Looking For A Really Good Pipe Lighter

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Effortlessdepths

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 7, 2020
502
1,060
Micanopy, FL
Maybe you should try to find one of these:
I might consider it, but the tamper doesn't seem to be very long, and it lootlike it might have trouble reaching the bottom of my more narrow bowls. Also, the flame isn't 90 degrees, it's a Bic sleeve. Now, most wouldn't care about any of this, and I completely respect that. To each their own.

But I am an optimizer by nature, and it's part of my career. I feel like I could actually invent a pipe lighter with all these accoutrements, though it might look strange and probably wouldn't sell since I don't know many other optimizers lol.

It would have a long, wide and circular tamper that is probably retractable/telescoping, 90 degrees angled flame, refillable of course, fuel gauge, flint probably, fold out pick and scraper that are long, flame adjustment wheelbthat is neither too stiff nor too easily turned, tamper would be on the same side as the flame for easy light/tamp/light/tamp motions, and also be durable and classy.

In any case. I hope this Xikar Pipeline is decent.
 

LotusEater

Lifer
Apr 16, 2021
4,112
56,233
Kansas City Missouri
View attachment 96033
This old Nimrod was used by him to light these two pipes, that much is for sure.

As others have noted, Nimrods like to go through fuel fairly quickly. They aren't the best in wind and they really aren't that great when it isn't windy. Also, one needs to especially enjoy the "smell of napalm in the morning" if you get my drift.

But they are unique, I use mine, and yeh, it is what it is.
Regardless of the negatives you mentioned your father’s lighter looks cool as hell.
 

telescopes

Pipe Dreamer and Star Gazer
The walking dead
Regardless of the negatives you mentioned your father’s lighter looks cool as hell.
Thanks. Nimrod lighters are Kool. Impractical on many levels, but definitely a neat concept of a lighter. Finding the sweet spot of how high to hold it over your bowl without it going out when you drawl in can be a learning curve. My dad kept it in a large gold toned aluminum ash tray and I don’t think that helped the finish any, but as I said, he was a working man, a factory worker who enjoyed hunting, fishing, his CB radio, and smoking his pipes. Most of his pipes were simple and reflective of his status in life, but the nimrod lighter stood out as a luxury for him.

I can’t count how many times people have sneered disagreeably at me, “you’re just a factory workers son”. As if that is supposed to be an insult. His pipes and his lighter remind me that they are clueless about what they said. He was a man who new the value of enjoying life and was content with the road he traveled.
 

5star

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 17, 2017
727
2,018
PacNW USA
Yes I want quality and I'm ready to pay
In that case consider a Scripto View butane pocket lighter. Unlike the Bic, they are transparent so you can see how much fuel is left Also, unlike the Bic, the flame is adjustable. A pack of 7 of them go for $1.97.

There is great pleasure in owning fine things. There is also great pleasure in discovering a product which performs far above its price point ! :)

Enjoy your new lighter, whatever you finally choose.
 

Effortlessdepths

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 7, 2020
502
1,060
Micanopy, FL
In that case consider a Scripto View butane pocket lighter. Unlike the Bic, they are transparent so you can see how much fuel is left Also, unlike the Bic, the flame is adjustable. A pack of 7 of them go for $1.97.

There is great pleasure in owning fine things. There is also great pleasure in discovering a product which performs far above its price point ! :)

Enjoy your new lighter, whatever you finally choose.
Thanks, I'll look into the scripto. I have a Bic EZ light and a couple other odd lighters (including regular bics) in strategic places just in case. But I really want a nice one. The Colibri Pacific Air was a slippery hunk of junk, and unfortunately had to send it back to Milan Tobacconist, who are fine people I might add. I have a Xikar Pipeline on the way, hopefully it lives up to my expectations. If it doesn't, then I'm getting an Old Boy, as long as it has a good tamper and a lifetime warranty. I just want an all arounder. I'm not afraid to carry an expensive lighter everywhere I go (except those $500 Dupont ones, which I will almost certainly never own) and I want it to be able to do it all, or close to it. Will I carry a separate tamper every time? Yes. But I don't want to have to use it. I love streamlining experiences, I find joy in building systems, where the end result is efficiency. It's part of my work as a bodywork therapist and craftsman. And since I am always busy and never sleep, I want to make sure all the little things I do (like smoke a pipe) are as efficient as possible.
 

tobefrank

Lifer
Jun 22, 2015
1,367
5,005
Australia
I must admit that following this thread made me exhausted. How about this one? No, I don’t like that. How about this one? Still not optimal.

Sometimes you should keep things simple and not try to combine everything in one. A Swiss Army knife is a handy tool, but none of the tools it has built-in will be as good as a dedicated tool for the task at hand.
 

Effortlessdepths

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 7, 2020
502
1,060
Micanopy, FL
I must admit that following this thread made me exhausted. How about this one? No, I don’t like that. How about this one? Still not optimal.

Sometimes you should keep things simple and not try to combine everything in one. A Swiss Army knife is a handy tool, but none of the tools it has built-in will be as good as a dedicated tool for the task at hand.
Trust me, I understand. As I said, I enjoy the optimization that's all. I believe in Swiss Army knives and specialized tools both. I am just in a personal quest
 

Akousticplyr

Lifer
Oct 12, 2019
1,155
5,712
Florida Panhandle
I've got a few lighters that I use.

Standard cheapo Bics, a Zippo with pipe insert, and a brass wheel lighter.
I find myself having to refill the Zippo and brass lighter quite often, sometimes after only several days. But if I overfill and make the interior stuffing too saturated, it becomes a dripping molotov cocktail lol. I'm using Zippo lighter fluid.

Just wondering how often you all find yourselves refilling your lighters.

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just to follow up. I did some Google searching and found a few tips to extend the life of the butane. Zippo themselves recommend keeping the lighter upright as if it was in your pocket.
I also cut some plastic from a freezer bag and followed the advice from time three minutes 38 seconds in the video below. It did last over a week with daily use.

 
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Jun 25, 2021
1,369
4,444
England
just to follow up. I did some Google searching and found a few tips to extend the life of the butane. Zippo themselves recommend keeping the lighter upright as if it was in your pocket.
I also cut some plastic from a freezer bag and followed the advice from time three minutes 38 seconds in the video below. It did last over a week with daily use.

I tried the plastic bag trick and didn't notice any difference.

Incidentally, I tested a while ago, using blotting paper, with Zippo, Newport, and Ronson fluid.
Newport was the cleanest by far, Ronson the worst.
Newport also has the least odour IMO.
 
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