Alpha Dublin Resto: Before/After

...In the late 90s, Lane, Ltd, owner of the Dr Grabow factory, decided to manufacture a more upscale line of pipes. They intended these pipes to compete with imported pipes in the under $100.00 price range and chose the Alpha name for the line. Lane Ltd acquired rights to the name from Mastercraft Pipes, who, in turn, had purchased the name from the Israeli Shalom Pipe Company.
The Lane Alphas were a very short-lived line, only lasting about two years (circa 1998-2000). There were 18 (14 standard, 4 'fancy') shapes, in five finishes. Greek letters were used for the finish names (Beta, Gamma, Epsilon,etc). They're pretty good pipes for the money, but I think most smokers who were willing to pay around $100.00 for a new pipe were turned off by the association with the Dr Grabow name. In my opinion, that's probably why the line died an unlamented early death.
The Hochstein brothers, Mickey and Dickey, manufactured the original Alpha pipes at the Shalom Pipe Factory near Tel Aviv, Israel. They're also pretty good pipes, and the Citation series is, again in my opinion, one of the most underrated pipes on the market. Shalom was in business from around 1970 until the mid- to late-80s. Alpha was their brand name in the US only. Worldwide their pipes were marketed under the Shalom name. I think Mastercraft handled the line in the US.
Later on, sometime in the early- to mid-90s, Mastercraft Pipes marketed the Alpha USA line of pipes, also manufactured in the Sparta factory. The finishes were: Sierra, Delta, Mark V, Blue Ridge, Sabre, and Big Boy. Some are marked Alpha, and some aren't.
That, in a nutshell, is the history of Alpha pipes. For my money, Israeli-made Alphas, especially the Citation series, are one of the best values available today, when you can find them. Second would be the Lane, Ltd, Alphas, and, finally, the Alpha USA pipes. The last are hit or miss. Some are great smokers, others not so hot.

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