S.M. Frank-era Kaywoodie Red Root straight rusticated apple

This is a pipe that I had previously categorized as for sale, but I have decided to add it to my collection.

This is a Kaywoodie Red Root. The Red Root is not a part of the original Kaywoodie line. It is a style of pipe that was introduced by S.M. Frank after that company purchased Kaywoodie. All the Red Roots I have seen have a similar reddish-brown rusticated finish and the fancy screw-in bit. Fortunately, the previous owner saw no need to mutilate this one and it still has its three-hole stinger intact.

When I decided to collect Kaywoodies, I had at first thought I would focus only on the "originals." But what the hey, I'll keep some representatives of the latter-day pipes in the collection, too.

I took this shot from the top to show what's left of the Frank-era cloverleaf logo. These pipes have only a white outline of the cloverleaf and it wears off very easily, as you can see.

There are some light tooth scuffs on the bit, but otherwise this is still a good old pipe.

This is where it all started...

It was cold, I remember that. I was in tech school, so it was in either 1991 or 1992, in January or February. On the other end of the strip mall from the school there was a Walgreens. We often walked down there during breaks to fortify ourselves with junk food and Mountain Dew to keep from going to sleep in classes that ran until 11:00 at night.

And yes, they had a shelf of cheap Dr. Grabow pipes.

Ever since I had been a little boy smelling the sweet scent of an old farmer's rum-flavored pipe tobacco, I had wanted to--someday--smoke a pipe. It looked good. It smelled good. There was an unassuming, quiet dignity about it. So one night I purchased the pipe shown above and a pouch of Captain Black Whiskey.

Oh, the junk I put through that poor pipe. Several varieties of Captain Black, Borkum Riff, and who knows what other brands that I've forgotten by now. This was before internet access became widespread, and I had no one to go to for information about pipes and pipe smoking. I was a rank newbie with no mentor in sight, and everything I learned, I learned through bitter trial and glorious error. It was my only pipe for several weeks, and it didn't get nearly enough rest between loads of gunky drugstore aromatics. It's a wonder I didn't throw it in the trash and never think about it again. But I persevered. The entire process of smoking this cheap pipe still greatly appealed to me, and I knew instinctively that the experience should have been even better.

A simple straight apple filter pipe, there is nothing great about it. It is a thin-walled, poor quality pipe with a heavy finish that smokes hot no matter what goes in it. As soon as I had built up a rotation of four or five pipes, it became semi-retired and seldom-smoked. Within a year or so of its purchase, I cleaned it up very well, polished it, put it on the rack, and never smoked it again.

It is a worthless pipe. I wouldn't be able to give it away on eBay. I now have probably a good 30 pipes that are better than this one. But still it stays on the rack, because it was my first, and one should never lose track of one's roots.

Kaywoodie #42 Super Grain straight apple

As I was going through my "work-on" box I rediscovered this old Kaywoodie and knew I had to clean it up.

Exact dating of Kaywoodies can be a problem, but based on the logo and the stinger configuration this one runs somewhere in the 1940s to 1960s range, and is in pretty good shape for a fifty-year-old pipe. The bowl cants very slightly left of center, so it has some some wear but is not out of balance by any means. Although I am most fond of bent pipes, this simple straight apple is a classic design. The rim has some minor charring, but that is about to be expected for a well-used pipe of this age. The shape number 42 means that this one is a medium apple.

This one smokes quite well and the apple shape is very comfortable in the hand. I might have to forsake my usual bents for this one to get re-seasoned with something I like.

The Super Grain grade is midway in the order of Kaywoodie pipes, and this one will have a place in my permanent collection.