'Anyone Collect Zippo Lighters?'

[Panther_99FS]

I was just at a gun show and a few vendors had some nice Zippos for sale..

[HouseHobbit]

Yes, at the Gun shows here they also do this..
I am not a collector of these but Many are..
I still have the one I had engraved while I was in the Army..
Spent a Hundred dollars getting a Zippo engraved, But now I have it set up in my bedroom, hasn't been used in 30 years..
Everytime I look at it I remember those days.. And have to smile..

[Henry]

i had a 1970 zippo
us marines as a gift
the top broke off
great lighters
H

[OBIO]

I have/had 4 Zippos. One has a wolf scene engraved in it, the other is an older Camel Zippo, one is a plain jane Zippo from the 50s...unused, in the original gift box. The other is around here somewhere....I think...may have lost it...haven't seen it in a while. I stopped using my Zippos because I was constantly misplacing them....but I always know where my cheap 4 for a dollar lighters are.

OBIO

[GT182]

I've got a few HD zippos sitting around but I don't use any of them anymore. Tired of lighter fluid burning the crap out of my leg.

Last one I got was a Marlboro zippo, and never used that one at all, it's still in the box.

If you have any made in Niagra Falls NY, hang on to them. They are, and have been, collectors items.

[cheezyflier]

when i used to smoke i one day dug out the old zippo my dad used.
i lit a winston.
it tasted like kerosene.
i never used it again.

[Jagdflieger]

I still have my engraved Zippo from VN. I still use it now and then for a cigar. Of course cigar aficianados would cringe at not using a stick match, but for me; using the Zippo is half the pleasure.

I was going to buy my son a Zippo last year, but the quality just wasn't there anymore. The old ones were made of brass that was chrome plated. The new ones seem to be made of a much lighter metal. Probably just as functional, but they just don't have the heft of the old ones.

[harleyman]

I do...I nave about 14 Harley zippoes now..

[Panther_99FS]

For the collectors,
Do you keep them in the box or use 'em :ques:

[harleyman]

In the box....In a cabinet with all my Harley collectables...

[Matt Wynn]

i have 20 or so Zippos, 10 are fuelled and ready at all times, i try not to use them but then i dig out a proper cigarette and not the E-Cigarette and well... a nice quick hand movement for show and it's lit...

the other 10 sit happilly in box, in a cabinet

[Blackbird686]

I still have my engraved Zippo from VN. I still use it now and then for a cigar. Of course cigar aficianados would cringe at not using a stick match, but for me; using the Zippo is half the pleasure.

A butane torch is also acceptable for use in the cigar aficianado circles. Of those, I have only a couple and I use them frequently to light up a fine "Rocky Patel" or a "Partigas". I have about 45 different "Zippo's" as well as a few Zippo knockoff's from different places around the world.

BB686:USA-flag:

[Matt Wynn]

yeah for cigars I prefer a match, theres a skill to lighting one with a match i've a feeling when i'm at your age Blackbird I might be severely outnumbered by Zippos, 21 now and I have 20... my birthdays Coming up in May and i always get myself a new Zippo these days for my birthday, my prize one would be an RAF Crest one i won in a game of cards either that or the one simply engraved with my operational Nickname... just blank and on the non hinged side Matt 'Archangel' Wynn, that one'll be a family heirloom when i'm gone, or I hope it does ...

[Jagdflieger]

Speaking of lighters for cigars, there is a great tobacco store in Victoria, BC that has a unique natural gas cigar lighter that is a piece of furniture made from alabaster or marble. It stands shoulder high and has a decorative brass tube that has a continuous flame burning. The only other one in the world is reportedly in Singapore or in Malaysia. The owner says that it is worth close to a million dollars. Don't know about that, but it is a unique piece of tobacco history.

If you are ever in Victoria, stop in at the E.A. Morris Tobacco shop on Government St. They have a great selection of cigars, but you can't use the antique cigar lighter because, per law, you can't smoke in the tobacco store!

The lighter is in the center of the interior photo below (from their website).

[Blackbird686]

In Buffalo, New York, there is an exquisite cigar shop called "Delicantia", that is frequently visited by folks such as Sylvester Stallone, Sean Penn, as well as alot of other high rollers. Despite that, the place is absolutely amazing. There is a very large cigar lounge where you can sit and relax and enjoy a fine smoke. I have been there on several occasions.

BB686

[Navy Chief]

I have two Zippo lighters; both of which are from two squadrons I was attached with: Attack Squadron Fifteen, and Strike Fighter Squadron Eight Three.

When I was on Med deployments (leastwise it was the case back in the 1980s-90s), the Zippo lighters were as valuable as gold, when trading with the locals in the ports of call.

I traded one with a cab driver in Anatalya, Turkey. In return, he took me on a night of partying at his local pubs. I had a GREAT time! He couldn't speak English, but did speak German, and I knew enough German to get my ideas across.

NC

[Cazzie]

Call me a bum Panther. The only Zippo lighter I ever owned, cheap 1960s era, leaked lighter fluid so bad I gave up on it and went back to my redneck regular, wooden box matches. I used them until I quit smoking cigs in December 1974.

Of course, in relation to one of Ickie's threads, I stilled used boxed wooden matches for smoking of other materials.

Caz

[brad kaste]

....I have a Harley Davidson logo'ed Zippo my brother-in-law gave me some years ago. Yeah,...it's a bit of a hassle with the fluid and all,...besides the refill mess at times and the fluid drying out too often,.... but hard to beat firing up decent stogie in the evening using an American icon.

[Wild Bill Kelso]

Here's mine:

Attachment 30967

As you can see, I'm no collector...

This "piece of art that works" (sorry: wrong item!) is in daily service since I quit drinking any alcohol and started smoking instead, 13 years ago. It lights up about 30 times a day...

Cheers,
Markus.