R.J.'s Dr. Grabow Pipe Information Page

We hope that you find the above information helpful or interesting and would enjoy hearing from you if, in fact, it has been or if you can offer corrections, additions or leads. I especially need copies of Dr. Grabow information from the RTDA Almanacs (copies or scans are fine!) for all years available!!!

Most recent news I have found regarding sale of the Dr. Grabow line of pipes and accessories to International Pipes & Accessories, LLC. An additional news article can be found at New Owner takes Over Pipe Factory.

And speaking of recent news -- and for delightful reading of the experiences of a typical Dr. Grabow pipe smoker, take a moment to read TOM MARTIN's great article at: Diagnosing Dr. Grabow: It's Elementary My Dear Watson.

Future location of more detailed biographical information on the people behind Linkman's Dr. Grabow pipes through the years. Hopefully, some photos of the people will be included.

Louis B. Linkman, revised 12-19-2008

{This history comes from the June 1946 issue of PIPE LOVERS magazine, for which I thank Terry Carpenter profusely for getting me a copy of!}

BACK IN 1898, two ambitious young men reached the momentous decision to go into business for themselves. They were Louis B. Linkman and August Fisher. From the time they were in knee pants they had worked for a pipe jobber in the mid-west.

Diligently saving a portion of their earnings, they accumulated a few hundred dollars, and in 1898 formed a partnership under the name of M. Linkman & Company. They opened a small shop on Lake Street, Chicago, employed two additonal people, and started to manufacture pipes. {The article never mentions what the "M" stood for, or the reason for the name chosen.}

In 1890 {? -- 1899, perhaps?} another young man, Anton Burger, who had also been employed by a pipe jobber in the mid-west, approached them and was taken in as a partner. M. Linkman & Company proceeded as a partnership; the business developed rapidly through the untiring efforts of these men in producing quality pipes and rendering good service to their customers.

The business continued to grow, and in 1907 M. Linkman & Company was incorporated with Louis B. Linkman as president, August Fisher, vice-president, and Anton Burger, secretary and treasurer. In 1914, Richard J. Dean, who had joined the firm in 1911 was appointed general sales manager.

The business was growing and expanding rapidly, and the executives soon realized the quarters in the Wells Street Bridge Building were inadequate, so in 1922 Linkman built a modern three-story reinforced concrete building at the corner of Fullerton Avenue and Racine, housing one of the most complete and modern pipe plants in America.

(Editors Note: This is the sixth in a series of historical articles describing the early growth and development of the leading pipe and tobacco manufacturers. Another will be presented next month.)

THE COMPANY continued to grow, turning out quality pipes that were recognized wherever good pipes are appreciated, and the continued success of the organization was due in no small measure to the foresight and sound business principles of Louis B. Linkman's leadership.

Linkman himself kept abreast of the times, studying the pipe smoker carefully, trying to analyze what the pipe smoker most needed -- what he most wanted in a pipe as well as what was least desired.

Linkman soon learned that one drawback to increased pipe enjoyment was the unpleasant breaking-in period. Many smokers, he found, hesitated to buy a new pipe because they dreaded those first few puffs.

Why not, thought Linkman, smoke those first few puffs for them? If a pipe could be put on the market that would be already broken in smokers would not hesitate to purchase it, and increased sales would be the result.

Linkman gave the problem much thought. Believing he was on the right track, he wondered how pipes could be "pre-smoked" in the necessary quantity to fill the anticipated demand.

He considered many ideas, such as chemically treating the inside of the bowl which would reduce the unpleasantness of the breaking-in period, but smokers, he found, did not accept this method. Pipes must, he concluded, be actually pre-smoked with tobacco -- no chemical or artificial process would do.

Early in the 1930's he experimented with an automatic machine which would smoke the pipes mechanically, and in 1933 he made pipe history by introducing the first pre-smoked Dr. Grabow pipe. {Interestingly, no mention is made in the article as to why the pipes had this name!.}

Pipe smokers, both beginners and veterans, found in the new pipe something they had long wanted -- a new pipe that had been pre-smoked for them, thus eliminating to a large degree the unpleasantness of smoking those first few pipefuls.

The pipe became popular ad the company soon found they could market all they could make.

A LUCKY break in the way of newspaper publicity helped immensely in publicizing the new pre-smoked pipe. Bob Ripley, artist who draws the famous "Believe It or Not" cartoons, felt the new automatic pipe smoker was worth mention in his feature, and he included it in one of his sketches a short time later.

Newspapers also saw the human interest appeal in this novel method of pre-smoking pipes, and several articles appeared, which resulted in very favorable publicity for the Linkman Company and its products. So great was the interest in these pipes that the company inaugurated a national advertising campaign on a grand scale.

This has been kept up until the present day, and the Dr. Grabow Pre-Smoked Pipe may be currently seen in leading newspapers and national magazines. Many of the advertisements have pictured famous men smoking Dr. Grabow pipes, but most popular have been the messages in cartoon form which have been well received by the general public.

The ad reproduced with this article {omitted on this web page} was one of those used in the ad series, and was recently selected by Advertising Age Magazine as an outstanding piece of work in its line. Several of the cartoons have been drawn by nationally famous cartoonists.

Many an owner of a Dr. Grabow pipe has wondered how the robot smoker operates. It consists of long rows of tubes which are fitted with the pipe bowls. Then, by means of a system of alternate vacuum and forced air, the slow, deliberate "puffing" action of the smoker is duplicated.

A good grade of smoking tobacco is used in the process. {At least some ads say EDGEWORTH.} The bowls are filled, lighted, and slowly smoked to the bottom, cleaned out, filled and relighted again. This continues for several pipefuls, until the pipes are thoroughly and completely broken in.

The process is essentially the same as the careful pipe smoker gives his pipe, in that the puffing is very slow and even. The pipes are cooled between pipefuls, and all the care that a pipe should receive during the breaking-in period is given the Dr. Grabow.

Mr. Linkman has never claimed the process to be anything mysterious, secret, or fantastic. It is all very simple and plain to see. The bowl is easily examined without aid of a laboratory or skilled research technician. It's pre-smoked with fine tobacco, and that's all that is claimed for it.

THE SUCCESS of this concern from its inception is due to a great extent to the personal efforts of its president, Louis B. Linkman, under whose guidance the firm has grown to its present coveted position in the pipe industry.

The foundation of this business has been firmly built on the policy of fair dealing, quality merchandise and good service.

Linkman's hobby is his business -- {his?} credo is to give the public better merchandise at lower prices. As with many makes, Dr. Grabow pipes served in {the?} war. A large portion of the factory's production was sent to our fighting forces, causing a scarcity among civilian smokers at home.

And now, as restrictions on materials and manpower begin to ease, production is being stepped up to meet the demand. And to help meet this demand, the company is presently constructing an additional building which will double the present output of pipes.

The Linkman Company, now in its 49th year of pipe manufacture, looks back upon this first half century with pride, knowing that these years of experience will enable it to continue to provide pipe smokers everywhere with {added?} smoking enjoyment in the next half century to come. --end--

Dr. Paul E. Grabow

When you visit the photo above, you will be taken to a page that not only contains the photo of Dr. Grabow, but also an early day insert included with a pipe that contains his personal endorsement, as well as a comparison of signatures from that document and a similar endorsement contained in a Dr. Grabow catalog circa 1937.

David Lavietes

Future location various elements of the history not inluded elsewhere, such as what the "Ajustomatic" was and why it once was incoporated on other pipes BEFORE, then after Dr. Grabows became the exclusive Ajustomatic pipe and the other lines lost it to become Vulcanite Push Stems or filter pipes.

Photos and information on prices of, and dating of, the various Dr. Grabow Pipes will be included elsewhere at a later date. The information below, newly added, is just the beginning of the information I hope to put up. One has to start SOMEWHERE.

To make it much easier to locate a certain pipe name in this section, I have placed them in simple alphabetical order with a little information about each line or series. Information with more detail about he grade of briar used, the ranking of the pipes in quality from say, best to least, will be added later in a different area.

Furthermore, I have split these pipe names into two groupings of my own definition, "OLD" and "NEW". Roughly that equates to pipes made in Chicago and pipes made in Sparta, North Carolina area after the sale and "move". In a very grey area in between is an era I call the "transition period" when strange things were happening with production and the like, and where, possibly, pipes were being made at both locations at the same time, or may have even been contracted out to yet another place. This is a separate subject in and of itself and one we may never really resolve, but it IS a very interesting time in Dr. Grabow history, even if we affectionately call some of the pipes we suspect from that time, "Dr. Crapos".

"OLD" Pipe Names and First Two-Digit Codes and Symbols:

"NEW" Pipe Names:

Before I get started in this section here is a great piece of trivia that I learned from a devoted and caring Dr. Grabow employee recently. You have probably wondered, as I have, just where these names originated or what inspired them. Maybe you have even guessed the connection, but I sure didn't! When this employee mentioned this to me, he brought it up like a riddle: "THINK CARS!" Now, see if you came up with what I did:

All of these cars had roots or beginnings in the 1950s and early 1960s I believe, and perhaps I should do a little more research along those lines to get more accurate facts. If anyone finds better info, just let me know.

I never thought of a "car" connection, but had looked at some sort of Royalty thing, what with the DUKEs, VISCOUNT, ROYALTON AND SAVOY, etc. I haven't checked to see if they were also car names or not.

OK, for starters, to be updated and corrected as time allows, below is a list of most "newer" Dr. Grabow pipe names:

First of all, a disclaimer of sorts. I want to apologize right off for the haphazard appearance of this section, the misspelled words and lack of formating that would make it easier to read and follow. I have been working from over 26 pages of notes and information (and I am still gathering info) and as always, am pressed for time. My first goal was to get some of this information up, and then I could always come back and edit it later. Even though my friend said, "It's taken 75 years for the Dr. Grabow story to be told, a little while longer won't hurt", I felt I should at least make an earnest effort to get some information up as I got it, no matter how crude the form. If I wait until I can "get it right" or for some ellusive form of perfection, it'll simply never get done, and that I think, would be the real travesty.

So read, study and enjoy with an open mind and a bit of leniency as I continue to work on this. Right now I have to go back and relearn some of my HTML basics and code. Come back from time to time as this section, as well as the entire web page -- like major highway reconstruction and repair -- is continually undergoing construction! Be mindful of the potholes, patches and detours.,

I had a lot of help from a Dr. Grabow employee in putting together this section. This employee told me there was a lot of "BS" about briar out there and he wanted to give me the real scoop on it. This section is something that I wanted to do for a long time. At first my only interest, really, was to figure out about whether all the hype people were saying about how superior the WESTBROOK was over say, the retail pipes was true or not. My personal feeling was that there were pretty much retail equivalents for most of the RJ Reynolds "coupon" pipes (RJR) and I felt, as one example, the STARFIRE was every bit as good as the WESTBROOK. As it turns out, that is somewhat true, and as this discussion on briar will show, there is a simple reason why. Up until now, the only decent source I knew for the RJR Coupon pipes was written by K. Maxwell Graves Jr., Attorney At Law, and was posted on Frency's Pipes web site. My friend at Dr. Grabow said, "Max got it about right. He sounds like he was involved".

Another thing it may help on is comparison with the briar used in other pipe makers' pipes. It is a mistaken impression to believe that because the Dr. Grabow pipe was sometimes considered a "drug store" pipe that inferior briar was used. The briar, for the most part, came from the same places that other pipe makers got theirs. Another good source for information on this subject and the important part Dr. Grabow pipes played in it can be found in a speech made in 1995 by Doug Allen, OPC member and President of Sparta Industries. This speech can be found on the Internet in several places, such as The Dr. Grabow Collector's Forum and the Ohio Pipe Collectors web page, so it won't be duplicated here.

To understand Dr. Grabow pipes, and more specifically the different lines of Dr. Grabow pipes, at least a cursory review of this section should be made. It will explain much. Maybe too much. Nevertheless, it is a very important subject. So much so, that the employee who furnished me this information insisted on telling me the story about briar before going into other subjects. At first I was puzzled, but once the briar had been sufficiently explained, then the things I learned later made more sense and I quickly saw why we started with the briar information.

So you can skip this section now, but I almost guarantee that you will have to come back to this subject later as other things about Dr. Grabow pipes are explained.

Briar 101, The European Production -- This part is still being worked on and will be posted as time allows.

Briar 102, Briar Selection, Grades and Use In Dr. Grabow Pipes

The following information about briar mainly covers the area from the 1960s to maybe the late-1980s, but other than the prices, probably has at least some application to the period prior to that as well as after. In other words, having a basic knowledge of this, one might be able to better understand how Linkman was doing business in Chicago -- a period I have little to no information on. The prices are for around the 1980s and 1990s and are used primarily to give a general idea of the cost and quality relationship. When the pipe names are given in parenthesis, it is not an all-inlcusive, nor exclusive list -- they are provided for convenience and to give a general feel for what briar went into what pipe.

So here we go!

First of all, briar is ONLY available in five SELECTIONS. They will be listed below. Briarwood is purchased in bags and the price is per bag. Depending on the size block a bag can have as few as 24 dozen, or as many as 72 dozen:

Blocks (stummels) were turned into bowls, rough sanded and dry selected. Dry selection separated them into seven grades (GRADED by the flaws -- number of imperfections -- in the wood) from 1 to 7 (actually to 8, but we'll get to that later) as below:

Now, from the above grades, #1 and #2 were then "wet selected". This used a solution of half methanol and half water (remember that formula as it will come into play again when we talk about stems) which "brings out" the grain. This selection resulted in the following for #1 and #2 (OK, and sometimes #3 was wet selected for full grain for things that came up like the COMMODORE or SCULPTURA, but more on that LATER):

#1:

#2:

When referring to the above grades, the number for "#1" and "#2" were never used, but rather it was just A, B, C, D and H. Why? Probably because it was just redundant to say, "1A" or "2E". For the rest it would be just 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Why? Because these wouldn't have been wet selected into "grain" (there's an exception or two, but we'll get to that later), so there was no other reference needed. This is important information to know because, if for nothing else, that is how this will be referred to elsewhere on this web page.

If you have made it this far in reading about briar, then you will understand why I thought you might return here. You will also understand why, in telling the story of Dr. Grabow pipes, that my friend insisted that we start with BRIAR 102!

But now, for a further challenge, especially to those who breezed through all this without the slightest bit of confusion, I am going to further "discuss" briar. I just do not think the Dr. Grabow pipe story can be told fully or properly without at least, touching on some of this. This is such treacherous ground that we are about to cover that my friend supplying the information warned me, "When you post the information about Briar, don't use #8. We used that quality so seldom that it would just confuse the readers. We only used it when we got desperate." And in regard to some of this other information my friend stated again, "Rather than confuse the readers more, it might be best if this info be left off your site. Your call."

I jest about the "treacherous ground", but will simply offer the advice that you may not want to proceed any further in reading about this topic. Before it is over though, and escially as I add new things to the web page, you may want to return here or you'll never know why things like WILLARD pipes are discussed on a web site dedicated to Dr. Grabow pipes.

As Paul Harvey would say, " . . . and now the rest of the story . . .":

Okay, we have covered "A" through "H" and "3" through "7". Now we proceed to SHORT SHANKS (5/8" and 7/16"), CHIP TOPS, PANELS and eventually "8".

7/16" and 5/8" refer to shank length which are faults in the length of the block of briar. They were sawed wrong in Europe. Ever get the idea that some "banded" pipes were made that way for more than simply the looks? In another area we will be talking about the WILLARD "military" and some other things and you will again see not only the importance of this discussion on briar, but also why seemingly unrelated non-Dr. Grabow pipes are discussed!

CHIP TOPS are also faults of the block, in that it is too short (height) for the shape it was selected for. The top ends up being rough. Sparta used them by sanding the top shorter.

PANELS are also faults. Too narrow left or right or front to back for their selected shape. Sparta had a "panel machine" that could cut flat panels on one, two, four or eight sides. My friend says, "We never 'made' panels, but used them occasionally to keep the faults used up." Ever see a "paneled" "DUKE" line pipe that isn't exactly on the shape chart? Now you know why. See, I knew you would want to read this section!

My buddy also said in this regard, "In the short shanks, chip tops and panels, we dry selected for only #1, #3, #5 and "firewood".

And finally, #8. By now, I guess you are figuring you are at the bottom of the pile and there's not too much to do with it other than burn it. "Talk about trash!" my friend said. Well, maybe not all the time. My friend, who probably had the choice of any pipe in the factory to smoke, also said, "I once smoked a #8 that had a hole all the way through the bowl and was patched. It was wonderful -- a GREAT PIPE".

This Dr. Grabow employee also said that for several things that came up, including the COMMODORE and SCULPTURA, they wet selected #3 for FULL GRAIN. For this you have to think about those sandblasted finishes and how the briar could have defects, but full grain would be important. Hence the exception alluded to earlier in this section. He stated further, "I guess you've figured out by now that some #4 and #5 also had full grain. OK, we never used them for SMOOTH".

So now what?:

When I get some more time, this section will discuss what you do with all the less than perfect briar that accumulates from all those bags of briar after you have made the good and top of the line standard pipe shapes and finishes.

This area is for the notations about the various stampings on the briar and their locations. Again, just a start. The codifications and abbreviations are my own and ties into several charts I keep to record the differences.

Legend of older common stampings styles, etc., to be codified and added.

Left Side

Right Side

Top Side

Bottom Side

This is the place for the discussion of the emblems on Dr. Grabow pipes, including, but not limited to, the Spade and earlier "propeller" or chain link(?) insignia found on the stems of the pipes. Just putting something up quickly that I will further refine and update later.

The text below will be the relevant part for the casual reader of this page. The codifications are my own that I use on various charts to record findings.

Future location of a discussion of stinger designs from the original design that started the Dr. Grabow line to those applied to Ajustomatic models.

Below is some preliminary information, in a state of great flux as I continue to sort out my findings and better date manufacturing methods and designs. I have found absolutely NO information out there, so this is all virgin territory. I hope to include photo examples in the future to better illustrate what I am talking about in the identifications below. The "type" refernces are my own to track these features on charts that I have.

FINALLY SOMETHING NEW! I have been wanting to add information and update things and work on the site in general, but time usually works against me. That and the fact that I want things organized just so, etc., and I procrastinate long enough that I don't get it done. Well, thanks to new friend and fellow Dr. Grabow enthusiast, Tom Martin, I DO HAVE something new to offer. Tom has a passion for the Dr. Grabow pipe as David and I do and really proved his value as a colleague when he assembled not only some rambling commentary from emails and notes I had, but expertly included the photos as well on a nice web page. Please click on the link below!

THANKS, TOM!!!

Please stay tuned as I work on and update this site. If YOU have any information or know of someone who can provided information, please contact me!

I'm not the first person in my family to have an interest in pipes. Here's some photos of some of my family and their pipes: