The Briar Used in Dr. Grabow Pipes

The briar used in Dr. Grabow pipes is one of the rare subjects that allows a step-by-step look at exactly how a mass-production factory sorts its raw material. The company, making pipes in Sparta, North Carolina since 1943, still produces, by its own account, roughly two hundred thousand pipes a year from Mediterranean briar.

The brand's model names aren't randomly chosen labels: which line a block enters is decided by two gradings it passes through after arriving at the factory. The practice described below belongs mostly to the period between the 1960s and the late 1980s and rests largely on the account of a source who worked at the factory.

Seven Grades by Flaw Count

Blocks that arrive by the sackful are roughly turned and sanded before going through dry grading. At this stage, grain isn't considered at all; only the number of flaws in the wood is the basis, and blocks are ranked from one to seven. Grade one is flawless, grade two's few small voids are easily filled, and grade three becomes a smooth-finish pipe with the help of filler. Grades four through six can only carry a rustic finish; grade seven is, in practice, scrap. This ranking explains why surface finishes in factory pipes are considered a matter of grading as much as of style.