Pipes Never Smoked Down to the Bottom

[Briar Lee]

Yes, you got it because my wife distracted me at the time of end of bidding. Not happy.

One of the joys of accumulating Lee Star Grade pipes is that natural finish, 7 pointed star, large, barely smoked Three Star billiard is at the very top of the heap of value and desirability for a Lee pipe.

This darkly stained large stamped star era Dublin, also barely smoked, is nearly at the bottom. Only if it had a push stem, would it be cheaper.

The last Lee had oil cured, extremely densely grained briar.

By then, a Kaywoodie was just another drug store pipe on the rack.

 

[telescopes]

You won your pipe. I just won this one. A three star unsmoked Lee. Touche

 

[Briar Lee]

View attachment 153719You won your pipe. I just won this one. A three star unsmoked Lee. Touche

That’s a large saddle bit Apple (or Lovat) in tan.

The workmanship on all Lee Star Grades was flawless.

A curiousity about Lee pipes is all were marked A LIMITED EDITION

Yet there’s no shape number, no serial number, and no date codes. You’ll see that large saddle bit Apple in all three eras, stained dark or tan (Two, Three, and Four Star options) or left natural (All Five Stars are natural)


What I think made them Limited Editions were different stingers.

Lees seldom have exactly the same stinger as another, yet all interchange.

 

[didimauw]

Ok, maybe we need some help staying on track here. @Briar Lee does that pipe smoke all the way down to the bottom for you?

 

[crashthegrey]

That went off the rails. I do not have any problems smoking a pipe to the bottom unless it is drilled high. I am unsure what else would cause that except user error, but I could be wrong.

 

[Briar Lee]

Ok, maybe we need some help staying on track here. @Briar Lee does that pipe smoke all the way down to the bottom for you?

It did the first dozen or two times I smoked it, but seldom since.

I own close to a hundred Lee Star Grades, and they are mostly in my office, but in all my vehicles, my home, garage, and in both campers at my farm. I’ve lost count.

When I get a Lee I’ll always clean it up and ream it out (unless it’s unsmoked) and then smoke it all the way down a dozen or two times, until I can’t taste any briar.

Lee oil cured his briar with some kind of sweet oil, so that the briar taste on a new Lee pipe is delicious, but of course I still have to be careful to break them in all the way down, same as common pipes.

After initial break in, I’ll smoke a Lee until it’s down so far it’s no longer as good as it was when first lit, and odds are I can just flick the pipe upside down and the dottle ball falls out in an ashtray. The pipe will be bone dry, and I try to wet a paper towel and twist in in the bowl when it’s still hot, leaving only enough oily carbon build up to say there is just enough cake to say there is some.

I smoke an awful amount of candy flavored aromatics in my Lees.

But I baby my pipes so much, and rotate between them so often, I shouldn’t be able to hurt a single one of them, during my time loving them. After that some other pipe smoker should enjoy them, hopefully as much as I do.

Each one, smokes a little differently.

But there isn’t a bad one in the stash.

 

[Papamique]

There is a lee pipe on eBay now. Seven point star with an obvious and ugly fill. I thought they were perfect briar?

 

[coming to_falling too]

There is a lee pipe on eBay now. Seven point star with an obvious and ugly fill. I thought they were perfect briar?

BLASPHEMY

 

[Papamique]

IKR? I’m sorry to didimauw I didn’t know where to post this but with all the talk of Lee pipes I started looking at them and the first one i see is very different then what is being talked about. I didn’t want to start a new thread but at the same time understand that you are trying to keep this one on topic so I will say that whether a pipe has a fill or not (I don’t actually own a pipe with a fill) I do try to smoke them all the way to the bottom to “cure” the briar so the smoke traveling from the top of the bowl past it is left sweet. How did I do?

 

[Briar Lee]

There is a lee pipe on eBay now. Seven point star with an obvious and ugly fill. I thought they were perfect briar?

You must be referring to this extremely early (first month?) monstrosity on eBay?

Virtually every Lee you’ll find has the stamp on the right AN AUTHENTIC IMPORTED BRIAR


For the first month of two of production in 1946, Lees will be stamped STAR GRAIN IMPORTED BRIAR.

I own one of the early STAR GRAIN Lees, and mine has the flashiest grain of any of my stash.

That one is so shiny then either the first pipes were polished to where they shone like a cheap suit, or that one has been “helped” by a well meaning restorer, I’d guess the later.

For the first month or two, Lee also sold a $3.50 One Star grade.

 

[Briar Lee]

Whoever made that horribly ugly Two Star likely got the boot very soon. You’ll find tiny fills on Two Star grades, but that bulldog was badly shaped, should have never left the factory.

Also on eBay are two glorious 7 pointed star Three Star Lees, a large squat bulldog (or Rhodesian) and a large Dublin. These look right, and will clean up to almost new.

For whatever reason, I can’t post photos now.

 

[Briar Lee]

The above pipes, are what I look for.

Three Stars and perfectly shaped, and no varnish or buffing evident.

While a Two Star (sort of scarce, especially early 7 point examples) might have tiny fills, a Three Star will not.

Those pipes above have been abandoned in a drawer or box, but not abused. They’ll clean up in minutes.

But then they’ll likely need the last quarter inch of the bowl smoked a dozen times, to come into perfection.

 

[Papamique]

You must be referring to this extremely early (first month?) monstrosity on eBay?

View attachment 153931View attachment 153932Virtually every Lee you’ll find has the stamp on the right AN AUTHENTIC IMPORTED BRIAR


For the first month of two of production in 1946, Lees will be stamped STAR GRAIN IMPORTED BRIAR.

I own one of the early STAR GRAIN Lees, and mine has the flashiest grain of any of my stash.

That one is so shiny then either the first pipes were polished to where they shone like a cheap suit, or that one has been “helped” by a well meaning restorer, I’d guess the later.

For the first month or two, Lee also sold a $3.50 One Star grade.

Actually it is another one. A bulldog 3 star. I guess that’s two monstrosities now. Hmm.

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

That went off the rails. I do not have any problems smoking a pipe to the bottom unless it is drilled high. I am unsure what else would cause that except user error, but I could be wrong.

I have a few cheap pipes that are drilled a bit high. These are the only ones I can't smoke all the way to the bottom (not counting cobs, but they kind of fall into this same category)

 

[jpmcwjr]

Actually it is another one. A bulldog 3 star. I guess that’s two monstrosities now. Hmm.

Where's the big ugly fill? I don't have a loupe.

 

[Papamique]

Where's the big ugly fill? I don't have a loupe.

I can only take that as you pulling my leg but just in case ….

now, big is subjective, as is ugly, so I guess TO ME it’s big and ugly but only in the context of “perfect briar”. I was looking for something of top quality with no fills and this is the first one I saw and wasn’t expecting to see this.

 

[MacMarty89]

Lee Pipes this and that. TLDR.

 

[Papamique]

Not to bash Lee pipes. They sound amazing and the grain posted here is beautiful and they sure had some top quality from what I hear. Just a bit confused I guess.

 

[Briar Lee]

Actually it is another one. A bulldog 3 star. I guess that’s two monstrosities now. Hmm.
Never say never about a Lee.

That I haven’t seen fills on a Three Star (or above) grade doesn’t mean there weren’t some.

But remember every Three Star Lee represents a sight unseen mail order of ten (or later on fifteen dollars) worth about a hundred and fifty or so of our dollars today in 2022.

The Lee customer in 1946 could take his ten dollar bill to thousands of places and personally select a Kaywoodie Flame Grain. For $15 he could pick out a Dunhill at a finer pipe shop.

Lee must have had a lot of repeat orders.

These two pipes are at least five years apart.



Look close, and I think you’ll agree the $15 5 point star era pipe has just a little better grain.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I can only take that as you pulling my leg but just in case ….
View attachment 153959
now, big is subjective, as is ugly, so I guess TO ME it’s big and ugly but only in the context of “perfect briar”. I was looking for something of top quality with no fills and this is the first one I saw and wasn’t expecting to see this.

There were many small images I didn't see it.

It's not impossible that the fill is post initial purchase.