Match or lighter...

[tokerpipes]

@kozlee

Interesting concept, but with some of the older collectable Zippos I would not do this.

 

[mluyckx]

All kidding aside.. Matches, Butane lighter (not torch.. soft flame) or Bic. All depends on circumstance. But yes, matches seem to be the best and the most gentle.

 

[kamikazesasquatch]

and they are old-school

Technically, the friction match was invented after the lighter :P

 

[uberam3rica]

Technically, the friction match was invented after the lighter

Thats true. I don't think as lot of people know that though

 

[simnettpratt]

I live alone, so get to smoke indoors, and use matches. If I am forced to smoke outside, a lighter is much easier. The best matches are from Mexico, called Maya. They do everything right, and are better than Swan Vestas. They have a striker on both sides of the box, the tray only comes out one way (it has a little tab you pull on), so you don't push the tray through and dump all your matches, there is a fold over half the tray, so you don't dump matches when the tray is open, and there is a different painting on the back of each box. Also, the matches aren't wood, they're short and brown and bendy, like thorns; you can't snap them like a wooden match, they bend. Also, they come in ten box packs, each box holding 50 matches, so 500 matches total, for 77 cents at the grocery store.
The bendy part of the little thorns is the best part, but they do everything else right, too, and 77 cents for 500 matches can't be beat.
I found a 3:45 minute youtube of a little kid showing them. If you can stand to watch the first 2 minutes, you can see all the things I mentioned. Keep in mind, they're bendy. The video is a bit annoying for some reason; I only watched the first 2 minutes, but it will show you what to look for in the grocery store.
Maya matches
Forget to add, if you don't like the smell of the matches, just drop them in a cup or saucer of water once you've lit your pipe; no smoke. Probably everyone here already knew that, but I just figured it out...

 

[bryanhayn]

I started with matches for a few days when I first started pipe smoking but I quickly moved to a butane lighter. I keep fighting myself about buying an Old Boy.

 

[matchstickman]

I do what Lordnoble does.