MARXMAN Pipes, Anyone?
- Thread starter shermnatman
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Yeah man please do. ive definitely got the Marxman bug now so I’ll be looking for anything I can read.
@Briar Lee
Lookee what you done
Hands up those of you who have heard of Pipes by Lee and Marxman BEFORE the counsel from Humansville started his series of enthusiastic posts ?
Haha! I can most assuredly say that it was in fact Briar Lee that got me interested in the whole Marxman pipe thing. But this thread has lots of great info and post. And all of you played a part in it too.
Amen to this..... Yet another victim of the siren's song of Briar Lee......@Briar Lee
Lookee what you done
Hands up those of you who have heard of Pipes by Lee and Marxman BEFORE the counsel from Humansville started his series of enthusiastic posts ?
As to Adam.... you made a great deal, my friend. Enjoy your bulldog.
But wait!
The Marxman catalogs that listed Jumbo shaped pipes, always had four size grade prices,
$5, $7.50, $10, and $15
Which correspond to A, B, C, but I’ve never seen a D.
Not ever.
Although I own maybe a half a dozen super size Marxman pipes bigger than any C size but smaller than my two 400 pipes.
Why no D stamps on the $15 Big Boy size?
The Marxman catalogs that listed Jumbo shaped pipes, always had four size grade prices,
$5, $7.50, $10, and $15
Which correspond to A, B, C, but I’ve never seen a D.
Not ever.
Although I own maybe a half a dozen super size Marxman pipes bigger than any C size but smaller than my two 400 pipes.
Why no D stamps on the $15 Big Boy size?
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Speaking of which, I may be putting my smaller 400 up for sale - although smaller is not really a word that should be used to describe it overall. It would be considered D sized by most standards. It has a full one inch diameter bowl.
This Bulldog is dark ! I asked the guy and he said he didn't stain it.
It is my opinion that Marxman stamps were more like suggestions than standardized objective ratings. As an example, here are three pipes. All larger with the top pipe wearing only the MARXMAN over IMPORTED BRIAR, the Dublin sports the JUMBO stamp with no letter (A, B, C, etc...), while the bottom pipe is stamped JUMBO with a C. The second photo shows the JUMBO C below a large lovat looking rather like a Panzer tank.
But how do you tell the $15 size Jumbos?
Here’s my humble guess—
Those ads showed the $10 size handmade Jumbo marked C
There were $5 Jumbo grade pipes marked A
$7.50 Jumbo grades marked B
But at the $15 level there usually was no size stamp
Huge perfect smooth Marxman Big Boy with fat saddle stem and no marks except Marxman
This pipe is barely smoked, less than a dozen or two times. It was light tan when I unwrapped it. It’s made of the finest briar found at 27 West 24 10 NYC NY
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What I like are the machine shaped Jumbo pipes from when the Louvin Brothers were singing about Korea.
Look at this $5 Jumbo Korean War Special I just snagged for $20!
That very pipe could have been mailed for Christmas 1952 to Korea, and treasured all these years.
I wonder how much Mastercraft Inc paid Bob and Helen Marx in 1953 for the right to peddle pipes like that one above?
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Thats the seller that blocked me because I asked about that fill xD I made an offer when he listed it and he wouldn't respond, turns out he had blocked me. Strange seller....
My best guess would be to have paid the $15 back in 1946. That would have guaranteed the rating. Other than that, I agree with you "best guess"
Just came in the mail - an unsmoked Marxman quasi Bullmoose in excellent condition. This one is so nicely balanced I am almost tempted to smoke it. For the record, my collection of unsmoked Marxman pipes, all in their boxes with pipe sleeves, original price tags and brochures are all slated to be smoked many years from now. Until then, who knows.
I carefully removed the stem and did a light sanding on the tenon so that it would have a better fit. There is always the very real danger that these old pipes can break the stem because they are so dried out and can get brittle. Although after a few smokes, things improve.
I carefully removed the stem and did a light sanding on the tenon so that it would have a better fit. There is always the very real danger that these old pipes can break the stem because they are so dried out and can get brittle. Although after a few smokes, things improve.
So you got it! Nice. I had to stick mine in the freezer and then used some graphite on the tenon. Just haven't got the stinger out.
I almost got that one, but I figured 2 is better than 1
Super Briar unsmoked with tag and box that arrived today.
Yes, be very careful in removing the stem. Micropads can help you smooth the tenon down a small bit so the you can remove it without worry. Nice pipe.