Pipe by Lee 1-Star Bent Billiard Cleanup

[Parsimonious Piper]

I collect Pipe by Lee, who graded their briar 1-5 stars. I have one 5-star and lost an auction for a 4-star. Most of the pipes I see and own are 3-stars, with a handful of 2s. I’d begun to wonder whether they actually made any 1s or if they’d all simply been burned out and tossed…until I found this one, a diamond shanked bent billiard with interesting carving.

The coloration was very uneven, with a lot of grime.

The stem mildly oxidized…

The rim had some buildup but no significant char…

And a spot on one side had something caked in the carving.

While I soaked the stem in Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover—which does a decent job for light oxidation—I reamed the bowl and did a salt/alcohol bath. Then pipe cleaners and alcohol until the internals were clean.

For the stummel I grabbed a soft toothbrush and Murphy’s Oil Soap, and lightly scrubbed to remove the thick buildup and reveal the stain. After reassembly I finished the stem with micromesh, then hit the entirety with a bit of oil and lightly buffed.

The rim came out pretty clean.

So did the exterior. The fill material came out, revealing a shallow scratch across the carving. Repeated scrubbing would not remove the dark spot along the bottom. Inspection of the bowl shows it’s not a burnout, so I suspect that part of the briar simply took more stain or absorbed a lot of skin oils.

Overall it turned out pretty nicely.


I still need to clock the stem slightly, but it smokes great. Not a stunning beauty, but what’s to be expected from their lowest grade? And it did two things for me as a collector: confirmed they actually made 1-star pipes, and filled a gap in my collection. The hunt continues!

 

[Country Bladesmith]

Looks good ?

 

[cshubhra]

Good restoration! Enjoy your pipe!

 

[wyfbane]

Well done. I like the carving and the diamond shank. It is a cool pipe.

 

[ssjones]

Nice job, that's a brand we don't see often here.

 

[Tennessee Dave]

Very nicely done.

 

[chilllucky]

Let's see the whole collection!

 

[Parsimonious Piper]

Let's see the whole collection!

I’ll do that in the collection thread as soon as I have my new cabinet organized.

 

[cshubhra]

Bump !!! ?

 

[telescopes]

Nice job, that's a brand we don't see often here.

Ha ha. Well, that is changing @Briar Lee , isn’t it. I’m working on my own three star lee as I type this. I know @Parsimonious Piper looks in from time to time. Perhaps he’ll update this thread. I hope so.

 

[telescopes]

Bump !!! ?

Timely find. Thx

 

[Ahi Ka]

The fabled one star!

 

[craig61a]

The one star buyers probably drove the first Volkswagons...

 

[Briar Lee]

As our friend the Parsimonious Piper noted, some of us doubt the very existence of One Stars.

The vast majority of surviving Lee Star Grade pipes are of 7 or stamped stars. Five pointed stars are rare.

According to legend the unicorn One Star Grade pipes, if any were made, would be an early 7 pointed star 1946 pipe that would have been stamped Star Grade Pipe by Lee instead of Pipe by Lee, (early 1946 only) and would have been smooth!

There were four Lee production periods with three star types used.

The first 7 pointed star period.

The middle 5 pointed star period.

The last stamped star periods, with the very last fourth period Lee pipes having stamped stars, and cheap moulded push in stems and no screw stems.

In my experience about a third of Lees found today are early 7 point pipes, half are stamped stars (mostly screw stems) and only a few are the rare (and arguably highest quality) middle run 5 point stars and the lowest quality last push stem stamped star Lees.

My one Five Star grade, is the desirable middle run five pointed star series. Those are usually found more polished than earlier or later pipes.

When Lee switched from seven pointed to five pointed stars in the 1950’s he DOUBLED the lower grade Two Star grade price from five to ten dollars, and the ten dollar Three Star grade went from $10 to $15, and the ultra rare Four Star goes from $15 to $20, the Five Star remains $25. Essentially a Lee is now $5 per star.

So according to legend a One Star grade five pointed star machine carved (not smooth) Lee should be like a White Spot NOT FOR SALE not stamped as a Dunhill. It should not be. But there that one is.

Lee ran special deals.

I’ll bet there’s about a 1955 Lee catalog that features three One Star pipes for $10 and seven for $20, or something like that.

After 1946 the regular production cataloged Lee pipes started out at two, or sometimes three stars.


So, when observing a Star Grade Lee, which was The World’s Finest Pipe, never say never. Look for the Stars, the symbol of The World’s Finest Pipe, FIRST!!!

Hand that five pointed star carved screw stem Star Grade Lee to an out of work foreign pipe maker and say,,,,fake me this up Tommy.

He’s say you’re out of your blinking mind, old chap.