Fall 98 Volume II Issue 2

Because PipeSmoke has promoted the idea editorially that you don't have to spend a month's rent to buy a decent pipe, we decided to visit one of the largest producers in the world of so-called "service pipes," those everyday companions to the pipesmoker, which provide pleasure without being a pain in the pocket. We would like to reassure our readers at the outset that we are not saying that high-ticket items aren't worth the price: they are, because of the rarity of fine, flawless grain, and exquisite finishing. Lets just say by analogy that Timex and Casio are not Omega and Rolex, but they all tell time. Everyday stuff isn't special, but it can still be good. Service pipes have their place in the grand scheme of things.

If you aren't paying attention to the passing scene, the town of Sparta is over soon after the road gets there: a few filling stations, and Sparta is gone. But those in the pipe business know that this is the home of Sparta Industries, a company that produces over a million tobacco pipes a year. That's the largest production of any one single place in the world, including Saint Claude, France, where the output is equal, but derives from the combined output of a dozen factories, large and small. Sparta was recently taken over by Lane Limited (an industry giant who distributes such brands as Dunhill, Stanwell, and Captain Black, to name but a few), and after regrouping, it's lean, mean, and ready to launch its new product lines. Dr. Grabow is their mass-market "bread and butter" line; a product intended for drug, convenience, and discount stores, and even for some smoke shops. Alpha is for the smoke shops that want to sell a good quality "entry-level" pipe for newcomers, or for the inveterate pipe smoker who wants a daily-use pipe of good quality at a moderate price. With the chief architects of the new Sparta Industries products, managing director Max Haynes, and Joe Rowe and Frank Blews of Lane Limited, we visited the factory to preview the products and see what the reconfigurations would bring to the consumer. We were both surprised and pleased with what we found. Surprised, because the quality of product is very high for a mass-production factory. Remarkably, despite some interesting and innovative machinery, a lot of handwork goes into making Sparta's pipes. Also, their enormous storehouse of briar is impressive. According to Max Haynes, Sparta is the world's largest single purchaser of briar, with a minimal one-year supply on hand at all times.

We were pleased by our visit because the tour convinced us that these pipes represent a top choice and value for the money - a consistent service pipe that no one need be reluctant to sell or smoke. Alpha is the higher-end version of Dr. Grabow, with better grain and clearer finishes. Most of the shapes are classic, but there's a limited array of "free-hand" styles, with some real beauties any pipesmoker could use with pride.

The Sparta factory is a vertical operation incorporating every phase of pipe manufacture, from briar block (ebauchon) to finished product. First, the bowls are cut individually on hand-operated fraising machines run by a dozen or so operators, using a preset die to guide the cutting. Then the shank of the bowl is hand-cut as well, again with a steel die to predetermine the outcome. The rough edges are trimmed and then the bowls are roughly sanded.

At this point, the first grading occurs the best bowls are set aside to become Alpha pipes instead of Dr. Grabows. The grading determines not only the final brand name but the price within that line, because the size of the bowl will also be a factor, in addition to the presence of minute surface flaws and more or less desirable graining.

The next step in the process is drilling the air hole through the shank to the bottom of the bowl, again by hand. The end of the shank is then mortised to make a fitting for the mouthpiece tenon. According to the grade, a mouthpiece is now fitted. The least expensive Grabows get a plastic one, and the better grades and all Alphas get vulcanite or Lucite. Again, these are fitted one at a time. Dr. G's pipes use a wider tenon to accommodate the replaceable filters that are a standard feature of that pipe, while those bowls destined for the Alpha line get a conventional non-filter mouthpiece. Some pipes in both lines are equipped with a screw-fitted tenon that matches up with a fitting set into the mortised shank. A clever patented device called "Adjustomatic" allows the user to turn the entire screw-fitted stem (mouthpiece) around 360 degrees to align the mouthpiece and bowl, a refinement not available on similar pipes made by competitors.

Before the final finishing, the pipes are "pre-smoked," a process the company has long advertised, and it's not malarkey. A contraption worthy of cartoonist Rube Goldberg performs the task. A horizontally mounted wheel about eight feet in diameter has fittings on its hp to hold pipes by their stems. An operator fits the pipe on the slowly rotating wheel so that the ends of the stems slip into a slot that connects to a vacuum. A quarter of the way around, the pipes rotate past a narrow hopper that drops a finely cut natural tobacco into the bowl, which is then lit by a gas jet directed down into the bowl as the vacuum is automatically turned on. By the time the pipe comes round full circle the tobacco in the bowl has been smoked down to the bottom, leaving an initial "carbon cake" on the inside of the bowl. The smoked pipes are released automatically into a catch basket as the operator sets up unsmoked pipes to replace them.

"You know," says Frank Blews, an ardent pipesmoker and one of Lane's top managers, "many pipe factories just coat the inner bowl with some carbonized 'gunk' or merely stain the inside black. But we really do this to every pipe, and it works. They taste good from the 'get-go.’” The wood's quality is as good as it gets, although, understandably, mostly not specimen grain. All of the briar is aged naturally at a constant temperature and humidity in burlap sacks, without heat-forcing.

And the pre-smoking process does take the "edge" off the pipe's first smoke. We sampled some finished pipes from the bin and the pipes tasted as good as any that we've smoked. We also noticed that the Dr. G filter seemed to do wonders for a high-humectant, deeply flavored tobacco such as Lane's own Captain Black. The filter levels out the flavoring, actually mellowing the taste, making it smoother on the tongue. It also caught a lot of moisture and left the pipe cleaner and drier down to the bottom of the bowl. With a filter replacement after each smoke, this pipe will make the full-aromatic smoker happier with his favorite tobacco for a long time.

Most of the specimens we observed during our visit have a well-defined grain. The least attractive will become low-end Dr. Grabows with finishes that are rusticated or deeply stained and highly varnished. These will appear in drug and outlet stores on display boards or in see-through "gift boxes." Not intended for the specialty shop, these certainly make many smokers very happy, judging by the brisk sales.

Better-looking examples get lighter stains to highlight the grain and a variety of finishes are available, ranging from a deep mahogany brown, to an orange-maple tone, to a light "natural" color. Surface flaws are so skillfully filled in as to be virtually undetectable and all models are available with either matte or highly buffed finishes. These pipes will also be sold by the, mass-market outlets, but to a more selective buyer, willing to pay more for a larger piece with clearly marked grain. Priced in a recommended retail range of $12.95 to $21.95, these are certainly attractive buys. The "Golden Duke," with a screw-in stem has a walnut satin finish, while the "Royalton," with a Lucite stem, has a regular push fit. The "Regal," with a vulcanite screw fitting, omits the disposable filter and substitutes an aluminum filter that can be removed for cleaning, or dispensed with.

While Dr. Grabow will continue to be available in about 120 different shapes and sizes and a dozen or so finishes, the presentation of the Alpha pipe, Sparta's premium line, has been completely restructured. Instead of the freehand style that characterized previous Alpha production under the former U.S. Tobacco management, there are now a total of 18 shapes; 14 classics and four specials. Finishes are also limited to four; three smooth and one sandblast. Sigma is a light orange-brown, Kappa is a matte medium brown, Beta is a dark reddish brown, and Epsilon is a black sandblast with reddish highlights. And they all look good, especially as "service" pipes or, as some of the old-timers say, "a good smoking pipe that you can take to work, slip in your pocket, leave in the car, in fact, take anywhere with pride." These pipes will give as good a smoke as any, but won't win prizes from connoisseurs who are willing to pay 10 times the price or more for perfectly grained, impeccably finished, flawless specimens of pipernaking art.

"You want that kind of perfection," Blews says, "you buy Dunhill, Stanwell, Aldo Velani, or other top-of-the-line brands. You've got plenty of those, I'm sure, and so have I, over 3,000 of them. But, these [Alphas] are damned good smokers and a helluva lot easier on your cash flow."

We test drive two randomly selected Alpha pipes, and they are very good, especially with the more natural tobaccos. There are no filters in the Alpha line to attenuate the flavor. I comment on the dry, clean taste and Frank, a very direct man who doesn't mince words says, "It's a simple equation to teach to a customer: good pipe, good tobacco, and good technique equals a good smoke."

Joe Rowe, sales director at parent company Lane Ltd., is hoping to reposition Alpha to compete with European imports in the $60 to $75 range, by pricing Alpha from $30 to $45. "We will continue to be a low-cost producer through mass production, in volume to substantiate the price, for a general market, and give the consumers value for what they are prepared to pay," says Rowe.

It's not what the manufacturer would like to charge, Rowe explains, because then you can just make up numbers and hope that the customer will either accept that he is getting value for money, even if he's not. Or you can advertise the hell out of a product and convince the buyer that life is not worthwhile without your product, whatever the price. "We don't want to do that with Alpha," Joe continues. "Alpha is quality at reasonable cost, and we think value, irrespective of cost, helps the industry."

We can't help but agree. If Alpha can attract the new generation of recreational smoker to the pleasures of the pipe without scaring them away with high prices, then more power to Sparta Industries and Lane Ltd. for their market smarts.