and cons to using a torch lighter in lieu of a soft flame?
torch or soft flame lighters?
- Thread starter Mike in Cincy
- Start date
Depends on what you're lighting.
They say it may heat up the pipe tobacco too much and effect the taste.
I char the rim with a torch so no more torches and pipes for me.
Torch is ideal for cigars, but it will char your briar and you don't want that. Soft flame is deal for pipes but some people don't care for how it lights a cigar unevenly at times.
I toast a cigar with a torch, then light with the wide soft flame of a zippo. Even light. I have a Xikar pipeline sideways candlelight lighter or my zippo for pipes.
Soft for pipes, torch for cigars
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I use a torch 99% of the time on my cigars. I completely toast then light the foot of the cigar before I ever take a draw. Then I blow out of the cigar slightly, check and make sure the whole foot is lit (if it isn't I torch the unlit spot) and then I proceed to smoke. This eliminates almost all burn problems due to user error. If the cigar doesn't burn straight after that it possibly over humidified or poorly constructed.
On pipes I only use soft flame, much damage to pipes can occur from a mishandled torch
On pipes I only use soft flame, much damage to pipes can occur from a mishandled torch
For me, it's soft for both cigars and pipes. I also stay away from liquid fuel ighters ike Zippo's
I may be the lone dissenter here, but I care for neither category and nine times out of ten I light both pipe and cigar with a match. Lighting a pipe with a match gives me better coverage for char lighting and better control of the size of the flame, and I just think it tastes better, but that's just me. In regards to the times that I use a lighter, I agree with pretty much everyone else on here: Soft flame for pipes, torch for cigars.
JCinPA
The Lather Maestro
I prefer a match to light my cigars. However, in windy weather I use a torch because it gets the job done more efficiently.
Chris
Chris
+1
Either way, a match or two will get the job done.
I can get a soft flame to work without problems on either a lighter or a cigar, so the Zippo and Nimrod lighters are my go to ignition devices. My late wife talked me into using a torch lighter just long enough for me to scorch the top of a briar pipe, so no more of those for me.
Good sized wooden kitchen matches work great for me when I'm indoors, but since I normally smoke outside there are wind and portability issues.
Good sized wooden kitchen matches work great for me when I'm indoors, but since I normally smoke outside there are wind and portability issues.
Only problem for me sometimes with a torch lighter is that in strong sunlight it can be difficult to see the blue flame.
I prefer a soft flame for both, but 90% of the time I use matches
I use matches when the wind allows. Soft flame otherwise.
The torch is just too easy to for me to mess up. If you can hold it far enough away you could theoretically get the same temperature heat lighting the tobacco, but that's awkward to do.
Anyone else ever thought about the difference in infrared heat from various sources?
The reason I ask is because the government used to test materials for firefighting masks with a lamp that produced heat equal to a fire condition. One mask past the test, but in a real fire, guys were not protected. It had to do with different wavelengths of light between real flame and test lamp. So temperature may not be the only factor in lighting tobacco.
The torch is just too easy to for me to mess up. If you can hold it far enough away you could theoretically get the same temperature heat lighting the tobacco, but that's awkward to do.
Anyone else ever thought about the difference in infrared heat from various sources?
The reason I ask is because the government used to test materials for firefighting masks with a lamp that produced heat equal to a fire condition. One mask past the test, but in a real fire, guys were not protected. It had to do with different wavelengths of light between real flame and test lamp. So temperature may not be the only factor in lighting tobacco.
Interesting point. Definitely worth looking into.
Dupont on land, torch on boat, except for the pipe, prefer matches for that.
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