Dr. Grabow Started In Chicago
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I have this Linkman 8487. Most of my favorite pipes are older Grabows.
tuold, Mighty fine! I have a more-or-less current -- maybe eight years old -- Dr. Grabow Royalton bulldog that I admire a lot. Factory pipe or not, someone did some focused and high level shaping on the bowl that impresses me. I think the people who make the Dr. Grabow pipes put a lot of care and experience into them. But yours is a real treasure.
I just picked up an older Dr. Grabow with the hopes of cleaning it up. You've mentioned before Tom that they are solidly designed factory pipes. I have no idea on the age of mine, but I'm sure it will be a decent pipe.
There must be a reason Dr. Grabow has survived for so long.
There must be a reason Dr. Grabow has survived for so long.
I have one of my great grandfather's Linkmans Dr Grabows. It's a beautiful pipe, but it needed severe stem work. I tried to send it in, but was told that the threaded tenon portion was seized to the stem, and the only way he could get it out was to "unscrew" the whole thing from the shank portion. I wish I would have gotten some second opinions because I feel the pipe is ruined now.
I have a Linkmans Hollycourt that I will be cleaning up next month. It is a beautiful small billiard.
seanv, good luck with the Linkmans restoration. I'm a Chicagoland kid (near northwest suburb) who has spent most of his adult life in North Carolina, so I identify in a whimsical way with Dr. Grabow's life story, moving from Chicago to N.C. (Yeah, talk about an egocentric remark.)
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/show-off-your-linkmans-pipes-here#post-1227398 :mrgreen:
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Most of my pipes were acquired via auction and a lot of those arrived as inclusions with a pipe rack.
My first Grabow was a beat up looking straight apple orange spaded Westbrook and it soon became a favorite smoker.
After that I began to read up on the brand and of course, encountered several posts and lots of information from our late member, E. James as well as DaveT and others here.
I have several Grabows now, some I went after specifically due to their Chicago heritage and the idea that older can be better. I had one that was a great clencher, a Group 3 sized straight Dublin/billiard Tru-Grain that I confess, I dropped from my mouth onto the roadway while lunting and broke it at the shank right in two. Damn! Long story how that happened, involving a neighbor's siamese cat.
The thing about these older Grabows and even some that originated in Sparta is the stems seem to be really comfortable.
My first Grabow was a beat up looking straight apple orange spaded Westbrook and it soon became a favorite smoker.
After that I began to read up on the brand and of course, encountered several posts and lots of information from our late member, E. James as well as DaveT and others here.
I have several Grabows now, some I went after specifically due to their Chicago heritage and the idea that older can be better. I had one that was a great clencher, a Group 3 sized straight Dublin/billiard Tru-Grain that I confess, I dropped from my mouth onto the roadway while lunting and broke it at the shank right in two. Damn! Long story how that happened, involving a neighbor's siamese cat.
The thing about these older Grabows and even some that originated in Sparta is the stems seem to be really comfortable.
If this is turning into a Dr. Grabow appreciation thread, could some more informed members please give me some more info on this one I just got?
link
The pipedia page is a little soft on information on the pipe shapes and dates.
link
The pipedia page is a little soft on information on the pipe shapes and dates.
The Linkman pipe factory still stands at 1150 W Fullerton Ave, though it is a library building for DePaul University.
I have a Linkman Hollycourt Special I found in a junk shop. It has the patent no. on the bottom and the shape is 7023.
The photo is from when I first acquired it before the cleaning process.
The photo is from when I first acquired it before the cleaning process.
Wow, a whole world of Linkman pipes. And I really enjoy knowing that the Linkman pipe factory is now a library building at DePaul University. They should have a plaque, if they don't. From the earlier thread I see they have maintained the company name over the door!
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