Need Pipe Lighter Recommendation

[George Kaplan]

What the duece is going on with BoB? I can't believe this thread got this far without Old Boy lamentations.

Heck, I was just trying to advise the guy based on what he said he wanted. Personally, I get by just fine with Zippos, but as soon as someone sends me a free Old Boy I'll start singing their praises as well.

 

[AJ]

You guys convinced me that a Zippo pipe lighter was the most practical choice. I found one that I liked at elighters com. I'm having my name engraved on it (it was free) and it will be delivered by April 5th.

I truely appreciate all of the BoB that took time to respond to my request for advice. You guys are awsome.

 

[jefe1037]

kyle, the slide light lighter is the Ronson Slyda. i think wally world keeps them behind the tobacco counter these days... no need for kids to be getting their hands on anything dangerous like lighters.

 

[Blackhorse]

The slider that I have isn't a Ronson...but I'll look for those too. I like that format.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I'll keep an eye out for them. I still hate lighters, but I like stuff that makes fire. Oh, my woes.

Anyone confident in my personal and eventual acquisition of the fabled "Old Boy" lighter is welcome to expedite the process and send one out to me post-haste. My enjoyment will likely last as long as it takes for it to fall behind a bookshelf or in a bad neighborhood. :lol: I'm sure it'll be a fun week-long relationship.

Although with its dual-butane feeding system, and cheaper-to-acquire nature, the Pearl Eddie is making some chin-scratchy:

http://pipesandcigars.com/peedpiliglbl.html (courtesy PipeGeek's thread).

8)

 

[Blackhorse]

Old Boy (@$88) be cheaper than Eddie (@$105) at P&C...just sayin'.

Pearl "Eddie"

IM Corona "Old Boy"

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Nice. I haven't seen an Old Boy lower than about $110, myself. Makes me wonder if the improvements on the Pearl Eddie are worth it.

Both superior to what performance I've seen out of Dupont. 8)

 

[PipeGeek]

Old Boy (@$88) be cheaper than Eddie (@$105) at P&C...just sayin'.

They're going out of stock, and the prices have gone up. I ordered mine on March 20 and it was $93.40, only $5 more than the Old Boy.

 

[Blackhorse]

Here we go with the 'supply and demand' thing once again. lol


You know, when the Pearl first touted around here and elsewhere I looked at one of my favorite vendors and the one I posted the photo of above caught my eye. It was OOS at the time. I looked just few days ago, interested again due to this thread, and they were in stock. The price seemed to be the same. But if you look around at different vendors, they range up and down by $10 to $20 per item, depending on where you look. A google of the item that I did just a few days ago showed P&C to have the best price that I saw...and still in stock, although another had gone OOS. It would seem that even though they go OOS, they are re-supplied. But that's not a definitive 'answer'. I still like the bright silver one with the machined vertical design. If I were to go with the Old Boy, I think the matte black one is pretty cool as well.

I've read a number of reviews of the Pearl 'Eddie' model and everyone raves about the excellent design, the superb engineering and the solid backing provided by the 'family' that still owns the design and operates the business. All this sounds good...but I've never heard a bad word about the Old Boy, so it would seem to be a matter of tools? Does the Old Boy have the swing-out tools? No. So that's a valid extra with the design. One reason I like the cheap Promethius is the swing out tamper with the swivel end. I never carry a tamper when I'm out and about...well, almost never. There are far too many sticks sitting around which lend themselves to being turned into a nice 'field piece'. So having the two tools is a bonus I would consider worthy of the added $15 for the Pearl over the IM Corona...so long as it ALWAYS works.

The only thing...I just wish it had a better name than 'Eddie'. I keep thinkin' of that Haskell kid on Leave it to Beaver. lol

 

[PipeGeek]

I think of the Pearl as a type of Old Boy. Just... an old boy with a slightly newer design and built-in tamper/pick thing.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

...and supposedly a better butane-feed system.

 

[PipeGeek]

You talk'n 'bout the charcoal filtering?

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Huh. No. Someone, someplace, somehow, mentioned the Pearl uses some different (double?) butane feed system, and the Old Boy uses...something more archaic. *shrug* I'm not even paraphrasing at this point, but recalling a faintly-recalled understanding. Essentially, the idea was to make lighting easier in less-than-still air flow than the Old Boy, which I hear can lose flame if a fly across the room coughs.

8)

 

[Blackhorse]

Yes KW...the Pearl has a double nozzle thing. I'm not sure HOW that makes a difference other than maybe putting out twice the fire...but it apparently works well for its intended purpose.

 

[Hermit]

Nice. I haven't seen an Old Boy lower than about $110, myself.

Old Boy
Byron Oost has em starting at $76.85 for Black Matte.
(Pretty sure he ships em free, but I can't confirm.)

 

[Blackhorse]

Interesting site. Accurate quote. Very good price.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Yeah, not bad.

Considering I have yet to throw down for my first Peterson. I know, it's all just numbers. 8)

 

[MR.LOWERCASE]

Ye humble dumb-pumpkin here, chiming in to give my 2 bits in hopes of helping an honest Brother make the same mistake I did:

Never buy an OldBoy on some crazy sale price unless you've convincingly verified that the vendor is ALL ACES, I got burned literally & figuratively when I first set forth on the tinderpistol quest... tired of my Bic-burn & sore thumb I decided I gotta find a more well-suited lighter come underwater or hellfire & after deliberation (much of which involved "investigative espionage" by lurking here amongst the Very Good Brothers drop the knowledge on my un-knowing head, which ultimately led me to join on up & get greasy with the chickenwings, as it were)...yeah, you can trust me, totally right? I sound like a well-weathered veteran of all pipology do I not?
= )
...pardon, I', still gettin' my horn green, but for real, I've found the OldBoy to be a rocksolid investment especially considering the lower prices they're going for right about now, with a fairly recent overhaul to address any failings inherent in the older model ( newer bulletproof seals etc), you can't go wrong...I've been amazed at the lifespan capacity tank of one refill, the butane just keepsa comin' & yet the downside with OldBoy is wind, it ain't no scratch even onna whisper & as well, as much as I dig the OldWorld lift-arm design, the actual lift-arm is actually a bit awkward for bottom-o-bowl relights especially -- all that said, it is a freakin' tank! I got the matte black which also was appealling cause I can't handle all those froo-froo goldilox luxury trimmings...have you seen what they want for a DuPont lighter?!?!? Egads! I thought aa $100 lighter was the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen, but really, it truly is a faithful tool, always there for you like a Snap-On wrench to get the simple job done...

...eh, but such simple jobs are usually full of complexities, strangely enough & the eccentricities of engineering either FAIL or pass...

...avoid the cheap eBay O.B. knockoffs, they are tossing away $20 you coulda spent onna O.B., plus, there's an Austrian webshop that sells all the spare parts for O.B. if needed & the IM Corona has been in production for so long they've got it going good onna evolutionary scale like a Porsche 911 typa deal...

...FLINT is the only option I can live with, any p-clicker will cluck in the end.

Of course, this is not to say I don't wanna nother flame, I dig Zippo like everybody else but was turned off by the wet-fill fuel...I've had my eye onna Vector Thunderbird that looks like a Zippo but butane, as available from Walker Briar Works etc...any hurrahs for that design? It seems pretty good.

An easy alternative for the 90-flame might be a Prince Pipette --- it's a great design I think, but I've also wasted money on eBazy thinking an an old junkdrawer Colibri Thunderbird done the same style would well suit my needs...all the negative stuff you hear about Colibri lighters is absolutely true, they is dimp squibs fersure!

I've been trying to nab an old classic Maruman pipe-lighter cause theirlift-arm design is more conducive to easy lighting access, yet the trade off may be less butane capacity & crummy seals...

...something that drove me bonkers for a few ill-fated days was trying to hunt down a Sarome PSD12 pipe-lighter, those things are sexy but nearly impossible to find! Uless you can navigate with ease thru the Japanese language it is a massive task! If indeed you are familiar w/ J-lang, then Amazon.jp got all them goodies!!!

...on a final note, the Tsubota may well be a fine lighter, I've come close to gettin' the lil one sans tools in gunmetal it looks sharp & I didn't know about the dual-flame thang, so that's all in the plus box too...but in essence, the IM Corona rip-off of the classic Unique Dunhill Petrol Lighter is a well-tested designed which has been improved upon in true pedigree of pride from the manufacturer & its elegant yet brawny mass is a reassurance to have in hand...

...or of course, them big kitchen matches works good too, just let the sulfur burn first son, let the sulfur burn...

The IMC OLdBoy remains the undefeated heavyweight methinks!

 

[Ocelot55]

I'll echo what's been said by a lot of other folks here. I love my old boy. I use it every day. It is a tireless worker and I have had no issues in the several years I've had it. Built like a tank too. I've dropped mine on concrete more than a few times and she still fires up. Beware the ones wrapped in briar. They look sweet, but that briar will crack and break off if the lighter is dropped. I find the tamper a lot more handy than I thought. I find myself using it all the time. So what are the cons? Just one for me: it isn't worth spit in the wind.

If you find yourself outside a lot, get a zippo. The downside with them is that you will constantly be refiling your lighter. Put a bottle of fluid in the truck, one in the mancave, and another anywhere else you smoke so you won't be out when you need it.