View source for Talk:A Peterson Dating Guide; A Rule of Thumb

Steck stem defined. Steck is a german word, translated into english becomes "stick" (as in stick your hand in your pocket). Stem in this case refers to the stem of a tobacco pipe. This type of stem is also commonly referred to as a "military" stem or bit. It is commonly accepted that between 1850 and 1880 soldiers preferred these stems because they could be easily disassembled for storage into their back packs. This stem uses matching tapered surfaces to hold the pipe into the shank and has a ridged area to make it easy to remove the stem for storage or cleaning the pipe and equally easy to reinstall on the pipe. Such stems are almost always of the bent style, the degree of bend is dependent on the pipe it is to be used on. This stem is universally associated with the K&P pipe company of Ireland who modified the bit by increasing and tapering the airway at the shank end of the stem to allow more area for the smoke to cool and help the pipe draw more freely. On it their P-lip bit is encorporated to redirect the smoke away from the smoker's tongue and a place to put the tongue below the stem, thus helping prevent saliva from going down the stem hole. It should be noted that not all  Peterson pipe stems are manufactured with the P-lip feature. This stem is popular with many pipe manufacturer's today, although without the P-lip feature, not only because of appearance but also because it has less tendency to sieze in the shank which could result in a snapped tenon pin or worse, a cracked pipe shank. Where staight taper style stems are used the "ridge" is often omitted either because it isn't considered necessary or because it is not esthetically pleasing. There is a lot of contention between historians whether K&P Peterson invented the stem or it had already become pulic domain and Peterson chose it for their own reaons.