Show off your Crazy Zippo Lighter/s

NAW

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I'm just curious if there is any other Zippo owner (collector) out there. If you want, just show off your Zippo design. I'll start first.


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This is my Zippo lighter. I bought it a couple years ago and kept it in good condition (so far) :rock:
 
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cutlerylover

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Re: Show off your Zippo Lighter/s

great thread...I am a zippo collector myself, knives 1st, then I love Zippos, and most recently flashlights...Here are a few pictures of some of my zippos, I will try to gte a few pics of my non lighter zippo products...(by the way not many people know this but zippo has made hundreds of other products over the years besides lighters...its true) A little tid bit for everyone... the 1st zippos retailed for $1.95 each...check out my free zippo site for other cool zippo facts... www.freewebs.com/pyrosharp/

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cutlerylover

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Re: Show off your Zippo Lighter/s

oh by the way that very 1st picture I posted of the zippo with the grapes and wine glasses....thats my favorite one...it has a high polished finish and the wine in the glasses is 24 karot gold plated...very claasy lighter, but Im too affraid to use it, I don't want to scratch it all up...so in the display it sits...
 

cutlerylover

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Re: Show off your Zippo Lighter/s

lol...Im sorry I didn't mean to hijack the thread, I just got excited to see other people showing an interest in zippos...
 

revolvergeek

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Re: Show off your Zippo Lighter/s

Nice collection CL! I just have one of the 194? Replicas, and am planning on ordering a Brushed Bronze Armor also.
 

cutlerylover

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Re: Show off your Zippo Lighter/s

Thank you!

yup your thinking of the 1941 replica...yes cool zippo, I love the replica zippos myself because they are a piece of histyrt and more rare than most other zippos...I woukd love to get a 1932 - 1941 replica (they changed the box like shape and outside hinge in 1941) but every time I see one for sale somewhere either they sell out or I don't have enough money to buy it...they go for @ $75 give or take and on ebay who knows what they will end up at when the auction ends...

p.s. I love the armmor zippos and many many japanese designed armor ones that are VERY nice but the japanese models can ell upwards of $100 - $150 a piece so they have been out of my price range...
 

NAW

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WoW Cutlerylover,

thats a pretty big collection. My mom once had a big collection of Zippos before, she even had that big Zippo display case also. But she sold them all off...

Out of curiosity which Zippo design do you like best, the fatter Zippos or the skinnier Zippos?
 

hiluxxulih

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Re: Show off your Zippo Lighter/s

Have you herd anything about a new butane Zippo lighter ?
cutlerylover said:
great thread...I am a zippo collector myself, knives 1st, then I love Zippos, and most recently flashlights...Here are a few pictures of some of my zippos, I will try to gte a few pics of my non lighter zippo products...(by the way not many people know this but zippo has made hundreds of other products over the years besides lighters...its true) A little tid bit for everyone... the 1st zippos retailed for $1.95 each...check out my free zippo site for other cool zippo facts... www.freewebs.com/pyrosharp/
Quoted photos removed. One line and a huge quote :(
Norm
 
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cutlerylover

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Well NAW -

....I like the full size zippos more...the smaller ones are called zippo slims and they were originally made for the ladies...a smaller package to keep in a purse...its cool that your mom use to colect them...there are a lot of women who collect them just like men, in fact the one person who officially has the biggest collection is indeed a women...middle aged, she started collectign when she was 15 or so...she has over 5,000 lighters and hundreds of other zippo products!
hiluxxulih -

I have not heard of a butane zippo yet but they ahve come out with butane models in the past...not like a zippo but like other butane lighters just with the zippo logo on it...but that was back in the 80's...Although there are many people who collect and use zippos but do not like the smell andmess of the lighter fluid so they buy inserts for them...If you look at the picture with the big zippo in it to the left of the zippo...that is a Z-plus insert...it has the same shape as a regular zippo insert and it fits in any full size zippo but it uses butane and has an adjustable torch flame...you can buy these online or on ebay for @ $10- $15 a piece....Here is an advertisement picture for you...


zplus.jpg
 

cutlerylover

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Here is a cool zippo I made...it is known as a shorty...some zippos were cut down so they were smaller vertically...this was done by a bunch of guys in vietnam...I know a guy who does these for people and charges them I think $20...anyway he told me how to do it and I made one for myself...here is how it came out...I did it too a satin finish zippo from 2005...

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http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/cutlerylover/749148-MVC-113S.jpg
 

cutlerylover

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clikc on my website link in ym signature to see a copy of the date chart...Once your at the site just use the links on top...you can use this guide to see exactly when you zippo was made...they year and more recently the year and which month...the newer zippos from 1980 and up have the inderts marked the same way with the year and the month, often you will have a zippo case that was made a different time than the insert, this happens when a new insert has been placed inside a case...just a tid bit...lol, I have tons of these little zippo facts if anyone is interested...:drool:


If you have trouble reading the chart I can explain it better or just post what markings are on the bottom of your zippo and I can tell you what they mean....
 
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cutlerylover

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Hey guys and gals...I totally forgot!!!!!!!!!!! since this IS the flashlight forum I should talk about the Zip-light!!!!!!!!!! thats right now many know about them since they were only in production for a short while...the zippo zip-light is a flashlight insert for your favorite zippo case...They use to sell the inserts by themselves or the full package with a ziplight case...Here is a few pictures of the 2 that I own...the one is the stock light and the second one was modded for me by a guy I know who liked to mod zippos...it was upgraded with a red LED and a new easy to obtain battery...the original batteries for these are no longer made by zippo...When the lighter is closed the light is off but when you open the lid the connection is made and the light turns on....Cool huh! :naughty:

Ok this is how it works...the piece of metal on the end that looks like a half moon sticking out well when that is pushed in the connection is made...so when you put the insert in the case it pushes that piece over and the light stays on...but when the red "buton" on the top is pushed over the connection breaks shutting the light off, when the lid is closed it keeps the button pushed in therefore keeping the connection apart and the light is off so the battery power is not wasted...

The lighter I used in these pictures is one of my EDC's...its a high polished 1936 replica that I attached a custom pewter emblem to...I don't smoke but I still sometimes carry a zippo on me more or less for other people, lol, I guess Im pretty generous huh...lol :grin2:

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vetkaw63

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cutlerylover said:
Here is a cool zippo I made...it is known as a shorty...some zippos were cut down so they were smaller vertically...this was done by a bunch of guys in vietnam...I know a guy who does these for people and charges them I think $20...anyway he told me how to do it and I made one for myself...here is how it came out...I did it too a satin finish zippo from 2005...

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http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/cutlerylover/749148-MVC-113S.jpg


Ok, I went to your site but, no mention of the shortened lighters. So, how did you do it?
Mike
 

cutlerylover

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Hey Mike...sorry the sites I have are both new and always gbeing updated so thats why there is no shorty on there, but hopefully in the future there will be...

Ok, I will try to explain without confusing you too muhc, but it might sound confusing anyway, lol...

Ok 1st thing I did was use a file and file down on the back of the case until the file eventually cuts through the weld that keeps the case and hinge together...this will eventually seperate the bottom of the case so you will have the bottom, and then the top with a hanging bottom half of the hinge...I do this with the insert out to make it easy... Then I put the lid and bottom of the case next to each other and make a line on the bottom marking it off as the same length as the lid...then you take a hack saw and cut the case the same size as the lid...then just use a VERY strong epoxy to attach the hinge back onto the bottom of the case...but before you do that you will need to file down a little channel for the hinge to sit in...so now you have your new shorty case...

Now for the insert...take out the flint, and the spring as well as all of the rayon balls (cottom balls) there should be 5 of them...also take out the wick...now line up your new case with the insert and mark off where the new insert has to be (how much you need to cut off) then cut it off, you will also be cutting into the flint tube...thats small tube that holds the flitn and spring and little screw at the end...

Ok, If you made it this far your doing good...now you will need to make a few threads in the end of the tube so that the screw will have something to catch when you put everythign back together...now cut your sprinf down so that it fits in the tube with just a little pressure so that ti still keeps your flint where it needs to be...then slip in your wich and use needle nose pliers to pull it through the hole you see there and make it even with the chimney...then put back in 2 or 3 of the rayon balls...remember its shorter now so not all of them will fit back in...Now just fill it up a bit with fluid, and slip the insert back in and your DONE!

Now mine came out ok, but I struggled to make the cuts smooth because I was using what tools I had around which wasn't much at the time...My biggest problem was keeping the cuts smooth and even...then I had to borrow the tool to make threads in the tube since I did not own one...Besides that, all I needed was a hack saw, sand paper show goo (my epoxy for the hinge) wire clippers (for the spring) and a set of small files...Again I know its hard to understand what I have explained without step by step pictures, but I will be happy to answer any questiosn you may have, just post your question...Good Luck!
 

vetkaw63

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Thanks cutlerylover,
I understood perfectly. I will have to make one. I think I may try soldering the hinge on.
Mike
 

cutlerylover

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Hey Mike, yeah Sodering would be even better I mention epoxy once again because of my lack of the right tools, if I had a sodering iron I would have used that instead to make the hinge even more sturdy, but I mostly just display mine so the show goo works just fine for m...Its not that hard of a mod but its a cool conversation piece...and when people ask about it you can go into the history behind it the mod...

If your ever in a book store check out this book...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0764305948/?tag=cpf0b6-20

It not only explains the differences in real and knockoff vietnam zippos, but it also contains tons of history about the zippos used in vietnam...and you will find many examples of shortys in there with all kinds of trench art on them...
 

Kraid

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For the years the "Constantine Zippo" has been my Holy Grail of lighters. I couldn't imagine anything cooler to me. Well, it was of course an oversized movie prop that just had a zippo insert. They were never mass produced. Zippo did a limited run of 300 for the Japanese market sometime around the release of the movie, but those quickly shot up to $2K+ on the secondary market! Well, I found someone to CNC a 1935 zippo in the Constantine style for me. I chose the 1935 due to the square shape and the outside hinge. Both features make it closer to the movie version.

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For for info on the meaning of the inscriptions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Benedict_Medal
 
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