If all these "lifers" haven't heard this term, it's made up by someone and simply not any sort of common usage.
Some crafts people and some brands carve the briar but use preformed stems, for example, or use machined stummels but finish them by hand. That should simply be stated and not hid behind a made-up terminology. In some writing situations, that is referred to as weasel-wording and is not respectable. That kind of verbiage would be a red light for me, not to buy from that outfit.
If you want to be "nice," you could tell them that, but I wouldn't bother.