaum and pressed meerschaum. This type of meerschaum is heavier than block, does not smoke as cool, does not color as well and any carving is typically clunky and uninteresting.
How can I tell if block meerschaum is pressed?
Lick your finger, touch the inside of the (unsmoked) bowl. If it feels sticky, it’s block. If it doesn’t, it’s pressed.
What is meerschaum stone?
They’re digging out meerschaum — the soft, white stone that is carved into intricate pipes prized by smokers throughout the world — and their trade is dying. In Istanbul’s medieval Covered Bazaar, shops carry hundreds of types of meerschaum pipes for collectors and smokers.
What is Turkish meerschaum?
Meerschaum is a soft white stone which mineralogists call sepiolite (hydrous magnesium silicate, called lületaşı [LUR-leh-tah-shuh] in Turkish). It’s mined in villages near Eskisehir in Aegean Turkey and carved into beads, necklaces, earrings and especially pipes. Meerschaum pipes are the most familiar and famous item.
What is meerschaum made of?
A meerschaum pipe is a smoking pipe made from the mineral sepiolite, also known as meerschaum.
How do I know if I have meerschaum?
Determining meerschaum pipe quality The quality of meerschaum can be distinguished by testing its porosity. Rub a wet finger across the meerschaum, high quality meerschaum will absorb the moisture; low quality meerschaum will not.
What does meerschaum feel like?
Meerschaum smokes cool and dry with a flavor unrivaled by any other pipe. As it ages, meerschaum colors a rich honey-brown, improving both in appearance and taste. Enjoy its light weight and silky feel, its distinctive taste, its ripening to a mellow golden-brown.
How can you tell a real meerschaum?
Where is meerschaum found?
Meerschaum pipes are crafted from a soft white mineral that mostly originates on the plain of Eskisehir in Turkey. It’s sometimes found in Greece, France, Spain, Morocco, the United States, or floating on the Black Sea, giving it the ethereal appearance of sea foam.
How do you know if a pipe is meerschaum?
Are meerschaum pipes valuable?
You can also find valuable collectible pipes in a lot of estate meerschaum pipes, which have already been used, but hold value because of their durability, rarity, age, or country of origin.
How do carvers buy block meerschaum?
Most of the carvers buy block meerschaum directly from the mine operators. Competition for the limited number of large blocks is very keen and they sell at a premium price. An experienced carver tries to utilize as much of the block as possible. Using a cleaver and saw, the carver cuts the block into a rough pipe shape.
What is a Turkish block meerschaum pipe?
The Handcarved Turkish Block Meerschaum Pipe. Turkish Block Meerschaum has been renowned since the 1600s as the incomparable material for the world’s finest smoking pipes. Meerschaum is lightweight, incombustible and very porous. It gives the truest taste of your tobacco, while providing a cool dry smoke.
What is the grading of meerschaum?
The grading of meerschaum is based on size, density, color and homogeneity. Most of the carvers buy block meerschaum directly from the mine operators. Competition for the limited number of large blocks is very keen and they sell at a premium price. An experienced carver tries to utilize as much of the block as possible.
What is raw meerschaum and how is it made?
The raw meerschaum must pass through many hands before it becomes the world’s finest smoking pipe. Excavated by experienced miners, raw meerschaum is found scattered through clay deposits in clumps of varying sizes and quality. Meerschaum, also known as hydrous magnesium silicate or sepiolite, is found at depths from 50 to 450 feet.
