Nortel Red Max Hand Torch

The Nortel Red Max Handtorch puts the Red Max’s flame in your hand. It’s a stainless-steel hand torch with the same flame pattern as the Red Max bench burner, which Nortel labels 45-port while describing a center ring of 16 ports surrounded by 27 (those rings total 43, so we report the maker’s label and the discrepancy rather than resolve it), throwing a large, concentrated flame up to about 1.25 inches, all on a wooden grip. If you want the Red Max’s boro-friendly heat but need to bring the flame to the work, this is the hand-held version.

What the Red Max Handtorch gives you

This is a surface-mix torch, fuel and oxygen meet at the face rather than premixing inside, so even at this size the flame stays clean, quiet, and color-friendly. The pattern gives a large, concentrated flame that Nortel calls great for borosilicate, and the wooden grip keeps it comfortable in the hand through a session. For the background on the flame type, see surface mix vs premix torches; on choosing a format, bench vs hand torch.

Who the Red Max Handtorch is for

This is an intermediate-to-advanced hand torch for boro and general work, a strong pick for someone who wants real heat and reach in a hand-held form, for assembly, spot heating, or larger off-bench pieces. It runs soft glass too, but its concentrated flame leans toward boro. Not sure which glass you’re committing to? See soft glass vs boro vs quartz.

Size, fuel, and oxygen

The Red Max Handtorch is 18 inches overall and burns propane or natural gas with oxygen. Nortel’s suggested regulator pressures are roughly 0.25 to 5 psi on the gas and 5 to 15 psi on the oxygen, line pressures, not flow rates. A large flame like this draws more oxygen than a small hand torch, and Nortel doesn’t publish its exact LPM, so size your oxygen supply against the work. See how many LPM does my torch need.

Where it sits in the Nortel line

The Red Max Handtorch is the hand-held counterpart to the Red Max bench burner, sharing its 45-port flame. Among Nortel’s hand torches it sits at the higher-output end, alongside the smaller Ranger; the six-tip premix Unitorch is a different tool, a scientific hand torch for tubing, lathe work, and seals.

Before you buy

Budget for the whole system, not just the torch: oxygen (a concentrator or tanks), the correct propane or natural-gas regulator, flashback protection matched to your torch and gas supply, didymium or boro-rated eyewear matched to your glass, and ventilation. New to plumbing a torch? Start with the fittings, hoses & connectors guide and the glass torch safety setup guide.

Editor’s note: spec details reflect Nortel’s own materials for the Red Max Handtorch (the 45-port label and the 16 plus 27 ring layout it conflicts with, flame width, overall length, and suggested pressures). Nortel doesn’t publish the torch’s exact oxygen flow (LPM). The price is the US-dollar figure on Nortel’s own store, read 2026-10-17; Nortel prices in Canadian dollars, so its US figure is a currency conversion that moves with the exchange rate. Confirm current specifics with Nortel before purchasing.