Meerchaum lined Dr Grabow.

realfloopyguy · Jul 6, 2015

So, this is the next pipe I am going to work on. It seems that someone thought they were decorating the front of the pipe with leaves or something. I guess my options are darken the leaves so they aren't as obvious and move on with life, draw a mouth and nose and give it a name, or take the finish off, sand it smooth and then refinish it. Will acetone hurt the meerschaum? Is it ok to soak the piece in alcohol? Is the meerschaum glued in? Any special treatment on this pipe?

ejames · Jul 7, 2015

The leaves were carved at the factory and may have been done at the Sparta,NC. factory or in Italy. Italian made Grabow meer lined pipes are usually stamped Italy. After importing them for a while Grabow started producing their own. Won't hurt to wipe it down with acetone or alcohol to remove any lacquer. I would not soak it in anything. Keep cake to a minimum-if any,like any other meer. The meer lining--in any meer lined pipe-- can be fragile.

brewshooter · Jul 7, 2015

ejames beat me to it. I have at least one Grabow with a leaf carved into it. I believe they do it to disguise pits and blemishes. Anyway, they are part of the Grabow process.

realfloopyguy · Jul 7, 2015

It looks like a little kid did it with a nail to me. It was obviously done after the finish was applied. Are they seconds or something? I guess I'll leave it be then.

realfloopyguy · Jul 7, 2015

"leave" it be. haha. I might just rub a little oil in it to darken them up a little. Seems like it would have been pretty easy to doodle them evenly left to right though.

warren · Jul 7, 2015

Unfinished and ill carved? I find it hard to believe that a maker would let something so primitive out the door. Looks as though someone took a burr bit in a Dremel to it. Stranger things have happened though.

realfloopyguy · Jul 8, 2015

I've been looking at pictures of other pipes with marks on them too. Mine are pretty poor quality. I didn't even realize they were leaves initially. I thought it was deep scratches from rubbing against something.
Are these pipes seconds or something?

warren · Jul 8, 2015

Just my opinion: It looks as though someone was bored or, perhaps wanted to personalize their pipe. I really doubt a professional or even a serious carver did those. Call it "hobo art" or something else chic, raise the price and sell it.
You could clean the carvings up a bit, stain them a bit darker than the bowl surface and see what happens. The carvings are awful mucked up though.

realfloopyguy · Jul 9, 2015

I saw quite a few examples online. Some with nicer carvings and some the same quality. I still find it hard to believe this is acceptable unless they are like $10 seconds or something.

voorhees · Jul 9, 2015

I have a Medico Medalist(bought in a group) with a similar pattern. The carving is nice, but the pipe is full of fills.

ejames · Jul 9, 2015

It looks like a little kid did it with a nail to me. It was obviously done after the finish was applied. Are they seconds or something? I guess I'll leave it be then.

After looking at the pics again I realized that those leaves were NOT done at the factory. They are done at the factory BEFORE the pipe is stained and lacquered, and the lady who does it--does a much better job. They are done to hide flaws and the pipes with them are not considered seconds, but they are usually done on the cheaper Grabow lines-- Lark,Riviera,Grand Duke etc. You won't see one on an Eldorado or Viscount etc.

realfloopyguy · Jul 9, 2015

This one is done in the same sort of way. Mine is pretty rough looking. My pipe is from Italy, so it may have been done there by someone else. To be honest, I think I would prefer the flaw to the leaves.

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Meerchaum lined Dr Grabow.

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