Need Pipe Lighter Recommendation

[AJ]

Hello Brothers,

I'm leaning toward a butane fuel with the electronic ignition style with a 90 degree angle. I can count on scorching my finger or thumb at least once per bowl while using a lighter with a verticle flame. Seems as though I'm not qualified to use matches either as I will invariably let it burn down too close to my finger resulting in a short outburst of profanity something that I'm loathe to do.

Any recommendation and/or experience you're willing to share is appreciated.

 

[GuitarMyFriend]

You can never go wrong with a Pipe Zippo. I use matches indoors, and a Zippo out doors, no burning of the fingers, which leads to a cleaner mouth. The Pipe Zippo still allows you to "Paint" the bowl, getting an even burn in your bowl. I would almost swear by it, but I see that you're trying to stop :lol: . Here's a picture. Mine didn't cost much at the local Tobacco shop.


I own the Matte Black one, and it hasn't failed me yet. Also, I feel like you don't POUR butane into your tobacco by using a lighter like this. You hold it at an angle, not up side down. Well there's my two cents for what it's worth, hope that helped,
Zach

 

[George Kaplan]

Hmm...
I hesitate to respond to this because I probably don't have the answer you want to hear, but here it goes:
In my experience, those piezoelectric igniters tend to wear out rather quickly, and can't be easily replaced once they're gone. Therefore, I'd recommend the least expensive lighter you can find, since you'll likely be replacing it often. Butane/flint combos, on the other hand, are usually more reliable. I hate to be the guy who tells you to go buy something else after you've made up your mind about what you want, but that's my honest advice. Perhaps someone else knows of a more durable electronic lighter.

 

[AJ]

GuitarmyFriend,

Your opinion seems to be based on a valuable asset...experience. Thanks for sharing.

George Kaplan,

Your opinion and input is greatly appreciated. I haven't really decided what I may purchase. The opinions of the BoB members will greatly influence my final decision. Your remarks seem to be well considered. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

 

[CygnusXII]

I use Imco Lighters. They have a nice refill port on the bottom, that has a clear plastic part, so you can see how much butane you have. They are fairly cheap 10 - 15 dollars, so if you lose it, it isn't a fantastic loss. The flame is angled, so lighting pipes and cigars, are a snap. I've been using them for 20 years or better, and they come in black or silver, and aren't too heavy. They have them at Cup o' Joes for 11.99

Prometheus Imco butane refillable pipe lighter. Butane refillable. Uses standard Zippo flints. What looks like a black plastic screw on the bottom center, is actually the fill valve. With some butane refills, you can use the standard nozzle on the can. On others, you may need to use one of the adapters that are usually included. When you fill it, first release the air from the tank with a ballpoint pen, and then fill it, holding the butane and lighter upside down and straight in line. Flints are easily changed by lifting the flintwheel up.

 

[Terry292]

Tsubota Pearl Pipe lighter. It's flint and butane, very reliable. I've owned Old Boys and Xikar lighters, and the Tsubota is more reliable IMHO. An alternative is always the trusty Zippo pipe lighter as suggested earlier. Stay away from electronic lighters. They've always been more trouble than they're worth for me.

No affiliation, yada yada, just a satisfied customer:

http://item.rakuten.co.jp/pearl/2-09102-70/

Maxim Engle at Pipes2Smoke had some listed a while back.

 

[PipeGeek]

+1 to the Pearl. See my thread here:

https://www.brothersofbriar.com/t16617-new-lighter-tsubota-pearl-eddie

P&C has a really good price on them. See the thread for the link.

 

[Blackhorse]

I have LOT to say about lighters...a sore point with me, as I HATE paying for something that is designed to fail. Aside from that there are certain specific ones that I've had very good luck with over the long and tortuous years...such as:

1) $20 Zippo. I have a numer of these...just picked up the matte black one. Nice. No...the smell and/or flavor of the naphta does not interfere with my enjoyment of the tobacco's flavor. Discount the prissy whiners on that score right now. When you light the wick and put the thing about 5" from your nose, you smell it...other than that? No. It works, always. If it breaks after twenty or thirty years, buy one in a thrift store, find one in a park somewhere and it's broken? Send it in for that free fix. Sincerely...a Great American Company!What's not to like.

2) $3 Ronson Comet. Soft flame. BIC sized El Cheapo plastic refillable. Adjustible flame. Takes cheap Ronson butane. Assorted gaudy colors.

3) $4 Ronson Jetfire. Torch. Refillable metal fliptop made in China. Will use cheap butane well. Works till a friend steals it from you.

4) $3 No Name soft flame...SLIDE ignition lighter. BIC sized. Don't know what there are called - but if you see one on a rack in the store grab one to try. The thing is, you flick 'em on by sliding one side sideways in relation to the other side...so you hold it on the body of the thing while lighting it as opposed to having to have your thumb up by the head to hold it in the 'on' position. Ergonomocally, this works really, really well. Try it, you'll like it.

5) $10 The soft flame butane Promethius that has the swing out tamper is also a solid item.

That's it. You can tell, with a twenty buck Zippo being the high price item in the lineup, that I'm into putting my disposable income into briar and 'baccy...not lighters.

 

[PipeGeek]

You can tell, with a twenty buck Zippo being the high price item in the lineup, that I'm into putting my disposable income into briar and 'baccy...not lighters.

Yes but.... you miss out on the opportunity to look prissy and self-important when you gleefully admit you spent $100 or more on a fancy gadget that does the same thing as a gadget that costs $20 or less!
:lol!:

Picking fun at myself, of course. But the Pearl IS a nice lighter...

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Blackhorse has solidly given the best, and most complete, advice yet. (The rest o' you Brothers were good, but BH finally made me go "okay, it's covered.")

Lighters are my biggest gripe about pipe smoking. Like Blackhorse, the designed-to-fail product makes me want to set the building on fire--if I could get my $#@!!! $60 lighter to WORK. $2 Bics work great. $150 Old Boy lighters work great. Everything in between seems unsuitable for one guy or another. It irritates me it's so difficult to find a proper lighter--I know guys that buy $600 Dupont lighters--which fail miserably. $600 effing dollars.

I like my Zippos, and I have one, and only one IMCO that seems to work. The Fujima I picked up is piezoelectric, and is very picky. Ambient moisture, type of fuel, wind, altitude, all seem to piss it off. I also like angled flames and flint ignition as a general rule.

I'm going to write down BH's suggestions (the ones I haven't tried) myself. 8) One question, for Mr. Horse himself--any picture you can provide of this "no-name" slide lighter?

 

[chris]

I second the suggestion from CygnusX11 re the Imco.

I have been using one for over 3 years now and it is still working fine - I think it cost about £8 so not much of an investment. It has an easily adjustable flame and can be filled with just about any standard gas can in the UK.

Chris

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I was told recently the IMCO (G77r?) lighters are no longer being imported into the US.

Any truth to that, from anyone with more info, less rumors on their side? 8)

 

[Ol'Dawg]

You can find a bunch of different recommendations and experiences here--

https://www.brothersofbriar.com/f31-tobacciana-accessories

Jim...a confirmed Old Boy advocate

 

[the macdonald]

What the duece is going on with BoB? I can't believe this thread got this far without Old Boy lamentations. I resisted the Old Boy bandwagon for a long time, but I bought one a few years ago and it is "all that." They are worth every penny, and after you go through 4 or 5 $20 in a row, the Old Boy will be there for you.

 

[monbla256]

I was told recently the IMCO (G77r?) lighters are no longer being imported into the US.

Any truth to that, from anyone with more info, less rumors on their side? 8)

Checked this out and these folks have 'em in stock for $11.95

http://www.eacarey.com/1387k.html

 

[MartinH]

You can never go wrong with a Pipe Zippo. I use matches indoors, and a Zippo out doors, no burning of the fingers, which leads to a cleaner mouth. The Pipe Zippo still allows you to "Paint" the bowl, getting an even burn in your bowl. I would almost swear by it, but I see that you're trying to stop :lol: . Here's a picture. Mine didn't cost much at the local Tobacco shop.


I own the Matte Black one, and it hasn't failed me yet. Also, I feel like you don't POUR butane into your tobacco by using a lighter like this. You hold it at an angle, not up side down. Well there's my two cents for what it's worth, hope that helped,
Zach

Ditto on this. I have one of these and have never looked back.

 

[idbowman]

That's it. You can tell, with a twenty buck Zippo being the high price item in the lineup, that I'm into putting my disposable income into briar and 'baccy...not lighters.

This. I know that some guys like the idea of a lighter as a high end accessory - same for ashtrays. To me, I'm concerned with functionality for as low a cost as possible. I have a Zippo which I use only when driving or in high winds. Most of the time, I just use matches.

 

[Rob_In_MO]

50-cent pack of matches or $100 + Pipe Lighter - both will light the tobacco.

Another vote for the Zippo Pipe Lighter. 30-years from now, you'll still be using it. That is unless the aliens come back on 12-21-12 to end the world and take us away... :lol: If this happens, I don't think it will matter what you choose to use as a Pipe Lighter.

In the past, i've use the Butane models. After a while some of the cheaper models i've had started to lose their seal to a certain degree, causing quite frequent refills. But then, a Zippo only lasts me about a week before I have to refill it too...

 

[Hermit]

Someday, you'll break down and get an Old Boy.
Do yourself a favor; just get one now! :twisted:

 

[williamcharles]

My only kick with the Zippo is having to refill it every two days. For me it's the OldBoy at home and the Zippo outdoors...BUT...I also have an old Nimrod Commander (not the one that looks like a nut & bolt...got one of those two but it sux) that doesn't have to be refilled every two days and works as good or better than the Zippo. I use the Zippo because they're easy to replace while the Nimrod Commander isn't.

Recently got my hands on a Beattie Jet lighter. Pretty cool lighter that uses ordinary lighter fluid and flint ignition. Held upright the flame is an ordinary soft flame but tilted slightly it becomes a pressurized jet flame that shoots sideways like the flame on gas pipe lighters or the OldBoy. Not nearly as hot as a butane jet but it sounds like it's going to take off and fly around the room. Damned cool!