Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-17

There they can get better light than I'm q
shop and good light is required in equal de-
gree for finishing and polishing. C1ryers
also work at home for the same reason.
good meers chaum carver can turn out
from three to six rather Ella borately carved
bowls in the course OF a working day. Just
at present popular carved pipe is known
to the trade a the Venus. II shows a wOrn-
ans figure, scaatny clad. starting IN front
Of the pipe ut the rim and ciinging
gracefully to the under side Of the bowl
all the way back to the amber bit All
carving Is done by hand 4 pipe Is carved
twice. After the first carving when the
meerschaum is wet, IL Is baked finished
and put into sperm and boiled. This poo
cess hardsns the meerschaum considera bly,.
so that IN the second carving the desired
sharpness Is given to the des gn. When the
carver is through with the pipe 1t is waxed.
In carving, only cutting is done; there must
be no scraping. For some reason that can!
not be fethome1 If a piece of meerschau m
Is scraped It shows up spotted, and no
amount of working with it eradicats
the spots.
Another popularity of meerschaum IL
that block of 1t in the state cannot
be broken with repeated blows from Il
aledge hammer though every blow viii
dent it. A certain manufacturer has tried
In all manner of ways to shatter block,
even inviting his callers TO whack 1t as
hard as they know how with a heavy sledxe
hammer. Yet, after meerschaum has been
cut for pipes, soaked and baked 1t can be
The only time that meerschaum after 1t
has been made up into a pipe, regains any
thing like its original cohesive property ~
after it has been boiled in oil to set It's
color. The boiling makes a pipe "as hard
as rock. but. as every one knows the
average rock can be shattered by blows 4
part or the meerschaum pipe manufacture
er's business il that OF boiling pipes FOR
smokers. Linseed oil, to which a certain
| coloring is added, is used
Mistakes of Mearscb.,p, s,oolx..
Manufacturers are also called on contin-
| ually to repair pipes whose surfaces have
cracked. or in other ways brought disap-
pontment to their owners Cracking and
all other Ills generally result from careless
or ignorant handling on the part OF
smokers.
meerschaum should never be taken
from warm room into cold air, nor should
1t be laid on a glass case or a marble slab.
Any sudden change of temperature. from
not to cold, is likely to crack the glossy
surface, which will frequently curl back at
the edges of the cracks. Many smokers,
having heard that meerschaum will float,
throw their pipes into water to ind out IL
what they have heard is true. This causes
a sudden change of temperature and IN
duceS cracking.
Not a few smokers, thinking to hasten
the coloring Of their pipes, pour alcohol
over their tobacco. This is another prolific
cause of cracking the alcohol wrea king
this damage as IT escapes to the pipes
face through the pores. in company with
the nicotine.
The permanent coloring always comes
from the inside You have seen meer-
schaum enthusiast carefully blow smoke
over his pipe. In the fond belief that he is
thereby aiding in the coloring process?
Well, the smoke Will color the surface but
only temporarily. So in the long run all
the carefully given smoke baths go for
naught.
The demand for meersch aum pipes is now
greater than ever before in the history OF
the trade. Prices TO the smokers are also
much lower. This is due TO the fact that
of recent years the mining of meerschaum
has been carried on systematically. Pre-
Viously, 1t was dug only when some native
wanted to hear the clink of a little coin.
Now more enterprising men are making
snug fortunes out of mining this sea
foam" English OF the German fneerschaum.
The name is apt one; meerschaum is
ceedingly porous. astonishingly light. and
of the whiteness of sea foam.
Imitation Meerschaums
With the increased demand for meer-
schaum pipes variety of limitations have
been put on the market. In making e.
meerschaum pipe. numerous chips result
from cutting, shaping, turning and cary
ing. Those chipsc that are too small TO be
utilized for cigar holders etc. are melted
down, combined with oils and wax ana
shaped into pipes. Other limitations do not
have a particle of meerschaum in them
Imitation meerschaums sell as low as %
cents apiece. good meerschaum pipe can
be bought today for as little as So. RETAIL
and much as $500 or $500. Less than ten
years ago he was a fortunate man who
could buy good meerschaum for less than
$40 or SO.