what are meerschaum pipes made from?

Answer 1

Meerschaum is a soft white mineral sometimes found floating on the Black Sea, and rather suggestive of sea-foam (German: Meerschaum), whence also the French name for the same substance, ecume de mer. It was termed by E. F. Glocker sepiolite, in allusion to its remote resemblance to the bone of the sepia or cuttlefish. Meerschaum is opaque and of white, grey or cream color, breaking with a conchoidal or fine earthy fracture, and occasionally though rarely, fibrous in texture. It can be readily scratched with the nail, its hardness being about 2. The specific gravity varies from 0.988 to 1.279, but the porosity of the mineral may lead to error. Meerschaum is a hydrous magnesium silicate with the formula H4Mg2Si3O10.

Most of the meerschaum of commerce is obtained from Asia Minor, chiefly from the plain of Eskişehir in Turkey, between Istanbul and Ankara, where it occurs in irregular nodular masses, in alluvial deposits, which are extensively worked for its extraction. It is said that in this district there are 4000 shafts leading to horizontal galleries for extraction of the meerschaum. The principal workings are at Sepetdji-Odjaghi and Kemikdji-Odjaghi, about 20 miles southeast of Eski-Shehr. The mineral is associated with magnesite (magnesium carbonate), the primitive source of both minerals being a serpentine.

Answer 2

Meerschaum is a soft white mineral sometimes found floating on the Black Sea, and rather suggestive of sea-foam (German: Meerschaum), whence also the French name for the same substance, ecume de mer. It was termed by E. F. Glocker sepiolite, in allusion to its remote resemblance to the bone of the sepia or cuttlefish. Meerschaum is opaque and of white, grey or cream color, breaking with a conchoidal or fine earthy fracture, and occasionally though rarely, fibrous in texture. It can be readily scratched with the nail, its hardness being about 2. The specific gravity varies from 0.988 to 1.279, but the porosity of the mineral may lead to error. Meerschaum is a hydrous magnesium silicate with the formula H4Mg2Si3O10.

Most of the meerschaum of commerce is obtained from Asia Minor, chiefly from the plain of Eskişehir in Turkey, between Istanbul and Ankara, where it occurs in irregular nodular masses, in alluvial deposits, which are extensively worked for its extraction. It is said that in this district there are 4000 shafts leading to horizontal galleries for extraction of the meerschaum. The principal workings are at Sepetdji-Odjaghi and Kemikdji-Odjaghi, about 20 miles southeast of Eski-Shehr. The mineral is associated with magnesite (magnesium carbonate), the primitive source of both minerals being a serpentine.

Answer 3

I continually used a white cotton glove for my Meer. with the aid of fact it develop into rather carved (head of Medusa) & costly, i did no longer take possibilities. The organic oil patina from the tobacco makes putting any coating on it a huge gamble, and would make issues worse.

Answer 4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meerschaum