After searching for year(s) I've finally found an LHS grail pipe. The L&H Stern Special Make. I had only read about them and only recently had even seen a picture of one. I found some factory stock photos of some Special Makes about 2 months ago. These were the highest grade LHS pipes costing as much as $25 in the 1947 catalog. Over $300 by todays dollar. The ultimate grail would be a #1509 14K in a smooth finish, but this will most certainly scratch the itch until I find one.
This has a black Bakelite stem. Bakelite has a very distinctive smell when it is wet sanded.
LHS Special Make 1506
Although not a rare model, this Sterncrest Sterling 8 sided panel is a rare LHS shape. I have some 4 and 6 sided panels but this is my first 8 sided panel in the collection. It's been a good month for the Stern bucket list.
dave g, Hearty congratulations on your finds! Very nice looking pipes. A 14k Special Make would be an even more awesome find.
kyrob, You obviously have very good tastes in pipes =) I'd love to have one of those myself.
mike
Pipedia recently updated the LHS page. Many thanks to Scott and Doug for all the great work.
Stay tuned... more to follow.
https://pipedia.org/wiki/LHS
I just added this Purex Superfine to my collection. After a bit of cleaning and refinishing work, I took it for test smoke this evening. Works admirably. I was surprised that stinger on this pipe goes 2/3 the length of the shank. Still has a good draw.
Nice score tuold. Nice work too. I've found the old red dots to be my favorite LHS smokers next to my push stem Sterncrest's. The hypodermic needle type stingers in these have a perfect open draw.
Purex Preferred #99
I have several 99's and they are some of my favorite smokers from LHS. The Preferred make was a higher grade than Certified and came in a smooth natural finish.
I was pleased to find this extremely rare LHS shape. A footed Cutty #7 shape.
Certified Purex #7