Confused About Zippos

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mordy18

Can't Leave
Mar 12, 2019
381
1,369
Northern New Jersey
It is well accepted among cigar smokers that one should not use a Zippo to light a cigar as the lighter fluid will taint that taste of the tobacco. People only use butane or matches (or cedar spills if you are extra fancy).

Yet, I think I see people lighting their pipes with regular zippos. Is the lighter fluid taste not an issue with pipe tobacco or do you think it is just a myth in the cigar world?

I use a butane soft flame lighter or matches with my pipes.
 
If you hold the Zippo a half to an inch over the bowl, and just draw down some of the heat to light the bowl, you're not going to get a bowl full of fluid taste. Same with cigars, if you hold the light back far enough when lighting, you don't get that taste either. I am in favor of gently lighting cigars anyways, and I hate those welding jet lighters. Might as well smoke a cheap OTC cigar after you've torched the damnd thing.
 

sisyphus

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 11, 2019
109
325
I feel to get a really good light started on a cigar you need a butane torch. You don't have to get fancy, a Ronson Jetlite from Walgreens for $6 does nicely.

For me the problem of Zippo and pipe much more than a hint of lighter fuel at light is that the flame is very cool. I think getting your pipe lit with a Zippo is too finicky and I prefer wood matches.
 

wordheavy

Can't Leave
Jul 7, 2019
376
635
Southern California
I know plenty who can taste it in cigars. I light cigars with butane or matches. Pipes I sometimes use a zippo with, like previously stated I think the key is burning it a while before lighting the tobacco. I too only notice it on the first light and sometimes the relight but do not taste anything while smoking.
 
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macaroon

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 2, 2015
279
96
Michigan
This is one of those issues that seems to come up when someone gets caught up with what they "should" do rather than what they want to do and what works for them. I feel the same way about fancy packing techniques and a few other little quirks of this pastime that can sometimes fill a forum post with pages of conflicting opinions.

My advice? Try not to overthink it, and simply do whatever brings you joy puffy
 

olkofri

Lifer
Sep 9, 2017
8,033
14,644
The Arm of Orion
I have tasted the fuel from a Zippo. It's not pleasant.

There's a technique to light a pipe with a Zippo: as has been mentioned above, waiting a few seconds after lighting the Zippo, and also to avoid tilting it downwards (not doable with regular Zippos, only with those with the pipe insert) towards the bowl, but keeping it parallel to the ground or tilting it a few degrees upwards, to avoid the fuel to descend. When I've done this, I've gotten no fuel taste.
 

peregrinus

Lifer
Aug 4, 2019
1,205
3,787
Pacific Northwest
This is one of those issues that seems to come up when someone gets caught up with what they "should" do rather than what they want to do and what works for them.
This is definitely a topic that waxes and wanes. Whatever works is good.

I am normally not in a rush so I prefer matches for both pipes and cigars over lighters, primarily because of the aesthetics, but as an additional benefit they are easier on pipe rims than butane. However, I smoke outdoors a lot and living in a windy and rainy part of the universe end up using butane lighters very often just to get the fire going.

When I am sitting at a bench working, there is another method I have used that I am reluctant to mention. @cosmicfolklore, have you ever used a bench torch? ?
 
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Johnny_Pipecleaner

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 13, 2019
583
2,984
Mill Valley, CA
I found that I can definitely taste the fuel when using my pipe-specific Zippo, so I stopped using it shortly after buying it. Maybe, as mentioned above, it would subside after a bit of smoking, but I don't want to start my bowl with a mouthfull of zippo fluid. Kudos to those who aren't bothered by it or don't notice.

I use a Kiribi to light my pipes, or a bic in a pinch. Or once in awhile, on a sunny day I'll use a magnifying glass, but that's only for my wacky tobaccy (legal in my state of CA).
 
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Johnny_Pipecleaner

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 13, 2019
583
2,984
Mill Valley, CA
@BROBS it's called "solar puffing" and even though I never notice any butane taste from a bic, using the magnifying glass is a significantly tastier experience. Wear sunglasses though. And try not to stare directly at the bright sun "dot" you create.
 
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wulfheard

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 18, 2018
107
199
New Jersey
I think it's more a matter of odor than a taste. That being said, we get a lot of our precieved taste through out olfactory sense. So under certain circumstances you might get a minor taste of lighter fluid but it's my experience that it burns off rapidly.

To be honest most cigar aficionados will tell you that a wooden match is best but I ways found that the odor and taste of sulfur is more objectionable than that of lighter fluid.

To me it's a matter of preference and as another poster already said, don't over think it, just do what makes you happy.
 
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