| Archive for Dr. Grabow Pipes "America's One and Only" |
| Terry292 |
Latest Dr GrabowThis is my newest Dr Grabow. It's marked Golden Duke, over Dr Grabow, over C. Choice. I'm told the C. Choice means Collector's Choice. Anybody know anything about these Collector's Choice pipes?http://s539.photobucket.com/album...05_edited.jpg&t=1244873245755 Thanks, Terry |
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| ted |
Terry, Some of this is what I know, and some is speculation.
Collectors Choice Grabows were sold during the time Lane owned the factory. I believe it was their way of selling better quality pipes that were in production when they bought the factory. I speculate that these were pipes that they did not plan to continue making because I've seen pipes that I could recognize as a branded pipe and they were stamped CC. Collectors Choice was a Mastercraft name from my time. Mastercraft used it to sell a "mis-mash" of shapes and styles as CC. Tom Martin (I wish he were still active on the Forum) thought there was no better new pipe than CC. Most are absolutely beautiful. You mentioned Halsey Drug. They had several and Tom had me buy all of them and send them to him. That's how much he liked them. How is this one stamped? Just CC, or does it have more? I believe that as these wound down Lane also used the name as a way to use up aluminum parts that they weren't going to buy again. Rick Wooten started about 1986 and is still with Grabow. You can confirm some of this with him in July. This is my editorial comment.....I've mentioned the "bastardization" of the Grabow lines and this sale of old, stand by, Grabow lines as CC was the beginnings of the process. Eldorado, Commodore, Viscount, Starfire, and others became Collectors Choice, closed-out, never to be seen again. Still, Collectors Choice are wonderful stuff, and I'll bet you'll enjoy it.....ted |
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| Terry292 |
Ted, first let me correct something: the pipe is a Golden Duke, not a Grand Duke (my eyes ain't what they used to be). The Golden Duke is in standard Grabow lettering, all small caps. The Dr Grabow has a large capital D, small capital R, the G is a large cap, the rabow is all small caps. The C. Choice is in all large caps, but you can tell it was added later. Looks like some one took a stamping set and made it up on the spot. It's a beautiful pipe, much better looking than the photo I posted. Under the carving, I can see it's an exceptional piece of wood, and it smokes great. I fired it up on the way home; I couldn't wait.
The place I bought it has a few more, a couple of Freehands, at least one Royalton (with a killer straight grain), and some more, all at the same price. I'm going back and get a few more. I'll bring some of them to Sparta with me. By the way, this pipe, and the others I looked at, is pre-smoked. When did Dr Grabow stop pre-smoking their pipes? Terry |
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| ted |
Terry, My speculation is that your Golden Duke was made very early in the Collectors Choice series. Probably very shortly after Lane bought the factory and after your Golden was already made, stamped, and in stock. When Lane decided to no longer sell Golden, they stamped it CC, and sold it as that.
Your description of the CC stamping confirms what I've seen. Kinda' crude. Gloden Duke was one of the finest smoking pipes we made. Maybe it was the carving, but whatever it was they smoked wonderfully. I don't know when the pre-smoking stopped. David B, or Mac will know. I don't know whether it was at Lane's take-over or IP&A's.....The were the ones that told me that it had stopped.....ted |
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| steverino |
Terry, that's a good looking pipe. I have just a few of the Golden Dukes and I really like them - something about the proportioning or overall size, I'm not sure. Don't have any of the "CCs" though. Hope you enjoy it. | ||||||
| drbridges |
Terry & ted, DG discontinued pre-smoking in just the past year or 2. Under IP&A ownership. And that started in 2006. And I don't believe IP&A discontinued it immediately. | ||||||
| Terry292 |
Here're a couple of photos of the two pipes I bought in Sparta, at the Grabow factory. The natural finish is a Big Pipe, the first natural finish I'd ever seen on these pipes. It wasn't the last, though. They brought out a box with about a dozen of them for us to pick from. The darker one isn't stamped and is a straight push tenon, no filter or stinger. I believe it might have been a promotional pipe for some offer.
For some reason, I've been attracted to this Dublin shape lately.  
Terry |
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| Gig |
Awesome looking pipes. Congrats on the acquisitions and health to enjoy 
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| ozark southpaw |
That "Big " pipe does look to be pretty big!! Nice looking pipe! | ||||||
| steverino |
The more I look at those, the more I want one. Might have to make another trip up. | ||||||
| ozark southpaw |
While you're there Steve grab me a couple will ya? | ||||||
| Terry292 |
You won't be disappointed, Steve. I lit the Big Pipe on the way home and have smoked both every day since. Terry |
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| ted |
RJ was thrilled with his Big Pipe bent. We went back on Thursday to have it stamped Dr. Grabow. Even Robert Roten was surprised that it wasn't stamped....He got it done in about 2 minutes...ted | ||||||
| LokoMac8 |
I had my eyeballs on that same blonde! Lucky for you, er, I mean me, when asked they dug around in the back somewhere and came up with that box of the lighter Big Pipes lest there might have been an embarrassing struggle in the lobby. Just kidding -- I was about to cry was all. They had at the factory the very thing I have been looking for -- lighter stained or natural looking pipes. One of my "complaints" has been that it seems like everything they were making was darkly stained. What a sight for sore eyes to see all those natural looking pipes! Really some excellent quality in those cabinets and nice grain -- they really picked some good ones to put in those display cases. I don't know when or where they found them, but it seems they had done a bit of updating to the displays from the couple of photos I had seen of the lobby that appeared about the time IP&A took over. --RJ-- 
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| LokoMac8 |
Well, that's sort of an odd thing that defies logic, but DOES explain why the Big Pipe and Cardinal I had ordered direct from IP&A awhile back were not stamped, "Dr. Grabow", nor did the stems have the spade trademark on them. I said something to our tour guide, Frank Dixon, about that and he stated that those wouldn't be stamped or have spades because they weren't Dr. Grabows. That left me scratching my head a bit, as both of those models come in Dr. Grabow blister packs! For every Dr. Grabow mystery we solve, it seems like we create a couple more. I was so stunned I didn't ask, but could Frank have meant that they do not make the Big Pipe or Cardinal at Sparta and that is why they are not stamped or trademarked? Yep, thanks to TED and Dr. Grabow employee Robert, I may have the only BIG PIPE with the Dr. Grabow name stamped on it, but I really wanted something special to serve as momento from the great trip and tour. I wonder if Robert would have put the SPADE trademark on the stem, too ? . . . |
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| ozark southpaw |
So the Big Pipe and the Cardinal are separate lines made by IP&A ?? | ||||||
| ted |
OS...If Steve doesn't get back to Sparta for a while, I'll be glad to stop by and pick you up a couple of Big Pipes. I'm not in Sparta as much as I once was, but am there about once a week. What shapes in what finishes? One of us will pick them up for you. Might even get them stamped....ted | ||||||
| LokoMac8 |
And OS, I only bought ONE out of a whole box of the natural finish ones, so if you want a lighter one, be sure and specify! --RJ-- |
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| ozark southpaw |
Big Pipes
Thanks Ted,but will have to wait until my PAD budget will allow me to buy more pipes ! |
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| Terry292 |
I generally have a sort of informal rule against smoking the same pipe more than once a day. But, I find myself coming back to this Natural Big Pipe at least a couple of times daily. I don't really know why this is, exactly. I think part of it is the BIG smile I get every time I remember the look on RJ's face when he thought that might be the only natural finish pipe on the premises. If he'd only known, I would have let him have it and found another. Believe me, there were more than two I would have liked to have had.
Terry |
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| ozark southpaw |
And you didn't get a picture for the rest of us!! |
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| LokoMac8 |
Yea, they're separate lines, but the mystery is why they aren't considered Dr. Grabows. Another question for another day . . . --RJ-- |
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| LokoMac8 |
Apparently, just one more thing we have in common. When at home that is sort of my rule. When I am on the road for my work, though, I only carry one pipe with me, so it gets a little workout.
I also have been experiencing the same thing with my bent Natural Big Pipe!!!
Same here, Terry -- you know I was only joshing. I WAS happy when Robert showed up with that big box, though! --RJ-- |
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