Dr. Grabow Pipes

Slow Triathlete · Duke Joined: 05 Aug 2009 Posts: 2 Location: NC

This was written a few years ago after going to my father's log cabin in the woods of Pennsylvania. This was my introduction to Dr Grabow pipes.

Tonight I smoked a pipe that is older than myself. And I dare say that it looks as if it has held up better than I have. I am not sure when this pipe was born but I do know that it was born before my year of 1972. A few weeks ago I went up to my dad’s log cabin in the mountains of Pennsylvania over the 4th of July holiday. One of my missions, check out his pipe collection from “back in the day”.

Now I remember a brief period back in my childhood when my dad took a hiatus from cigarettes and smoked a pipe. He and his best friend Dale both took it up at the same time. I still remember being at Dale’s house when they were complaining about how they couldn’t find a decent pipe lighter (this is long before the internet) and they were tired of burning their thumbs with Bic and regular Zippo lighters. They were both smoking straight pipes and trying to keep bowls of Borkum Riff lit. I do not know why I remember that particular conversation but it is one of my few memories of my young childhood. I was probably only around 4 years old if not younger.

Now another thing that you should know about my dad is that he hardly ever throws anything away. It is usually up to my stepmother to toss the stuff that she knows he’ll never need. He’s also an antique guy. Fortunately for him, the military was very good to my father and he was able to buy rare antiques from around the world and stuff that really looks cool in his log cabin. Because of both of these reasons I was sure that his old pipes would be around somewhere.

I didn’t have far to look after I got there. Up on a shelf in his office was a 6 pipe holder full of pipes. There were a few Grabows, a Kaywoodie, a BBB, one no name wrapped in leather, and another that just said “Imported Briar”. There was also a bag of Borkum Riff that, believe it or not, was dried up. I guess that PG doesn’t last 30 or so years. Now a secret part of me was hoping for a Dunhill or something crazy in there but the more realistic side of me knew that when he bought these pipes there was no way he could afford anything like that. When he smoked a pipe he was not too high up in the military yet and had a wife and two sons to support. What I didn’t know was that at one time when he was reading the Sherlock Holmes series he went out and bought a Calabash pipe just for putting on a shelf with those books.

I got to talking to him while I was up there and tried to find out how old these pipes were. He told me that he bought most of them in the mid-60s and smoked them off and on until sometime around 1975. Being the generous man that he has always been he told me that I could take the whole lot if I wanted to. Well, I almost did. But I held off. Instead I grabbed an old Grabow “Savoy” and a Kaywoodie and asked him to keep the others and sometime sit down with those pipes in hand and write down some of the stories that he remembers from his pipe days.

Last week I finally had some time to devote to cleaning these pipes up. They were in great shape considering how long they had sat around. Just a little bit of oxidation on the stems that were taken care of by a magic eraser, some woodworking steel wool, and some olive oil. I’m smoking a bowl of Trout Stream in the Grabow as I write this. I’ve decided that since this pipe began its life as an aromatic pipe then I would keep with that tradition. This is my first Grabow and now I know why people love them. It’s an awesome pipe.

I’ve learned that even though these pipes don’t have the Dunhill stamp on them they are worth far more than anything anyone could ever offer me for them. Long after my father has passed I will still have these pipes. And every once in a while I hope that when I light them up I will feel that he is sitting right beside me sharing a bowl.

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Do not fear death. Fear the half-lived life.

Terry292 · Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 7:49 pm Post subject:

Great story, ST. My dad didn't smoke, but he's responsible for my pipe smoking today. He and my mom gave me a Dr Grabow Duke and a tin of Sir Walter Raleigh for Christmas, 1966. That's almost 43 years ago, now, and I'm still fascinated by pipes and tobaccos.

DG pipes, IMO, are made for smokers, not collectors. Today, everybody wants to be a 'collector.' Me, I'm just a smoker who happens to own hundreds of pipes.
Terry
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If I cannot smoke in Heaven, then I shall not go...Mark Twain

ted · "Old Timer" Joined: 23 Jun 2008 Posts: 1171 Location: NC'

Tri.....Wonderful story. Glad you are here. You've already added something really nice for the group. I appreciate the story. Gets me remembering...ted

drbridges · Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 9:19 pm Post subject:

A really enjoyable recollection, Tri. All of us can relate in some way to it.

ozark southpaw · Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:23 pm Post subject:

Great Story!! It is easy to understand why those pipes mean so much to you!!
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The only thing shorter than my memory is a certain part of my anatomy!

steverino · Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 11:25 pm Post subject:

Thanks for posting that ST, great story.

BWThomas · Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 10:23 pm Post subject: