How To Tell If A Stem Is Hand Cut?

They're stamped hand cut

It's hard to describe, but I know one when I see one. And if it's a factory pipe, it's probably a factory-made stem.

It can be really hard to tell. Here's a game to help your thread. Guess the handcut vs factory. 3 are handcut, 3 are factory. You make the guesses, I'll tell you right or wrong. You can ask for a detail photo of a particular stem if needed.

Like bigvan says, I know one when I see one. I can usually spot a premolded stem pretty easily. That being said, a pipe maker that is good enough can alter it enough to make it difficult to tell. Here are a few things to look for:
1) The slot on many pre-molded stems is too wide.
2) The slot on pre-molded stems are retangular. Most artisan slots are rounded in the corners.
3) Buttons on pre-molded stems tend to be less refined.
4) The bit (area just behind the button) on pre-molded stems are very limited in how thin they can be and are rarely thinner than 0.17". Artisan made pipes are usually 0.15" or less.
5) On tapered pre-molded stems usually taper too sharply or don't match the taper in the shank.
6) The saddle on pre-molded stems are usually rounded and not crisp on the edges and aren't cut sharp enough from the saddle to the stem if that makes sense.
7) The airway is usually drilled to 1/8" and isn't tapered. Artisan airways are usually at least 9/64" and tapered on the tenon end towards the slot.
8) The slot on pre-molded stems are usually too shallow and on lucite stems sometimes not cut at all.
There are other details that artisans may or may not employ such as chambering the outside edge of the tenon slightly so it is easier to insert or countersinking the airway on the tenon end to funnel smoke and reduce turbulence. Of course, most of these things can be done to a pre-molded stem to make it look more refined but usually are not because it defeats the reason factories use them which is to reduce the labor cost on each pipe.

The stems at 1, 3 and 5 o'clock are not handmade.

1 and 5 are factory made. I'm impressed. One left to go. 3 is a Fairchild and I believe Ron cuts his own stems. Could be wrong though.

The saddle on 3 isn't very sharp and the button a tad thick so that threw me off. I'm still not completely convinced but could be wrong. The stem at 7 o'clock looks like a Peterson stem and therefor not handmade. It's hard to tell between it and the one at 9 o'clock without seeing the rest of the stem and the slot but based on the thickness of the button, I think 7 o'clock is factory.

Speaking of thick buttons, that's another sign of a factory stem.

Nailed it. 12-Arley Curtz, 1-Pete, 3-Fairchild, 5-Custom-Bilt, 7-Pete, 9-Tinsky

Dave and Wayne:
If you guys are through showing off with how damn smart you are, would you please help out a fellow puffer?
I've got a couple of lovely Jost made Canadians, that I don't smoke because of too thick factory made buttons. Can my local B&M trim them down? Or, should I pack them off?
Jeez!
Fnord

It couldn't hurt to ask a repairman if he/she is willing to re-work a button/stem.

Fnord, just having a little fun. :D
Some B&M's do repair work. It couldn't hurt to ask. I'd want to see some samples of the work they do. In my limited experience though, most B&M repair work is not as good a reputable repairman's. If I was unsure of the quality of repair work of my local B&M, I would just send them out. I can't imagine it would cost too much. It doesn't take that much work to improve a button and bit. One of the best for stemwork that I've seen is George Dibos at precisionpiperepair.com. He's very meticulous with his stem work and knows what a high end button should look like.

Fnord,

I picked up a Forever Stem for a Jost I own as it came w/o one, if you own an MM Cob try the stem in your pipes if it fits then simply order a Forever Stem and move it from pipe to pipe, should you decide to sell either, or both, at some point they will remain original and the Forever Stem is a great addition to any MM cob.

Thanks for the info, guys.
Wayne, I really did appreciate the lesson on the stems.
Learn something new around here every day.
Fnord