Decent Inexpensive Pipe Lighter

[Travis]

Greets ASP,
This has probably been done to death in other forums, but I'm a usenet
guy and haven't seen this question.
What is a decent pipe lighter for someone on a budget. I'm looking for
something that'll last and hold a fair amount of butane.
I've got a bunch of Zippos and a couple of Imco pipe lighters. They're
pretty good, but they're wearing out.
Suggestions?
Thanks, Travis
Pipesandcigars "Best of the Rest" in a bent Pete

[AL]

I've had a Corona Old Boy that I've worn the paint off of. Guess I've had it 20 years or more. When I decide a new one I'll get one just like it.

https://www.iwanries.com/corona-old-boy-black-matte-P6996C1944.cfm
http://www.cupojoes.com/cgi-bin/dept?dpt=H&srch=KW&search_text=Corona+old+boy
http://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/lighters/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=6142
http://pipesandcigars.com/imcooldboype.html

AL ...

[Bill Burney]

On Friday, June 15, 2012 2:40:25 PM UTC-4, Travis wrote:

I have a weakness for pipe lighters. Even though I have a pocket full of them (not even counting the Zippos), I seem to have an urge to acquire more. Some of my lighters are a bit pricy (Old Boys) and some are cheap (Imcos, etc.) but the most important question is "do they work?" Let's go through those that do work.

I love the IM Corona Old Boy lighters. They have a great look and feel and work well. The flame is about perfect for pipe lighting, except in the wind, but they go for around $100. If you can afford it, I recommend them.

The Imco lighter is kinda funky. At about $15, it's a good, reliable pipe lighter. It's light, not particular about fuel and flints and easily adjustable. The surprising thing to me about the Imco is its reliability. Rarely does mine fail me as long as it is fueled and has flint. It even has a way to store a spare flint. You should have one of these, they are hard to beat for the price.

Lots of folks like Bentleys. I like the idea of the built-in tamper, I just don't like the one on the Bentley. I've had reliability issues with the one I had, but it could have just been a dud.

I have been very favorably impressed with an Old Boy knockoff made by Vertigo. It is marginally thicker than an Old Boy, but otherwise, it is almost identical. Mine works better than any of my Old Boys, but then again, it is new and the OB's aren't. I've had it for a couple of weeks and I'm very pleased with it. I can't say much for the durability yet, that will take a few years. So far, though, it seems like a heck of a deal for $20.


Bill "HTH" Burney

[Bill Burney]

On Friday, June 15, 2012 2:40:25 PM UTC-4, Travis wrote:

I found a couple of links for the Vertigo lighters:

http://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/lighters/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=75157
http://www.pipesandcigars.com/vertigobylotus.html

Worth a look.

Bill "missing link" Burney

On Friday, June 15, 2012 2:40:25 PM UTC-4, Travis wrote:

[Bill]

Travis <T-bo...@comcast.net> wrote:

> Suggestions?

Xikar. They stand behind their lifetime warranty 100%. You'll never have to
buy another one.

[Jim Beard]

On 06/15/2012 02:40 PM, Travis wrote:
> Greets ASP,
> This has probably been done to death in other forums, but I'm a usenet
> guy and haven't seen this question.
> What is a decent pipe lighter for someone on a budget. I'm looking for
> something that'll last and hold a fair amount of butane.
> I've got a bunch of Zippos and a couple of Imco pipe lighters. They're
> pretty good, but they're wearing out.
> Suggestions?

Go to Goggle Groups Advanced Search and search this forum for
butane pipe lighters Dupont Dunhill Imco Bentley Old Boy for
maybe the late 1990s or early 2000s. To summarize (and add a few
bits of new information):

At the high end, the only real choices for butane pipe lighters
are Dupont and Dunhill. The main advantage for the Dunhill over
the Dupont was that Dunhill maintained a stock of spare parts for
eternity for all models sold. That has ceased to be true for at
least one model (only one, to my knowledge) and Dunhill did offer
the original price on it toward a new lighter of a different
model if something went wrong.

In the medium price range, the choices were Corona Old Boy and
Savinelli Old Boy. The innards of both were made by Corona.
Savinelli's model (for the U.S.) had a case made in Italy,
innards by Corona made in Japan, and assembly by Savinelli USA in
North Carolina. Colibri lighters were great while they worked,
but did not hold up.In my personal experience, I bought one in
the UK that demanded a trip back to the UK factory for its
"birthday" every year, like clockwork. Colibri replaced the
thing twice (at no charge, mind you), but the third time it went
kaput circa its birthday I tossed it in the dust bin.

At the low end, the IMCO G77 and the Bentley were the choices.
Neither lasted forever (6 months to 2 years was often reported,
though some seemed to get much longer service from them) There
was a time the price range was $5-10
http://www.smokeshopmag.com/0801/pipe.htm but Federal regulations
have made both more expensive, so the IMCO price is around $12 as
is the price on an "Austrian Windproof Lighter" that I think may
be the modern-day cheap Bentley. I could not find a cheap butane
pipe lighter bearing the Bentley name in a quick google, so maybe
it abandoned that price range as unprofitable, but they may be
out there somewhere.

New items: I recently got myself an a.s.p. Zippo, and bought a
Vector butane pipe lighter insert for it. I actually like the
way it works better than my Corona Old Boy that I have been using
for the past 15 years, but durability is uncertain. I have read
reviews that claimed shoddy workmanship and resulting problems,
but the one I got is fine. At $15, I figure I can just replace
the insert if it goes bad, just as I used to replace an IMCO G77
whenever it one went bad.

I am not familiar with the Xikar butane pipe lighter, but its
guarantee is impressive. Of course, the Colibri guarantee was
likewise, and that still did not cut much ice.

The Bentley butane pipe lighters priced at roughly $65 are also
beyond my ken. Their cheap ones used to be good value for the
money, but how the medium price ones will do is a question mark
for me.

Apart from the lighters themselves, fuel and flints are an issue
for butane lighters. The Old Boy lighters and Colibri lighters
require a soft flint. Use anything other than a Colibri flint or
one made expressly for the Old Boy and you will have problems,
and "anything" specifically includes Zippo and Ronson flints.
Opinions on butane fuel are all over the ballpark. I simply buy
Ronson butane at the PX and use that in my Old Boy, IMCO G77s
(year, I have a few lying around, that more or less work but
sputter perhaps due in part to less refined fuel), Bentley, and
Vector insert. Others swear by higher-priced butane, triple- or
quadruple-refined, etc.

YPYM, YTYP!

Cheers!

jim b.



--
UNIX is not user unfriendly; it merely
expects users to be computer-friendly.

[Tom S.]

"Travis" <T-bo...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:u20nt7t7j0m8e789r...@4ax.com...

I have always liked the soft flame butane lighters without flint mechanisms.

http://www.tobacco-barn.com/s-619-vector-pipe-lighters.aspx

I've got a Maximus ($35) and a Rapidash ($25) and am quite pleased with
each of them.

Like Xikar, Vector lighters have a lifetime wattanty.

I find the old liquid fuel (Zippo, Corona) imparts a funny taste to pipe
tobacco.

[Bert Olton]

On 06/15/2012 02:40 PM, Travis wrote:

Hello Travis,

If I've missed other posts of yours, my apologies but if not - welcome
to ASP! I'm with you on the Usenet preference.

I don't have anything to contribute to the butane angle on your
question, but just thought I'd chime in with one thought. Have you
tried a standard Zippo pipe lighter lately with Zippo's "new" formula of
liquid fuel? It's designed to produce less of the fuel flavor some
folks complain about. And, it's tough to beat the reliability of a
Zippo! You mention you've got some Zippos (liquid fuel or with butane
inserts?) that are wearing out: have you ever taken advantage of their
free rebuilding service?

Best regards,
Bert

--
To those who have served or are serving the cause of freedom, whether in
peace or in war, at home or abroad, thank you. Si vis pacem, para
bellum. "Let's roll!", Todd Beamer, United Airlines Flight 93,
September 11, 2001. http://www.canaltownanvil.org

[K. Smith]

I've had a cheap Ronson for around five years that I got at WalMart. It
looks a lot like a Zippo, but shoots a butane flame. And when I say
cheap, I mean it. It was like $5.00. Butane refills don't last a long
time, but I'm not all scientific about refilling it either. I pump some
in when it needs it.

Kevin

[t-boy]

Greets,
Jeez, this is why I love ASP!
Terrific responses - I've got a lot to mull over.
I use my Zippos when I'm out in the wind, and love 'em. Not
crazy-in-love when I over fill and burn my thigh with leakage,
however!
I'm going to check out the others - an Old Boy isn't out of the
question, but money's tight these days.
Again, thanks for the response.
Travis
McCl 2015 in an ebay Hardcastle billard

[Chris Stout]

Like many on here, I have a small collection of lighters that just seemed
to happen over time. The three that I have that stand out in my mind is the
Old Boy, last years ASP zippo with a Thunderbird butane insert, and a Xikar
pipe lighter. I will say, if you can find a B&M that carries the Xikar,
most of them if you have any issues, will just give you a new one out of
their stock and take care of sending yours back to Xikar. I've not had any
trouble with mine, but I had one of their cigar travel cases with a latch
issue, and a humidifier puck that had something funky with the crystals.
Sent them back to Xikar under warranty and had a replacement (repair on the
latch) within about a week and a half! Great customer service!

--
Chris

[Irish-Rogue]

On Jun 24, 12:41 pm, Chris Stout <nismo2...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Lighters are the one thing I haven't inquired about much. Thanks for
the thread. I use a bic and matches. Time for accessory improvements.

[Bill]

I haven't had any trouble with my lighter, but I dropped my cigar cutter
and it went to
Pieces. One trip to the local B&M is all it took for a replacement.

[Jim Beard]

Your refill problem is probably vapor back-pressure. Either
depress the fill valve to bleed off vapor (and heat of
vaporization) to chill the tank, or put the lighter in the
freezer for maybe 15 minutes, and then fill the thing. If the
lighter is almost out of butane, you may need to go for a partial
fill and bleed off vapor from that to chill the thing.

Butane vaporizes at 0.5 degrees F (under standard atmospheric
pressure). Chill the lighter to that temperature and there is
very little back-pressure. You then get a good fill (provided
the spout on the can of butane points downward and it is liquid
butane that goes into the lighter).