Stamped Star Lee Star Grades

[Briar Lee]

Although whether overall quality improved when Lee raised the price of “The Finest Pipe in the World” to $5 per star (there were no One Stars by then) and switched to five from seven pointed genuine gold alloy inlaid stars is highly debatable, there’s no doubt early seven stars are more desirable (and priced higher) because they are older. Later five star pipes seem scarcer, but the sellers don’t seem as proud of them compared to the first pipes.

But if the Star Grade was merely stamped with grading stars the pipes are cheaper in the market. Stamped star era Lees had “gold” stars that weren’t real gold. They seem to have been engraver’s gilding, a sort of powdered alloy that is often seen in filling up the engraving on cheaply engraved firearms. It soon rubs off.

But from what I’ve seen, the overall quality of a Lee Star Grade doesn’t immediately change when the transition was made to stamped stars. Later on, when the stamped stars received push stems, and even Kaywoodie type screw stems, the stems are moulded, but briar quality never seemed to decline on Three Star grades.

If you’re looking for a bargain in Lee pipes, try a stamped star era Lee. It will have that oil cured Lee briar, and is going to smoke as sweet and cool from the first bowl as a 1946 7 point star pipe. Just don’t expect the stars to shine for long.

I just bought an early stamped star era Lee Three Star that ought to clean up tk new condition in the large pot shape, for $30 delivered. It has a quality fishtail bit, that is gone by the later pipes.

 

[didimauw]

Looks like the previous owner did a good job cleaning that up. Good to see you don't have to put a chewed up oxidized stem in your mouth for once!

 

[Briar Lee]

Looks like the previous owner did a good job cleaning that up. Good to see you don't have to put a chewed up oxidized stem in your mouth for once!

A Star Grade Lee was a luxury item, always, until the last.

After the price increase, probably about 1950 or thereabouts, the Lee customer took a catalog and chose a shape, and sent off 10, 15, 20, or 25 dollars to Lee.

Even in my memory, which is about fifty years, the top Dr. Grabow on the rack was less than ten dollars.

Lee was competing against the higher end Super and Flame Grain Kaywoodies.

When you think about it, both a Kaywoodie and a Lee used machines to make virtually identical products in New York City factories. Yes, the early Lees has a technically superior recessed invisible fitment with a removable stinger. But it’s not wildly better, and if Lee patented his improvement he never advertised he did. Lee barely mentioned his stingers.

What Lee relied on was the customer trusting that if he paid $15 instead of $10 for exactly the same pipe, he’d get better briar. From what I’ve seen, the customer did get better briar, the more stars, but the two stars are so wonderful (yet no Lee of any grade is really flashy) that the briar grade improvements as the grades went up were necessarily small.

I’ve never seen a fill on a Three Star Lee, and very small ones only on a few later Two Star grades.

When they turned off the lights, the last Lee Three Star, was a beautifully cross grained high end pipe.

That pipe has the stars stamped on the shank, a Kaywoodie style fitment, and a moulded stem.

And the business end looks and smokes like any other Lee.