There are several nice Lewis Cowan pipes over at Reborn Pipes right now. Unsmoked.
Ruminations on the Marxman 400
- Thread starter Briar Lee
- Start date
Even without grapeseed oil beauty treatments the light tan quickly turns dark, maybe from the oil on your hands.
And, when I buy an estate Algerian with cake, the carbon just scrapes out easily leaving the bare briar. It’s amazing to me how lightly cake clings to Algerian.
There may have been other national origin briar with Algerian character, the same as Virginia tobacco is raised outside Virginia.
But the briar Marx used was light tan, it was soft, absorbed oil easily, lightweight, and it had to be old, because it had extremely tight grain, although rarely beautifully flashy grain.
I am troubled by how the price of Marxman Pipes and the sheer number of poorly maintainEd Marxman pipes is increasing. It makes me wonder if threads like this are observed by lurkers and interlopers who then search through their junk and offer it up. Before these threads a year ago, unsmoked Marxman pipes still in boxes were ubiquitous.
It makes no sense. Many of these pipes are beat up and abused. They will require more than a good cleaning. Most need a heavy restoration to get them looking new again - which is my own standard. I maintain all of my pipes to this standard. When I have bought estates, I looked for a pipe that could be restored with minimal ease by a professional restorer. This meant Briarville. Briarville doesn't make pipes, they restore them so I am uncertain as to their level of expertise for heavy pipe work that requires reshaping and top to bottom work. But it wouldn't be cheap.
Which gets me to prices for estate pipes. I try to factor in the price for restoration in my purchases. At a certain point, the exorbitant asking prices exceed the value of the pipe by too many orders.
I've never tried tripoli on briar. Wonder what the difference is.
Tripoli was and I think still is part of the finishing process on just about every smooth pipe ever. It's just so much faster than sanding at 600, 800, 900, 1200, 1500, 2500, and 8000 grit. You do the stem with tripoli and then a less aggressive compound, just do the stummel at the same time, makes life easy on the production line.
We know the top of the line was the 400, but where are the Marxman rejects and where did the seconds go?
This box is genuine, beyond a reasonable doubt.
The pipe I just bought, looks like a Marxman but the stem is badly drilled off center.
Correctly aligned
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Box and pipe were $29.95 delivered, and it’s on the way from New York. The seller said they inherited the pipe and box together.
Westchester County is a wealthy suburb of New York, and all the markings on the pipe are Imported Briar and WESTCHESTER.
A seconds line, or a pipe mismatched to the box? It looks kinda Marxy to me.
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This box is genuine, beyond a reasonable doubt.
The pipe I just bought, looks like a Marxman but the stem is badly drilled off center.
Correctly aligned
View attachment 205215View attachment 205216
Box and pipe were $29.95 delivered, and it’s on the way from New York. The seller said they inherited the pipe and box together.
Westchester County is a wealthy suburb of New York, and all the markings on the pipe are Imported Briar and WESTCHESTER.
A seconds line, or a pipe mismatched to the box? It looks kinda Marxy to me.
View attachment 205214
View attachment 205217View attachment 205218View attachment 205219
View attachment 205221
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It appears that I am now officially going to be the owner of a Marxman Four Hundred. I do have to say, that this is a major capstone for me in the world of pipes.
@Briar Lee How did I beat you to the punch?
@Briar Lee How did I beat you to the punch?
It’s snippy statements like that which betray the empty basket of a mind From which they came.
The 400 is a piece of pipe history designed and marketed by a man who did much to make pipe smoking fun and interesting. Yes, he was an advertising maverick to be sure when it came to pipes, but his pipe still smoke well 70-80 years later and they have an artistic look to them that readily identifies them with his brand. There is no mistaking a Marxman for anything other than a Marxman. Relax as they say in Algeria.
I saw one on eBay a while back. Please let us see it when you get it. Take some good pictures please!
It is scheduled to arrive this coming week. I will most likely send it off to Briarville for restorative services as needed, although it looks to be in pretty good shape from the pictures.
This is my White Whale. Captured. I have a "failed" 400 that is marked as a "Royal" by Marxman. I most likely will sell that pipe. Not sure why it wasn't made a 400, but it certainly isn't a Marxman Royal. Such an oddity of a pipe, BUT an excellent smoker AND a great example of what a 400 is. However, now that I have an actual Four Hundred in hand, I am willing to let this one go to a good home.
The Four Hundred is an odd looking pipe and is really just the product of excellent advertising and such. But, it holds a unique place in the Pantheon of pipe smoking. I couldn't resist. I just wish I had then purple velvet lined display box. Oh well.
As the late Paul Harvey was wont to say, here is the rest of the story (in this case, by Richard Carleton Hacker from his book titled Rare Smoke - The Ultimate Guide to Pipe Collecting) about the Marxman 400: "And finally, Marx created The Four Hundred, a semi-classic, large-bowled pipe that was primarily smooth but had a few carved areas (obviously to hide the flaws) and most notably a 14 kt. gold band. Each Four Hundred came with a registration certificate and a lifetime guarantee. The pipes were individually numbered and the owner's name was to be kept in a 'Blue Book' in the Marxman office. There was also a very limited number of 'Heirloom' pipes that were carved by noted sculptors of the day."
Yes, these things are all true. Imagine, the Urban Archeologist who is fortunate to find the mythical blue book. Whose names would be written there? What other interesting and fascinating information might the Urban Archeologist uncover in the Blue Book?