Meerschaum

Meerschaum means foam of the sea. It is a soft mineral, that can be found primarily in Turkey, but also in Greece, Kenya and USA. 

In its original form it can be scratched with a fingernail, but after it´s been prepared for use, it gets more firm. The meerschaum piece, in its natural form, is scraped to remove the red earthy matrix, then dried, scraped again and polished with wax. Then turned, carved and smoothed. Next it gets heated in wax and finally polished with bone-ash. 

Originally it was used for jewelry and decorations but in the 1700´s it was discovered to be an excellent material for pipe bowls and cigarette holders, because it provided a cool, dry and flavorful smoke. It also absorbs moisture and tobacco tar.