325. Peterson’s Zippos & A Commemorative Zippo for Pete Geeks

  As mentioned last week, Shimshon Cook, CPG has taught me the joys of using a Zippo. Before you think unkind thoughts about my mental deficiencies, do remember I’ve been without my Rx lithium and off the rec ‘shrooms for over a year now! But it's been so many decades since using a Zippo that I had to approach with my beginner's mind concerning a few basics—e.g., can you really draw the flame down far enough into the bowl to smoke an entire bowl? Or, if I place the ring of the Zippo pipe lighter on the crown of my Pete, do I risk burning the pipe rim? Shimson is a good, kind teacher and didn’t even raise an eyebrow (well, okay, maybe there was a twitch) and even agreed to go over everything in a fun video he made for PPN: For my part, I haven’t attempted mastering the traditional insert for pipe lighting as Shimson does so effortlessly, but thus far have only used the pipe insert. I’m one of those rare pipemen who enjoys the aroma of lighter fluid, probably because as a boy, I used to make pop can "bazookas" with my cousins. I haven’t had any problems whatsoever with placing the Zippo ring on top of the pipe rim. It does require a bit more draw to bring the flame down than an Old Boy and lacks the directional control, but works quite nicely. For me there’s an added attraction. I have a bad habit of wanting to smoke a bowl to the very bottom, which can cause char around the air hole as well as fry my tongue. Butane lighters are great enablers in this regards. But a Zippo, as the flame won't pull down beyond about 30 mm, prevents these combustive problems. That bit of leftover tobacco at the bottom of the bowl is also insurance against char at the airway and char of my tongue. If the chamber is much deeper than 42mm, I simply I turn to my favorite Peterson Old Boys, but that’s fine as well, giving me a chance to practice my slow cadence.   THE PETERSON ZIPPOS One upshot of my recent interest in Zippos is recalling that Peterson issued one or two of these a few years back. I’ve turned up five, although I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more than that and would of course like to hear from you if you have one not seen below. 2005 Shape 303 / Zippo Sherlock Holmes Pipe Lighter Gift Set This is a fairly nice "beginner's kit," and while not everything I’d have wanted I'd be glad to gift it or to get it. First, it delivers a System 303, introducing the new smoker to the flagship Peterson System. The pipe lighter is fine, but doesn’t really say anything about Peterson. The Janus-faced Sherlock Holmes at least offers a bit of a connection, although K&P presumably had artwork they could’ve provided that would not only say Sherlock…

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