GOURDS
September is the planting time. December the month when the fruit must be turned by hand in the heat of each day when it is softest. To perfect the bend in the neck, it is better to be careful. Too much at a time will crack the neck. Too quick and the necks will crack, too slow and they will go mouldy.
After 7 weeks those gourds that survive the wind, the plant lice and the cutworms, are harvested and the neck is cut off and boiled for 12 hours in a copper kettle. This process removes the bark and gives the pipe its beautiful honey colour. The next phase is drying; on racks in the sun for some days and then 3 days in the shade Each gourd is different – every pipe is individual. We divide them into full bent or half bent
MEERSCHAUM
The name comes from the German word meaning “sea-foam” which it is said because of resemblance. Meerschaum is a miraculous rare mineral and a kind of hard white clay. This name reflects its characteristics of lightness in weight and whiteness in colour. It is one of the most porous substances found in nature, will not burn out, and is considered by pipe smokers as the perfect material for a cool, dry smoke. Only the purist meerschaum, mined in a small area in Turkey, is suitable for making pipes. Light and porous structure of the pipe keeps the smoke cool and soft.
The meerschaum itself is a natural filter which absorbs the nicotine. Because of this peculiarity, meerschaum pipes slowly change their colors to different tones of gold and dark brown. This adds an esthetic enjoyment to its great smoking pleasure. The longer a pipe is smoked, the more valuable it becomes due to the color change. All of our pipes are made of high quality Eskisehir Block Meerschaum which is very well known by experts. Unlike briar, meerschaum does not burn. All mouthpieces and pipe-cases are handmade individually after the production of the pipes.
CALABASH PIPES
The Calabash pipes offer the coolest and driest smoke available so thanks to the mixture of materials. While many opt for the briar versions, the actual Calabash Gourds are the original ones. Made from the fruit of the Calabash Gourds, which was one of the first plants cultivated by early humans in Africa continent. The large hollow chamber allows for the smoke to swirl round and cool before being smoked. This combined with a Meerschaum makes for a cool and dry smoke. The inner chamber also collects any other moisture and keeps the tobacco dry in the bowl.
The large meerschaum bowl is removable and allowing the pipe to be taken apart to completely dry out and remove and debris. Are they really handcarved? They are handmade from the best quality Eskisehir Block Meerschaum and all of our carvers use special knifes to dress these magnificent pipes. Even some of the knives are handmade as each carver only feels himself comfortable with his own handmade knife. All of the pipes come in a custom-made leather and velvet lined hard fitted cases.