Talk:Zippo/Archive 1

Question
I was given one of these lighters for my birthday, how can i tell if it's MPL? The guy who use it before me used it with butane. And is it possible to take it to like a store or something and have it topped up for me? Dark Nessto 21:26, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

Follow these links and look at the pictutres to see if it matches your lighter, these are the mpl and the mpl mini respectivly.

http://www.zippo.ca/mpl.php

http://www.zippo.ca/minimpl.php

Brandon

Counterfeit section
This doesn't read right. I'm tempted to remove it since it's not really relevant and poorly worded. 24.57.203.238 02:43, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

Adding to this section
I have noticed that there are several websites that have external links from this section. I have been told that I can not add my link to this area. Is there anywhere within wikipedia where one without a lot of clout can add a link to thier site? Thanks Webmaster zippo lighters
 * See Talk:Lighter for an answer. --Van helsing 09:56, 23 August 2006 (UTC)m

Accuracy?
I could easily be wrong, but, looking at this sentence:

"'The proper way to extinguish the lighter is to close the top half, which starves the flame of oxygen, as well as cutting the fuel supply.'"

How does closing the lid cut off the fuel supply? --Sdr 09:44, 4 November 2006 (UTC)


 * It doesn't. I own a zippo and it burns with a wick. I have made the changes to the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Danjwright (talk • contribs) 16:47, 27 November 2006

Getting picture-happy
Seems everybody wants a picture of their Zippo right smack-dab at the top of the Wikipedia article. We really don't need four different pictures of the lighters just to illustrate what they are. 404notfound 23:17, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

soo...don't I feel stupid
How do you turn off a zippo? Do you just close the lid? --MKnight9989 14:40, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Technically, you don't "Turn off" a Zippo you extinguish the flame. This is achieved by closing the lid, which starves the flame of oxygen.

Cabaret4059

Thanks --MKnight9989 12:06, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Picture 226.jpg
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BetacommandBot 01:43, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

The Navy
In the trivia section of zippo.com it says that there is a custom lighter made for every ship in the navy. Is this worth putting in the article? Also, I think we need a picture that shows all the parts of the lighter at once (a new wick, a flintcase, the inside and outside units of the lighter and the fluid, so we could remove all the pictures but the one at the beginning (the lit lighter). This would save a lot of space in the article and would illustrate the object in itself better. If you agree with this I could take such picture of my own.Vicius 21:51, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

Construction
Rather than just calling the Zippo a "metal lighter", can someone find what it is actually constructed of? As in: brass, steel, chrome etc.

And, if possible, could someone find out what some of the main parts are made of (windscreen, main body etc.)? 70.69.229.164 (talk) 23:23, 15 March 2008 (UTC)Proper

Zippo makes lighters of various types of metals (e.g., brass, bronze, chromed steel, etc.), so there is no one type of metal that is used. I don't know if the innards are a standard metal or not, or if they vary on the different models which use different metals in the cases. Regardless, to call it a "metal lighter" is probably the most accurate way of representing it. Srajan01 (talk) 18:40, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Navy rule?
I was in the U.S. Navy 1962 - 1970; this article is the only place I have ever seen that claims the Zippo is the only lighter allowed on Navy ships. Our ship's stores commonly sold imitation zippos with the ships crest ("Nippos"). RobertTaylor21 (talk) 06:14, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

I was in the U.S. Navy from 1983 until 1994, and still have friends on active duty. The claim that Zippos are the only lighter allowed onboard Navy ships is wrong, so I deleted it. --71.104.18.213 (talk) 08:05, 6 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I wasn't in the Navy at all, but I know everything you guys are talking about is original research and not allowed on Wikipedia. I'm removing the content until properly sourced. Roguegeek (talk) 16:57, 7 April 2008 (UTC)


 * That is so dumb. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.23.56.9 (talk) 16:42, 25 October 2008 (UTC)

Page design
Something is wrong with the page design, causing the edit links to appear in the middle of the Construction section instead of at the end of each section's title. I'm not sure the best way to fix this, but it's worth looking into for someone who knows how to do it. I believe it is caused by the images all being grouped together before the body of the article (an uneducated guess).Rasdock (talk) 22:53, 19 January 2009 (UTC)


 * I think you're right. I'm not a big fan of image galleries but that would be one possible solution. Another would be to prune the list of images. Do we really need all of them? Rees11 (talk) 23:27, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

Alt fuels and new wicks
First, to the user who wrote that his dad used to use Gasoline in the Army when they would run out of fuel, this should NOT be encouraged on this site. Due to the flash point and other properties of various flammable liquids, injury or death can occur if a wrong type of fluid is used. Many, many people have lost eyes due to using gasoline in their Zippos.

Second, the part about the little hole in the bottom of the inner wick is no longer true. Some time ago, I think in the late '90's, Zippo stopped putting the little hole in the bottom of the wick and instead started putting a flap on the bottom. I don't know why or exactly when they started doing that, but current Zippos don't have the hole, the just have the flap. I would update the article, but I can't find a source to reference other than my own experience. Srajan01 (talk) 18:37, 23 July 2008 (UTC)


 * People should stop believing in urban myths. Sourced material only. --  李博杰    | —Talk contribs email guestbook complaints 12:04, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

Cigar pipe Insert
The article doesn't mention that there is a cigar insert for making lighting pipes easier. I also have read that Zippo will send you one for free if you have the other one, anyone know anything about this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.24.197.21 (talk) 00:45, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Zippo BLU
I think the Zippo BLU should get its own page, this one isn't doing it justice. (Danneman (talk) 05:26, 2 March 2009 (UTC))


 * Disagree. If it's not notable enough to warrant coverage here, it's certainly not notable enough to warrant its own article. Rees11 (talk) 14:31, 2 March 2009 (UTC)

Yea but zippo blu has its own website its completely different. (re-fueling, fluids, maintenance etc) Zippo blu should get its own page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.224.151.127 (talk) 19:48, 6 December 2009 (UTC)

zippo dont come from prisons they are made by a company in bradfort.the first zippo was made in a prison —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.18.181.163 (talk) 10:30, 19 January 2010 (UTC)

Pipe variant?
Would a brief mention of the pipe variants be of any interest?-- Surv1v4l1st (Talk 04:30, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

Folks?
"pressure increasing on folks not to smoke" Folks? Doesn't sound very encyclopedic. 74.193.72.79 (talk) 00:12, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

500 million Zippo lighters cult
Croatian writer Giancarlo Kravar: Produced 500 million Zippo lighters cult, resistant to wind. It happened in the Zippo Manufactoring Bradford (Pennsylvania), which employs 620 workers. Price for the basic model is $ 13, and $ 12,676 a gold Zipper. Zippo brand as well as watches, pens, clothes and perfumes. The first Zippo was produced 80 years ago by George G. Blaisdell. 78.2.64.11 (talk) 17:22, 10 July 2012 (UTC)

Zippo History on the Web
Would like to add some facts to the zippo page but want to get opinions first.

Want to add a small section on Zippo's intro into cyberspace sales.

The first introduction of Zippo's on the internet took place in april of 1999 by a Michigan Distributor called the MD Distributing DBA The Zippo Store. They published the entire Zippo product line for internet sales at the domain thezippostore.com. It was the first retail sales to the public via the web including a wholesale sight for retailers to by also at zippolighters.com. Story is very interesting including the companies great interest in the conductibility of the product resulting in a third site called zippocollectors.com which incorporated new web technology of bulletin board postings and history and dating for interested collectors. This was well before Zippo had a corporate presence on the Net.

Please send me your thoughts.

Mike — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mdevore (talk • contribs) 15:18, 6 July 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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Important link redirects to advertising another service
"9"IMCO". 'Imco' products website. Retrieved 19 May 2015."

imcolighters.com redirects to a ad site? (erotica/glamour site?) - do we delete HTML URL link? Text mdnp (talk) 05:15, 5 April 2018 (UTC)

Zippo tricks
I can't believe there's no mention on the page of zippo tricks yet. There's a rich history of tricks to open, ignite, and close Zippo lighters. Trick openings appear in movies, and were practiced by GI's all the way back in World War II. There's also a more recent series of events that occurred in the online community of lighter trick enthusiasts.

Here's an overview of the history of the web community. In 1996, Morten Kjølberg started zippotricks.com, a website dedicated to teaching people zippo tricks. The Zippo company acquired the website in 2002 during an effort to enforce their copyright. In 2003 in the wake of the Station nightclub fire, a public outcry arose led by the NFPA against Zippo lighter tricks. They were accused of encouraging kids to play with fire. A promotional tour featuring professional trickers Booty and Mr. Twistyneck performing Zippo manipulation tricks alongside bands at concerts was cut short. In 2004, Kjølberg relaunched the website as lightertricks.com unaffiliated with Zippo. In 2010, an instructional DVD featuring Alex Aarvik and produced by Marten Kjølberg was released. It was titled "50 Ways to Rock a Lighter," and appears to remain the definitive work on lighter tricks. lightertricks.com is currently defunct, though I don't know when or why it was shut down. The latest record of it being active that I've found yet is from 2014.

At a minimum, the Zippo page should mention that Zippos have a rich history of being used for tricks. I'm not sure how much of the recent business to go into, or what section to put it under - possibly "Usage"? Sgrandpre (talk) 06:29, 20 November 2020 (UTC)sgrandpre

Factoid
A major factor in the utility and popularity of the Zippo lighter is that it will operate with any flammable liquid, e.g., gasoline, kerosene, rubbing alcohol, or even 151 proof rum.

I have my father's Zippo, which he bought in Italy in 1944, during World War II ... when I was very young, he told me about how they didn't have lighter fluid on the front lines, so he would tie a shoelace around the insert and dip it in the gas tank of a Jeep to refill it. --Dennette 20:13, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

This is NOT true and should NOT be attempted by anyone. Different flammable fuels have different flash points and different properties, which could lead to undesirable results, the least of which could be voluminous soot and smoke, an uncontrollably large flame, or, in the worst case, a small explosion of sufficient energy to cause severe bodily harm. There are many recorded instances of people being severely injured (e.g., the loss of an eye) from trying to use gasoline and other volatile fuels in their Zippos. The vapor that builds up around the wick, while trapped under a closed lid, mixes with air when the lid is opened and if lit immediately afterwards creates a volatile fuel-air explosive mixture, which can be very hazardous when lit to the user.

Although such fuels can be safely used, they require extreme caution to do so, such as using precisely measured and limited quantities, proper fueling techniques, and so on; the casual user should not attempt to substitute such fuels for approved naptha based lighter-fluid. I doubt very much that soldiers would dip and completely a Zippo's innards in to gasoline and then use it safely; of it they did, then they'd have been very lucky to escape injury.

I stress this because common misconceptions such as this can lead to serious personal injury, and people should NOT attempt to emulate such stories that are not based on fact. I am still waiting on a response from Zippo (the corporation) as to their official position on alternative fuels for their lighters, but until I receive an official response I would rather err on the side of safety and NOT provide any sort of endorsement for fuels other than standard naptha-based lighter fluid for use in Zippo's windproof lighter series. Srajan01 (talk) 01:45, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

I have used gasoline in my Zippo many times. I have found that a quick blow from my mouth before I light it will remove excess fumes so it won't light violently. I have also used various paint thinners such as MEK an Toluene. To say that a Zippo can explode from this is impossible, there is physically no place for the right fuel/air mixture to form and create an "explosion". Gasoline does stink as it gives off sooty smoke and paint thinner evaporates quickly.Richdehn0 (talk) 22:52, 30 August 2016 (UTC)


 * You don't know that that's not true. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.23.56.9 (talk) 16:43, 25 October 2008 (UTC)

Zippo sell official fuel. They're making money from selling their fuel. They're not going to encourage the use of other fuels, safe or not. I'm not editing the page because this is original research, but i used to use ethanol "acquired" from my school science lab for zippo fuel, and it worked fine. No expolsions, no hideous disfigurement. To say that using alternative fuels is likely to cause injury is false; It's possible, but it's also possible to injure yourself using official brand zippo fuel. (Note: Don't take the first bit as insulting zippo, they're a great company and i love my lighter.)
 * ) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.21.193.234 (talk) 06:57, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

It's plumb atrocious! Some people would rather climb a greased pole to gossip their lies, than to stand flat-footed speaking the truth. Years ago, as an avid collector and experienced user of cigarette lighters, I was told by a seemingly "responsible" adult that white gas works fine in a Zippo; but during my initial attempt, the only thing that ignited was my hand. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, indeed. Needless to say, there was no second attempt ~ and to top it off, the lighter never functioned properly again. Since Naphtha is "the" fuel for Zippos, why are those hallucinogenic holigans allowed to publish their idiotic claims which state that "alternative fuels" such as mineral spirits, kerosene, perfume, rubbing alcohol, and "any volatile liquid" can be used in a Zippo ~ when the simple truth proves beyond a shadow of doubt that the majority (if not all) of their stupid so-called "substitutes" WILL NOT ignite with the mere spark of a flint wheel, and are therefore in NO WAY acceptable for use in a Zippo? So, what'll be their next dreamt-up alternative? Menstrual fluid as a substitute for rocket fuel??? Are they just a band of Trolling Fools? If they can't THINK enough to sort out and publish only the FACTS, why aren't they banned from posting their inbred stupidity on this "educational" site? And if they feel so compelled to publish such acid-trip Fairy Tales, why don't they deposit their vile wormy droppings in the Mother Goose fantasy book ~ right next door to their Old Mother Hubbard that lives in a shoe? 66.19.150.140 (talk) 14:58, 12 December 2009 (UTC)
 * This is the angriest I have ever seen anyone about lighters. Atypicaloracle (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 01:58, 10 November 2010 (UTC).
 * White gas is naptha 😂. Sgrandpre (talk) 05:55, 20 November 2020 (UTC)sgrandpre


 * Zippos even burn the rubbish sold as “lighter fuel” in Poundland, as well as leaded four-star. Mr Larrington (talk) 19:10, 13 June 2022 (UTC)