What is your favorite pipe lighter?

Plain Old Zippo's, Tried a couple with the pipe insert but went back to the original

100_0582.jpg
 
tiguy7 said:
Google Nimrod pipe lighters and look at the images.
Click to expand...

Holy smokes. You just flooded my mind with memories of my Grandpa lighting his pipe with one of these. I was with him the day he lost it in a lake in Canada. I had forgotten all about that! Thank you for the post, I just snagged one off the big auction site. :)

-Dan
 
I use regular Bic's or matches. I use up the butane too quickly in the nice pipe lighters and I'm always afraid of loosing one.
 
I like the zippo's, but never liked the fuel taste. Good to hear they have a odorless fuel for them.
 
Now I am confused. It has been a long time since I purchased a refill for a lighter. Aren't they butane? Makes me want to go to the store and read the label on one.

I have a number of nice pipe lighters. I have to admit that I have liked the "cheap" pipe lighters that run about $10 each. You usually find these in pipe/tobacco shops.
 
I used to use Zippo Lighters for everything but then I got mouth Cancer 7 years ago and have not smoked anything since and
I have been Cancer free for 7 years now.! Don't even miss the smoking anymore because I know save about $300 a month on Cigs and Pipe and Cigars. <<<< money spent on knives are a lot better than the smoking ever was.!! As at least I have something to show for my money.***
 
Lighters are a means of absolutely last resort for lighting a pipe.

First choice is old fashioned wooden matches. The big barn burners are perfect, and the smaller ones that come in a pocket size box are good. Second is the book of paper matches. Matches are good.

When traveling, a plain old Bic lighter is good if you are careful not to burn the rim of the pipe and use with only a brief touch to get the tobacco going.

I used a Zippo in the past, but between the taste, and stink, and the habit of running dry when you least expect it, I got tired of them quick. Then theres the refill in the morning, and the burning red spot of the fluid burn on your thigh when it leaks. No more Zippo's for me. Now I keep plenty of matches on hand.

Matches good, lighter bad!
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but when using matches, you should give it a few seconds to burn past the tip and light off the wood part of the match to avoid any lingering taste from the match tip.
 
As Jacknife says....
Years ago, during my rather brief excursion into pipe smoking, I read up on the subject; the history and practice. That anyone would use a petro-fueled Zippo to light the pipe would have caused all the VERY serious pipe aficionados to simply faint dead away.
Almost as bad as drinking beer from the bottle....

The wooden match is the preferred instrument, you see, and ONLY after letting the head combust sufficiently so that there is no trace of chemical taint.
The dedicated butane pipe lighter is considered marginally acceptable, but likely frowned upon.

Then there is the method... After properly tamping the pipe full of tobacco, in thirds, so that it's not-too-tight and not-too-loose, then one applies the flame sufficient to start the top layer. This will cause that top layer to expand from the heat.
So...One then re-tamps the tobacco, and re-applies the heat source.
Done properly, this will result in a good draw that's not too hot and will sustain combustion... Though one may have to re-tamp halfway through the bowl.
Some cuts of tobacco burn better than others, and of course tobacco that's been allowed to dry out too much will burn too fast... Thus the reason for the humidor.
Finally, if smoking briar, one must "rest" the pipe after a day's smoking, which is why most briar fans have lots of them.
This need not be done for the meerschaum pipes, or the calabash. (though the calabash must be cleaned periodically).
 
mwerner said:
As Jacknife says....
Years ago, during my rather brief excursion into pipe smoking, I read up on the subject; the history and practice. That anyone would use a petro-fueled Zippo to light the pipe would have caused all the VERY serious pipe aficionados to simply faint dead away.
Almost as bad as drinking beer from the bottle....

The wooden match is the preferred instrument, you see, and ONLY after letting the head combust sufficiently so that there is no trace of chemical taint.
The dedicated butane pipe lighter is considered marginally acceptable, but likely frowned upon.

Then there is the method... After properly tamping the pipe full of tobacco, in thirds, so that it's not-too-tight and not-too-loose, then one applies the flame sufficient to start the top layer. This will cause that top layer to expand from the heat.
So...One then re-tamps the tobacco, and re-applies the heat source.
Done properly, this will result in a good draw that's not too hot and will sustain combustion... Though one may have to re-tamp halfway through the bowl.
Some cuts of tobacco burn better than others, and of course tobacco that's been allowed to dry out too much will burn too fast... Thus the reason for the humidor.
Finally, if smoking briar, one must "rest" the pipe after a day's smoking, which is why most briar fans have lots of them.
This need not be done for the meerschaum pipes, or the calabash. (though the calabash must be cleaned periodically).
Click to expand...

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

And that, dear readers, is as good a description of pipe smoking as you need. The real pipe smoker, who is paying attention to his art, will use those two matches for his smoke. And only those two matches. The primer light or char light as it's sometimes called, and the second light, which should do for the rest of the bowl.
 
jackknife said:
Lighters are a means of absolutely last resort for lighting a pipe.

First choice is old fashioned wooden matches.
Click to expand...
Sucks carrying matches everywhere you go especially in summer without coat pockets. Also sucks if you need to relight in a car.


mwerner said:
Years ago, during my rather brief excursion into pipe smoking, I read up on the subject; the history and practice. That anyone would use a petro-fueled Zippo to light the pipe would have caused all the VERY serious pipe aficionados to simply faint dead away.
Click to expand...
I've smoked pipes for a couple of decades now, and that just ain't the case. At least it is certainly overstating it greatly. That's why you could, and can, buy Zippos and Zippo fluid in even the finest tobak shops.

jackknife said:
Then there is the method... After properly tamping the pipe full of tobacco, in thirds, so that it's not-too-tight and not-too-loose, then one applies the flame sufficient to start the top layer. This will cause that top layer to expand from the heat.
So...One then re-tamps the tobacco, and re-applies the heat source.
Click to expand...
That's called the false light.

Should also mention air drying a day or two worth of tobak, as tobaks straight from the tin (or pouch) are most often too moist to smoke well unless the tobak tin is too old or was cellared improperly. Drying is a critical step to a good light and a good smoke.
 
Last edited:
leghog said:
Sucks carrying matches everywhere you go especially in summer without coat pockets. Also sucks if you need to relight in a car.
Click to expand...

That's what Bic lighters are for. Cleaner, and you can see how much fuel is left. As for summer carry of matches, two books of paper matches weigh nothing in even a T-shirt pocket. A single box of small wood matches gets lost in jeans pocket or cargo shorts. Going hiking, a water proof match box in the day pack also goes unnoticed. If you're carrying a Zippo everywhere you go, what's the difference between that and a few match books?
 
A single box of small wood matches gets lost in jeans pocket or cargo shorts.
Click to expand...

They also tend to get mashed in your pocket. But, I'll live. If the small box gets "lost in your pockets", maybe the big box of barn burners would not get lost. :D

Wood matches are the way to go. But the Bic is useful in a pinch and I seem to have a lot of pinches. Guess I'm lazy. A couple books of matches are easy to carry around. You just have some waste where the lighter has none.

There for a while, it was hard to find the good old kitchen matches due to the meth lab craze in the SE. Yep... they would scrape off the phosphorus. Wonder what kind of knife they used? :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top