Two of my Grabows are the Belvedere and another one is the Emperor Poker shape. They are quite old and perform very well. Unfiltered of course. I have a modern Grabow Freehand (filtered), that I just do not care for at all.
In praise of Dr Grabow pipes
- Thread starter Perique
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After hearing so much praise for Dr Grabows, I bought a Viscount Pickax on Ebay. It's thin walled and, possibly because of the shape, the draw hole is way above the bottom of the bowl. I've smoked it only twice, so far. As I suspected when I saw it, it smokes hot. Hopefully it will improve as a cake develops. This pipe doesn't have a filter. It has a screw in stem and a removable stinger. Can some of the Grabow experts tell me when this pipe was made? The bottom of the stem says "Viscount" over "Dr. Grabow", with no other markings. The bit has an inlaid white spade and it has a nicely done rusticated finish. I am going to get another Grabow, but this time with a thicker bowl. All the praise of Dr. Grabows has aroused my curiosity.
Am I the only one here who thinks that Ejames member status needs to read something like "Grabow Guru?" :mrgreen:
Never smoked Grabow, The bowl/pipe size is a bit too small for me, they do have a BIG PIPE line which I've been on the hunt for...
I have 5 Grabows, and like all of them. They smoke well, and I do like the filter, it does a great job of absorbing the condensation. I wont hesitate to buy others I see that have a nice grain. I do look for the ones with thicker bowls, as has been stated they are cooler smoking.
One of my Grabows is from the 1930's, before they used the spade. It's a very good looking pipe, and a great smoker.
I agree that they should have a better reputation than they do. They're good pipes.
I also have several Willards, and IMHO they too should have a better reputation, as I have found them to be very good smokers also. I will put them with any of my Kaywoodies.
One of my Grabows is from the 1930's, before they used the spade. It's a very good looking pipe, and a great smoker.
I agree that they should have a better reputation than they do. They're good pipes.
I also have several Willards, and IMHO they too should have a better reputation, as I have found them to be very good smokers also. I will put them with any of my Kaywoodies.
I'm a relatively new pipe smoker and I have 5 Grabows and love them. I smoke at work a lot so I needed something that could take a bit of abuse. I think they smoke very well, at least as good as the Sav's and Peterson that I have.
They do have a mailing list you can sign up for. Last year they had a few special edition pipes, which I believe they offer on a yearly basis, for the same price as their regular pipes. You can order direct from them exactly the model that you want instead of having to go into the drug store and getting whatever they happen to have on the shelf at the time.
Good thread Sothron. Long live Dr. Grabow!!
They do have a mailing list you can sign up for. Last year they had a few special edition pipes, which I believe they offer on a yearly basis, for the same price as their regular pipes. You can order direct from them exactly the model that you want instead of having to go into the drug store and getting whatever they happen to have on the shelf at the time.
Good thread Sothron. Long live Dr. Grabow!!
I personally have in the range of 7-12 Dr. Grabow's (actually cant remember how many), I inherited a few from my Dad, and during my time in the PD I used to regularly stop by the local Drug store and see if there was a new one out, I loved the fact that they were affordable, looked good and smoked great right out of the box, and driving around in a patrol car you never knew what was going to happen and if it got banged up (which to my surprise none did) oh well you were not out a lot. I have a Grabow that is in my regular rotation and gets smoked at least weekly.
John,your pipe is from the late 60's to 70's. They made a series of pipes called "Continentals". These were shapes made to look like some of the pipes coming out of Europe at the time. Most commonly seen in the Viscount,Starfire and Westbrook lines although some were made in other lines also.
These two sites are the best places to find info about Grabow made pipes--
http://drgrabows.myfreeforum.org/index.php
http://drgrabow-pipe-info.com/
ejames and rothnh, thanks for the info. I hope I didn't appear to throw a wet blanket on all the praise of Grabows. That was not my intent. I was relating my experience was with just one pipe. As I said before, there has been so much praise for them that I have to give them a try. I am checking out Ebay later tonight for Grabows.
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I have a few Grabow estates that I picked up off eBay and I've been lucky in that they are great smokers all. I primarily smoke my cobs but find myself reaching for one of the Grabows most of the time when I do smoke Briar. Wanting to pick up a new one to compare it to the ones I already have.
I bought a Grand Duke a couple of weeks ago. I am a rookie when it comes to pipes; so I wasn't sure what to expect. I have a total of 12 pipes, some costing more than others. That being said, I really like this Dr Grabow Grand Duke. It smokes really well and is enjoyable to smoke. I am real happy with it.
I have a Grabow Lark and am pleased with it. Looking forward to purchasing a few more to go with my MM Cobs. I personally am finding that I would much rather spend money on testing out tobacco blends than spending $100+ on a pipe.That may change with time but with money being tight Grabow's & MM Cobs can't be beat, quality products at affordable prices.
I have a rusticated omega, grand duke and royal duke. The royal duke is my favorite and I can easily get a bowl to last between an hour to hour and 15 minutes. All smoke well. In fact, I use the omega as my carry around pipe for at work or out and about....smokes great and no worries if it got broken by accident.
I'm particularly fond of Dr. Grabow, because as I have mentioned before in another thread my father's family is from Sparta; hell, my family pretty much started the town way back when. Sparta is a small town, lovely to behold, but a decade or so behind the rest of the world - which is a bit of a benefit IMHO. Many members of my family worked at the Dr. Grabow factory making pipes over the past 60 years and I am quite proud of that.
Sparta is a town unlike pretty much any you've ever seen. When my Great-Grandmother, Betty Poe Reeves, passed away, everything within the town proper (which the Dr. Grabow factory is kinda not; it's a bit more on the outskirts if I remember my geography correctly) shut down during her funeral, even the convenience store. Police closed the roads for anyone who was not part of the procession (and emergency personnel, of course), cars were pulled over on the side of the road and their occupants stood along side of the road. The men removed their hats and they and the women stood there as we passed by. Why?
Respect and kindness. And I've never forgotten it. Sure, there's a lot more expensive (and in some ways, better) pipes out there on the market, some of which I own too. But for me at least, there's a real sense of pride and honor in owning a Grabow. These people of Sparta are good, hard-working people with a love of God, country, and family. And when you purchase a Dr. Grabow pipe you're helping to pay those people's paychecks. You're helping them earn a living, and let's be honest about it - there's not many other jobs close to Sparta, not at least many better-paying manufacturing jobs. There's a fair amount of retail and food service jobs across the state line in Galax, Va., but they probably don't pay much. If Dr. Grabow were to go out of business or decide to move their factory it would most likely completely destroy the town.
A Grabow isn't a Dunhill or a Brigham or a Peterson or a Stanwell, and yes - they are machine-made and not always perfect; I can't slide a pipe cleaner all the way through my Omega without removing the bit. What it is, however, is a pretty good pipe at a price that the average man can afford and a great pipe for a beginner to the hobby of pipe smoking, and there's always a place for that in a world of $600.00 pipes. If you've not smoked a Grabow because of the 'Drug Store' connotation, I would hope that you would set that aside for just a moment and give a Dr. Grabow a puff. You might be surprised.
Sparta is a town unlike pretty much any you've ever seen. When my Great-Grandmother, Betty Poe Reeves, passed away, everything within the town proper (which the Dr. Grabow factory is kinda not; it's a bit more on the outskirts if I remember my geography correctly) shut down during her funeral, even the convenience store. Police closed the roads for anyone who was not part of the procession (and emergency personnel, of course), cars were pulled over on the side of the road and their occupants stood along side of the road. The men removed their hats and they and the women stood there as we passed by. Why?
Respect and kindness. And I've never forgotten it. Sure, there's a lot more expensive (and in some ways, better) pipes out there on the market, some of which I own too. But for me at least, there's a real sense of pride and honor in owning a Grabow. These people of Sparta are good, hard-working people with a love of God, country, and family. And when you purchase a Dr. Grabow pipe you're helping to pay those people's paychecks. You're helping them earn a living, and let's be honest about it - there's not many other jobs close to Sparta, not at least many better-paying manufacturing jobs. There's a fair amount of retail and food service jobs across the state line in Galax, Va., but they probably don't pay much. If Dr. Grabow were to go out of business or decide to move their factory it would most likely completely destroy the town.
A Grabow isn't a Dunhill or a Brigham or a Peterson or a Stanwell, and yes - they are machine-made and not always perfect; I can't slide a pipe cleaner all the way through my Omega without removing the bit. What it is, however, is a pretty good pipe at a price that the average man can afford and a great pipe for a beginner to the hobby of pipe smoking, and there's always a place for that in a world of $600.00 pipes. If you've not smoked a Grabow because of the 'Drug Store' connotation, I would hope that you would set that aside for just a moment and give a Dr. Grabow a puff. You might be surprised.
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