One of the joys of accumulating an enormous stash of Pipes by Lee is the variation between examples.
Right off at the start, this pipe is an inlaid gold 5 pointed star example. Maybe out of ten Lees I buy, one or two is a 5 pointed star era. I’ve never bought a 5 pointed star Lee and not seen it top of the heap for quality. The fishtail on this pipe is superlative, I think the carving was all hand done to a medium slim billiard, and it’s extremely nice, overall.
All Lees I own are excellent smokers, and this one is among the best of the best, which is the luck of the draw, I think.
But the most extraordinary thing about this pipe, is the plastic insert that fits all other Lee pipes. It’s interchangeable with the standard aluminum Lee removable stinger, and had to be made for a Lee pipe, likely at the factory. A skilled pipe repairer could turn this on a tiny lathe, but why? Lee stingers are a dime a dozen. I take almost all mine out, and stick them in a drawer.
One end is slightly proud to keep the insert flush with the top of the tenon. It pushes out using a pipe cleaner, and the hole does allow a pipe cleaner to pass.
The pipe came heavily caked, with the insert inside. The previous owner used it. I’ve tried it, and much prefer it out, but the restriction it causes seems to duplicate a standard Lee stinger.
I wish I knew, but I guess this vulcanite (?) insert was an experiment at Lee.
It would have eliminated machining the stinger, but no machine could have turned out those little plastic or hard rubber inserts without a lot of wastage.