Show Off Your Lee Pipes Here!
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There’s no agreement on this shape. Some old pipe charts call it a Tomato, others a Prince, yet another a 1/4 bent Apple. Whatever you call it, I like the graceful curve and a couple spots of nice grain. Slight charring on the inner rim stays because I didn’t want to reshape the rim.
A coral rusticated pot this time—1st Gen 3-star. I’ve only seen one other Lee with this rustication, and I own it. If y’all have more examples I’d love to see ‘em.
Stamping’s a bit worn.
Stamping’s a bit worn.
Found this Bulldog at the Columbus show this weekend. Hadn’t seen a Lee Bulldog with this deep a bend. Also has a taller bowl than my others. Note on one side the straight grain follows the shank line, and the other has nice birdseye.
Another Bulldog, this time a 7-pt 2-star Star Grain with some very nice grain.
Here’s an interesting one…Poker with flat sides and odd little bevels. This was 3 stamped stars, but they were almost buffed out when I got it. I deoxidized, but left the stem matte rather than polish them completely off. Hard to tell from these pics, but they’re still faintly visible.
I’m not into full restorations. I’d rather have a little rim char remain than change the shape too much.
I’m not into full restorations. I’d rather have a little rim char remain than change the shape too much.
Looks like you did a mighty fine job indeed. Time to start smoking it!
It has some very nice grain.
It has some very nice grain.
Do you think it’s possible that a third party took a worn smooth pipe and rusticated it? Is the rustication worn in corresponding areas where the stamping is worn or is consistently craggy like the rest of the pipe?
The rustication on both is very consistent—and consistent with each other—and each has the same “frame” around the stamping.
A note about Star Grained
Thanks to jguss we know the reason the $3.50 One Stars are so scarce is Lee started in 1946 selling his lowest entry price pipe as the $5 7 pointed gold inlaid star Two Star, and those early Two Star pipes are marked Star Grained.
I have one 7 point star Two Star medium bulldog marked Star Grained. It has magnificent grain, one of my most beautiful pipes.
It’s worth looking for Star Grained marked Two Stars.
A $5 pipe in 1946 was a luxury item costing five times a $1 Yello Bole, which was not the cheapest real briar pipe available.
All 5 point gold inlaid star Lee pipes are first era, all 7 point gold inlaid star Lee pipes are middle run (and most days I think are the best) but all stamped star era Lee pipes were not created equal.
I own stamped star Lees with all the quality and beauty of grain of the 5 point gold inlaid star pipes. It’s like one day the management at Lee decided to stamp and not inlay the stars.
I’ve never seen a stamped star Four Star or Five Star. Maybe on the best Lee inlaid the stars, or those were discontinued.
But the highest quality stamped star pipes I’ve seen until that one all continued with the Lee recessed (hidden) screw stem with removable stinger.
That one obviously has gorgeous grain, but it uses the cheaper “Kaywoodie style” full metal disc mortise used on the lower priced Briarlee line. It looks like a Kaywoodie with silver ring between shank and stem.
Then I have Kaywoodie style mortise screw stem stamped star Lee pipes with the stars stamped on the shank, and an obviously moulded hard nylon stem. These are (horrors) factory varnished or lacquered.
At the death a Lee pipe still had nicely grained briar, with maybe a fill or two, and it was still cured so that break in was sweet, but it was a push stem nylon stemmed varnished drug store pipe.
Or that’s my thoughts on this burning subject of stamped star Lee pipes.
Here’s what I think is one of the first stamped star era Lee Three Star grade pipes, a medium Prince.
The only difference between these and a gold inlaid 5 pointed star pipe are those crummy stamped stars, that cannot be saved, and might have rubbed off before New Year’s if given as a Christmas present.
Here’s a straight Rhodesian. For me it’s unusual because most Lee Rhodesians I’ve seen are of the more squat, chunky style unlike this slender-stemmed one. Pretty birdseye on the heel.
This 2-star author in Custom-Bilt rustication/carving has either a replacement stem or tenon. The non-metal tenon threads and clocks correctly, so either way it was a nice job.
Two points I’d like to make:
1. With the genuine 5 pointed gold inlaid era pipes Lee reached the zenith of quality and diversity of shapes. That’s a better Custombuilt than a Custombuilt and it’s only a two star grade. I have a Three Star 5 pointed star Custombuilt style that is just off the charts a nice pipe.
During the 5 point star era, the price may have increased, but so did quality.
2. The mortise is a classic Lee hidden, screwed aluminum insert. That’s factory/
We know the classic Lee tenon was a threaded hollow screw, that screwed in the stem and was adjustable to screw in the mortise. That tenon is nylon. Either Lee was experimenting or more likely a repair tech had no access to Lee tenons and simply made his own on a jeweler’s lathe.
How could any place but the Lee factory inlay those perfect gold 5 point stars?
He fixed the stem with a custom made part.
I have a replacement stem made by Tim West for one of my figural pipes (Indian head, previously posted). He transferred the three 7-pt stars from the original stem…and aligned them better than the factory had.
An expert like West can do that.
I’d love to know how the gold inlaid stars were made.
My guess is there was a seven pointed (later five point) stamp, then jewelers gold (9 carat) was hammered in.
How right or wrong am I?
