Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Funny Thing Happened...

A funny thing happened yesterday while I was at work. The resturant was pretty dead at the moment, so I went into the break room to have a cigarette. The hostess, who is also one of my friends, came back there with me, as did the new manager in training. It turned out that neither of them had a lighter. The manager in training asked if I had one. I kinda laughed and said, "No but I have a Zippo." She asked me what a Zippo was, and I took it out of my purse.

She laughed and said, "Oh! One of the old fashioned ones! My grandpa had one of these."

My friend said, "I could never spend that much money on a lighter."

I said, "In the long run it's actually cheaper. Bics and other cheaper lighters run out to fast, or just simply stop working."

My friend said, "I still couldn't do it."

Seriously though, in the long run a Zippo (to me) is cheaper then buying regular lighters. Yes, initially you have to spend a bit more money on the Zippo itself, and then you have to buy flints and lighter fluid, but I can tell you from my own personal experience that I went through Bics a lot quicker then I ever have had to refill a Zippo. Plus I just enjoy how a Zippo makes a cigarette taste. It tastes better to me, it is like it brings out the flavor in the cigarette more. But, to each their own, right? Right.

Labels: Obsession

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Friday, August 31, 2007

Pictures of the Zippos I Have

Labels: List

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My Preference

I have been looking at Zippos on and off for the past few days. I don't think I've looked through so many websites before in search of items I want. I've done it for what my Husband wants, but nothing for myself. (You can probably tell that by how the list of the "Zippos I Want" keeps expanding.)

But while looking through it, I've also seen how many different kinds of Zippos there are. There are the new Blu ones that aren't out yet. I'm not sure how I feel about those at this time. There are the slim ones, which I already know I don't want to collect. There are the pipe lighters, which again I don't want. And the multi-purpose, again I don't want those. I just want the good original Zippo look. The slim ones just look.... off to me. I don't smoke pipes, and I don't want to collect the multi-purpose ones.

Give me the original... in as many different looks as you possibly can! I can't wait to purchase one. I'm already tearing through the list I've made trying to decide which one I want to buy first. There are so many beautiful pieces out there that I want, that I crave. That I just have to have. Then I thought to myself, "Well you could save up a little more and buy two at once." But that just means getting to pick two out of the list! Ack! On the up side, buying more then one would save on shipping costs. On the other hand, that also means having to wait longer to buy them. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Labels: Obsession

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Thursday, August 30, 2007

Ebay is Evil

I just looked through Ebay, after telling myself that I shouldn't. And I was right. I shouldn't have. There are SO many really nice mint condition Zippos on there. And the really sucky part? There are a lot of them on there that I want, and I'm broke right now! For instance, I looked for a Joe Camel Zippo and there are many of them on there that haven't even been used! Why Joe Camel? Well, my Husband and I both smoke Camel Wides. (I smoke the menthol variety, He smokes the regular ones.) And I always thought Joe Camel was pretty cool, and I was sad when they got rid of him because they thought it might convince kids to smoke. Parenting should win over advertising. Plus, doesn't anyone remember the older Disney movies that had Dumbo getting drunk and Cruella De Ville smoking cigarettes? Or was that a figment of my imagination?

Anyways, it seems that Ebay will come in handy once I have the money, but for right now it is evil. Why? Because I can't afford any of it.

Labels: Obsession

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Fun Facts

I found these fun facts on Zippo.com. I thought they would be fun to share here!

1. George G. Blaisdell invented the Zippo lighter in 1932 in Bradford, Pennsylvania.
2. Zippo was given its name as a derivative of the word "zipper". Zippo inventor, George G. Blaisdell, liked the sound of the word "zipper", which had been patented in nearby Meadville, Pennsylvania.
3. The original price for a Zippo was $1.95.
4. Zippo started engraving initials and attaching metal insignias on lighters in 1935.
5. The first patent for the Zippo windproof lighter was granted March 3rd, 1936. Patent Number 2032695.
6. The first corporate logo decorated 500 lighters in 1936 for Zippo's corss-town Bradford neighbor, Kendall Refining Company.
7. Zippo ran its first national advertisement in Esquire magazine in December of 1937.
8. Between 1934 and 1940 Zippo sold more then 300,000 lighters through the use of punchboard advertising. Considered a game of chance, punchboards were ruled illegal in 1940.
9. Since 1932 Zippo lighters have been manufactured in Bradford, Pennsylvania. The location is stamped on the bottom of every lighter. Also, from 1949-2001, lighters made by Zippo Canada were stamped with the Niagara Falls, Ontario location.
10. Since 1932 Zippo has produced over 400 million windproof lighters. Zippo celebrated the production of the 400th million lighter on September 3rd of 2003.
11. Zippo produces about 12 million lighters a year.
12. In the late 1950s, a Zippo lighter was removed from the belly of a fish. The Zippo lit the first time after removal.
13. A regular size Zippo weighs 2.05 oz. A slim Zippo weighs 1.50 oz.
14. There are 15 lighter collecting clubs around the world: 5 in the USA, 2 in England, and 1 in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
15. 21% of the people who own Zippo lighters are collectors.

Labels: Fact

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How To Properly Care For Your Zippo

** This information is copied from Zippo Click, I am simply putting it here for anyone who may come across this blog and want this information.**


Zippo recommends the use of only genuine Zippo fluid and flints for optimal performance of your windproof lighter, as they are specially formulated for use in their products.


Zippo lighters are shipped empty of fuel. Be sure lighter is filled with fuel before attempting to ignite. In addition, make sure the wick is wound around the cotton packing, which is located on the inside of the lighter mechanism.


Check to see if the flint is visible under the flint wheel. If so, try using a very thin piece of metal and insert it under the wheel - see if that will loosen it. To unplug a jammed flint tube, remove the flint spring and then try sliding an unfolded paper clip or a very small drill bit down the flint tube and wiggling it around. Turn the lighting mechanism right side up and tap it firmly on a hard, protected surface to remove loosened material.


Hold open lighter case by the hinge and opposing edges. Using the opposite hand, pull the lighter insert straight up from the case.


Lift felt pad to reveal the packing material in the fuel chamber. Saturate the packing with Zippo lighter fluid. Fill slowly and do not overfill. Replace the insert back into the case. Wipe lighter and hands dry and be sure fuel can is closed and there is no spilled fuel in the vicinity before igniting lighter. This is a flammable fluid.


Remove insert. Unscrew the flint spring from the bottom of the lighter insert, taking care to hold spring and screw firmly when screw is released. Remove screw and attached spring. Remove remaining flint from tube. Place new flint in tube and replace spring and screw. Tighten screw completely, so the lighter will close correctly. If wheel binds after new flint is installed, turn the wheel backward a few times.


When the wick becomes black from carbon, pull it up with pliers until the clean wick appears. Cut the wick even with the top of the chimney, then straighten wick in chimney.


Remove insert. Unscrew the flint spring, taking care to hold spring and screw firmly when screw is released. Remove felt pad and set aside. Using tweezers, remove all packing from fuel chamber. Insert a new wick downward through chimney, pulling through with tweezers. Replace packing in small pieces, interweaving the wick between the packing. Replace felt pad, flint and flint spring and screw. Tighten screw completely, so the lighter will close correctly. Cut the wick even with the top of the chimney, then straighten wick in chimney.


Ordinary cotton balls can be used to re-pack the inside unit of your lighter. You will need five for a regular size lighter and four for a slim size lighter. Remove the lighter insert from the case. Unscrew the flint spring, taking care to hold spring and screw firmly when screw is released. Remove felt pad and set aside.

Using tweezers, remove all packing from fuel chamber. Replace packing in small pieces, interweaving the wick between the packing. Replace felt pad, flint and flint spring and screw. Tighten screw completely, so the lighter will close correctly.


Depending on the finish, your Zippo windproof lighter might require special care to keep it looking new. Refer to the care instructions included with every Zippo lighter for handling and cleaning of the finish. Remember, the finish is not covered by Zippo's lifetime guarantee.

Labels: Fact

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Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Explanation

Welcome to my blog. This isn't my actual first post since I have already posted my "lists". The lists will be updated frequently, so feel free to keep checking them. I originally started these posts on my other blog. But after some thinking I knew that it would eventually draw away from the original focus of that blog and I didn't want that. So, here we are. A blog of it's own. My Husband is the one who started me on Zippos. He bought me my first one for my 21st birthday. Just shy of our 1 year anniversary. He has had a Zippo since the day I met Him almost 4 1/2 years ago. I have even bought Him two, after He lost His first one. His first one was a plain silver Zippo, that He lost one day when we went hiking on some trails. I felt so guilty, since He had been showing me the trails. And I knew He really loved His Zippos, in fact He can't really stand the taste of a cigarette lit by any other lighter. So I bought Him a Jack Daniels lighter. Then, when the lid started getting loose on that one, He retired it (He still has it of course) and I bought Him one that has a buffalo nickel on the front, and His initials on the back. Well, my Zippo has a Wolf on it. And one day I started thinking of how I haven't had a collection in a long time. Not one that I have felt passionately about. Then another thought struck home. I always see Zippos that I want. Always. There are so many designs that I love and I see all these really kick ass accessories for them. So I have decided to start a collection of Zippos. Ones that I will never use. If I decide to retire my wolf one at some point, I will buy a duplicate of one I have in my collection and use that.

I know what you might be thinking, well since you only have one Zippo, you aren't really obsessed with them. Remember though, every collection has to start somewhere, as does every collector. To be honest with you ever since I had my first one, I have wanted more. But I couldn't bring myself to buy a new one just because I liked the design when I have a perfectly good lighter at home. That was before the idea of collecting them entered my head. No more! Now, I will buy any Zippo (that I have the money for) that I want. I am not looking to collect every Zippo on the face of the Earth. I just want the ones that hold an interest to me. I have never been, and will never be a collector of anything where I buy everything having to do with it just to say I have it, even though I personally do not find pleasure from that particular piece. I don't honestly understand collectors like that, but to each their own. I also plan on joining the Zippo Click membership as soon as I have the money. I think that would be not only beneficial financially, but informative as well. I am not going to be including the Zippos that my Husband already has. Those are His and His alone. Although I may end up buying new ones, because I do enjoy the designs on them. Well, I'm not sure what else to write at this point in time, so... I'll leave it at that, for now.

Labels: Obsession

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Ongoing List of Zippos I Have

This is going to be an ongoing list of the Zippos I have in my collection. (These do not include the Zippos that Master has, that are His and His alone.) I will be adding to this list whenever I get a new one.

1. Wolf High Polish Chrome Zippo - # 20401 - added to the collection 3/4/04
2. Jack Daniel’s® Label - Pewter Emblem - # 250JD.427 - added to the collection 8/31/07

Labels: List

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Ongoing List of Zippos I Want

Labels: List

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