the.com/blowtorch
a pocket sun you point at things, settling arguments with metal and crème brûlée alike
means A handheld tool that produces a small, intense flame for soldering, welding, stripping paint, or otherwise applying concentrated heat to a precise spot.
from A plainly built compound: "blow" plus "torch." The "blow" comes from the old way these devices worked — forcing air or gas through the flame to make it hotter and fiercer, the same "blow" you'd use for blowing on embers. "Torch" goes back through Old French "torche" (a twist of straw or rope, a burning bundle) to a Latin root tied to twisting, "torquere." So the word is literally a flame you make burn harder by blowing — an industrial-age coinage stacking two very old English words for a very modern jet of fire.
- flame temp
- oxy-acetylene hits around 3,500 degrees Celsius
- crème brûlée
- chefs caramelize sugar with the same flame welders use
- frostbite fix
- originally invented to thaw frozen water pipes
- cuts steel
- oxygen jet burns through metal, not just melts it
- name origin
- literally describes blowing air into a flame
oxy-acetylene torch — welding tool using oxygen and acetylene gas, invented in early 1900s, standard in metalworking
bernzomatic torch — handheld propane torch brand, widely used for plumbing soldering and culinary applications since 1957