New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-07-02
MAKING MEERSCHAUM PIPES
How the Mineral Is Finally Turned to
Commercial Uses.

When a manufacturer IL buying meer-
schaum he has a number Of boxes Of rough
blocks submitted for his inspection. To a
certain extent. says a writer in The Cigar
and Tobacco World" he is buying in the
dark. for one cannot see into the interior
Of the blocks, and. although an expert will
soon decide which boxes will suit his par
ticular' purpose. ne has TO run the chances
Of how they will turn out as regards i'm
projections Of various kinds.
The first man TO manipulate the blocks
begins by cutting right through the mass
and then into pieces fit for large or small
pipes, cigars or cigarette tubes; and in this
he is guided by the assures and faults,
which are very obvious and have 10 be
avoided. These pieces are next roughly
shaped into the semblance Of pipes. etc,
with the aid OF a knife and a very small
circular saw.
The next man has a lathe, with which lie
turns the "roughs" into their proper
shapes, according to the capability OF the
piece which may be fairly large at the
outset. but. by the necessity Of cutting out
hitherto hidden flaws, may be reduced In
size as much as one-half. BY means Of the
lathe the bowl is now followed out. and the
bore made in the stem.
Now the ''roughs" are boiled in milk.
again inspected for flaws. which are shaved
off if only surface deep, then in sperma-
ceu; then passed on 10 the amber filter.
who prepares the respective mouthpieces
roughly but does not yet place them in
position. Boiling in wax. from which the
natural salt has been previously extracted.
FNaan ost,fa
much care and Judgment. The amber, or
other mOuthpieCes, are now fitted on 70 Il
nicely, with wooden or bone plugs, of
which the part that fits into the mouth
niece forms a screw while that which goes
into the meerschaum is plain and is Sc
cured in place by a cement composed OF
plaster OF paris and liquid gum.
1t would not do to screw the plug into
the meerschaum as the latter would GER
tainly swell from the inevitable moisture
that ensues when the pipe is in use, and
thus crack the meerschaum. The cement
IL not so much affected. vet with all the
care possible the best Of meerschaums may
crack at the joint The proper degree OF
hardness FOR coloring and total absence OF
imperfections constitute the first quail
ity; in the seconds" Slight flaws may be
thirds the flaws although skilfully filed
up. are more or less obvious. Frequently
the last quality is sent here under the
name Of sorts" (brief for ''assorted")
and comprise various sizes.
In consequence Of the rarity and high
cost Of "hrsts," the quality which general
" reaches and II best known 20 the re-
tailers Is second Many manufacturers
subGivlde this into two classes. OF which
"A" quality Is 40 near perfection that few
can detect flaws without "A magnifying
glass. And here we can give a useful hint:
When examining meerschaums. breathe
heavily On the polished surface. which will
have the effect OF showing flaws more dis
tincty. That which is sometimes thought
to fe a crack in the meeI schaum Is merely
a crack on the waxen surface. as will be
detected by using a magnifyng glass.
These wax-cracks occur much more fire.
quently in carved than In plain pipes. and
will disappear with the first pipeful smoked,
and even sometimes while in stock
Much care and Judgment must be exer-
cised In buying mecrschaums and Il should
never he done by artificial light. because
II is only by daylight that the grain can be
seer and imperfections quickly detected
In plain pipes there should be no grain"
apparent 10 the naked eye simply a clear
cream colCr. and that Of "a light shade. on
the other hand. highly polished. hard look
ing meerschaum should be avoided for II
IL probably too hard TO color well. Most
carved pipes are made OF a softer and
more grainy kind. but when the subject Is
head or face IL should not be too soft,
because there would then be no sharp out
lines after months smoking