The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-01-03
HOW TO COLOR A PIPE.
TGbacconist Gives . Reporter Some
Points on Browning . Meerschaum.

ToHacconist Gives Reporter Some
Points ON Browning q Meerschaum.
"Now, l have about as good meer-
schaum pipe as one wants to see" said
the writer to tobacconist and pipe
maker foreigner, who learned his
trade in Vienna, by the way, land ]
want to know how shall start in to
color it"
''It is well you ask me if you don't
know" was the reply, ''for if you at
tach anything more than sentiment
al value to the pipe you can just about
double its value by careful coloring.
'Meerschaum pipes need about as
much care as baby. First of all you
must get a false bowl, that is bowl
of brier wood or meerschaum which
you must fit into the top of your pipe.
Don't use the lower bowl for smoking
at all. but the false one, or you may
burn your pipe and almost spoil it.
Then, too, you must keep your pipe
case well brushed out. If pieces of
tobacco are allowed to get in it they
harden and scratch the pipe all up.
And you must keep the pipe wiped,
too for the same reason, and also so
that it won't have dirty look. Your
false bowl must be wet just little on
the inside before you use it, and be
smoked very carefully until it gets a
crust, or you will have to throw it
away and get another.
"Plug cut tobacco is the best to use,
as it is not as hot as most fine cuts and
is not as likely to burn the bowl"
Isn't meerschaum pipe ruined
after it has been burned Once2" asked
the writer.
mo. That is mistaken idea. If
you burn your pipe so that you find it
won't color any more, bring it in to
us and we will boil it in wax, and
then you can try your luck again. All
meerschaums are boiled in wax; and
when a pipe is overheated that waxy
polish on its surface disappears, and it
looks dull and chalky. In making a
carved pipe they cut out the design in
the rough and boil the pipe in wax.
Then they finish the carving and boil
it in wax again, and the pipe is ready
for market.
"Now, here is pipe in the shape of
woman's head, with a wreath of
flowers across the forehead. The
wreath, you see, is white and chalky,
and the rest has the familiar wax fin
ish. That is because the wreath was
carved after the pipe had been boiled
in wax the second time; in carving
the wreath the workman cut below the
wax finish. When the pipe is colored
the wreath will remain white as you
see it now, and the effect will be very
ine."
Where are the most meerschaums
made2" 9r.r
In Vienna. Pipe making is trade
there and there are very few first class
pipe makers outside Vienna and Pesth
American work is often pretty, but it
lacks the finish of the European
Foreign pipes are lighter and more
graceful than the American.
I'm a first class pipe half of the
value ought to be in the amber; but
both meerschaum and amber are of all
qualities. For instance, one bundle of
meerschaum may be worth $50, while
another exactly the same size may be
worth $500. The lighter the better is
the general rule"
Where dc, you get most of your
meerschaum"
1--WE get most of ours from Asia
Minor, where it is mined, the town of
Eouish furnishing the principal sup
plies. The Austrian merchants buy it
at Smyrna. Meerschaum is also found
less abundantly in Greece and some of
the Grecian islands; in Moravia and in
Morocco, where it is used when fresh
as substitute for SOAP A variety
used as a building stone is found in
South Carolina. Its name, 'meer-
schaum,' is the German for sea foam,
and is given it only because of its ap-
pearance.
AN imitation meerschaum used for
making pipes is made of hardened
plaster of Paris, treated with paraffin
and colored by gamboge and dragons
blood. The French also use as sub
stitute for meerschaum preparation
made chiefly of potato. The artificial
meerschaums cannot easily be distin-
guished from the real, but they are
usually heavier and freer from blem-
ishes, caused by the presence of foreign
minerals in many genuine meer-
schaums.
by the way, that new pipe Of yours
is now worth from SIP to SIS. Color
it up well and in two months you can
sell it for $25. Yes, this false bowl
will cost you twenty-five cents. "-Bos-
ton Globe.