Anybody on this forum big on zippos? I’m not a collector but I think they are neat. I recently restored this one from 1976. Took me hours trying to figure out what was wrong with it, but after completely cleaning and changing everything I ended up having to fit a new flint wheel on it. Now it’s as good as new and I hope it lasts me a lifetime. I’d like to think Laurie is happy someone is caring for and using her lighter whoever she may be.
Zippo lighters?
- Thread starter slouch
- Start date
wruk53
Well-Known Member
I went to work for Penrod when I was 21 years old (1974) and worked for them for about 10 years. Each month you earned a reward if you did not have a "lost time accident". The lighter is what I chose for my monthly award almost 50 years ago. You had your choice of a case of cotton work gloves, a pair of coveralls, and other trinkets such as this lighter, or if you held off for 3 months you could get a pair of redwing steel toed boots.
Attachments
Last edited:
super neat piece, I love a zippo with a story I find they are much more interesting than zippos people keep in boxes and never take out. Fun fact I am only a year older than you when you started working at Penrod. Also do you still have the old asbestos wick? I’ve been thinking about replacing mine but idk if I should, or I should keep it original not sure how much I should be concerned about it.
Huffen'Snuff
Well-Known Member
I have worn out more than one zippo case, I can't stand wasting my money on Bic lighters or razers. I also use an old razer that you can replace blades and reuse the razer.
Huffen'Snuff
Well-Known Member
Are the wicks really asbestos?
Huffen'Snuff
Well-Known Member
Whew that's a relief, I though my wicks were asbestos becouse they never burned down. The wick is the only zippo part I never needed to replace, so I guess the asbestos is totally unnecessary considering my oldest zip was a mid 90's. Neither here nor there but, (I'm watching a documentary on Tom Petty and the heartbreakers, man I loved Mary Jane's last dance. It's a damb bummer he only lived to be 66, a combination of opiates and anxiety meds. Before he was in the ground the kids were fighting to try and use his music or likeness or something to sell Paul Newman's salad dressing, what crap.) It's so sad what family do for money right after a death, atleast they all settled and they get along now.
I believe that they stopped making them out of asbestos in the beginning of the 80s. I hear mixed opinions on removing them. Some say to throw them out immediately and others say the issue really lies in handling them. Not really sure how dangerous it is to have a few smokes with them but I doubt it will kill me before I change the wick.
Planned obsolescence is unfortunately the new normal with most consumer goods these days. It really is such a shame but there’s more money in Bic selling you a new lighter every couple weeks rather than making you one that lasts a lifetime.
wruk53
Well-Known Member
I don't really know how to tell if it's asbestos or not. It's been so long since the lighter has been used that I can't remember if I replaced anything on it besides the flint.
Ah, yes! 120 years ago, Mr. Gillette's introduction of the disposable-blade safety razor put a lot of barbers out of business. It eventually led to the inclusion of a single, narrow, horizontal slot in the back of home medicine cabinets—so you had a forever-safe spot in which to dispose of those still-hazardous, disposable blades. [Exercise caution when refurbishing your old bathroom!] One might consider the disposable-blade business model to be a sneakier, product "subscription" model than having, say, a milkman delivering door-to-door (before you wake up) several days a week.
Note: Before you go to bed, be sure to rinse the empty, glass milk bottles, and put them out on the doorstep tonight.
Bob
I remember seeing photos of people opening up bathroom walls and finding piles of razor blades, who the hell thought that was a god idea?
Man I’ve been wanting to try some raw milk for several years now. Stuff was just different back in the day and I wish I was around to experience more of it before it was gone.
I am not sure when they introduced wires into the wicks but all the new wicks have copper wire. Since it doesn’t get used I wouldn’t be concerned about it. I plan on using this one so I’ll probably put a fresh one in once this lighter is empty.
Back then, bathrooms didn't get remodeled every few years. Stuff you put in the wall was expected to stay there until the house was torn down to build a new one. Now people would freak out about the biohazard.
When I switched to wet shaving with a safety razor a few years back, I bought a little metal box with a slot in the top for my used blades. Figured it would last me a year or so... now it's well over 4-1/2 years later and it's almost full. There's probably 250 blades in there or more... my annual shaving cost has gone down to about $15-20 a year for blades and shaving soap, only because I buy really nice shaving soap.
On-topic for the thread, though... I don't have any of the old Zippos I carried back in the day. I'm pretty sure I bought my first one at the PX in 1979, probably at St. Leonard Wood. No idea what happened to it or the one I bought later on, but my favorite was the slim version. I currently have one from the USS Nevada (SSBN-733, a buddy served on that boat) and the USS Springfield (SSN-761, our eldest son served on that one).
I more recently bought an old Nimrod lighter and fixed it -- the flint tube had a corroded flint stuck in it. I like it, but even with an O-ring installed on the fill plug the fluid evaporates fast enough that it needs refilling daily. Too much hassle, I'm afraid. I've got a couple of nice butane lighters (Dunhill and ST DuPont) but they're utterly useless outdoors. The Zippos I have seem to be dry almost every time I try to use one, so I'm currently using a Bic I liberated from my wife.
I more recently bought an old Nimrod lighter and fixed it -- the flint tube had a corroded flint stuck in it. I like it, but even with an O-ring installed on the fill plug the fluid evaporates fast enough that it needs refilling daily. Too much hassle, I'm afraid. I've got a couple of nice butane lighters (Dunhill and ST DuPont) but they're utterly useless outdoors. The Zippos I have seem to be dry almost every time I try to use one, so I'm currently using a Bic I liberated from my wife.
Back 50+ years ago, the BIC lighters had adjustable flames, no strip of curved metal over the thumb wheel (that intentionally heats to burn your thumb), and no warning label stuck to each one. The modern ones arrived after a few young kids burned down their homes. It took me a bit of practice to do the long, slow lighting needed for cigars and pipes, using the newly handicapped BIC. Prior to figuring out the new BICs, I would attack each new one with a pair of needle nose pliers, and yank out that curved metal finger burner.
As for a source of fire to keep within a survival kit, nothing beats a BIC. They remain useable for years and years. You can freeze them within a puddle of water, but once they're thawed and dried, they light right up. Strike-anywhere matches are a hazard to carry around. Typical, little boxes of matches are ruined by exposure to water, as is the striking strip outside the box. (And any type of match produces toxic fumes, until the striking head is completely burned away.) Although I do have a little flint and steel sparking set, I never bothered to carry it with me when backpacking—just a BIC.
Zippo lighters got our military through WW2, the Korean War, and Viet Nam. After the arrival of the BIC, a Zippo is best considered a nostalgic work of art.
Bob
As for a source of fire to keep within a survival kit, nothing beats a BIC. They remain useable for years and years. You can freeze them within a puddle of water, but once they're thawed and dried, they light right up. Strike-anywhere matches are a hazard to carry around. Typical, little boxes of matches are ruined by exposure to water, as is the striking strip outside the box. (And any type of match produces toxic fumes, until the striking head is completely burned away.) Although I do have a little flint and steel sparking set, I never bothered to carry it with me when backpacking—just a BIC.
Zippo lighters got our military through WW2, the Korean War, and Viet Nam. After the arrival of the BIC, a Zippo is best considered a nostalgic work of art.
Bob
Huffen'Snuff
Well-Known Member
Are economy would crash if we quit wasting, it's designed around waste.
Huffen'Snuff
Well-Known Member
What's a good shave cream? Does it work better than barbersol" I think it's called?
Huffen'Snuff
Well-Known Member
Speaking of survival packs yes bics are great, I never tried but I always wanted to try and make gun cotton, by smoldering cotton in a can with oxygen deprivation, till it turns to like a char-cloth. I believe zipp's are great for smoking a pipe, I went through many many bics to fast do to the false light, they do erode the rim of the bowl slightly but I carve all my briar pipes from briar blocks and bits, I got from Mark Tinskey of American Smoking Pipes.
I always used to like the taste of lighting a frozen Marlboro with a zippo when I was young, I think the Naptha fuel had a stronger smell back then, but I'm sure I also got used to the smell, now I don't even notice it, any more.
I’ve never heard of a nimrod lighter but I will look it up. Have you ever tried putting some silicone or something around the o ring to keep it sealed? It might work for you. I hope I can find a nice ST DuPont lighter one of these days but they are pricey, def worth it just for the sound tho lol. My standard size zippo lasted me at least 4-5 days before it was dry, have you tried putting a piece of plastic around the bottom of the insert to keep it sealed? That works pretty good. Also you could carry it in a plastic bag to keep it from evaporating if your going on a long trip, camping, ect.
As you should, circumcise those MFers!
