My New Marxman Bench Made Pipe

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didimauw

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Jul 28, 2013
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Here are some very weird examples that showcase the uniqueness that was Marxman.





And you seriously weren't kidding about those carved ones. And some people actually really smoked the shit out of them! Wow!
 

Briar Lee

Lifer
Sep 4, 2021
4,759
13,783
Humansville Missouri
Yes you can tell Marxman, Lees, Kaywoodie and grabow, all competed at one point or another. Lol

Better tasting briar? Better than.....Lees?????

And you mean better tasting while smoked right? You don't like....lick em do you? Lol🤔
In spite of the worst, and longest depression in American history, Bob Marx launched a successful pipe brand.

I read where he advertised all pipes were hand cut and he used small production methods.

There weren’t any fifty cent or a dollar Marxmans. A lot of the production was carved, no doubt to utilize more of that fantastic quality, aged, soft Algerian briar.

The best kept secret in quality American pipes is Marxman.

B0EB4327-CC54-477F-9572-F4B48656ED80.jpeg
 

Briar Lee

Lifer
Sep 4, 2021
4,759
13,783
Humansville Missouri
Your selection reminds me of Lees. The best kept secret was that Marxman pipes looked nothing like Lees when you dug a bit deeper.
I’m an old Scott. My selection was based on no one of my five costing more than thirty bucks, and most twenty.:)

The elaborately carved Marxmans fetch good prices.

Now, it was a special, not a grade like Lee Five Star you could select, but Bob Marx tried selling a $25 pipe, the 400.

5ED77000-4AFF-402D-A158-8BF2071BB608.jpeg

A 400 would be a rare find, I suppose.

My stash includes a D,C, and B Jumbo, a Super Briar, and a no grade.

1BA4CE26-DCC6-4C95-83FA-8AF2B5A6A2D6.jpeg
 
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telescopes

Pipe Dreamer and Star Gazer
I’m an old Scott. My selection was based on no one of my five costing more than thirty bucks, and most twenty.:)

The elaborately carved Marxmans fetch good prices.

Now, it was a special, not a grade like Lee Five Star you could select, but Bob Marx tried selling a $25 pipe, the 400.

View attachment 195838

A 400 would be a rare find, I suppose.

My stash includes a D,C, and B Jumbo, a Super Briar, and a no grade.

View attachment 195840
The third and the fifth, for me have the most appeal. I have quite a few unsmoked smooth finished Marxman pipes in the traditional billiard or full bend shape. It is the ugly rusticated ones that get my most attention. Your number three pipe starts to speak to that. I do have a beautifully shaped SIX PANEL Marxman pipe that is just the cat's meow.
My Marxman Royal is most likely as close to a 400 that I will ever own. FE1252A3-7FAD-42C1-933D-6792179561DB.jpeg
F961B1BF-7172-4807-BF5C-452FFF6BC1D7.jpeg
it has the gold band and a shape that approaches that of the 400. It is a large bowl pipe.

If you had accumulated a 100 Marxman pipes, a good majority of them would be unique and weird looking.
 

Briar Lee

Lifer
Sep 4, 2021
4,759
13,783
Humansville Missouri
When my dear old angel mother packed my bags and sent me off to college, I first encountered foreign import snobbery.

I thought a NASCAR Boss 429 Mustang was the pinnacle of automotive design, while my new friends from the city preferred Ferrari, or some little Volkswagen looking thing they called a Por-Shay.

My dream girls were Emmylou Harris and Sally Fields, and a young Elizabeth Taylor and Natalie Wood, and I couldn’t even pronounce Deneuve.

If my C size Benchmade Jumbo Marxman had not been made here, folks might have appreciated Marxman more.

09CE96E1-EE47-43D9-97FA-049D9F092A6E.jpeg


You could say the same, about Emmylou Harris, I think.

 
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didimauw

Moderator
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Jul 28, 2013
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Burlington WI
The third and the fifth, for me have the most appeal. I have quite a few unsmoked smooth finished Marxman pipes in the traditional billiard or full bend shape. It is the ugly rusticated ones that get my most attention. Your number three pipe starts to speak to that. I do have a beautifully shaped SIX PANEL Marxman pipe that is just the cat's meow.
My Marxman Royal is most likely as close to a 400 that I will ever own. View attachment 195898
View attachment 195900
it has the gold band and a shape that approaches that of the 400. It is a large bowl pipe.

If you had accumulated a 100 Marxman pipes, a good majority of them would be unique and weird looking.
After my meer year, and after I buy my next Savinelli, Im going to have to find an unsmoked one. Just for curiosity sake. Hopefully I can find an uncarved smooth one....

I'm really intrigued by them, as some I've seen on here look absolutely beautiful and well made, and some look very cheap and ugly.

The one pictured here, reminds me of something Mr. Brog would make. And I HOPE I'm totally wrong. And no offense intended to Marxman.
 

didimauw

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 28, 2013
9,889
31,595
34
Burlington WI
When my dear old angel mother packed my bags and sent me off to college, I first encountered foreign import snobbery.

I thought a NASCAR Boss 429 Mustang was the pinnacle of automotive design, while my new friends from the city preferred Ferrari, or some little Volkswagen looking thing they called a Por-Shay.

My dream girls were Emmylou Harris and Sally Fields, and a young Elizabeth Taylor and Natalie Wood, and I couldn’t even pronounce Deneuve.

If my C size Benchmade Jumbo Marxman had not been made here, folks might have appreciated Marxman more.

View attachment 195911


You could say the same, about Emmylou Harris, I think.

What are the specs on that one? That one is right up my alley.
 

Briar Lee

Lifer
Sep 4, 2021
4,759
13,783
Humansville Missouri
What are the specs on that one? That one is right up my alley.
It’s about 6 1/2 inches long, 2 inches high bowl, .866 inches inside bowl diameter, almost 1 1/2 inches outside bowl diameter. No fills, and it’s a sitter.

Marxman made A through D size Jumbos, and compared to another one I have larger, I think this one was a C. Benchmade is a grade, above the Super Briar, and roughly comparable to a Lee Three Star or Kaywoodie Flame Grain.

2BD64C67-DF16-4DEF-B582-DC3F91A12C65.jpegE371CA79-5AD9-437F-B071-7172E13DC0E1.jpeg2966AFB9-0715-4063-AB79-907D168A441D.jpeg1B7E920C-9FF3-405F-AC0E-80A4E748346E.jpeg0ACE8215-281E-44F2-8F11-B0A377FFA05D.jpeg474F4C2C-D03E-4C8D-8DEE-21F8391556EA.jpegD773AB7A-5EF5-4E9F-9AFF-4068DC591A2A.jpeg9DC7998B-F31B-49F9-9360-A7F90DE5E824.jpegBC927D8C-7615-4FF6-986D-A3E7FC8D588C.jpegBC88AB00-01A2-47FC-934C-12D4CA5DCC54.jpeg
 
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didimauw

Moderator
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Jul 28, 2013
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It’s about 6 1/2 inches long, 2 inches high bowl, .866 inches inside bowl diameter, almost 1 1/2 inches outside bowl diameter. No fills, and it’s a sitter.

Marxman made A through D size Jumbos, and compared to another one I have larger, I think this one was a C. Benchmade is a grade, above the Super Briar, and roughly comparable to a Lee Three Star or Kaywoodie Flame Grain.

View attachment 196096View attachment 196097View attachment 196099View attachment 196100View attachment 196102View attachment 196114View attachment 196115View attachment 196116View attachment 196117View attachment 196118
Awesome. That is a beautiful hunk of briar there, ya know?!
 

telescopes

Pipe Dreamer and Star Gazer
No fills, and it’s a sitter.
it's a fine Marxman. I have a few that could be defined this way. However, @didimauw , if it is a nondescript Marxman you are pursuing, and I certainly don't discourage that pursuit, you might be happier with a lightly or non smoked Lee. First and second generation Lee pipes tend to have a better fit, finish, and grade of vulcanite. That said, who am I to suggest differently. I really like my Marxman Pipes. We need more of them on the WAYS thread.
 
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didimauw

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it's a fine Marxman. I have a few that could be defined this way. However, @didimauw , if it is a nondescript Marxman you are pursuing, and I certainly don't discourage that pursuit, you might be happier with a lightly or non smoked Lee. First and second generation Lee pipes tend to have a better fit, finish, and grade of vulcanite. That said, who am I to suggest differently. I really like my Marxman Pipes. We need more of them on the WAYS thread.
So let me ask you this then. How is the fit and finish of a late model push stem Lee, compared to a Marxman? I'd much prefer a regular tenon.
 

telescopes

Pipe Dreamer and Star Gazer
So let me ask you this then. How is the fit and finish of a late model push stem Lee, compared to a Marxman? I'd much prefer a regular tenon.
Well, it depends. I'd say the Lee and the Marxman are on par with each other. However, some late model Lees still had screw on tenons. But keep in mind that the stinger pulls off of a Lee and they are very easy to reclock. I wouldn't let that stop me from any Lee.
 
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Briar Lee

Lifer
Sep 4, 2021
4,759
13,783
Humansville Missouri
Awesome. That is a beautiful hunk of briar there, ya know?!
A beautiful hunk of Algerian briar, to boot.

From this long distance we can’t quite understand the controversy about Algerian briar, that existed until it became essentially unobtainable.

Dunhill used it, but only for the blasted Shell Briars.

The French considered Algeria as much a part of France as we do Alaska a part of the USA. But they treated the Muslim Algerians worse than Arkansawyers.

The briar there was the same specie of heath shrubs as all around the Mediterranean, but millennia of grazing must have relegated the Heather to the wildest, most remote, inaccessible, windswept coastal regions where even goats didn’t roam. It was very porous, soft, and hard to work with on a production scale.

Everything I’ve read about it claims it required much longer curing, and after that longer aging to be used.

Algerian briar soaks up grapeseed oil like a sponge.

C size Benchmade Jumbo before cleaning and oiling. $30 delivered January 2023.
F947D7F1-4A99-4E4E-AEEF-A02CA9F6D739.jpeg70DA5696-34A8-4885-95D1-5D9EEEB63E3F.jpeg

If Marx used stain he didn’t use a very dark stain. Algerian briar pipes had a typical tannish color cast.

I’ve had four Algerian briar pipes in the last month, and three were almost new and one not ever smoked to the bottom.

Unlike a Lee, that on break in has an extremely sweet briar taste, although they get hot, sweat, even crackle a little until broken in, I find Algerian briar needs hardly any break in at all. Also, it’s very easy to take all the carbon from an Algerian briar pipe and have it bare brown again. It seems to not want to cake.

It might not be the prettiest but it’s the prettiest smoking briar that ever was.
 

Briar Lee

Lifer
Sep 4, 2021
4,759
13,783
Humansville Missouri
So let me ask you this then. How is the fit and finish of a late model push stem Lee, compared to a Marxman? I'd much prefer a regular tenon.
Not a fair comparison, because late push stem Lees were probably made with the bankers peeping in the door every day.:)

I’m not a pipe maker, but I think even a Mr Brog or Dr Grabow simply must have a little hand finishing.

Lees are extremely consistent. They are all drilled dead center. Everything is machine made consistent. Except for the last push stem Lees there’s a jewel like quality to the entire pipe.

Marxman pipes really were made with old time small production methods.

My Benchmade Jumbo was made on a bench by a skilled artisan,

Honestly, a Marxman is closer to a Dunhill than any Kaywoodie or Lee.

A word of caution. Marx sold out to SM Frank in 1953, and if the pipe is stamped Italy or France or England it was an import. It might be a wonderful pipe, but it wasn’t made in the Marxman shop.

I’m not a collector. The collectible Marxman pipes were hand carved, in the Marxman shop.

Here’s one.

B4A4C6FF-5F83-41CA-BC49-A36DE22B533F.jpegCB709A1F-13C9-4884-B7FE-E2977DD13C86.jpeg58A9CC82-1664-4DC1-AC0B-430009F594A6.jpeg
 
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telescopes

Pipe Dreamer and Star Gazer
Not a fair comparison, because late push stem Lees were probably made with the bankers peeping in the door every day.:)

I’m not a pipe maker, but I think even a Mr Brog or Dr Grabow simply must have a little hand finishing.

Lees are extremely consistent. They are all drilled dead center. Everything is machine made consistent. Except for the last push stem Lees there’s a jewel like quality to the entire pipe.

Marxman pipes really were made with old time small production methods.

My Benchmade Jumbo was made on a bench by a skilled artisan,

Honestly, a Marxman is closer to a Dunhill than any Kaywoodie or Lee.

A word of caution. Marx sold out to SM Frank in 1953, and if the pipe is stamped Italy or France or England it was an import. It might be a wonderful pipe, but it wasn’t made in the Marxman shop.

I’m not a collector. The collectible Marxman pipes were hand carved, in the Marxman shop.

Here’s one.

View attachment 196155View attachment 196156View attachment 196158
That's a fine looking Marxman.
 

telescopes

Pipe Dreamer and Star Gazer
IMG_6307.jpeg
@didimauw and @Briar Lee , pictured are two nice older pipes in a traditional style. Note that the top one is a Pipe Maker, in great condition with the red dot and white circle still in tack. The bottom is a six panel Marxman with a nickel band and a saddle stem. Both are great smokers and both represent a traditional look. Bargains and decent pipes from times past that represent your elders are out there. I imagine either of these pipes would have been at home or at Eureka Springs most famous restaurant, Rogues' Manor. Or, when in Cassville, MO, the dining room of the rib. Either would look just fine in the mouth of a man with a dinner jacket. I wish more people on the forum appreciated pipes like this. When taken care of, they look handsomely on a pipe stand and even better in the hand or mouth of someone who knows how to smoke them properly.IMG_6308.jpegIMG_6265.jpeg
 
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didimauw

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 28, 2013
9,889
31,595
34
Burlington WI
View attachment 196418
@didimauw and @Briar Lee , pictured are two nice older pipes in a traditional style. Note that the top one is a Pipe Maker, in great condition with the red dot and white circle still in tack. The bottom is a six panel Marxman with a nickel band and a saddle stem. Both are great smokers and both represent a traditional look. Bargains and decent pipes from times past that represent your elders are out there. I imagine either of these pipes would have been at home or at Eureka Springs most famous restaurant, Rogues' Manor. Or, when in Cassville, MO, the dining room of the rib. Either would look just fine in the mouth of a man with a dinner jacket. I wish more people on the forum appreciated pipes like this. When taken care of, they look handsomely on a pipe stand and even better in the hand or mouth of someone who knows how to smoke them properly.View attachment 196433View attachment 196434
This is how pipes should look. Pipes like this is the reason I started smoking a pipe. No wierd shapes, bling, wierd colors. Just beautiful briar.