Meerschaum / Gypsum / Asbestos ?

Tech · Post by **Tech** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 7:43 am

Hi Gents.
Is there any way to determine the material of a calabash pipe bowl?

I bought this 'Meerschaum Calabash" (ebay) with the intention of cleaning and using it. I would assume it is edwardian era (Though don't know if it's provable from the faded maker's mark and lack of hallmarks.) I'm sure the stem is a replacement. There are no other markings on the pipe or the bowl.

pics: http://www.stinkypug.net/calabash.mht

Anyway, It's been smoked a hell of alot. I found it odd that there was hardly any discoloration just outside the top of the tobacco chamber. After an effort, I got the bowl off, and there's a good accumulation of tobac residue inside of the pipe, and the bowl itself is quite blackened from use. The bowl feels lighter than meerschaum and doesn't seem to dissolve/soften with a drop of water, though it does absorb the water. I can put a light scratch into it ith my fingernail (Under the lip of course!) It might just be that i'm not using enough water (Which I'm rather unwilling to do on a pipe this old unless necessary.)

Any hints? Thanks!

Frank · Post by **Frank** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 1:05 pm

Perhaps you were just joking, but to my knowledge, asbestos has never been used as a calabash insert. The three types of material for removeable calabash bowls that I have found are Meerschaum, Ceramic and Bakelite.

Without a hallmark date stamp, it's difficult to date the pipe.

Judging from the pics, I would say that it is a meerschaum insert. The bowl itself might have been replaced at some time, but judging from the even colouring of the calabash, it probably wasn't smoked as much as you're assuming.

My most amazing Meerschaum Calabash find was an unsmoked stamped Orlik on UK Ebay, "Buy It Now" for 5 quid. Of course, I snapped it up!

ToddJohnson · Post by **ToddJohnson** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 3:15 pm

Bakelite . . . ?

TJ

Frank · Post by **Frank** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 5:53 pm

ToddJohnson wrote:Bakelite . . . ?

I could be wrong, but that is the only conclusion I could come to. It's definitely not meerschaum, gypsum/plaster-of-paris or ceramic. It is a manufactured material resembling a hard plastic, but able to withstand direct heat, at least for a while.

Being estate pipes, some of them had burned through the bottom of the bowl, pretty quickly, I imagine. I still have four that were obviously not smoked all that much. Eventually I'll replace the bowls with meerschaum. You're welcome to one of them to examine, if you so wish.

Tech · Post by **Tech** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 3:30 am

Well, Nevermind - My personal email to pipes.org forum member John Wade Long prompted this reply:

http://forum.pipes.org/~discus/discus/m ... 1213466928

... Re: the asbestos bowl in calabashes. Those are obvious, are marked as "asbestos", and are never white or gray, but a deep red color - and evidently a compressed substance, almost like a masonite. I've just sacrificed the flexibility of a PC for a Mac (sorry Apple users) and am finding formatting a photo to forum specs (EASY on a PC) a pain in the rear on my Mac - or I'd post a photo of my asbestos liner. - Johnny -

So, Happy to say that My pipe is probably a meer. Now as for your 'bakelite' material, you might want to look into that ....

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:08 am

You can let Mr. Long know that it's equally easy on a Mac, you just have to ask it nicely.

Once your photos are in iPhoto, use the export (Command-Shift-E) function and set the size and quality from that dialog window.

Silly people, expecting a Mac to be as difficult as Windows to use...

ToddJohnson · Post by **ToddJohnson** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 11:09 am

Frank wrote:
ToddJohnson wrote:Bakelite . . . ?
I could be wrong, but that is the only conclusion I could come to. It's definitely not meerschaum, gypsum/plaster-of-paris or ceramic. It is a manufactured material resembling a hard plastic, but able to withstand direct heat, at least for a while.

Being estate pipes, some of them had burned through the bottom of the bowl, pretty quickly, I imagine. I still have four that were obviously not smoked all that much. Eventually I'll replace the bowls with meerschaum. You're welcome to one of them to examine, if you so wish.

Hey Frank,

I'm just curious because I work with bakelite a lot and can't imagine burning anything in it. In fact, I typically wear a respirator when cutting a stem from it. The stuff seems positively caustic.

TJ