Dr. Grabow: Duke Bent Rustic

As long as I could remember when I was growing up my dad would smoke a pipe, and when I finally got out and on my own I've felt kind of homesick. Pipes have always really interested me and a while back I bought a cob and loved it, but there was still something missing. From what I remember, my dad always had a pipe like this, or one of the Dr. Grabow straights. So I decided to invest and now that it's here it looks and feels great. I haven't smoked it yet but intend to soon, but just looking at it I get a sense of home. That's about all I needed out of a 30 dollar investment.

Like a lot of pipe smokers, I have a Dr Grabow. I broke it in, and smoked my Duke Bent Rustic, and enjoyed it, but you get what you pay for. The drilling of the stummel is off center, and it takes a little fiddling to get a pipe cleaner to make it through to the bottom of the bowl. Also, the top surface of the stummel isn't cut straight so the top surface of the bowl is higher on one side. This causes the lighting flame to come in contact with the high side more, charring the top edge on that side. The mortise/tenon fits well, and is still tight after several years. However, you can get a nice Ropp or Rossi for about $20 more. This is the pipe you bring on a canoe trip, so if it falls overboard, no tears are shed.