My First Pipe !

[bonanzadriver]

Ok, ok, not really, but sort of......
As some of you here may know, my very first pipe was given to me by a dear friend and mentor, a retired U.S. Marine General, back in 1982 while I was stationed in Pensacola FL.
It was a Dr. Grabow Bent Bulldog.
Sadly for me, somewhere over the years and moving around the globe, I lost it.
As good fortune would have it, I recently found and joined a Dr. Grabow Pipe Forum. Soon after joining I was invited to join a group of DG fans for a tour of the Sparta NC Dr. Grabow Factory.
My Son Seth joined me for the trip.
At the end of the tour we were invited to look through boxes of finished and unfinished pipes that were laying around on the shelves and were allowed to purchase them very cheaply.
I picked up three unfinished Bent Bulldogs for $10 each and three CDL's for $4 !
While I was looking through the pipes the GM of the plant, Rick, came up to me and handed me a beautiful Royalton Bent Bulldog with Amber Bit. Just like the one I'd lost! Better yet, he allowed me to pay only $20 for it.
To say that I was / am stoked, would be an understatement.
So, here I sit, smoking this beautiful little briar (breaking it in with a bowl of Carter Hall), I can't help but smile from ear to ear.

 

[buroak]

That is surely a feel-good story. And a mesmerizingly pretty pipe. Congratulations!

 

[mcitinner1]

Happy Happy :clap:

 

[cshubhra]

Nice story! Fantastic pipe!

 

[aldecaker]

That's a great looking Grabow! IIRC, that is the Shape #83. I love those things (have 3 of them in the Royal Duke line) and kind of use the shape as a benchmark for what I think a bent bulldog should look like. And for $20? Smoke it like you stole it, because you did! Congrats.

 

[ophiuchus]

That has to be one of the most attractive specimens of a Dr. Grabow I've seen.
It's just terrific that the folks at the plant ... even the BOSS ... are decent people and I'm glad he found that for you. You were obviously meant somehow to have it. ::
I'm thankful that factory is still around ...

 

[madox07]

:clap: Smoke it in good health .. I personally get attached myself to objects, regardless of their monetary value, if they have some emotional meaning. It must be a cozy feeling inside having this pipe looking exactly like the one you were gifted an lost !!!

 

[Chasing Embers]

It's like your pipe smoking has come full circle. Great story, and beautiful pipe!

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Awesome story! And that's a very nice looking pipe. I love that grain :clap:

 

[tschiraldi]

That's a Grabow??? Nice

 

[didimauw]

I know how you feel. I lost my first pipe which was also a Grabow. I couldn't take it anymore so I went and ordered a new one last year.

 

[zackery]

Congratulations. That is a nice looking pipe. I really like the amber stem.

 

[archangel]

I have read here some amazing stories about pipe finds. Congats on you great find, and great price. I hope some day to be so lucky. :clap:

 

[mso489]

bonanza', now you're talkin'! That is one of my all time favorite pipes. Notice how the bulldog bowl is carried off with perfect accent without bead lines. I like bead lines on a bulldog, but the Royalton is one of the few bulldogs that carries off the shape perfectly without the bead lines. Further, take a look at the shape and flow of the bottom of the bowl, just perfect. That's some hand-made craftsmanship off the factory line. I just love my Royalton 'dog. And your description of having the run of the pipes in the back shop will haunt me; it sounds like an actual pipe smoker's dream. Not a metaphor, but an actual narrative vision experienced during sleep. I was hoping you'd picked up some pipes!

 

[markus]

Wow, I haven't seen a Dr. Grabow like that one before!

Beautiful pipe, congratulations on a very nice acquisition!

 

[oldmansmoking]

Outstanding story and a truely memorable pipe, love it. The stem is the bees knees.

 

[ray47]

I have the same pipe and it handles aromatics better then any other type of tobacco. Loved the story and happy you got to get a piece of the past.