Summary

Hello stringers and welcome to "Tools of the trade Tuesdays". My name is Kevin Youngs and I've been stringing for close to 25 years now and have been fortunate enough to work with very large lacrosse companies and superstars of the game. During that time I've seen, developed and used numerous tools that have been very handy saving your hands and time when stringing. In this series we'll introduce a new tool every week along with tips, tricks and how to's. YouTube videos and reviews will be added as well as giveaways. We invite everyone to share and discuss each item every week.

The first up is Butane Lighters and torches. Lighters and torches are very dangerous and should be treated with care, make sure you read all manufacturers operating instructions and for younger stringers please get parental approval.

The picture above is a simple butane refillable lighter that I received as a Christmas gift and is made by Xikar. They come in many sizes colors and some can even be personalized. After many years of using Bic soft flame lighters and going through so many I figured it was time to find something that could simply be refilled. These lighters work great because you have wind-proof adjustable flame. They do burn at much higher temps and therefore take some time to master. They work great if you have repairs or stringing to do outside. Another good use for them is they're able to cut right through string like butter so if you're on the road it's one less tool (scissors) you need to carry. Butane lighters and refill canisters can be found at home improvement, camping and even Walmart for pretty cheap.

In the same family so to speak is the butane torches. These are basically the same but have larger reservoirs and are a little easier to hold and usually come with different tips for different tasks. This one pictured is a BurnzOmatic and was purchased at Lowes. These are great because they feature an adjustable flame, continuous trigger lock and also have a soft flame. The reservoir is large so that means less refills. It also comes with other hand attachments that hook on the end that are great for cutting string.

All in all these are the way to go in my opinion because of the versatility but if you don't have the funds or in a pinch good ol soft flame lighters can get the job done.

Details