Nope.
Kaywoodie during the war utilized high grade but flawed briar, and hand carved the “Hand Made” series.
Lee pipes were assembly line made.
Let’s go over the unique parts Lee used.
Kaywoodie used a glued in mortise that left an aluminum ring.
Lee Star Grades had a recessed, hidden and invisible when assembled screwed in and glued mortise. A Lee mortise might come unscrewed, but the owner can repair it.
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The very first? Lees sometimes come unscrewed, but it’s not a problem a few drops of super glue won’t fix.
Kaywoodie had a one piece stinger and screw tenon, that was glued in. Adjustment is often impossible or can only be done by heating.
The Lee stinger is detachable from the screw tenon by the user, near universal pipe to pipe, and the screw tenon on a Lee can easily be re-clocked by the user with a pair of common pliers. It’s better.
Every factory pipe is hand finished.
All Lee Star grades were finished not to a glossy shine, but a warm glow of quality.
If they were not oil cured like a Dunhill was in 1946, Lee did something to make them taste incredibly, indescribably sweet from the first puff. They cake easily.
There are lots of very high condition Lee Star Grades offered online, at a lot lower prices than comparable Kaywoodie pipes and a mere fraction of old Dunhill pipes.
But the fact is that in 1946 the most expensive regularly cataloged pipe on earth was the $25 Five Star grade Lee.
It’s a David versus Goliath story, in post war America.
David didn’t win, but he gave it one hell of a try.
