3. Straight, Smooth Starfire
The Starfire line debuted in 1956, selling for $3.50. The line disappeared sometime in the 1970s, just prior to the period where Lane owned Dr. Grabow. I picked this one up on Ebay for around $20, in great condition. Starfires were available in straight, partial-bent, and full bent shapes throughout the years they were on the market. They took advantage of the patented Adjustomatic stem design that Dr. Grabow made famous. It was a threaded aluminum tenon that never completely snugged down in the shank. This allowed you to tighten it, but then continue turning it clockwise to align the stem perfectly every time. This came in handy because over time other threaded stems would become crooked if tightened properly, but adjustomatics work perfect decades later. I think the burl on these is very attractive, and they are lightweight and make great clinchers. The bowl walls are moderately thick, and it holds about a 45 minute smoke in a 13/16“ x 1¼” chamber. It’s one of my favorite Grabows.





4. Half and Half
I had not heard of these when I came across this one of Ebay. I got it for less than $15, unsmoked. The line was apparently introduced in 1991, and disappeared not too long afterwards. It has an acrylic stem with push tenon that fits snuggly, but leaves a slight gap on the underside. The burl is interesting, but the stain is only okay. It has a surprisingly deep bowl (1 ¾”), but is only average diameter (13/16”). I can smoke it at a reasonable pace for around an hour. It is drilled a little low, but it feeds a cleaner well and doesn’t gurgle. Overall, it isn’t my best Grabow by far, but it’s better than any $15 basket pipe I’ve seen

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