Short answer: These are two entry-priced surface-mix hand torches that overlap in price but not in temperament. The Carlisle Mini CC Hand Torch is the hand-held version of the Mini CC bench burner: a totally surface-mix, seven-tube stainless matrix in a finned brass body, at about $285, and Carlisle offers it in two versions, a High-Oxygen flame suited to both hard and soft glass and a Pinpoint flame with a longer focal length for piercing detail work. The Bethlehem Sharp Flame Hand Torch is a stainless six-jet surface-mix hand torch built specifically to mimic the center-fire flame of Bethlehem’s discontinued PM2D bench burner, at about $315, with a published oxygen figure of about ~10 LPM at full flame. Choose the Carlisle if you want a versatile bead-and-small-boro torch with two flame characters to pick from; choose the Bethlehem if you want a defined, color-safe flame aimed at boro assembly and seals.
Both are surface-mix hand torches, so both keep the gases separate until the face rather than blending them upstream. If you are still weighing that whole category, start with surface mix vs premix torches, then come back here for the head-to-head.
The two torches at a glance
| Spec | Carlisle Mini CC Hand Torch | Bethlehem Sharp Flame Hand Torch |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Mini CC Hand Torch | Sharp Flame Hand Torch |
| Jets | 7 (seven tubes) | 6 |
| Mix type | Surface mix | Surface mix |
| Mount | Hand (held) | Hand (held) |
| Stages | 1 | 1 |
| Oxygen | Not published (see note) | ~10 LPM (maker estimate) |
| Price (reference) | $285 | $315 |
| Versions | High-Oxygen, Pinpoint | Single build |
Read the table as priorities, not a scoreboard. The Carlisle’s argument is its two selectable flame characters and its CC-family lineage; the Bethlehem’s argument is a single, defined, color-safe flame with a published oxygen figure and a clear design brief. Both sit in the entry price band, within roughly thirty dollars of each other.
Carlisle Mini CC Hand Torch: 7-tube surface mix, two versions
The Carlisle Mini CC Hand Torch is the hand-held sibling of the Mini CC bench burner. Carlisle builds it as a totally surface-mix torch: a seven-tube stainless matrix set into a brass body, with cooling fins cut into the profile to shed heat during long sessions. Because it is surface mix throughout, there is no premixed center fire in this torch, which is the same thing our catalog records for the Mini CC bench version.
What sets the hand torch apart is that Carlisle offers it in two versions, and the choice is a real one. The High-Oxygen version is described as suited to both hard and soft glass, so it is the more general-purpose pick if you move between borosilicate and soda-lime. The Pinpoint version produces a sharper, narrower flame with a longer focal length and, in Carlisle’s own framing, superior piercing capability for detailed work. If your work is fine and precise, or you reach into deep or awkward spots, the Pinpoint flame is the reason to look here; if you want one flame that does a bit of everything, the High-Oxygen build is the safer default.
In the catalog the torch is recorded as a Surface mix, Hand-held, 1-stage torch with 7 jets, priced at about $285 in the entry band. It is a natural fit for beads and small boro, where a light, versatile surface-mix flame in the hand is worth more than raw output.
Bethlehem Sharp Flame Hand Torch: six jets, built to mimic the PM2D
The Bethlehem Sharp Flame Hand Torch takes the opposite approach: rather than offering versions, it commits to one carefully defined flame. It is a stainless-steel six-jet surface-mix hand torch designed specifically to reproduce the center-fire flame of Bethlehem’s PM2D bench burner in a hand-held tool. The PM2D itself is discontinued, and Bethlehem’s Champion is the bench redesign of that same idea; the Sharp Flame Hand Torch is how you get that center-fire flame character without a bench burner at all. If you want the bench replacement, see the Bethlehem Champion.
Bethlehem describes the flame as gentle to glass yet delivering significant heat for fast, even melting, which lets a worker apply soft, well-balanced, penetrating flames for precision detail work and seals on sensitive colors. The build is stainless with an adjustable aluminum handle. In the catalog it is a Surface mix, Hand-held, 1-stage torch with 6 jets, priced at about $315 in the entry band. The stated design targets, boro assembly and color-safe seals, are the jobs it is tuned for.
Surface mix in both: color behavior and arrestor needs
Both torches are surface mix, which matters for how they treat color. In a surface-mix torch the fuel and oxygen stay separate until they leave the face of the burner, rather than mixing upstream. Bethlehem states this plainly for its whole line: all Bethlehem burners are gas-and-oxygen surface mixed, meaning the gas and oxygen are kept separate until they leave the face. Carlisle builds the Mini CC family the same way, totally surface mix in the case of the Mini and its hand torch.
The practical payoff is on color. Community knowledge on the lampworking forums holds that a neutral-adjusted surface-mix flame keeps soft-glass colors true, whereas the higher-velocity premix flame tends to reduce many opaque soft-glass colors toward gray. Treat that as qualitative community experience rather than a measured figure, but it is the reason most modern glass torches, these two included, are surface mix, and it is why both are reasonable choices for color-sensitive work.
Surface mix also changes what flashback protection the torch itself calls for. Bethlehem states directly that its surface-mix burners do not require a flashback arrestor, which is required for premix torches, while noting that the need for one may still be subject to local regulation. That is a per-maker, per-torch statement, not a universal rule, and it is not a reason to skip protection your gas supply or code calls for. Fit the flashback protection your torch and gas supply require, following the maker’s guidance, and read flashback arrestors explained before you plumb either torch.
Oxygen and pressure: one published figure, one unpublished
This is where the two torches diverge on documentation. Bethlehem publishes an operating point for the Sharp Flame Hand Torch: oxygen at 8 to 20 psi flowing about ~10 LPM at full flame, and gas at 2 to 5 psi flowing about 3 LPM on propane. That is a real manufacturer figure, which is why our catalog carries it as an estimate rather than treating oxygen as unknown.
Carlisle publishes no oxygen figure on the Mini CC Hand Torch page, so our catalog records oxygen as unpublished for it and we do not invent one. The related Mini CC bench burner lists a standard consumption of roughly 1.5 LPM propane and about 7 LPM oxygen, but that number belongs to the bench burner, not to the hand torch, and the versions and flame you run would move it regardless. Read the Carlisle hand torch as an unpublished-oxygen torch you size to the actual flame, and read the Bethlehem figure as the maker’s own full-flame estimate, not a fixed spec.
On pressure, follow each maker’s manual and do not collapse the two into one claim. The Mini CC family runs at low pressure, and Carlisle’s own figures split by fuel: the Mini CC (bench) manual specs roughly 0.25 to 3 psi on natural gas but 2 to 3 psi on propane, so house natural-gas pressure can be enough on that model. Confirm the current pressures for the hand torch directly with Carlisle. The Bethlehem runs oxygen at 8 to 20 psi and gas at 2 to 5 psi per its technical page. Set each torch to its own maker’s numbers, and never carry one torch’s settings to the other.
Editor’s note: figures here come from Carlisle’s and Bethlehem’s own product and technical pages where we have them. The Carlisle Mini CC Hand Torch oxygen consumption is unpublished and is treated as something you size to your setup; the ~7 LPM oxygen figure belongs to the Mini CC bench burner, not the hand torch. The Bethlehem ~10 LPM figure is the maker’s full-flame estimate. Versions, flames, and prices change; confirm the current spec with the maker before you buy.
Which to buy
Buy the Carlisle Mini CC Hand Torch if you want a versatile, light surface-mix hand torch for beads and small boro, and you value being able to pick your flame character up front. The High-Oxygen version handles both hard and soft glass as a general-purpose flame; the Pinpoint version trades breadth for a sharp, long-focal-length flame that pierces into detail work. The finned brass body and CC-family lineage make it a comfortable, familiar tool for a maker who wants one hand torch that can flex across jobs. See best torch for glass beads for where it sits among bead torches.
Buy the Bethlehem Sharp Flame Hand Torch if your work is boro assembly and color-safe seals, and you want a defined, documented flame rather than options to tune between. It was built to bring the PM2D’s center-fire character into the hand, it delivers a gentle but penetrating flame for precision detail and sensitive colors, and it comes with a published oxygen figure so you know what you are feeding it. For the wider boro field, see best torch for borosilicate.
If you are still narrowing the decision, the complete buyer’s guide walks the whole oxygen, fuel, and budget question with both of these in wider company.
Related guides
- Surface mix vs premix torches
- Best torch for glass beads
- Best torch for borosilicate
- Flashback arrestors explained
- How to choose a glass torch
Sources
- Carlisle Machine Works, Mini CC Hand Torch: http://carlislemachine.com/as_handtorches/minicchandtorch.php
- Carlisle Machine Works, Mini CC bench burner: http://carlislemachine.com/as_benchburners/minicc.php
- Bethlehem Burners, Sharp Flame Hand Torch: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/torches/sharp-flame-hand-torch/
- Bethlehem Burners, technical information: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/resources/technical-information/
- Bethlehem Burners, frequently asked questions: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/resources/frequently-asked-questions/
- Bethlehem Burners, Champion: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/torches/champion/