From: ???????????????????????????
Subject: Epoxy ceramic clay pipe

Hi Steve

I have e-mail only and am not sure if this is the address I should be 
addressing. Pipes Digest #177 was passed on to me as a Dos file. It's a 
window onto a whole new world for me.

I am looking for some advice.

On sale here in South Africa is a locally made pipe made from "epoxy
ceramic clay" and rejoices in the name "The Flower Power Pipe"

It appears to be finely crafted. It's graphite gray in colour with a
satin finish, looks roughly like a Peterson, with a copper lining to the
stem which extends into a cylindrical opening in the bowl section to form
a moisture trap. The bowl is double-skinned so that the outside, so they
say, will remain fairly cool in the hand. The attraction is that, being of
a non-porous material, it presumeably will not absorb unwanted by-products
and so retain its original sweetness.

The instructions advise that it be thoroughly flushed with hot water each
day, though my experienced suggests that this may not be enough, and 
something such as surgical spirits may occasionally be required.

My uncertainty is about the Epoxy ceramic clay. My knowledge of hi-tech
materials is limited, but "epoxy" and "ceramic" sound strange together.
How does the material stand up to prolonged exposure to burning tobacco?
Does it give off even traces of strange chemicals under operating
conditions? This may be important if it does have the indefinite life
claimed for it. How does it react to surgical spirits? And so on.

If this material is fired in a kiln during the manufacture of the pipe, as
the term "ceramic" suggests, this pipe may be the holy grail I have been
searching for. What I set out to get was a porcelain or "traditional"
ceramic clay pipe, but without success. But I have not been able to 
establish whether this material is fired, or has a chemical set.

If any of your subscribers have any knowledge or experience which may help 
me, I would be most thankful if they would e-mail me direct. I undertake 
to forward any such advice to the Pipe Digest for general interest.

Many thanks

Peter Vos   Cape Town   South Africa  E-mail  ???????????????????????

[ Personally, Peter, I'll stick to briars and the occasional
calabash... but YMMV. -S. ]


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