Perfect stem fit sign of quality?

[JHowell]

In the FWIW department, it is my understanding that the White Spot of Dunhill was developed because of this very "feature." Dunhill was apparently making such precise stems, it was impossible to tell if a stem was upside down or right-side up on a straight pipe with a round stem. To remedy that, a white dot was inlayed on the top of the stem, removing all doubt. Amazing how an iconic logo can develop, no?

I love that story. Not sure if it plays out though. I have only 4 Dunnys - a bulldog, a canadian, a sitter billiard, and a classic billiard. The canadian, though a '32 root with cumberland stem, was way off. The others (40s-60s) were close (left-right on the sitter, and all 90s on the diamond), but Comoy's Traditions in the same shape consistently outperformed the Dunhills in alignment. Although estate, none of the above tested pipes showed signs of aggressive buffing.

Interesting, I heard the Dunhill story the other way around; that the white dot was to prevent putting the stem in upside down, which would show the misalignment. So long as you put the stem in the way it's meant to go, there's no problem.

[Källman]

Once you get it down, it's not that hard at all, even on a wood lathe.

Iv never made pipes using lathes, so i didnt even consider it. Makes one feel a little stupido. :>

[kbadkar]

I'd love to hear opinions on this issue from other full time pipe makers.

Rad, Love, Trever, Brad, etc.? Is it essential for your personal standard of quality or is it just a market driven feature for high-end buyers?

[TreverT]

I'd love to hear opinions on this issue from other full time pipe makers.

Rad, Love, Trever, Brad, etc.? Is it essential for your personal standard of quality or is it just a market driven feature for high-end buyers?

I think it's a "stupid pipemaker trick", personally, not a high-end thing. It's easy to do, anyone can do it with some fiddling, but quite often it compromises the lines of the stem on anything but a straight stem, and even then it can look funny. You can have a rotatable round stem in your bent billiard that looks awkward in its curve, or one long flowing line that is by nature not evenly round because of the way the lines and curves move. I rank elegance of form over fiddly detail tricks, personally. I do it when I can, when the form allows it, but don't sweat it if it won't work.

[RadDavis]

I don't worry about it as long as everything looks round to the eye.

You can keep a round shank/stem join pretty dang round by turning the stem 1/4 turn every time you sand them flush.

Then, as long as it fits flush when the stem is in the proper position after finish sanding, it's good.

Rad

[Charl]

I rank elegance of form over fiddly detail tricks, personally.

Ditto, Trever!

[Tyler]

In the FWIW department, it is my understanding that the White Spot of Dunhill was developed because of this very "feature." Dunhill was apparently making such precise stems, it was impossible to tell if a stem was upside down or right-side up on a straight pipe with a round stem. To remedy that, a white dot was inlayed on the top of the stem, removing all doubt. Amazing how an iconic logo can develop, no?

Interesting, I heard the Dunhill story the other way around; that the white dot was to prevent putting the stem in upside down, which would show the misalignment. So long as you put the stem in the way it's meant to go, there's no problem.

Ha! No telling. Probably none of the above, but it does make for a good story.

Tyler