My LVC (Lee Van Cleef) Meerschaum

xrundog

Lifer

Oct 23, 2014

1,317

9,250

Ames, IA

• Dec 6, 2014

• #1

I decided a few months ago I wanted an LVC meerschaum. People have been snatching up bent billiard LVCs on ebay for crazy prices. I came across this bent apple and it actually looked better to me. No competition at all on this one. It was dull and dirty. It arrived and I set it on the bench to acclimate for a couple hours before I went to work on it. I was surprised that it is a fairly large pipe. About a third bigger than I expected! The stem is Bakelite. The feel of the bowl reminded me of ceramic. So I used stem polish on the whole thing. It cleaned the rim right up. No tooth marks on the stem. Nice faux alligator case with old style fittings. This is maybe a....40s pipe? 15 minutes after starting I was filling it with 5 O'clock Shadow. It's a comfortable good smoking pipe. It's a winner! I'm calling off the search.

 

pitchfork

Lifer

May 25, 2012

4,030

611

• Dec 6, 2014

• #2

Great color on that one. Congrats!

 

bentmike

Lifer

Jan 25, 2012

2,422

43

• Dec 6, 2014

• #3

I agree -Outstanding color on that one.

 

jonasclark

Part of the Furniture Now

Aug 4, 2013

758

416

Seattle

• Dec 11, 2014

• #4

Gorgeous color, great shape, pretty stem, pretty case!

 

metalheadycigarguy

Lifer

Apr 26, 2012

3,728

9,839

Washington State

• Dec 11, 2014

• #5

Nice looking meerschaum. Is the coloring natural or was it added after the fact by the maker? Looks natural.

 

xrundog

Lifer

Oct 23, 2014

1,317

9,250

Ames, IA

• Dec 11, 2014

• #6

The rim is fumed. But I believe the rest is natural.

 

cmdrmcbragg

Lifer

Jul 29, 2013

1,739

3

• Dec 12, 2014

• #7

Love it. I've been wanting one of those pipes myself. LVC is the closest Hollywood influence for picking up pipe smoking I have. That pipe of his in For a Few Dollars More is gorgeous. Yours would certainly do and has great color.

 

david555

Starting to Get Obsessed

Sep 15, 2014

131

2

• Jan 19, 2015

• #8

That is a great find. I love finding pipes on eBay that nobody else wants, however rare it may be.

 

johnnyreb

Lifer

Aug 21, 2014

1,961

614

• Jan 19, 2015

• #9

It had been a while so I just watched " Death Rides a Horse" over the weekend.

 

mephistopheles

Part of the Furniture Now

Oct 14, 2014

545

0

• Jan 19, 2015

• #10

That's very cool. I love the colors. I've never heard of a Bakelite stem before.

 

xrundog

Lifer

Oct 23, 2014

1,317

9,250

Ames, IA

• Jan 19, 2015

• #11

I've never heard of a Bakelite stem before.

Click to expand...

Bakelite stems are on many old pipes. It is basically pre-acrylic plastic. A little denser and heavier.

 

4etecjonathan

Starting to Get Obsessed

Jan 16, 2015

102

2

• Jan 19, 2015

• #12

Great looking rusticated pipe. Brings back the mid seventies spaghetti westerns to mind!!!
Jon

 

stanlaurel

Part of the Furniture Now

Jan 31, 2015

701

12

• Mar 29, 2015

• #13

I found this 2 month old thread. I am in the market for a Lee Van Cleef. I see that R.Baglan is making new ones. Would I have a hard time finding a vintage type one like the one in this thread? I would prefer that.

 

xrundog

Lifer

Oct 23, 2014

1,317

9,250

Ames, IA

• Mar 29, 2015

• #14

Hi Stan, the newer If you watch meerschaum pipes on eBay you will eventually find one. Though not terribly common, they do pop up with some regularity. Competition can be fierce. You may have to pay $100 or more for one closer to an actual LVC.

 

kane

Can't Leave

Dec 2, 2014

429

3

• Apr 6, 2015

• #15

Wow, that's a great looking meerschaum. It would be great if you would be so kind as to post pics as it evolves over you smoking it. 1940's? I wonder how many bowls it's taken to get that great patina.....can you say patina for the coloring on a meerschaum? As it changes please post. I have always wanted to see a time-lapsed record of how these pipes change. If it's old I assume this is an old school block Turkish meerschaum? How's she been smoking for you, now that you've had her a time?

Congrats and enjoy!

 

metalheadycigarguy

Lifer

Apr 26, 2012

3,728

9,839

Washington State

• Apr 7, 2015

• #16

@stanlaurel - I looked for a full bent, smooth billiard meerschaum (just like the original LVC pipe) on ebay for about a year and half. When I did find some they were going for a crazy prices and there were always multiple bidders. I was fortunate to come across this beauty one day, and though its not a full bent its the closet I was able to find at a reasonable price. The seller was a first time seller which probably scared most people away, and the auction wasn't listed correctly which also limited the number of views it got. I was the only bidder and I got this pipe for $64. It was a brand new pipe from Adana Turkey from the early 1960s. You can find the LVC pipes out there and ones similar but it takes lots of looking and patience.

 

stanlaurel

Part of the Furniture Now

Jan 31, 2015

701

12

• Apr 7, 2015

• #17

@metalhead - That's a good find. It is the right shape. I hope that it colors well and ages like the one in the movie.
I found a few places where you can get new "authentic" LVC meerschaums:
gqtobacco
altinok
One is $173 and the other is $200.

 

cmdrmcbragg

Lifer

Jul 29, 2013

1,739

3

• Apr 7, 2015

• #18

@metalhead, ya lucky bastard. It's nice scoring on an auction like that.

 

voorhees

Lifer

May 30, 2012

3,833

943

Gonadistan

• Apr 7, 2015

• #19

I bought a LVC some time ago. This picture is after 2+ years of smoking probably a bowl a week.

This was new.

 

okiescout

Lifer

Jan 27, 2013

1,530

7

• Nov 18, 2015

• #20

I had always heard that meer started coloring on the shank first. The one in my avatar did just like yours. Started at the top of the bole. I hope it looks half as good as yours is turning out. I love that marbled affect.