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Carving a meerschaum pipe

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istanbulin

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A video of a Turkish meerschaum pipe company (Aktaşoğlu LTD). This is how to convert a piece of stone into a work of art.

 

Knucklehead

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That's awesome. What is meerschaum anyway? Is the red piece of equipment for hardening like firing clay or something? Thanks for posting.
 

istanbulin

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Actually, meerschaum is the white block in the video. It's a hydrous magnesium silicate having the chemical formula Mg4Si6O15(OH)2·6H2O. Because of the crystalline water it's very easy to carve, after dehydratization by slow cooking in the stove (after carving the pipe) it gains its hardness.
A German minerolog saw this mineral floating on the Black Sea in 19th century, then he gaved the name of "meerschaum" (sea foam) to it.
 
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deluxestogie

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Great video.

My understanding of what is being shown:
  • prior to the opening scene, the rough blocks of meerschaum have been allowed to soak in water, which reduces its brittleness, permitting it to be whittled.
  • while well hydrated, the pipe shape is whittled and machine turned
  • a pilot hole is drilled for both the tobacco hole and and smoke hole, so they meet
  • the final bores are drilled or carved
  • a batch of rough pipe bowls are place onto a bed of meerschaum shavings (possibly to prevent scorching of the bowls) and heated to dessicate the mineral, which alters its physical properties, making it hard and brittle, but sandable. Notice the difference in their sound, when placed onto the table.
  • a pipe stem (hard rubber or plastic) is heated by a hot air blower for bending, while a pipe cleaner is left inside it to maintain the air hole
  • after finishing work, both holes are plugged, then the bowl is immersed in liquid beeswax, which fills all the superficial pores of the mineral
Emre, please correct any errors I may have made in my observations.

Bob
 

istanbulin

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Bob, you're absolutely right. I want to add something. In more detailed pipes (head like, sultan, etc.) pipe craftsmen use paraffin to soften the meerschaum after they obtain the rough work. They use water to soften the material for the rough work. Paraffin made material soft but not soft as water made, so they can handle fine work on the pipe. In the last stage beeswax also provides a little yellowish tonicity.
Formerly, plain pipes are not considered as a pipe here so people used to smoke very detailed inlaid pipes but that pipes lost their popularity in last few decades.
 
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