I would also highly doubt there was anything nefarious about it like being stolen. Congrats on the find, for sure.
Brown Leaf Newbie Check-In & General Chat
- Thread starter Boro62
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Kilroy6644
Smoking a corn dog in aviators and a top hat
This lighter is cool and fun to play with....
.... but I'm never putting it in my pocket again.
These were brand new jeans, too.
.... but I'm never putting it in my pocket again.
These were brand new jeans, too.
Yikes. Looks like you got off lucky.
Lighters are supposed to be designed for pocket carry.
Kilroy6644
Smoking a corn dog in aviators and a top hat
I think it would've been ok if there hadn't been anything else in my pocket to hit the button on the lighter. Luckily, I was engaged in a routine activity that requires the pants to not be in normal wearing position, so the fire wasn't right against my leg. I managed to discover it and put it out with no injury to myself.
Kilroy, we carry so much stuff in our pockets now -- key fobs for our cars especially -- that it could happen any time. Glad you're okay.
Kilroy6644
Smoking a corn dog in aviators and a top hat
When it happened, I was just happy that my pants were in the position they were in, so I didn't get burned. Thinking about it more, I had two butane lighters in that pocket too. It would've been even worse if they had cooked off.
Being relatively new to pipe smoking I must confess that one aspect of my new hobby I find most frustrating is dealing with matches 
. I am curious to hear what other methods pipe smokers use to light their favorite tobacco. How are the plasma lighters I have come across?
Tim
. I am curious to hear what other methods pipe smokers use to light their favorite tobacco. How are the plasma lighters I have come across?Tim
Matches are great for pipes, the longer, the better. I‘ve used (swiped) simple wooden kitchen matches in a pinch for many years.Being relatively new to pipe smoking I must confess that one aspect of my new hobby I find most frustrating is dealing with matches
Tim
Otherwise, your usual lighters are fine for pipes, bearing in mind the differences between butane/fluid and standard/pipe models. And two types to avoid.
Opinions will vary on butane/fluid. And while I now use primarily butane, I have no problem with the latest Zippo fluid formulations and pipes. Others may think the fluid lighters impart a temporary taste. This is a greater bone of contention among cigar smokers. If you let a fluid lighter flame stabilize for a couple seconds, it should be relatively tasteless thereafter with any medium.
You can light pipes with standard lighters if you are careful. Carelessness can scorch the bowl rim. Otherwise, a pipe-specific lighter is extremely convenient. The latter generally come in butane, but the $15 Zippo pipe lighter is now a classic and a great first pipe lighter choice.
Two to avoid with pipes: butane jet torches and likely the plasma you are considering. Besides incinerating the finer pipe tobaccos, these types can damage many pipes. A briar, especially a newer one, is simply not designed for the 2,000+ F. temps these lighters generate. Unlike cigars, where multi jet butane torches are popular, a soft-flame is greatly preferred for pipes.
Other differences, such as piezo v. flint ignition, are a matter of style. There are reliable models for both types.
Hope that helps. Happy puffs to you!
I've always preferred the long wooden kitchen matches. When I smoked in the '80s and '90s and could take my pipe to smoking sections of bars and coffee shops, I brought a little box of them along in my pipe pouch. Now, apparently, it's hard to find the small boxes. I may have to buy a pipe lighter.Being relatively new to pipe smoking I must confess that one aspect of my new hobby I find most frustrating is dealing with matches
Tim
Being relatively new to pipe smoking I must confess that one aspect of my new hobby I find most frustrating is dealing with matches
Tim
Never had plasma. Gave up on Zippos after getting first Old Boy. Bic and matches for daily carry. YMMV.
Avoid cigar lighters, they'll just scorch your tobacco and briar/cob. Other than that, kitchen matches are my second favorite method. Let the flame flare up, then apply. Kitchen matches work best, but the little ones work just fine. My standard method is a Bic lighter. That works well enough and I always have one in my pocket.Being relatively new to pipe smoking I must confess that one aspect of my new hobby I find most frustrating is dealing with matches
Tim
My favorite method of lighting a pipe is from a small stick pulled from a fire. Also my favorite way to light a cigar.
I appreciate all the suggestions, but I realized I never explained why I was so frustrated with matches. The reason is I cannot smoke inside the house, not even to light up. So, I am always trying to use matches outside where even a gentle breeze has me going through three or four matches every time I want to smoke a pipe
. Anyway, I came across a slim cased Vertigo butane lighter. It is not a soft flame but it is only a single flame, which is not a "blow torch" like the triple torch Vertigo lighter I use for my cigars.
Thus far, it seems to work OK at lighting my pipe tobacco without scorching the pipe's rim. Of course, I would love to pick up a true butane soft flame lighter but ones like the Colibri or Old Boy are WAY outside the range of what I want to spend on one.
Tim
I appreciate all the suggestions, but I realized I never explained why I was so frustrated with matches. The reason is I cannot smoke inside the house, not even to light up. So, I am always trying to use matches outside where even a gentle breeze has me going through three or four matches every time I want to smoke a pipe
Anyway, I came across a slim cased Vertigo butane lighter. It is not a soft flame but it is only a single flame, which is not a "blow torch" like the triple torch Vertigo lighter I use for my cigars.
Thus far, it seems to work OK at lighting my pipe tobacco without scorching the pipe's rim. Of course, I would love to pick up a true butane soft flame lighter but ones like the Colibri or Old Boy are WAY outside the range of what I want to spend on one.
Tim
A Zippo pipe insert can handle a mild breeze. That's a $15 solution. And if you shop around really hard, a Corona Pipemaster can be had for under $100. That is a superb pipe lighter for outdoors, and anywhere else. You can literally get the head of it into the chamber on many larger pipes.
Lighting a pipe outdoors with a mild breeze is a bit of an acquired art. You have to cup your hand around the bowl as a windbreak while simultaneously getting a flame down there. And not burn your hand.
If these are really cheap pipes or cobs, I wouldn't worry too much about them with a single jet torch. It sounds like you have enough on your plate.
Hirsute
Used to have fun with Commander Yellow Pantyhose
I appreciate all the suggestions, but I realized I never explained why I was so frustrated with matches. The reason is I cannot smoke inside the house, not even to light up. So, I am always trying to use matches outside where even a gentle breeze has me going through three or four matches every time I want to smoke a pipe
Anyway, I came across a slim cased Vertigo butane lighter. It is not a soft flame but it is only a single flame, which is not a "blow torch" like the triple torch Vertigo lighter I use for my cigars.
Thus far, it seems to work OK at lighting my pipe tobacco without scorching the pipe's rim. Of course, I would love to pick up a true butane soft flame lighter but ones like the Colibri or Old Boy are WAY outside the range of what I want to spend on one.
Tim
You can definitely use that just fine. Just be careful not to scorch the rim and watch what you’re doing, and you’ll be fine.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ha, ha, add to this acquired art the challenge to a new pipe smoker to not clench down too tightly that I bite through my pipe's stem and not too loosely that the bowl doesn't bounce up and down like a freakin' bobble head tossing tobacco onto my lap
!Eventually, I will get there - will just take a lot more of this -
.Tim
Ha, ha, add to this acquired art the challenge to a new pipe smoker to not clench down too tightly that I bite through my pipe's stem and not too loosely that the bowl doesn't bounce up and down like a freakin' bobble head tossing tobacco onto my lap
Eventually, I will get there - will just take a lot more of this -
Tim
Sounds like you are doing just fine. Everyone here was in your shoes. You'll be an experienced piper in no time.
Happy puffs!
Most of my pipes I have no trouble keeping steady whether clenched on the left or the right. The new Stanwell billiard has such a slim stem, though, that when I clench on the left, it tends to bounce as you described. I've purchased some pipe bits and will try one on this pipe.Ha, ha, add to this acquired art the challenge to a new pipe smoker to not clench down too tightly that I bite through my pipe's stem and not too loosely that the bowl doesn't bounce up and down like a freakin' bobble head tossing tobacco onto my lap
Eventually, I will get there - will just take a lot more of this -
Tim
For me, pipe bits are a double edge sword. Yes, they are infinitely more comfortable than acrylic in my teeth. And they will help those times when you clamp down. But they change the width of the bit. The angle I keep my jaw is less comfortable (or I'm just not used to it yet) than without.
But as always, YMMV.
But as always, YMMV.
So true. It will depend on where on your teeth you clench down. If carried further back on the jaw, it can be more manageable.
At least for me, after a while on a good rubber bit, you do get some compression, and the bit forms to your teeth impression. It becomes almost custom-fit to your bite. Then it's smooth sailing! I find the first dozen or so smokes on a fresh bit to be a little less comfortable until that happens.
Either way, the comfort cannot be beat, especially on the plastic stems.
On this particular pipe with its slim elegant stem, widening the bit is pretty much what I'm after!
