Let's Talk American Pipes

[Chef Benny]

I have a Marxman Benchmade billiard. It's a good smoker. Very lightweight.

[Big Iron]

Anyone tried any of the new kaywoodies?

[Thelonious monkfish]

Marxman, Mincer, old KBB, Weber, CPF, Custombilt, old Yello Bole pipes, Tom Howard, Linkman's, WDC, the Alpha pipes with Greek names were produced by Grabow, LHS, Bertram, John Bessai, Briarcraft, Fischer, some Jobey were made in the Weber factory, missing a bunch but that's a good start. Plenty of great pipes between those manufacturers.

[Chef Benny]

THE FOLLOWING IS A WHOLE LOT OF OPINION MIXED WITH SOME RANDOM RAMBLING RANTING MIXED WITH SOME ACTUAL GOOD INFORMATION. I AM NO EXPERT.. JUST A PIPE SMOKING FOOL!

I was reading through some old threads of years gone by, and I stumbled on this old thread about American Pipes. I am glad I did. I realized that about 90% of my entire pipe collection could be considered American Pipes.

Chef Benny's Smoker History in a Nutshell:

* First cigarette.. Pall Mall Red - age 11

* First Cigar ..King Edward - age 13

* First Dip- Kodiak age 14

* Smoked cigarettes for 20 years

* Quit smoking cigarettes age 37

* Now I only smoke a Pipes and Cigars.
I am ok with that..

I have probably mentioned before that I work in a Steakhouse, but I also have a little antique shop on the side.

I sell American glass and pottery from the 1920s-1950s.

I don't sell crystal or China or Italian blown glass or Portuguese pottery. It's not that those things aren't beautiful or nice or whatever... but it's just that my brain can only focus on one niche thing at a time. In my shop I found that I would rather learn about only one type of glass and pottery... otherwise I would drive myself crazy..

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I have some obsessive compulsive qualities when it comes to collecting, an it helps if I limit myself .. the antiques that I sell fall into a very small niche category.

Why am I talking about antiques? Because....
I take the same approach to pipe smoking and collecting .. I limit myself to mainly American Briar.

Smoking the pipe helped me quit smoking cigarettes.. but I understand the power of nicotine. I am friends with nicotine. I understand the utility smoker.. the nic fix .. the antistress ritual of smoking on a break, or at the end of a long day. I understand routine.

I like this pipe smoking forum because of the people. Folks on here are pretty down to earth and non judgemental. That makes it nice for a beginner to get some tips and guidance.. without feeling like there are hard rules for smokers..

Pack your pipe however the heck ya like.. ya don't need a name for your "method"

Cellar tobacco or don't.. It's your thing.

Pairing tobacco with food...

Char light?, Re light? .... Crystal Light?
Delicious!

I am all about just doing my thing ..and letting everyone do their thing.

When I go to people's homes to purchase antiques sometimes, or I go to estate sales or whatever, I often times see some very strange collections. Very strange.

I have learned that it is not up to me to judge the odd ball idiosyncrasies of others. Instead I have learned to appreciate them..or at least respect that person's right to be weird!

I saw a thread on here a while back about workhorse pipes.. I love using the hoodoo out of my pipes.. don't get me wrong. But I also have a lot of pipes in my collection that I only smoke every now and again.. then there are the pipes that I rarely smoke.. and finally, yes .. I have a handful of pipes that I will never ever smoke. ..my unsmokeables.

I know that for many of you .. this is poppycock and balderdash.

I am reminded of the 80s movie Dirty Rotten Scoundrels..

There is a scene in the movie where Michael Cane is showing Steve Martin his wine cellar full of wine that is far too valuable to drink..

Steve Martin is just confused and bewildered.. like what the hell?

There are a few select rare gems in my collection deemed unsmokable.. I just love to look at them and mentally smoke the hell outa them..hahaha haha!

I am a weirdo collector of American tobacciana... I have an appreciation for American history....functional art (pipes) Good tobacco.. cool people .. and interesting conversations ..

We have plenty of that at PSF..

Now.. to the point of this thread. LETS TALK AMERICAN PIPES.

What is an American pipe? What makes it American?This seems like an obvious question. But it's a little complex. Let's start with the Briar.. is it American? Nope! .. chances are it's Algerian or Greek or Italian or Mediterranean bruyere or whatever.. most American Pipes used imported briar. So it is safe to say that it's not the wood that makes it an "American pipe" Some American Pipes like the new kaywoodies for example are made in Italy ..not America. Are they still American? I would say yes. For a comparison.. Fink makes their cigars in the Dominican now ...so is Fink still considered an American cigar company? I would say yes. Do you see how we can get into a little gray area? On top of all of this, there are companies that emigrated themselves to other countries.. ie. Jobbey, Edwards, Alpha, etc. ... they started out American, and then produced Pipes overseas.. and only the avid collector can tell which are which. Also .. these companies changed hands over time also .. making it even more tricky to know what markings or shapes are from which era... for example.. you will see terms thrown around in pipe collecting referring to "era"... ie. "Eugene Rich Era Custombilts, or "HLT Era Grabows.

American Pipes fall into 3 major categories.

1. Factory Pipes. The big name pipe makers that had factories..

2. Tobacconist Pipes and Store catalog pipes..

3. American Artisan Pipes.

The first category is pretty much self explanitory.. the big boys ..

The second category is basically Pipes from the 20th century that were stamped with the Logo of an American company, but the pipe may have been made elseware...
Example.. the Sears and Roebuck Yorkshire pipe was made in England, but stamped and sold by sears in America.. to me that pipe is considered american.. other examples like this...Abercrombie and Fitch pipe..made in england.. the Marshall Fields pipe made in england.. the Disneyland pipe made in France..etc.
I am talking about big American outfits that sold Pipes in there stores that were not made in America, but still stamped with an American company.. confused? Like as one final example... Brooks Brothers men's store in Boston.. back in the 40s..they offered Pipes in their Boston store..the pipes were made in England.... to me, as a collector. That is an "American pipe"

Also in this same broad category Is the many tobacconist shops of the 20th century located in the Good old USA.. some of them have quite a reputation for fine pipe making done "in house". For example.. Bertram's in Washington DC, or E. Wilke in NYC were both know to employ many talented carvers.

Some of these pipe shops simply acquired nice unmarked pipes from overseas and slap their pipe shop marking it. Some examples... Many of Iwan Ries marked pipes are made by Savienelli. Jost pipe shop in St.Louis put their marking on Comoys pipes ..or like Tinder Box marked pipes made in Israel..Anyway.. to me, these are all considered American Pipes because the pipe shops were located in the USA.

The third category is just what it sounds like.. amazing American pipe makers of all varieties and styles.. people like Jake Hackert, or RC Sands..
These guys have small studios or workshops..not factories. Their work is one of a kind.

I have a deep appreciation for the history and the craft of pipe making.

I sometimes also look at my collection with a bit of sad nostalgia.. because just like in my antique shop.. the glass makers and pottery companies that were supplying the country with quality durable goods throughout the 20th century.. with the exception of a few.. most of those companies have fallen off to a bygone era. Things are a little smaller now. Today there are amazing artisans doing beautiful things .. but I would have loved to be alive during the golden age of pipe smoking in America.

Anyway..

There is always Ebay!
Here is a big bad list for ya'll!

AMERICAN PIPES
(IN MESSED UP ORDER)

Dr. Grabow
Linkman's
Smokemaster
Van Roy
Willard
Kaywoodie
Kaufman Brothers & Bondy
Yellobole
Medico
Frank Medico
SM Frank
Yellobole
Weber
Mastercraft
Belmont
Bonnie Briar
Briarcraft
Arlington
Adventurer
Brial
Bryson
Aristocob
LHS Sterncrest
Marxman
WDC
Colossal Pipe
Rocky Briar
Schulte's
Shoenlieber
Nobb Hill
Herter's Anglers Pipe
Barclay Rex
Briar Lee
Malaga
Bertram's
Garfinkel's
Ansel's
Danco
Wally Frank Ltd
LJ Peretti
Broadcaster
Briarworks
Yorkshire
Trapwell
Edward's
Jobbey
Alpha
E. Wilke
Ben Roger's
LL Bean
Lee Limited
Iwan Ries
Marshal Fields
Owl Shop
Cellini
John Middleton
Pipe Maker (Red Dot)
Jansen's N.O
BP Jum
Bradbury
Big Boy
Lyons Pipe (General Dawes)
Ehrlich
Royalton
Abercrombie and Fitch
Aristocob
WDC
Emperor
Holey Smoke
Doodler
Forecaster
Sport Stub
Courtly
Tom Howard
Tracy Mincer
CB Stub
Mr. Dobbs
His Nibs
Custombilt
Mehaffey's
Cowan's
Paul's
Smokers Haven
Jost's
Racine & Laramie
SS Pierce
Jimmy Pipe
Kirsten
Thorokleen (comet)
Monarch
Jubilee
Fischer
Vox Pop
Jelling
John's Pipe Shop
Vermont Freehand
Moonshine
Rembrandt
Leavitt & Pierce
John Surrey Ltd
Filto
Yeti
Jake Hackert
Stephen and Roswitha
Rad Davis
RC Sands
Clark Layton
Randy Wiley
Missouri Meerschaum
Bueschler's
H&B
Irwin S Cobb
Union
Phoenix
Venturi
The Pipe
The Smoke
Blue Room
WV Smokeshop
Steve Norse
Jason Dagner
Chris Morgan
Eastman

There are many more out there, but hopefully this gives you some ideas..

Happy Hunting!

✌
-Benny

[Ruffinogold]

Heritage pipes were pretty exceptional . When I remember , I look for them on ebay . They may have made some meh ones but Ive only seen excellent ones

[Tsal]

Paul's used to have many Heritage pipes up until just recently then all of a sudden they were gone. Their Heirloom line is really nice.

[Chef Benny]

The Jimmy Pipe (circa 1913)

I recently added this little odd ball gimmick to my collection .. read the add below for this thing.. it was a gimmick pipe if I've ever seen one... its a cork base with a bowl made of Meranto.. some mineral mined in Scotland..lol.. which ... according to google.. doesn't even exist. Lol.. baked in "electric ovens" ..
The stem is made out of something called weischel wood???

This falls in the unsmokable category.. it's unsmoked from a hundred plus years ago.. but it is just too cool.

On the close up of the bowl, you can see the faded Jimmy Pipe logo.




This Jimmy Pipe is completely separate from the old prince Albert adds that were a fine mess of poetic pop advertising. These old PA adds were some cool funky gibberish.. talkin bout a Jimmy Pipe..

[Wildcrow]

At the moment, all of my pipes were made in N. America, with just one coming from Canada and the rest from the USA. Im sure that wont always be the case, but i cant say im running back to Irish, Italian, British, or Danish briars. Dr Grabow pipes just do it for me. They smoke dry everytime and the clench well in my teeth.

[Lostdog5152]

Old Grabows and Webers do it for me. There are other good p-pes in my collection but I smoke these the most. Downright dependable.

[cigrmaster]

I am a big fan of American artisan made pipes. Rad Davis, Jack Howell, Bruce Weaver, Scott Thile, to name a few. I am a big fan of buying our guys pipes and not pipes from different countries that don't compare to American made artisan pipes. Quality and smoking properties have made American artisan pipes some of the best in the world.