Dr. Grabow Meerschaum Lined Pipes

[Tobias Lutz]

I picked up two of these as NOS (new old stock), still in the boxes, on Ebay a while back and while I shared pics in the package, I never got around to describing them, or how they smoked. I had never seen one unsmoked as I think it has been a number of years (~30 years) since they were available in the retail market. I had to dig pretty deep to find much about them but I learned that until the mid eighties “Italian and Greek makers such as Gigi produced meerschaum lined Dr. Grabow pipes.” I paid in the neighborhood of $20 a piece, which I considered to be pretty reasonable. I’m not normally a big bent pipe kind of guy, but the opportunity seemed too rare for me to pass it up. Surprisingly, the meerschaum lining takes care of what I consider to be the most annoying experience I frequently run into with bents, and that is moisture pooling in the bottom of the bowl. The straight design is right up my alley, and I find the rusticated finish to be more handsome. Both pipes are surprising light and in turn make great clinchers. I have enjoyed several cool smokes in both, and have basically cared for them as I would a normal meer (run a cleaner through the stem and wipe the bowl out with a paper napkin). I cannot be sure whether or not the bowl liners are carved from block, but I don’t know if this cheap composite meerschaum that floods the market nowadays was really all that common in the 80s… I was too busy being in elementary school to notice My biggest reason for thinking they are not pressed is the way they show up well used on ebay. It’s my understanding that pressed meer will basically dissolve over time, and not really hold up over the years. I have noticed that many which come up for sale as estate pipes have a measure of cracking in their liners, which makes me think if they are smoked too hard and hot this might be an issue. I think these will definitely be consciously “sipped”. Overall I think the novelty, price point, and performance have all made for a satisfactory purchase. If you happen to see one of these unsmoked, I highly suggest grabbing it up.

[Bruck]

Very nice. I got one of these a few months ago, paid 20-something for it plus a kaywoodie brylon, both old but not smoked. They're okay, nothing to write home about.

Dig the Detroit Tigers lighter

[Tobias Lutz]

Very nice. I got one of these a few months ago, paid 20-something for it plus a kaywoodie brylon, both old but not smoked. They're okay, nothing to write home about.

Dig the Detroit Tigers lighter

I picked that up when I met Zurg for a cigar in Kalamazoo over Christmas break.

[rx2man]

I picked up a NOS in the box one a while back......I just have a hard time smoking a survivor. But I do have a NOS Kaywoodie Flame Grain Meer lined bulldog. And while it was not smoked someone liked a pipe in their mouth as the button is broken. At least I dont think it was smoked.

[Haebar]

I got these on Ebay for about $10 each as part of a lot of 5 pipes. Tobias's interest in meerschaum-lined pipes rubbed off on me. They are no-name pipes; all they say is Meerschaum-lined Italy. They have only been smoked a couple of times and have been kept clean. The worst thing you can do is allow a carbon buildup to form in one of these because it is so hard to reverse. The meerschaum is a clay so the linings are fragile like pottery.