Hobbies And Interests
Asia Minor
Asia Minor, especially the plain of Eskişehir in Turkey, is where most commercially-worked meerschaum comes from. The mineral is found in soil deposited long ago by rivers, where it appears in masses of irregular nodules. In the Eskişehir district, between Ankara and Istanbul, there are more than 4000 mineshafts leading to horizontal passages where meerschaum is extracted. The biggest of these are about 20 miles southeast of Eskişehir at Sepetçi Ocağı and Kemikçi Ocağı.
Europe
The largest deposits of meerschaum outside of Asia Minor occur in the Czech Republic (it is found with serpentine at Hrubschitz near Kromau in Moravia), in Greece (at Thebes, and on the islands of Euboea and Samos), and in smaller amounts in France and Spain. There is also a soft, white mineral found in Vermland, Sweden, known as Aphrodite's Foam, which is closely related to Meerschaum.
Other Continents
In North America, meerschaum is found in the United States, again with serpentine in Pennsylvania, and on its own in South Carolina and Utah. There are some lower grade meerschaum deposits in Mexico. There are also some isolated deposits in Africa, the only notable ones located in Morocco and near Nairobi.
Properties
Meerschaum is opaque, colored white, cream or sometimes gray. It is given a hardness on the Mohs scale of about 2, because it can easily be scratched with a fingernail. Meerschaum is a hydrous magnesium silicate with the formula H4Mg2Si3O10. The microscopic crystals are irregularly arranged in meerschaum, giving it a fine, porous texture. Meerschaum is a hydrous mineral. The natural moisture is held within the porous structure while the mineral remains underground. As it is exposed to air and sunlight, it loses moisture and becomes lighter in weight and more consistent in texture. These properties are what have made it sought after for pipes for over 300 years, because the porous dried meerschaum will absorb both liquids and gases and hold them, acting as a natural filter.
Carving
When it is first taken from the ground, it is very soft, so meerschaum is easily carved as long as it does not lose its moisture content. Intricate carvings are often soaked in water periodically to keep them soft enough to carve. Once carved, the desired shape is slowly dried, preferably using indirect sunlight. When dry it is carefully hand-sanded to a very smooth finish. Finished carvings are immersed in heated, whitened beeswax, then polished by hand with a very soft cloth.
Uses
For centuries the primary use of meerschaum was for smoking pipes and cigarette holders. Meerschaum pipes gradually change color as they are smoked, and old Meerschaums will turn to shades of yellow, orange, and red from the base on up. Since the 1970s Turkey has banned the exportation of raw meerschaum nodules, in an effort to re-establish a local carving industry, such as existed in the area of Eskişehir centuries ago.