Aleksandr says that the Kalmyks learnt to smoke from the Chinese. The Kalmyk pipe is made from the wood of fruit bearing trees such as the apricot, pear and cherry trees. Its metal parts are made from silver. Traditionally, every clan in Kalmykia had its own style of pipe engraved with the clan's symbol.Aleksandr, however, uses decorations of his choosing on his pipes. He also uses iron and bones for some parts of the pipe. He makes pipe bags out of leather or cloth. Aleksandr has produced about 20 tobacco pipes so far, some of which are displayed at the National Museum of Kalmykia.