I didn't see a thread on this in particular, but I will do some more digging just in case. I recently started pipe smoking occasionally and got the idea to hook up a couple higher power lasers together to use to try and start my pipe. I literally just started the thinking/planning stage on this so any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

First off I think one higher power laser might be sufficient but im worried that it will be to direct especially for lighting a pipe with, thus I thought an array might function better. Maybe even a slightly unfocused 150mW would do the trick well. I don't know any thoughts??

Bad idea to put the focal point of a laser that close to your face even if you are wearing the proper safety glasses.
Achievable, but not practical nor safe, IMO.

hmm good point, well i was mainly thinking the majority of it would be in the pipe, but yea I can understand that, but there has to be a good/safe way to do it, i just havent figured out how yet, if anything i guess I could always just use the laser to light the match to start my smoke.

Got it, I'm fairly certain I could build/convert a lantern apparatus that had a lens all around except where you put the pipe in. That lens would shield for IR and wavelength as necessary. Thanks for bringing that issue to my attention, i'll have to ponder this some more.

A lot of pipes have very shiny finishes on the wood. I guarantee it would be easy, in reality (not theoretical "sky is falling" stuff) to bounce the beam off into your eye. The angles, proximity, focus point - everything to do with this idea - just ripe for burning out your retina.

alright alright, I'll let the idea rest for now i guess...

It is far more difficult than that typical cigarette light you always see. The tobacco is more damp and the area you need to light is much larger.
Just use a magnifying glass on a sunny day

Potentially you could build an apparatus that say, stood on a table, and you would insert the pipe into it to light it. :P But that's not all that "showy", and I'd guess that the smoke rising up from the pipe would -likely- damage the focal lens of the laser.

(Unless you had a replaceable glass flat filter over it, which would induce some loss.)

True, maybe I would just come out better using a laser to light the charcoal for a hookah. Well if it were a large apparatus I don't thing that would be a huge issue, but yea the smoke rising might cause problems even if you had it properly shielded and got it working.

Stop trying to light your weed in a way to show off to your friends.

Lighting anything even the hookah included you have to be close to it. You should be wearing goggles in that situation and then you loose the party trick your trying to pull.

Any reflection off the metal of the hookah or glass on "your" Bong (don't act like thats not what your doing Or you have no idea what I'm talking about, I read you like a Book) Will Hurt your eyes and most likely for the rest of your life.

Do you really want to risk the rest of your life eye sight because you wanted to impress your toke'n buddy's?

wow, say what you will but it wasn't for weed. I'm not an idiot, I have been interested in and using lasers for several years and have all the proper equipment for what I have. I'm a little surprised to find such a juvenile response on this forum from such a heavy poster and outlandish bashing of a fellow laser lover. Believe what you will we actually call the group Fellowship of the Pipe after Lord of the Rings. If someone wants to bring some weed then go for it nothing like some good hobbit weed apparently . We always run out of match sticks and/or lighters so I thought this might initially be a viable solution especially given my love for lasers. So please try not to be so condescending in your rebuttals, nor feel as though you need to act like my mother to show you have some higher moral standard than I when you don't even have your facts straight. I don't have anything to prove to you and really am quite shocked that you would so overtly be intolerant of an experiment. I'm here to share ideas, have a good time and learn all I can. Not to burn my retinas out or toke up with my buddies which it sounds like that expertise belongs to you and your knowledge already of how this idea is completely implausible.