Nimrod Pipelighter - Worth Restoring?

katarn07 · Apr 15, 2016

A coworker recently gave me a number of pipe tobacco related things she found while cleaning her parents' old home. The most interesting is a vintage Nimrod Pipe Lighter. It's bone dry and the flints don't spark when flicking the wheel. I find the design to be intriguing but I already have a soft flame butane lighter zippo style with pipe insert. Is this thing worth restoring to use? Are they any more or less wind resistant with its unique design or is it about the same as a zippo? Thank you for sharing any experience you may have with these things.

ericthered · Apr 15, 2016

Got any pics? There is a market for collectible lighters, so, restored or not, if you don't want it, someone else might. This LINK was valuable to me when I discovered a box full of old lighters in an auction I had won.

newbroom · Apr 15, 2016

A friend of mine gave me one he'd had for over 40 years and hadn't used in at least half that time.

It took me awhile to get the old flint out so that I could clean out that tube to allow a new one to be pushed into the wheel when thumbed.

It's more of a collection piece for me. I didn't like the smell and it really didn't seem all that great as a pipe lighter. Didn't seem to be very wind resistant either.

papipeguy · Apr 15, 2016

I have I bought a million years ago with the fake leather on one side. Unfortunately, the tube that the flint goes into became detached in the lighter. I don't know if it can be fixed or even who would be capable of fixing it. So it sits as a novelty item among my pipe materials.

gloucesterman · Apr 15, 2016

I've had one for years, seldom if ever use it. It isn't the best of designs but is an interesting collectable. The Zippo is a much more efficient lighter for a lot of reasons.

warren · Apr 15, 2016

If you have to do more than clear the flint receiver and take a toothbrush to the wheel, probably not. Five minutes of time to clean and have in working condition? Sure. It all depends on how much you value having a working Nimrod.
I've got a perfectly good Nimrod laying around in a drawer somewhere. Unless you are going to use it, not for long probably, leave it as it is and find a spot in a drawer for it.

katarn07 · Apr 15, 2016

It came with the box and instruction manual too so if I can't get it working I think I could display it as a collectible and eventually sell it to another collector when I get sick of it. Thanks for the info, gentlemen.

xrundog · Apr 15, 2016

That's a Sportsman. They aren't complicated. From the looks of that one, a new flint and some fluid and I bet it works fine. Those work okay. The biggest drawback to me is that it doesn't hold much fluid. Tends to go dry when you need it most. But it's a nifty design. You get a straight up flame directly over the bowl. Not a big money collectable, but vintage and cool! The box and brochure is a definite plus.

doctorbob · Apr 15, 2016

Does your sportsman have a gasket stealing the refill end?
Doc

rigmedic1 · Apr 15, 2016

There is an O-ring on mine, also a Sportsman. I became interested in pipes because of my scoutmaster, who smoked a pipe during the troop meetings, and lit the thing with a Nimrod lighter. As I remember, the pipe was a prince with a black finish, but I never did have a really close up look at it. Anyway, as long as there is no air movement, and no real distance between the lighter and the pipe, the Nimrod works ok. Oh, and remember to refil it every day.

fnord · Apr 16, 2016

Katarn07:
I've got a couple of Nimrods in my lighter bowl that never get used. But I like looking at them because they remind me of friends who used them in the past. They lay alongside a Beattie Jet Lighter that is scary as hell to use. It's good that you have the box and manual and that your lighter appears to be in great condition. They'll help push it closer to a forty to fifty buck hammer down on the Bay.
EricTR, what a fabulous link! Thanks for sharing.
Fnord

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katarn07

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