Improvements in Tobacco Pipes.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Mar., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 5th Dec., 1895-Accepted, 11th Jan., 1896
Improvements in Tobacco Pipes.
1, DAVID HI8LOP FERGUSON, of No. 42 Nazareth Street, in the City of
Montreal, in the District of Montreal and Province of Quebec, Dominion of
Canada, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to tobacco pipes and has for its object a new and improved
hygienic and sanitary tobacco pipe which is so constructed that it has hard porous
exterior and interior surfaces enclosing a soft pithlike body very porous and highly
absorptive, which, when in use, owing to its constituents and construction, is
perfectly incombustible, practically unbreakable, light in weight, colours by use,
absorbs the black juice as fast as formed, allowing none to reach the mouth, is
easily and perfectly cleaned by soaking in water, and is reasonably cheap.
In the construction of this pipe I take fireproof uncombustible material, such as
asbestos or similar mineral fibre preferably asbestos, reduce the same in any
suitable machine to a fibre fine as eider-down, then after thoroughly sifting to
eliminate all dust I add to the cleaned fibre freshly calcined magnesite (natural
carbonate of magnesia) in the proportion of about one of magnesite to three of fibre
and mix them thoroughly together, this mixture I place loosely in any suitable
mould having fixed in it cores for the bowl aud bore of the stem taking care that
the mould is completely filled throughout, thus when the packing is finished I with-
draw the cores and fill the bowl with a weak solution of chloride of magnesia and
keep the mould closed until it is all absorbed, when it will be found to have
percolated to the outside surface. I then open the mould and extract the blank or
pipe form and place it where it will dry slowly.
As the drying takes place at the surface only, the water of the solution finds its
way there and carries the matter in solution along with it, the initial strength of
the solution being weak, it acts on the magnesite but feebly, but as the evaporation
proceeds the solution becomes concentrated at the surface and becomes strong
enough to act vigorously on the adjacent magnesite and forms a hard stonelike
surface enclosing a soft interior both surfaces and interior being highly porous,
While the foregoing method is convenient and easily worked 1 find there are
other methods by which the same results may be attained, viz.: the hard porous
surface and soft interior for example, I take the clean fibre and mix with it finely
comminuted table salt, sugar, or other cheap salts which are soluble in water, I then
pack the mould (but not so loose as in the above process) withdraw the cores and.
fill the bowl with a solution of silicate of soda allowing the charge to be completely
absorbed; then open the mould, when I find the liquid bas reached the outside
surface, then I place the blank to dry when a similar process to the foregoing
takes place, nearly the whole of the silicate reaching the surface and barely enough
left in the interior to hold the fibres together when the orust or surface is broken
through as might be foreseen in such a case, the inside surface of the bowl is never
so hard as the outer or exterior surface, this arises from the fact that the outside
is more freely exposed to the air and evaporates more water consequently leaving a
stronger shell behind it. When dry the pipe is dipped in a solution of chloride of
calcium which by a double reaction forms silicate of calcium and chloride of sodium
and it is then left to stand some days to complete the combinations. The pipe

page_text: is now soaked in water to eliminate the salt which was mixed with the fibre also
the salt formed by the chemical change and any residuum of incombined silicate
of Boda.
11
1
ML 1005
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
I, DAVID HISLOP FERGUSON, of No. 42 Nazareth Street, in the City of
Montreal, in District of Montreal and Province of Quebec, Dominion of Canada,
Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
This invention relates to tobacco pipes and has for its object a new and improved
hygienic and sanitary tobacco pipe which is so constructed that it has hard porous
exterior and interior surfaces enclosing a soft pithlike body very porous and highly
absorptive, which, when in uso, owing to its constituents and construction, is
perfectly incombustible, practically unbreakable, light in weight, colours by use,
absorbs the black juice as fast as formed, allowing none to reach the mouth, is
easily and perfectly cleaned by soaking in water, and is reasonably cheap.
In the construction of this pipe I take fireproof uncombustible material, such as
asbestos or similar mineral fibre preferably asbestos, reduce the same in any
suitable machine to a fibre fine as eider-down, when after thoroughly, sifting to
eliminate all dust I add to the cleaned fibre freshly calcined magnesite (natural.
carbonate of magnesia) in the proportion of about one of magnesite to three of fibre
and' mix them thoroughly together, this mixture I place loosely in any suitable
mould having fixed in it cores for the bowl and bore of the stem taking care that
the mould is completely filled throughout. When the packing is finished I with-
draw the cores and fill the bowl with a weak solution of chloride of magnesium and
keep the mould closed until it is all absorbed, when it will be found to have
percolated to the outside surface. I then open the mould and extract the blank or
pipe form and place it where it will dry slowly.
As the drying takes place at the surface only, the water of the solution finds its
way there and carries the matter in solution along with it. The initial strength of
the solution being weak, it acts on the magnesite but feebly, but, as the evaporation
proceeds, the solution becomes concentrated at the surface and becomes strong
enough to act vigorously on the adjacent magnesite and forms a hard stonelike
surface enclosing a soft interior both surfaces and the interior being bigbly
porous.
While the method above described is convenient and easily worked, I find there
are other methods by which the same results may be attained, namely the hard
porous surface and the soft interior :-
For example, I mix with the clean fibre finely comminuted table salt, sugar, or
other cheap salts which are soluble in water, I then pack the mould (but not so
loosely as in the previously described process) withdraw the cores, and fill the bowl
with a solution of silicate of soda allowing the charge to be completely absorbed ;
I then open the mould, when I find the liquid has reached the outside surface,
then I place the blank to dry when a process similar to the described takes place,
pearly the whole of the silicate reaching the surface and scarcely enough being left.
in the interior to hold the fibres together when the crust or surface is broken
through. As might be foreseeri, in such a case, the inside surface of the bowl.is

page_text: never so hard as the outside surface, which is more freely exposed to the air so
that more water evaporates from it leaving a stronger shell. When the pipe is
dry it is dipped in a solution of chloride of calcium which by a double reaction
forma silicate of calcium and chloride of sodium, and it is then left to stand some
days to complete the combinations. The pipe is now soaked in water to eliminate
the salt which was originally mixed with the fibre, also the salt formed by the
chemical reaction and any residuum of incombined silicate of soda.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
A tobacco pipe, manufactured substantially as herein described, of incombustible
fibrous material treated so as to have its exposed surfaces hard and porous, and the
interior portions within these surfaces soft porous and pithlike.
Dated this 5th day of December 1895.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.