Nimrod lighter

[Ryepipe]

I have both the Commander and the Admiral, the only difference I can determine is one has a fluted case.
These are lighter fluid not butane lighters. Most notable is they seem to conserve fluid way far longer than the Zippo pipe lighter operating on the same, side lighting, mechanism.
The Zippo would seem to evaporate within a day or so. The Nimrod lights up after a week of sitting indoors or outside even in winter. Got the last one in pristine condition off HeaveBay for $16. incl shipping.
Very highly recommended.

 

[BriarBrad]

I have looked high and low for them at the antique stores here. Really want one.

 

[Ryepipe]

Just went to HeaveBay and under Collectibles there are no less than 17 at the moment. Enter Nimrod Lighter. Many are the tubular pipe lighter but an equal number are classic Zippo shape. Happy Hunting!

 

[williamcharles]

My commander blows my Zippo out of the water too. Much better performance fuel wise.
Great lighters and they last and last and last.
I also have one of the old Nimrod "Bolt" type lighters.
It lives in a drawer. Small fuel capacity. Great for someone who maybe smokes 1-2 bowls daily.

 

[docwatson]

+1 on the Nimrod Commander. They are great and very affordable. But my favorites are still the Corona old Boy butane and for very short money the Imco butanes are hard to beat.

 

[Ryepipe]

Alas almost all of the new iterations of IM Corona butane for pipe (horizontal or angled flame) are over $100. (new) and most around $125. There is a soft double flame butane (for cigars, it says) that I found at my local B&M for $50. A screaming deal for the devoutly retail small town I live in.
Corona lighters are very reliable. That cost might offset buyers remorse of other lighter purchases more biased to towards screaming than deals...YMMV

 

[monbla256]

The problem with most lighters is that they are basically designed to light CIGARETTES !! Takes about 1/5th the time to light a cigarette as it does to light a pipe so basically one is using MORE of the fluid/gas than a cancer stick user. They may have different flame directing systems for lighting a pipe but they are still just CIGARETTE LIGHTERS  :twisted:   :twisted: 

 

[Ryepipe]

Monbla, that is an interesting take on lighter capacity. I am thankful they have directed the flame direction for us pipers. I do suspect regardless of application the size of the fuel reservoir, like on cars...Porsche...Chevy...does not categorize the nature of the vehicle too much. I'm OK with filling the Nimrod, not the Zippo guzzler...
If there was money to be made with even more efficient lighters, albeit, at a fair market price ...we are but a hiccup on the lighter event horizon...so far

 

[SPUD 15]

you cant beat coronas warranty (Lifetime on function no warranty on finish) Now that Music city Marketing is the repair facility in the U.S. if anything is amiss with your lighter the cost is $9.00 + shipping there with a note as to what is wrong they repair and send your lighter back to you. In the past there was a lot of conversations about the Tsubota lighters but have not heard much about them anymore and I do not think that they have a repair facility in the U.S. corona has repair facility's world wide Just my .02. MIKE

 

[ravkesef]

Back in the 60's and 70's I had the Nimrod Commander and the Sportsman. Oh, if I had only known what treasures they were! Had I the foresight, I would have bought a case of each. And to be perfectly frank, I have no idea what happened to my old Nimrods--lost somewhere along the way, no doubt. But reading this thread made me hungry, so I went to eBay and picked up one of each, and I'm eagerly waiting for them to show up.

 

[RobJ]

I have a Nimrod Sportsman that I bought in the early '70s when I started on the pipe. I need to have it repaired though as something seems to have caught in the flint chamber and I can no longer load a flint and the spark wheel just spins. I love that lighter and need to get it working again.

 

[loneredtree]

+1 on the Nimrod Commander's fuel lasting a long time when not in use. Not like the Zippo. I have a bolt type also but prefer the Commander.

 

[jefe1037]

I have a Nimrod Sportsman that I bought in the early '70s when I started on the pipe. I need to have it repaired though as something seems to have caught in the flint chamber and I can no longer load a flint and the spark wheel just spins. I love that lighter and need to get it working again.

this is prob a flint... they expand when they oxidize or whatever happens over long periods of disuse.

if you have the right setup a drill press with a wire bit will work. if not, a precision file set and patience is the best option that i can think of.

 

[RDPipes]

I have a Nimrod Sportsman that I bought in the early '70s when I started on the pipe. I need to have it repaired though as something seems to have caught in the flint chamber and I can no longer load a flint and the spark wheel just spins. I love that lighter and need to get it working again.

this is prob a flint... they expand when they oxidize or whatever happens over long periods of disuse.

if you have the right setup a drill press with a wire bit will work. if not, a precision file set and patience is the best option that i can think of.

I agree with Jefe, I've had to do this with quite a few old Zippo's etc.
Usually just drill it out by hand with a bit and a pin-vise. Takes a bit of time because ya gotta get ALL the old flint out or the new one will jam in the tube and ........well, ya just start all over again.

 

[RobJ]

Great info Brothers and thanks for the suggestion. I'd thought about doing that that but never did try to take a drill to it. I'll give it a shot this weekend so wish me luck!

 

[RDPipes]

Great info Brothers and thanks for the suggestion. I'd thought about doing that that but never did try to take a drill to it. I'll give it a shot this weekend so wish me luck!

Just remember NOT to use a drill motor, ya might go a bit to far or wallow out the flint tube and destroy the threads.  

 

[RobJ]

That was my thought as well which is why I'm going to go slow and easy with a pin vice.

 

[ravkesef]

Okay, so as previously noted I acquired a Nimrod Commander and a Nimrod Sportsman on eBay, and both work fine. I enjoy them and they bring back memories of the good old days when I could buy them new at just about any shop selling pipe and tobacco items. Now for the reality: The Nimrod Commander doesn't have anywhere near the long fuel life that the rest of you are writing about. If I refill it, leave it, and come back to it three days later, it won't light because the fuel has evaporated. It must be that the case is loose, but I can't find where that is. It may also be that the original packing was replaced with ordinary cotton, though I have no idea what the original packing might have been. My Zippos last about four or five days in use, and I consider that to be acceptable, given the number of times I call upon them to deliver a light. My Nimrod Sportsman is good for about three or four days, and I regard that as acceptable.

As I commented in another thread, I like a fuel lighter because the Zippo Black fuel has a lower odor then the old Zippo/Ronson fuel, and if I let it burn for one or two seconds after lighting, I don't seem to notice the taste of the fuel that much, though YMMV. And again, the advantage of a fuel lighter, regardless of brand, is that it burns at a lower temperature then butane, (650°C versus 1977°C) and so the risks of scorching the wood, or bringing the tobacco to such a high temperature that the tobacco itself is scorched is greatly diminished.

And lest we forget, a zippo lighter will be repaired by the company for free. That's one big advantage that they have over for the Nimrod, where the company itself is no longer in existence, and there is no one to repair it but yourself.

 

[monbla256]

Check with these folks. They've done excellent work for me since I first used 'em back in the late '70s for the servicing of my old Dunhill Rollalite fuel lighter.

http://authorizedrepairservice.com/aboutus.asp

 

[SPUD 15]

My nimrod commander fuel supply lasts at least twice as long as my Zippos. I attribute the difference of evaporation difference to the fact that the Nimrod insert has the cover attached to it and where the insert meets the base they interconnect with what is similar to a tung and groove, whereas the zippo insert just slides into the base. I hope this makes sense MIKE