wick for a pill fob lighter (edc)

I have a pill fob lighter I got online a year or two ago. Everything is working great on it and I love the small size. However it does have a drawback; I can't find an adequate whick for it! I went to 3 cigarette shops/head shops and most haven't even SEEN one like this one.

If anybody recognizes where they are sold I can find the manufacturer, or if anybody know where I can find or order that type of whick.

I hope the pics included shows enough detail and approximate size

Cool lighter. I haven't seen anything like it.

The closest I have is a replica brass WW1 trench lighter.

Seems like the wick is really thin. How does it compare to the wicks sold for Zippos or some of those miniature kerosene lamps?

You might keep looking and find what you want. I suspect that an old-time tobacconist shop is your best bet. Find a place that deals with Zippo lighters and handles the wicks if you can buy Zippo wicks you can tease them apart and recombine them to create the wick configuration you need.

Many places that sell oil lamps have wicking that could be reworked to get what you need.

I keep a roll of all-cotton twine around and as-is it makes a good wick for a lot of quick and dirty applications. a metal jar cap, fat or oil, and a short length of all-cotton cord and you have a lamp. I have also braided it, or teased it apart and braided/plaited the smaller components, to make larger ones.

Looks like a peanut lighter from county comm or one of the many knock-offs

http://www.countycomm.com/peanutlighter.htm

http://www.dealextreme.com/forums/Forums.dx/Forum.3734~threadid.195701

For the price, it's probably just easier to buy the whole lighter, the wick is a pain to try and feed through

You might take a look at The Wick Store (www.wickstore.com). If you click on the "Wick 10 Yard Hanks" button, they have a "10 Yards Round Cotton Oil Lamp Wick - 1/8" Diameter" for $10.80 that might do the trick. (I suspect that 10 yards is probably enough wick for 10 lifetimes, but you can pass it on to your descendents ;>)

thanks. I did get this from a "survival equipment" website, but the name/address escapes me. I've been to two cigar shops, and yes the wick is quite a bit larger on a zippo (give or take 2x).

I assume if I wound the wick tight enough it shouldn't make it less likely to take a flame?

Wow. I thought MY lighter was small. That peanut is SUPER small!

the 1/8" looks to be right, I saw a comparison pic of that, a larger (which should be for zippo) and it looks right. I should look into that one but you're right the 10yards would last a long time!

do you all know if its typically cotton wicks? there is fiberglass AND cotton. To me it feels like cotton perhaps but I'm far from an expert.

I would say that you could modify a zippo wick to work

If it's a standard peanut lighter or country comm lighter then all the zippo parts at walmart, cvs or Walgreens will work in these lighters. I have changed out the flint and wicks in all these lighters, you have to use sand paper to sand the diameter of the flint down to work and the wicks have to be rolled tight and a good pair of hemostats will pull it through with no problem. I have found that zippo parts work the best than the stuff it came with it. I EDC the peanut lighters and have them all in all of my kits and keep a small FOB of lighter fluid with them. They work great and waterproof. Just got to protect them from wind when lighting but it beats butane for me, I'm not a butane fan at all. I can also use the lighter fluid as tinder with my flint as well.

Great information and photos, falcon5000. Thanks very much.

I have some peanut lighters, and the even smaller "split pea" lighters, from countycomm. As you said, the standard flints are too big in diameter. I tried first a Zippo and then a Ronson flint, grinding them down with a metal file, but couldn't make them small enough to fit. Never thought of using sandpaper!

Wicks, bought or DIY, are easy to feed into most lighters. They have to be a bit tight to work right. I usually tie a bit of thread or dental floss very tightly very close to one end, stuff the thread up through the hole and then use it to pull the wick in, trim the thread off and fluff out a bit.

Making a wick from cotton string is simple once you know how thick you need it. You could probably get by just twisting up the cotton string. I plaited the few I made. Once you get the rhythm down it is about as easy to braid or plait up three feet of wick as it is to just produce the three inches you need. The only reason I needed to do it twice was because I couldn't find the remainder of the first go. Plaiting, depending on how tight you do it, can make a nice tight wick that pulls naphtha well, burns slowly and evenly, and produces a nice flame.

It isn't rocket science. It's screwing around with a ball of cotton string. Look up plaiting and braiding on the web and get yourself some string. Making your own light line is a useful skill that allows you to make your own string, light line, and rope. Also wicks for oil or fat lamps ... and a new wick for that oddball lighter.

Thanks, Glad I could help nurit.

Good info, thanks. I've got a few of those.

...didn't know we could post photos here.