Sherlock Holmes' Pipe - Or Was It?

(sherlockandwatson.com) I’m sure we’ve all seen the famous calabash pipe, as favoured by Sherlock Holmes. You know, the curly calabash with it’s distinctive shape (pictured above, from Wikipedia).
The original calabash pipes are made from the calabash gourd. The African variety is regarded as the best to use, as the European (usually Greek) calabash gourds rarely have the right shape favoured by the pipe makers and smokers. Continued