There is / was another Lee collector in the forum. He did not post much, so possibly many in the forum has forgotten about his collection. I may be wrong, but I think it was @Parsimonious Piper
My Two New Lee Pipes
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Yes. My memory is correct. Here is a thread by another Lee collector @Parsimonious Piper
Thread 'Pipe by Lee 1-Star Bent Billiard Cleanup'
Pipe by Lee 1-Star Bent Billiard Cleanup :: Pipe Repair and Maintenance - https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/pipe-by-lee-1-star-bent-billiard-cleanup.80607/
Thread 'Pipe by Lee 1-Star Bent Billiard Cleanup'
Pipe by Lee 1-Star Bent Billiard Cleanup :: Pipe Repair and Maintenance - https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/pipe-by-lee-1-star-bent-billiard-cleanup.80607/
I love that you jumped into the Lee pool. The entire chain of events is entertaining to watch and see pics of.
I have always had a fondness for unusual items that spilled out from the world of Americana. I certainly didn't need a Pipe by Lee, but, I didn't need all the Petersons, Savinelli pipes, Dunhills, Charatans, etc, but here they sit, in my pipe cabinet.
Pipe Cabinet, NOT by Lee.
And NOT fOR SALE I presume
The pipe has three gold star stamps that have been rubbed nearly off over time. This is a phase three pipe and they were using cheaper stamps for the stars at that time.
I was obsessed with Kaywoodie, before I was obsessed with Lee.
A Kaywoodie is the ONLY truly collectible American production pipe. The others really don’t count, which is why Lees, Marxmans, Webers, Mastercrafts, abd Custombuilts are cheap. Kaywoodie was the ONLY American Dunhill.
KB&B’s Kaywoodies from the late 1930s are masterpieces of the pipe making art, because of briar quality, not construction.
The Drinkless ball stinger came first, then the Synchro Stem.
What Lee did, was slightly improve both.
A Kaywoodie is the ONLY truly collectible American production pipe. The others really don’t count, which is why Lees, Marxmans, Webers, Mastercrafts, abd Custombuilts are cheap. Kaywoodie was the ONLY American Dunhill.
KB&B’s Kaywoodies from the late 1930s are masterpieces of the pipe making art, because of briar quality, not construction.
The Drinkless ball stinger came first, then the Synchro Stem.
What Lee did, was slightly improve both.
My question for the pipe makers here,,,is how did Lee inlay such beautiful gold stamps in the early seven and five point production?
He just must have had to have made a little machine. They are always perfect.
Then they were stamped and the gold leaf rubbed out.
@Briar Lee the pipe has been exercised. Now smoking John Dengler’s own English blend, Black Maria. Finally, this Lee has some stars. It took two days of cleaning and a salt bath, but is now a fine smoking smoker, smoking smoke smokily.
Drill a hole. Glue a metal star into it with something black. Sand it down when dry. Which is why if you look close you can see a perfect circle faintly outlined around the stars. All these old pipe logos are dead simple, mechanically. The Comoy "C" was drilled, filled, drilled, filled, drilled and filled again, white, black, black, to make a "C". Lucky they brand name wasn't Gomoy's cuz a G would have been harder.
Thank you, and this explains something else.
This particular Lee Three Star spent over 70 years with that black glue darkening the sides of the stars. I thought that black glue was tarnish. You can still see a little dark on the front two stars.
Another thing is, Lee viewed 5 pointed stars as improvements. The five points are of higher karat gold, and there’s no difference how they were inlaid.
Five pointed star Lees are scarcer than earlier and later stamped star pipes.They are also much higher polished, and I think briar quality is better.
They should be, because every pipe except the $25 Five Star had a $5 increase.
Pipe by Lee Two Star ready for inaugural smoke after a massive cleaning. This is really a preamble in that I fear the only way to clean further is to heat and burn some stubborn small amounts of residual hatred left over from the neglect of the last owner. The pipe is smoking “well enough “.
Lee pipes have no shape numbers and each reads A Limited Edition.
I’ve never seen a true sandblast Lee.
I’ve seen a few, but don’t own a rusticated Lee.
Lee pipes are generally on the small side, usually smooth, in standard shapes. The Lee customer wanted a higher class Kaywoodie, it seems to me.
That Lee produced and there sits on a bench a big fat jumbo sitter that’s a 5 point Two Star that cost $10 new, is some evidence all Lee pipes were special editions.
It’s beautiful and well made alternative to a 1950s Custombuilt or Marxman Jumbo.
Not all Lee pipes were available from Two through Five Star grade. The quality of the grain of the briar is what usually caused a pipe to be a three instead of two star grade.
I wonder if every rusticated Lee is a Two Star?
It’s fascinating that any exist, at least to me.