Agate tongs from Belgium
April 2004
The quality of the clay pipe is in many cases determined by the finish. For that finish, stroke burnishing the surface after removing the mould seams is very important. By stroking the dry clay with agate stone, the clay plates were forced in one direction and a shiny line was created. A special tool for this task is shown here. It is a pair of polishing tongs or agate tongs where two agate stones tips are mounted on a spring-loaded bracket. Instead of stroking the pipe with a single stone, this instrument makes it possible to polish two sides at the same time. Especially for the production of long pipes, such a tool is extremely time-saving because it requires 50 percent less work. This object comes from A. De Bevere in Kortrijk and that factory is probably also the inventor of the intrument. In 1948 this tool moved to a pipe factory in Andenne, but was never used again. It is surprising that such an invention was not done in Gouda. Was this way of time saving never thought out or did the Gouda makers find the result insufficient?
Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 17.363
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