The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1891-08-27
HOW TO COLOR A PIPE.
Tobacconist Gives Some Points on
Brownipg a 3Iesrschaum.

Now, l have about as good meer-
schaum pipe as one wants to see. said
| a Boston Globe man to tobacconist
and pipemaker, a foreigner, who learned
his trade in Vienna. by the way, land
| want to know how shall start to
| color it?"
1T is we'll you ask ME if you don't
know was the ready reply, for if
you attach anything more than a sen.
timental value to the pipe you can just
about double its value by careful color
! ing.
'.Meerschaum pipes need about as
| much care as baby. First Of all you
must get false boul-that is. bowl
| of brierwood or 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 carefully brushed out. II 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 always have dirty look. Your
false bowl must be wet just little on
the inside before You first use it. and be
smoked very carefully until it gets 3
crust, or you will have to throw it away
and get another.
Plug cut tobacco is the best to use,
as it is not rs hot as most fine cuts and
is not as likely to burn the bowl"
Isn't meerschaum pipe ruined
after it has been burned once?" asked
the writer.
No. That is mistaken idea. If
you burn your pipe 50 that you find it
won't color any more. bring it in to u.
and we will boil it in wax, and then
you can try your luck again. All
| meerSchaums are boiled in wax; and
when 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
finish. 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
fine"
Where are most meerschaums
made?"
In Vienna. Pipemaking is trade
there, and there are very few first-class
pipemakers outside of 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.
''ln a lirst-clasS pipe half o.. 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 the same size may be worth
$500. The lighter the better is the
general rule"
Where do you get most of your
meerschaum?
I'VE get most of ours from Asia
Minor where it is mined. the town of
konish furnishing the principal sup
plies. The Austrian merchants buv it
at Smyrna. Meerschaum is also found
less abundantly in Greece and some of
the Grecian islands. in Moravia and
Morocco. where it is used when fresh
rs sub ';iIute for soap. A variety
used ~ Il building-stonc is found near
Madrid. and there is some mecrSchaum
in South Carolina. Its name. 'meer-
schaum. is the German for sca-foam
and is given it only because of its APP
pearancc.
An imitation meerschaum used for
making pipes is made OF hardened
plaster OF pare; treated with paratiins
and colored by gamboge and dragons
blood. The French also use as a SUBJ
stitute for meerschaum preparation
made chiefly from potato. The artiii-
cial meerschaums can not be easily
distinguished from the real. but they
are usually heavier and frcer from
blemishes caused by the presence of
foreign minerals i'll many genuine
meerschaums.
"By the way. that new pipe of yours
is now worth from $12 to $l5. Color it
up well and in two months you can sell
it for S25. Yes. this false bowl will
cost you % cents"