You know as I go through my collection, 250+, I realize that my interests have long been veering towards what we commonly call otc or drug store pipes. Now dont get me wrong I have my savs and sasienis and gbd and so forth but what really intrigues me as I am cleaning up an estate Grabow, Medico, MM, Yelo Bole etc is the story that rests behind these "cheap" pipes. These were and still are to some degree the everyman pipe these were the pipes that Joe the factory worker or Bill the G.I. smoked the work a day type people that helped build this country not Ronald the bank president or Harold the head surgeon. So remember before we poo-poo the lowly drug store pipe, not that here is much of that around here bless you for a great bunch of guys, stop and think that after a hard days work Joe came home to light up his Kaywoodie or his Medico Medalist and reflect on the days work or perhaps even dread the next day. Maybe Bill hunkered down with his buddies and lit up that Dr. Grabow and hoped at the end of tomorrow he and all his friends would still be there. So IMHO these pipes may be looked down on by some but I for one am learning to appreciate the everyday history of these pipes smoked by men who may not have changed the world or built an empire but simply did what they had to do from day to day. Just a thought.
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Pipes Magazine » General Pipe Smoking Discussion
Some thoughts on OTC pipes.
(24 posts)-
You may call me "HerrDoctor"Posted 5 months ago #
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lifeon2
That is a great way to put things into perspective. I personally only own" OTC / Drugstore" pipes and I enjoy them alot. I think for me personally I would enjoy my smoke less if it cost me a weeks or even a day's wages to afford the delivery system. No disrespect to anyone who enjoys the "Top of The Line" pipes but I will stick to my MM Cobs, Grabows & Medicos (at least until I win the lottery :rofl:) .Kent
Posted 5 months ago # -
Very well stated lifeon2...
Posted 5 months ago # -
Great post. I really love my cobs.
Posted 5 months ago # -
I too have my share of Kaywoodies, Grabows, even a Yello-bowl, plus some others off that pegboard I remember glancing up at so often back in the day. Mine are 30 to 40+ years old now.
I don't buy them anymore, but I still smoke and enjoy most of 'em. Every one is packed with fond memories.
Thanks for posting.
Posted 5 months ago # -
I just bought my first Dr. Grabow, and I would buy another. The pic is 3 smokes in ...its about twice that now, and I love it.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Exactly right!
If at first you don't succeed, have another bowl.Posted 5 months ago # -
Thanks for posting a great reminder!
“I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgement in all human affairs.”
-Albert Einstein, 1950Posted 5 months ago # -
I value this beat up DG Berwyck coupon pipe right up there alongside my Dunhill, Savs, GBDs, Nording and Comoys.
Go figure.
Posted 5 months ago # -
My Grabows stay in my rotation always, as do my Kaywoodies. They are real fun to clean up and put back to work.
Matt. I'll have my House the same as my metal and my coffee, thanks.Posted 5 months ago # -
Grabows are solid pipes for the money.
“The same hand that can write a beautiful poem, can knock you out with one punch—that's Poetic Justice.”
― "Irish" Wayne KellyPosted 5 months ago # -
I love my Kaywoodies as well . I smoke my woodies , falcons , and other lower priced pipes more than the expensive ones . Maybee its because I dont mind if somthing happens to them , but they serve the purpose well .
"A pipe is the fountain of contemplation, the source of pleasure, the companion of the wise; and the man who smokes, thinks like a philosopher and acts like a Samaritan."
-Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonPosted 5 months ago # -
That was a very well written post. I really loved the way you told the story and the nod of the head to the great working man.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Thanks guys I was feeling a little contemplative last night as I was dusting my pipes and it just sort of dawned on me why my collection had been headed in that direction. I was brushing off an older Kaywoodie that I picked up at an estate sale and I remembered how badly caked it had been when I got it and I was thinking how much the previous owner had enjoyed smoking it because while the cake was very heavy the airway from stem to bowl was almost immaculately clean. His daughter was running the sale as he had passed and she told me her father had worked as a lineman for the power company until his retirement after he left the military and it all just sort of came to me.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Very well said Rick!!
Posted 5 months ago # -
Beautiful.
I'm a proud owner of a couple Grabows and Woodies - love them. Don't think Pipesmagazine.com is too populated with snobs for that matter, eaither. Thank you for sharing!
I like to smoke pipesPosted 5 months ago # -
Well put and hey if is smokes good and fits in the mouth well, I'm with you smoke it. Nothing wrong with a drug store briar..
I have some friends, some honest friends, and honest friends are few; My pipe of briar, my open fire, A book that's not too new.
Robert W. ServicePosted 5 months ago # -
Very well said Lifeon2
I carry a gun... because a cop is too heavy!Posted 5 months ago # -
Well said. I only own one Kaywoodie, but it's for those reasons why I wanted one. A classic working man's pipe.
"Be seeing you" —Number Six, The Prisoner
Posted 5 months ago # -
Some of the Kaywoodies early last century were priced comparably to Dunhills. Current KWs range in price from the drugstore models on cards all the way to the limited edition and POY high grades that Bill Feuerbach carves himself. The latter are best buys for artisan class pipes.
I have several DrGs, a YelloBole and a bunch of KWs, and some of them are as sweet as my big name pipes. Granted, the workmanship isn't in the same class as a Purdy, Stokkebye, Castello or Dunhill, but I'm in it for the quality of the puff.
hp
lesPosted 5 months ago # -
A very well writen post ,i have many of the otc pipes and estates that have always been great smokers .
Posted 5 months ago # -
I'm in it for the quality of the puff.
I love that.
We can look at that straight grain and the birdseye on the rim, but in the end, it's actually what it's all about, isn't it?
Posted 5 months ago # -
In their hey-day, as now, those drugstore pipes were reliable and they got the job done -- like the men who smoked them.
I find myself sitting idly on the line dividing past and future,
as if I could kill time without injuring eternity. -- Thoreau
.Posted 5 months ago # -
Very well said Rick!!
I'll second that Ed! I love my Grabows and the Grabow cousins like my Willards ("The pipe that went to war!"). Love my Kays too! Thx Rick!
For whereas men of an older school, like myself, smoke for the pleasure of smoking...
A.A. MilnePosted 5 months ago #
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