I have some old pipes that have been repaired with a band, and others that have had the stem replaced.
The best system is likely the type on Danish freehands, where the shank is too large to crack, and replacement stems are push in generic.
On the Lee pipes I love so much, there is a hidden screw stem, that appears to be a push stem type.
The front is like a Kaywoodie, only recessed in the shank, and screwed and not pressed into place.
The rear part screwed, and was not pressed into the stem, like a Kaywoodie. It is adjustable using pliers and patience, to realign the stem to the front.
I’m of the opinion the Lee was almost fully finished before some kind of marvelous little machine was used to drill perfect seven pointed holes in the stem, and then a gold alloy seven pointed star, one for each grade, was pressed in, then the stem polished.
You can take a stem from any Lee and it fits another, but the stars don’t align with the top.
The Lee system doesn’t leak, I’ve never seen a cracked shank, but if you bit through one, a duplicate replacement would just about have to be done using Lee’s machine that pressed in 7 pointed gold stars.
The last Lees used stamped stars filled with gold leaf, that easily rubs off. First production was 7 pointed stars, middle production had 5 points on the stars.
I own a few of the very last Lees, that used a push stem, and what may be a moulded stem, and stamped gold leaf stars.
Whether a Lee hidden screw stem (with removable stinger) was best is debatable. But you’ll never need a band, and if a stem is replaced you can tell.
The best system is likely the type on Danish freehands, where the shank is too large to crack, and replacement stems are push in generic.
On the Lee pipes I love so much, there is a hidden screw stem, that appears to be a push stem type.
The front is like a Kaywoodie, only recessed in the shank, and screwed and not pressed into place.
The rear part screwed, and was not pressed into the stem, like a Kaywoodie. It is adjustable using pliers and patience, to realign the stem to the front.
I’m of the opinion the Lee was almost fully finished before some kind of marvelous little machine was used to drill perfect seven pointed holes in the stem, and then a gold alloy seven pointed star, one for each grade, was pressed in, then the stem polished.
You can take a stem from any Lee and it fits another, but the stars don’t align with the top.
The Lee system doesn’t leak, I’ve never seen a cracked shank, but if you bit through one, a duplicate replacement would just about have to be done using Lee’s machine that pressed in 7 pointed gold stars.
The last Lees used stamped stars filled with gold leaf, that easily rubs off. First production was 7 pointed stars, middle production had 5 points on the stars.
I own a few of the very last Lees, that used a push stem, and what may be a moulded stem, and stamped gold leaf stars.
Whether a Lee hidden screw stem (with removable stinger) was best is debatable. But you’ll never need a band, and if a stem is replaced you can tell.
