Lee Van Cleef Pipes
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I mean how they marble it? Is calcining making it black?
Yes.
You can brown or marble meerschaum with a heat gun or hairdryer. Here's one I had several years ago. It was white until I passed the hot air from a hairdryer across it.
From leevancleefpipe.com
The Second Phase of making your replica is known as owen technique by some traditional meerschaum carvers. The Bees Wax is applied on the bowl while it s being heated in the owen at the same time.This process is repeated multiple times taking many hours or sometimes a day depending on the seasonal humidity and drying conditions of the heated beeswax being absorbed permanently by the premium grade blocks.Consequently you Lee Van Cleef Pipe ends up coloring the same way as seen in the movie.Then it is beewaxed two times more to provide an excellent and look.
I think the writer meant "oven" and not "Owen".
Looking at the example on the website, that result is not the same as Lee Van Cleef's meer, or mine. Those show large blotches of discoloration.
My thinking is that possibly these started off as 'translucent' meerschaum blocks. Either that, or they used a different process than the 'Owen technique'.
Van Cleef was one of the great movie villains, though Eastwood caste him in a more sympathetic role later. But I will never forget his scene eating breakfast in a Mexican cafe emitting pure rage over a plate of eggs. Unforgettable. His pipe smoking scenes were equally masterful; you could see the evil wheels turning in his head. He was a handsome guy but knew how to turn his face to darkness, connivance, and a tense anger.
I prefer the look of the Altinok version to that on leevancleefpipe.com...in part because of the way the darkened rim pattern fades out on the side of the Altinok bowl rather than the sharp line on the other.
Go to the bottom of the page and look at the 'sold' ones. They look a LOT better - the coloring, and the rim treatment. Still, much easier to find a better, older, less expensive version on ebay and clean it up.
Im
I am working on it. But I keep getting out bid. I most likely will go with a 309. It is correctly shaped and a better pipe.Has anyone else gone down this rabbit hole? Please show them.
I got real lucky finding the meer, the only flaw being that it has an amber stem instead of the Bakelite, so the color is off. It's 1910-20, so my thinking that the mottled bowl was a 1960's trick is apparently incorrect. The rim was a mess, but black beneath the gunk - I lost a little of the fluming when restoring and decided not to 're-color'.
Surprisingly, the Wellington has been the most difficult to find - his stummel seemed to be between the shape of a Peterson 301 and 309, which I think this one is. But I have not been able to find the flat ferrule AND the correct stummel shape. This is a 1930's/'40s pipe - not sure when WDC went to the flattened ferrule.
Lee Van Cleef's pipe is approximately a cross between a Peterson 309 and 301 shape;i.e-it's shorter and more squat.
I have around ten 309's - my favorite Pete shape.
Yes, I agree it is a WDC. But finding a Dutch Billiard shape is nigh impossible and when I do they get bid up right away. If I find a 309 that will work I can have it stained to look like Van Cleefs pipe. it's a challenge either way.
Yes, finding a WDC that's 'real close' to Lee Van Cleef's pipe is a challenge. That's what the thread was meant to be about.
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I I have thought about having a WDC that is close shaped and modified and stained to march it. Its often thought that the pipe was actually parts of two pipes out together.
As a fan of the Spaghetti Western's and Lee Van Cleef, I've wanted a LVC pipe for a long time. My problem is that none of them are even close to his. The replicas on the market today just don't work for me. It's because of this I haven't bought one yet.
I own two bent billiards that are similar looking, but without the pre-color. I refer to them as my LVC pipes, but the pipe dimensions are not the same. I'm slowly adding my own color to my pipes in hopes they'll look as cool as his someday. I've got a lot of work to do though.
I own two bent billiards that are similar looking, but without the pre-color. I refer to them as my LVC pipes, but the pipe dimensions are not the same. I'm slowly adding my own color to my pipes in hopes they'll look as cool as his someday. I've got a lot of work to do though.
This is a screenshot from For a Few Dollars More -
I'd say most of the 'Lee Van Cleef' pipes are very similar no?
Also, Said Altinay is really active on these forums, you can always inquire about some custom details..