Pipe Gap Question (Not Peterson)

[The Amish Tyrant]

Peterson deluxe system pipes are known for the "gap", where part of the tenon is exposed to allow for wear over time. An article about the gap with photos can be found here:

25. Closing the Gap: The Mythos of Peterson’s Space-Fitting System Stem (Revised)

I received a Peterson Centenary 4s (my beloved 309 Dutch Billiard shape) from Mike Glukler of Briar Blues this week. I’d thought about the pipe for a long time, even had it on hold for several mont…

petersonpipenotes.org

The look is polarizing. However, I've seen photos of non-Peterson pipes with a similar gap, but not by design. The most notable is the picture of Tolkien, where not pushing the tenon into the mortise seems intentional.

Any ideas on why this would be?

 

[georged]

It doesn't take long for the briar walls of the mortise to swell inward (meaning make it tighter/smaller than the tenon), when it gets wet and hot.

A few smokes with an inadvertent gap is enough to keep the mortise from bottoming forevermore unless A) lots of insertion pressure is used (and maybe cracking the shank); B) the swollen wood is cut back to level; or C) the end of the tenon is made smaller.

"Tobacco access" pipe smokers who think of pipes simply as tools tend to just leave the gap.

 

[cshubhra]

We use a pipe cleaner to soak up moisture produced in the airway. In the olden days people would just take off the stem and shake off the moisture.

Mortise swells a bit when wet. So they were not able to put back the stem flush with stummel. Therefore you will find a lot of historical pictures where there is a gap.



A few years ago there was a discussion here, with a picture of Einstein. Someone gave that explanation that sounded plausible to me, so I tried it out myself.

It will fit when the pipe is dry again.

 

[ashdigger]

Mind the Gap

 

[verporchting]

Mind the Gap

Correction - never mind the gap

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

Tolkien like many other pipe smokers of his day was not a pipe collector, he was a smoker. His pipes were merely a means of nicotine consumption. If a stem didn’t get shoved all the way back in pipe still smoked.

 

[bullet08]

Some time ago, like I always do, I took a pipe apart during the smoke. For some reason tenon won't fit that day. So, I put the stem in as best as I can and smoked it like JRRT.

 

[LeafErikson]

As others have stated, it was almost certainly not intentional.

 

[Ahi Ka]

It makes smoking cooler.

 

[kcghost]

Pipe will smoke fine with a little gap.

 

[archerdarkpint]

I do this. Insert the stem until it feels secure (not all the way), and I'm satisfied. With the exception of Peterson Army Mounts, all of my other pipes (there's a bunch) right now are like this. In use, or in the rack, there's a gap.

 

[Hillcrest]

I do that too in case I need to use a pipe cleaner mid-smoke. If its all the way in you might have to struggle or twist the stem off. If its part way out you can remove it easily and replace even if shank swells from heat. Its merely a practical solution. It makes it like a military stem in use. YMMV