EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9)
A bit over a year ago now, I began smoking a pipe after cleaning up my father’s old pipe collection. Since then, I have bought a couple of estate pipes including, as of a week ago, a Dr. Grabow Westbrook. I have smoked the Grabow twice now and wanted to give some of my reflections on the experience.
What’s clear from the start is that this pipe is designed as a tool not as a collectors' item. It was meant to be smoked often and on the go. It’s not a huge bowl which meant that people could take it with them, smoke a smallish bowl, clean it, break it down, and put it in their pocket.
The Grabow I had got from an eBay seller had been thoroughly cleaned and all of the cake removed (though a bit ghosted with some aromatic). Lately, I’ve been smoking GL Pease's Fillmore in an attempt to learn to appreciate Virginia Perique blends after starting with mostly English mixtures. I had smoked the Fillmore in a number of my father’s pipes but had not yet tried it in the Grabow.
Smoking it in the Grabow was an interesting experience. The delicate flavors that I was starting to tease out in some of the other, more seasoned pipes just didn’t appear. And surprisingly, I was OK with that. As I smoked this pipe, I let go of trying to taste everything and instead, just focused on the smoking process itself. In a way, that freed me up to have a very enjoyable smoke even if the flavors themselves were more muted. I noticed some of the ghosted flavors from prior owners, but it didn't bother me too much.
I came away from the experience thinking that smoking pipes such as a Dr. Grabow can be liberating in the sense that it allowed me to just consider that pipe as a tool for enjoyment rather than a precious object that needs to be babied at all times.
There are or is nothing wrong at all with pipes as beautiful collectors items. I own one or two that I just marvel at. But this experience has taught me that there is something to be gained by looking at a pipe from a different vantage point. And that there is real satisfaction in improving the ability to slow one's cadence and "listen to" how the tobacco wants to be smoked, if that makes sense.
Those are my two cents on the experience. I am curious about what other people have to say about smoking pipes such as these.
A bit over a year ago now, I began smoking a pipe after cleaning up my father’s old pipe collection. Since then, I have bought a couple of estate pipes including, as of a week ago, a Dr. Grabow Westbrook. I have smoked the Grabow twice now and wanted to give some of my reflections on the experience.
What’s clear from the start is that this pipe is designed as a tool not as a collectors' item. It was meant to be smoked often and on the go. It’s not a huge bowl which meant that people could take it with them, smoke a smallish bowl, clean it, break it down, and put it in their pocket.
The Grabow I had got from an eBay seller had been thoroughly cleaned and all of the cake removed (though a bit ghosted with some aromatic). Lately, I’ve been smoking GL Pease's Fillmore in an attempt to learn to appreciate Virginia Perique blends after starting with mostly English mixtures. I had smoked the Fillmore in a number of my father’s pipes but had not yet tried it in the Grabow.
Smoking it in the Grabow was an interesting experience. The delicate flavors that I was starting to tease out in some of the other, more seasoned pipes just didn’t appear. And surprisingly, I was OK with that. As I smoked this pipe, I let go of trying to taste everything and instead, just focused on the smoking process itself. In a way, that freed me up to have a very enjoyable smoke even if the flavors themselves were more muted. I noticed some of the ghosted flavors from prior owners, but it didn't bother me too much.
I came away from the experience thinking that smoking pipes such as a Dr. Grabow can be liberating in the sense that it allowed me to just consider that pipe as a tool for enjoyment rather than a precious object that needs to be babied at all times.
There are or is nothing wrong at all with pipes as beautiful collectors items. I own one or two that I just marvel at. But this experience has taught me that there is something to be gained by looking at a pipe from a different vantage point. And that there is real satisfaction in improving the ability to slow one's cadence and "listen to" how the tobacco wants to be smoked, if that makes sense.
Those are my two cents on the experience. I am curious about what other people have to say about smoking pipes such as these.
Last edited by a moderator:
