Altinay Tobacco Tamper in Meerschaum and Case

A wonderful tamper for pressing tobacco into the pipe, made of glossy white meerschaum and reinforced with a gun case.

Handcrafted by Altinay, Turkey, it is an essential accessory for smoking a tobacco pipe.

Lightweight and sturdy, its elegant pure white contrasts with the small gun case used as a tamper.

Very comfortable to hold, it makes a great gift idea for all tobacco pipe smokers.

Meerschaum is a material generally known as the "white goddess," and its admirers particularly emphasize its use in classic tobacco pipes.

Meerschaum is composed of hydrated magnesium silicate (scientifically known as sepiolite) found in Turkey and Tanzania.

Its origin is uncertain, but it is believed that calcareous river water eroded the magnesium rocks and deposited the resulting mud.

Possible geological changes would have caused the river's course to change, leaving behind alluvial deposits at depths of between forty and eighty meters. These deposits would then have been pressed into blocks by the pressure exerted by the overlying tectonic masses.

While there are countless legends regarding the birth date of the first pipe made from this particularly light material, it is certain that the first European meerschaum pipes were made in Hungary and imported by aristocrats to Vienna, where a meerschaum processing center developed.

Around 1870, over two hundred companies in the Austrian capital were producing tobacco pipes and accessories made of hydrated magnesium silicate, and the term "Vienna Meerschaum" was introduced into pipe literature.

The finest meerschaum used in the production of pipes and pipe accessories is the block meerschaum from Turkey.

The material originating from Tanzania is geologically much younger than the Turkish material and does not yield the same yield, nor does it have the same pure white color as the Turkish material, which is mainly mined in the region surrounding Eskisehir.

For low-cost pipes and accessories, pressed meerschaum is also used, consisting of meerschaum waste held together by pressure and a binder.

The lower quality is bulk meerschaum, which also consists of waste, but contrary to what was previously explained, it is ground into a pulp that, once water, potassium silicate, and potassium salts have been added, is boiled for processing.

Pipes and pipe accessories made from meerschaum blocks are usually made on a lathe.

First, the blocks are cut to size, softened in water, and finally, while still wet, turned and drilled, often with carvings or ornaments.

While in the past, turned or carved bowls were dipped in whalebone white, today they are dipped in bleached white wax.

Dimensions:

Height 57 mm,

Bowl diameter 22 mm.

Case diameter 10 mm.

Weight 7 g.