Very cool! Thanks for posting.
Anything else you can share about that pipe? Age, model etc.
American Factory Pipes
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Anything else you can share about that pipe? Age, model etc.
I'm not centered on American factory pipes, having a deep bench of Savinelli, Petersons, Johs, Nording, Stanwell, various French brands, not to mention an excellent Austrian pipe, and so on.
But I have always enjoyed my American (U.S.) factory pipes beginning with MM cobs and hardwoods, Missouri Meerschaum of Washington, Missouri, just west of St. Louis. I have some grand old Edwards' Benton series sold as Iwan Ries house pipes made of oil-cured Algerian briar. These are all over 35 years old, look great and smoke better.
Others include Kaywoodie Saxons, which contrary to some reports, I find to still be quality pipes, light weight, well insulated, and admirably moderately priced, as are many U.S. factory pipes. I have two Dr. Grabows and especially recommend the Royalton bulldog, and I have a Yello-Bole Checker panel I like a lot.
One I prize is a Kaywoodie Drinkless with the old screw-in stem stinger that is full of positive surprises. New, it started out a matte gray-brown, with its carved grooves in the bowl sides and shank, not a beauty but a good smoker that was quick and easy to clean. Over time the matte muddy look has polished into a red-tinted finish that is mysteriously attractive, what you might call a late bloomer.
I never consider these pipes as a last resort or yard pipes. Some days they give as good a smoke as any.
I say this as the owner several up-market pipes that I treasure, but I feel like I know a good thing when I see it. I have yet to buy a U.S. factory pipe that is a stinker or a burn-out.
But I have always enjoyed my American (U.S.) factory pipes beginning with MM cobs and hardwoods, Missouri Meerschaum of Washington, Missouri, just west of St. Louis. I have some grand old Edwards' Benton series sold as Iwan Ries house pipes made of oil-cured Algerian briar. These are all over 35 years old, look great and smoke better.
Others include Kaywoodie Saxons, which contrary to some reports, I find to still be quality pipes, light weight, well insulated, and admirably moderately priced, as are many U.S. factory pipes. I have two Dr. Grabows and especially recommend the Royalton bulldog, and I have a Yello-Bole Checker panel I like a lot.
One I prize is a Kaywoodie Drinkless with the old screw-in stem stinger that is full of positive surprises. New, it started out a matte gray-brown, with its carved grooves in the bowl sides and shank, not a beauty but a good smoker that was quick and easy to clean. Over time the matte muddy look has polished into a red-tinted finish that is mysteriously attractive, what you might call a late bloomer.
I never consider these pipes as a last resort or yard pipes. Some days they give as good a smoke as any.
I say this as the owner several up-market pipes that I treasure, but I feel like I know a good thing when I see it. I have yet to buy a U.S. factory pipe that is a stinker or a burn-out.
@telescopes
Thanks for your appraisal.
I know that some time ago you set out to collect examples of American Factory pipes, so your opinion is much appreciated
I can very much understand the point of view that places more value on Lees or even Marxman pipes. Lees have a consistent quality and fitment as well as a dense briar. Each of these qualities create a pipe that can be counted on to smoke well.
Marxman, in my mind, has a good fitment and in their more tradional shapes, a consistent finish that holds up well. Their non traditional shapes are all over the board in terms of having a pleasant look. Some are remarkably handsome with stunning grains and artistic rustications. Others, not so much. However, the Algerian briar that they use lends itself to a very decent smoke.
In my mind, both Lee and Marxman pipes are unique subgenres of the American pipe manufacturing process. Lee for his innovational stem and stummel fitment and consistent finish that shows grain, and Marx for his unique art deco take on pipes and his Algerian briar. Each maker veered off the pipe making path a bit. More so Marx.
The raison d’être of factory production.
A lower cost, uniform product of reliable quality, free from the vagaries of whether the maker made it in the morning after a good night’s rest or nursing a hangover or after his boozy lunch.
Or if the task was delegated to his new apprentice
Have you any experience with LHS’s Sterncrests ?
Tom,
Always pleased to read your well-considered opinion(s)
Invaluable hearing from someone with a breadth of experience - not just of American factory pipes but in the wider context of international pipe brands across various price points
My interest was piqued by the flurry of posts on Marxman pipes and Pipes by Lee - 2 brands I was totally ignorant of until our esteemed counsel @Briar Lee joined our merry band with his ruminations
I got the pipe at BRB. They put the pipe at 1915. From my research the pipe could have been produced between 1905 and 1915. CPF is clear on the stem, KB&B on the band and Chesterfield on the shank. While somewhat confusing, it is correct. It's a majestic pipe and a great smoker.
Only the Certified Purex.The raison d’être of factory production.
A lower cost, uniform product of reliable quality, free from the vagaries of whether the maker made it in the morning after a good night’s rest or nursing a hangover or after his boozy lunch.
Or if the task was delegated to his new apprentice
Have you any experience with LHS’s Sterncrests ?
While I have a variety of pipes, my collection experience is limited to the Pipes by Lee family including Briarlee and Gold Coast, plus the near unicorn collaboration between Lee and Lord Davenport. Every one is a solid smoker. How do they compare to the Kaywoodies, Grabows, etc., of the 1940s-60s? Don’t know because I’ve only got one—a 1959-67 Kaywoodie 500 series Billiard. I was drawn into the Lee sickness by the seeming lack of solid information about them for such relatively high quality pipes. Their origins in the mid-to-late 1940s are murky. They made great pipes for a couple decades then petered out and poof! Nobody even seems to know exactly when they disappeared, though I’ve seen 1972 bandied about.
Actually, I had a specific question about Kaywoodie and its earlier iterations. It’s said that Kaywoodie had amazing stocks of high quality briar up until WWII. It’s also said that their pipes were more expensive or as expensive as Dunhills. I’m wondering about the quality of the Premiers and Rocky Briars and other KBB pipes as well as the early Kaywoodies. When did Kaywoodie reach its high point in terms of quality? Were their early ‘30s pipes as good as their late ‘30s pipes? How about the late ‘20s ones?
How did WDC quality compare to Kaywoodie I wonder?
Well, since there isn't anyone alive today that smoked those pipes contemporaneously any claims we make towards quality of something made 100+ years ago is pure speculation made through the view of a modern lens.
In my experiance early Premiers are absolutely top notch pipes, but they are few and far between these days. KB&B/C.P.F. manufactured pipes for all price ranges prior to Kaywoodie just as they did during the Kaywoodie days. But thier early high grade stuff rivals any high grade stuff from England. KB&B Blueline pipes are great examples of really nice early pipes as are LondonLikes. Early C.P.F meerschaums were probably the best American made meers available.
When they reached thier zenith is a difficult thing to answer. but from the teens to WWII is definitely when they sold the most pipes.
From Pipedia...
y the late 1800's, branches of KB&B were opened in Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco and St. Louis with family and friends acting as agents.
Lol, I think every factory everywhere serves the same purpose. I don't think the quest for profit was limited to the American pipe factories.
But yes while KB&B/C.P.F. was around at that time WDC was a much larger company until all the mergers of the 20's.
A whole history of Kaywoodie can be found on my Greywoodie site under the history tab, so I will save the time of typing it all out. Kaywoodie pipes from the turn of the century to the forties were amazing. They are again today. Made by a fourth generation pipe maker with thirty years experience. One man makes every one of them, and at least weekly I hear that the blast is better than a vintage Dunhill. 4 digit shape numbers and modern Kaywoodie pipes are highly collectable.
I’m curious how people would compare 1930’s Kaywoodie mouthpieces to those of other pipes of the time. I’ve no idea myself. I have two early Kaywoodies and love them but I’ve no expertise.
I have smoked many pipes from the thirties. I only collect Kaywoodie pipes from the thirties. I preferred the stems on them.
After I wrote the question I smoked my 30s Kaywoodie last night. The stem is very comfortable. It made me think I should acquire another. It’s extremely comfortable.
From top: CPF meer, my best meer at that; an unsmoked WDC "Highest Grade" ; third is a workhorse LHS Durbar with a recycled P-lip stem.I have many Wally Frank pipes and I'm uncertain of their countries of origin. They were part and parcel of American pipe smoking for decades.