Why? Because everything that's difficult about making a normal length one is multiplied by a significant amount. i.e. If you can make a good CW stem, you can make anything.
The first photo isn't a joke. That's the complete, intact original. Probably the widest disparity between stummel shape (which is lovely) and stem shape (which is ghastly) in the history of English pipe making. Someone at BBB was either drunk one day or had a sick sense of humor.
Besides the stummel being elegantly shaped the wood was quite nice as well, so it deserved to survive. A replacement stem was made. In this case, a long 'un.
If you want to see what you're made of (so to speak), give it a go. You won't enjoy the experience for too many reasons to list, but you'll be delighted afterward at how much you learned.
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