Meerschaum Pipes from the ground up

[joshgalvan100]

Ah very nice.. I just got my very own SMS pipe today well done mate

[1982pantro]

Excellent craftsmanship, Good work

[DVSnmeSON]

do these guys do custom orders by chance?

[IvanoSaveri]

very interesting video - thank you very much for posting!

[hoochie1231]

The breathing pissed me off

[timecowx]

That was like a "Documentary meets Art Film"! I have whole ne respect for these hand carved Meerschaums. The whole scene in the mine, I just kept thinking OSHA! Oh GOD someone call OSHA! I go through abandoned gold mines where I live all the time, but THAT scared me! Beautiful work and a great video. Thanks!

[ClarkeL27]

didnt like the breathing

[Somedaysafe]

i dont know what it is about meerschaum it just reminds me of carved deodorant

[virginwolf]

awesome video! a cool short documentary

[company101]

The breathing cheapened an otherwise excellent video to the point of making me turn the sound off.

It might be worthwhile to edit out the perverted asthmatic panting?

Regardless, thanks for the wonderful chance to peek into an obscure craft!

[upsallysskirt]

Just checked the website and all the pipes I like are out of stock. :(

[TobaccoBarn]

@upsallysskirt Yes, sorry for the inconvenience there. We've been patiently waiting our regular shipment from our workshop in Turkey and just recently received the first half of it. Once we've cleared out all the backorders, we'll be updating the website with the remaining inventory which will help with this problem greatly. Thanks for your patience!

[upsallysskirt]

Nice vid

[dayzedaway]

its amazing how he carved the face and art peice so fast with out stopping or checking it til the end when he was sanding it, crazy

[1000scintille]

Great stuff!..But y the heavy breathing?..Perhaps a change of tobacco mixture is badly needed!

[drlsweat]

Love to see the process, but the creepy breathing really has to go. It was an awful distraction.

[rjsmuzik]

I have a Meerschaum that was made for me from Turkey. This should help u appreciate what goes into the mining of the stone.

[Tamcon05]

What is up with the creepy breathing?

[TobaccoBarn]

@Tamcon05 An attempt at being "artsy". It is meant to emulate a miner's breathing as he descends into the mine to retrieve the raw meerschaum used to make these wonderous pipes.

[Tamcon05]

@TobaccoBarn Oh ok. Great video by the way it was very informative. I find it amazing how they cut through it like soap.

[GovVance]

It was pretty good, minus the asthmatic breathing breaks.

[bretona]

@TobaccoBarn

Absolutely! I just got my first meer just under a month ago. It's great, my most recent video on my site displays it. it was a birthday present from my girlfriend. I LOVE how my meerschaum smokes englishes. a superb smoke indeed. I got a Dasnke meer

[methylethyldeth]

Great information but a very scary video :[

[bretona]

meerschaum isn't a stone, rather, as the name suggests it is fossilized "sea foam"

thats what meerschaum means in German as well

:)

[TobaccoBarn]

@bretona That is actually a common misconception. Yes, the term meerschaum translates to sea foam and yes there are tales that the name came from German sailors on the black sea hitting chunks of this floating there but they are just that, folk tales.

Meerschaum is hydrous magnesium silicate, an opoaque white-grey or cream-colored mineral in the soapstone family. It's generally accepted chemical makeup is written as Mg4(H;0)3(OH),SitO,5-3H;0

Other names include: Sepiolite or Lületaşı.

[bretona]

ah, i was going off Richard Hacker's words. I mean, the fact that he's met Ismail Ozel was enough for me to trust his words.

But I suppose even experts can be wrong

[TobaccoBarn]

@bretona True, he is a well respected expert in the world of pipes. He may have meant that is where the name came from, who knows.

BTW - Thanks for your interest in our video. Do you smoke a meer? Great pipe material IMHO

[akouo01]

A truly remarkable video! those brothers mining and carving meerschaum, gives quite an insight when you see, and smoke those unique and lovely pipes! 10/10 WOW! thank for posting video.

[combatcommand]

This video sincerely scared the living fuck out of me.

[bhutch87]

@combatcommand HAHAHAHA...What was with the manic killer style breathing??

[bretona]

lol the cinematography is sooo weird....

[TheMatrixPipe]

Very educational video.

[LZDEN]

excellent skills and wonderful pipes..well done.;-)

[nicegirlfromiceland]

Hahaha I love that video! I love especially that this one has the mine action aswell!

I collect thimbles and was lucky to get my hands on a couple of them this year made of meerschaum. It's so interesting to learn more about them. See where they come from, how they are made until they are packed and shipped to the future owner!

I thought the heavy breathing and the shots were both artistic and showing the hard work, as well as a little bit creepy lol XD but its all cool! 5*

[capaneus184]

That video was so entertaining. Very 2001 Space Odyssey in its feel!

[TobaccoBarn]

Now that is a spin on the heavy breathing intro that I hadn't heard before. Great analogy!

[feltheartfilm]

Great Video. Do you know who made it?

[TobaccoBarn]

I'll reply via email with more information about the production of this video...

[nirvanafan2737]

lol i like the creepy camera angles and the heavy breathing.....good intresting video

[semigotbanned]

amazing video

[TwoEyeCyclops]

you can smoke whatever you feel like smoking in your meerschaum.

[TobaccoBarn]

Yes, you certainly can. A great number of our wholesale customers (in particular for the mini pipes) don't specialize in tobacco pipe sales.

Not that there is anything wrong with that...

[TwoEyeCyclops]

*high five*

[magicmark1292]

Man those carvers are sooo talented. I only wish I could do something like that. I guess I'd have to practice A LOT. Though you can't buy completely raw meerschaum you can buy carving kits witch is what I will do since they are so interesting pipes. I've carved a couple wood pipes but this looks like more fun and delicate work.

[TobaccoBarn]

Yes, you can get carve kits made from either whole block meerschaum as well as reformed meerschaum.

You can find links to either at our site

[haikupuku]

I'm not smoker, but this video - it's so very well designed - very great watching it a second time - learned about M'schaum, is german, yes(sea foam)? How is called in turkish?

[TobaccoBarn]

Meerschaum (aka sepiolite) is luletasi in Turkish. However, if you call it meerschaum in discussions with folks in Turkey, they will most certainly know what you mean.

[threebrained]

I love meerschaum pipes I have one of the handcarved SMS pipes made in Turkey I think, I smoke a dunhill/ cherry almond blend and its so smooth. I used to smoke a brier pipe but the taste was bad , ill never go back after smoking a meerschaum.

[TobaccoBarn]

You are correct in assuming the pipe came from Turkey. SMS is one of the other major importers of meerschaum pipes from Turkey.

All meerschaum pipes produced commercially since the mid-70s have come from Turkey since the government stopped the export of raw meerschaum in order to preserve the art and craft of carving meerschaum pipes as a Turkish heritage craft.

[threebrained]

Wow thanks for the information , its true you learn something new everyday.

[bandostyle]

are they made 100% of meerschaum? sorry but I don't think so, a good briar pipe start to 50€,how an original meerschaum can cost less?

many friends of mine buyed cheap meerschaum in turkey or here in italy and they finally find that they were smoking a pipe made by a mixture of meerschaum dust plus glue so i'm a little bit suspicious about cheap meerschaums...

[TobaccoBarn]

No, those prices are correct for the sized pipes I mentioned. Mini and medium are smaller than a normal pipe. We are an importer and can offer deeper discounts by cutting out the middle man.

We only deal in whole block meerschaum for our pipes. The only reformed meerschaum products that we sell that are designed for smoking are replacement calbash bowls/cups as these can be quite expensive if cut from whole block meerschaum.

[bandostyle]

this short movie it's amazing,I would like to have one of these beutiful pipes but now are to expensive for me :(

[TobaccoBarn]

Price all depends upon the size and complexity of the carving. You can find small (mini) meerschaums as low as $8 bucks and mediums for under $29.

[Crashoverall]

Brilliant!. I've got one of your pipes, its a smooth calabash. It smokes really fine, though it still has got that strange smell and taste.

Now I want some of these carved into sculptures.

[TobaccoBarn]

Thanks for the kind words.

How many bowls have you smoked in your pipe? You might consider giving a good, through cleaning as it almost sounds like you are experience taste/aroma from production dust still in the stem/shank/bowl of the pipe.

As for the sculptural pieces, Stop by the website and click on Buy to be taken to our online store where we've got a wide selection of pipes.

[janlen123]

wow ! :D relly amazing video :) . ill go check ur website ofc :]

[TobaccoBarn]

We are importers of meerschaum pipes from Turkey. This video was taken by the founder of the company a number of years ago. We intend to make more on next buying trip. Didn't get any videos, just stills on last trip out.

[fly2000jtb]

Do you own the mine you were in, or do you work there? Cool video, make more if you can,. Thankd for posting it!! Joseph T. (FLY2000JTB)

[natereiners]

nice video, my buddy has a handcarved meerschaum pipe which was given to his father by Turkish missionaries. We're just discovering what a treasure meerschaum pipes are! :)

[TobaccoBarn]

Fantastic, welcome to the brotherhood. They are a joy to own a dream to smoke!

[TheCapstanShanty]

Beautiful, and I'm asking this before I check out your site so if it is on their you need not reply but if not do you or anyone who comes across my comment know where I could find Meerschaum stone blocks to carve my own? Thank you and very good video post.

[TobaccoBarn]

One of the challenges of finding raw blocks for carving purposes is that the government of Turkey has limited the export of raw meerschaum to stones that have been pre-drilled for pipe usage (i.e. the bowl and draft hole have been drilled and a stem attached).

We carry not only whole-block carve kits (as described above) but also kits made from reformed meerschaum which are a great place to start out carving at a reasonable price.

[iostream1]

what country is this in?

[TobaccoBarn]

This video was taken outside of Eskesehir, Turkey.

[AulicExclusiva]

Great!

[adampc22]

the vid starts off like a mucky phone call lol but them pipes are a work of art

[TobaccoBarn]

Then don't. Try your hand at smoking tobacco in it instead of weed... But we do sell, I fear, a great deal of our mini meerschaum pipes to folks that don't appear to be smoking tobacco in them.

[DEATHbyRAZORBACK]

i want one so bad but i think id feel guilty smoking weed out of it haha

[Prosperosmoke]

I don't know. It seemed like some commentary on the amount of work needed in order to produce a single pipe. Some miner is in the dark, the pipe maker is working it. The suffering of the miner is pretty evident, the pipe maker seems to have made so many of them that they simply come out, carbon copies. There's nothing special. The breathing is an ironic and impressive symbol of lack of life which, juxtaposed with the pipe itself implies a lack of 'breath of life,' if you will, in Meerscahum.

[souixzie3]

This is a really neat video - tells the story beautifully without words. In fact, you can read two stories into it at once. Excellent - and well worth watching!

[loveheros]

there is my country .Turkiye i love my country . im to be feel pround of see this video .

[Riffchief]

holy shit that carver is fast and deadly accurate

[TakemusuAikidoNL]

The wax is not really neccesaruy to seal the surface, but it is rather meant to make the pipe colour more beautiful from smoking. Top pieces from the 19th century had both waxed and unwaxed parts to give more contrast to details in the carving. The liquid they dip it into can vary (in the 19th century 3 main types were used) but this is probably a mixture of pure bees wax with some "secret" substances.

[TakemusuAikidoNL]

The oven surprised me too, I think they only use it to speed up teh process because the meerschauim dries out by itself within a few days. This was actually the biggest problem for exporters of meerschaum in the 19th century, to keep the meerschaum moist during the travel. You could re-moisten it, but it is the best when it is "fresh".

[teflonmagnet]

a werner herzog production...klaus kinski as the asthmatic behind the camera.

[teflonmagnet]

wow...this is vintage stuff. thanks for the upload.

[splat4]

A very interesting vid. I agree though, that the breathing is very annoying. Better to take that out, and replace it with a narrative of what is happening, the mining, the carving, treatments, etc. That would be great. Anyway, I do wonder why did the man put the meerschaum in that little oven, and what was that liquid that it was being dippied into? Again, very good vid. You should make it a documentary.

[TobaccoBarn]

The meerschaum needs to be heated after carving to release the moisture from the stone and to harden it.

The finished piece is then dipped in wax to help seal the outside of the stone.

[TobaccoBarn]

Yeah, that is something that came with the video. When I get around to it, I'll pull that off, or at least bring the volume down.

[teflonmagnet]

don't do that...this is a wordless video...the sounds give the video texture.

[sevenupyourz77]

that was cool but the "im trying to be artistic with breathing sound" was getting extremly annoying

[gford816]

Great vid thank you.

[TobaccoBarn]

Glad you liked it Shakall2 . Hopefully we'll be able to post some more stuff here in the near future so thanks also for subscribing.

[shakall2]

fabulous