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Zippo

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A Zippo Lighter is a refillable, metal lighter manufactured by Zippo Manufacturing Company. They are frequently collected and thousands of different styles and designs have been made in the seven decades since their introduction.

Image:Zippolighter.jpg

They became popular in the United States military, especially during World War II — when, as the company's website says, Zippo "ceased production of lighters for consumer markets and dedicated all manufacturing to the U.S. military." <ref>The story of the Zippo Manufacturing Company at the company's web site.</ref> Additionally, Zippo lighters are known for offering a "forever" guarantee: if a Zippo lighter breaks, no matter how old or how many owners it has had, the company will replace or fix the lighter for free. The only part of a Zippo lighter that carries no warranty is the finish on the outside of the outer case and lid.

Zippo lighters gained popularity as “windproof” lighters, able to stay lit in harsh weather, due to the design of the windscreen and adequate rate of fuel delivery. A consequence is that it is hard to extinguish by blowing out the flame. The proper way to extinguish the lighter is to close the top half, which starves the flame of oxygen, but, unlike other lighters, and action like this does not cut the fuel. One of the recongnisable features of zippo is the fact that it burns with a wick. Rapidly closing the top lid produces a loud and easily recognizable clicking sound for which Zippo lighters are known.

Current Zippos carry a MSRP between $12.95 up to more than $3,500 USD, depending on the rarity and materials used in the given item. In 2001, according to the fall 2003 issue of IUP Magazine, a 1933 model was purchased for $18,000 at a swap meet in Tokyo, and in 2002 the company bought one valued at $12,000 for its own collection.<ref>Zippo’s Czar (brief profile of the company's top executive, with two photographs).</ref>

Contents

[edit] History

George G. Blaisdell founded Zippo Manufacturing Company (located in Bradford, Pennsylvania) in 1932, and produced the first Zippo lighter in early 1933, being inspired by an Austrian cigarette lighter of similar design. It got its name because Blaisdell liked the sound of the word "zipper" ,and also felt that the sound of the lighter opening resembled the sound of a zipper. On March 3, 1936, patent no. 2032695 was granted for the Zippo lighter.

Since 1933, over 400,000,000 Zippo lighters have been produced. After World War II the Zippo lighter became increasingly used in advertising by companies large and small through the 1960s. Many of the early advertising Zippo lighters are works of art painted by hand, and as technology has evolved, so has the design and finish of the Zippo lighter. The basic mechanism of the Zippo lighter has remained unchanged.

Zippo has recently expanded its product line to include a variety of utility-style multi-purpose lighters, known as the Zippo MPL. These lighters are fueled with butane.

A museum called Zippo/Case Collector's Club is located in Bradford, PA at 1932 Zippo Drive. This 10,000 square foot building contains rare and custom made Zippo lighters, and is the only place that sells the whole Zippo line. The museum also contains an enormous collection of Case knives.

[edit] Construction

The cases of Zippo lighters are typically made of metal and are rectangular-shaped with a hinged top. Inside the case are the works of the lighter: the spring-toggle lever that keeps the top closed, the wick, windscreen, thumbwheel, and flint, all of which are mounted on an open-bottom metal box that is slightly smaller than the bottom of the outer case, and into which it slips snugly. The hollow part of the interior box encloses a rayon batt which is in contact with the wick. The fuel, a volatile flammable liquid commonly known as lighter fluid (usually Naptha), is poured into the bat, which traps it. It also contains a tube that holds a short, cylindrical flint. The tube has an interior spring and exterior cap-screw that keeps the flint in constant contact with the exterior thumb-wheel. Spinning this rough-surfaced wheel against flint results in a spark that ignites the fluid in the wick. The batt normally has a small hole to store spare flints. All parts of the lighter are replaceable.

[edit] Zippo dates

From mid-1955 Zippo started year coding their lighters by the use of dots (.). From 1966 until 1973 the year code was denoted by combinations of vertical lines (|). From 1974 until 1981 the coding comprised of combinations of forward slashes (/), and from 1982 until June 1986 the coding was by backslash (\).

In July 1986, Zippo began including a lot code on all lighters showing the month and year of production. On the left of the underside was stamped a letter A–L, denoting the month (A = January, B = February, et cetera). On the right was a Roman numeral which denoted the year, beginning with II in 1986. Thus a Zippo stamped H XI was made in August, 1995. However in 2000, Zippo altered this system, changing the Roman numerals to more conventional Arabic numerals. Thus a Zippo made in August 04 was stamped H 04.

[edit] Zippos in popular and military culture

  • In the comic book Preacher: Proud Americans, a character is given a silver Zippo by "John Wayne" with the words "Fuck Communism" etched into it.<ref>Ennis, Garth, Steve Dillon (1997). Preacher: Proud Americans. Vertigo. ISBN 1563893274.</ref>
  • Lighters that resemble the Zippo brand lighter are featured in the Resident Evil video game series as an item. They are commonly used to light dark areas and solve puzzles that require the player to light a fire.

"The first Zippo boats were ATCs carrying an M132A1 flame-throwing armored personnel carrier."
'Another type of boat carried a flamethrower that could shoot a stream of burning liquid several hundred yards. These boats ... were called "Zippo" boats.'</ref>

  • In the Anime series "R.O.D. The TV", you can see Anita play with a Zippo lighter with the word "Zippo" etched onto the side while she, her sisters and her friend are sitting in a restaurant.

[edit] Notes

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[edit] References

[edit] External links

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