STi

hello

i decided to grab a zippo, no i dont smoke, but to learn some tricks off of

www.lightertricks.com

i was wondering if we had anybody here experienced with these things... i know i need some flint and fluid.

i plan to go pick some up in a few mins.

but as for putting the fluid in, i know i have to take the lighter itself out of the casing, and douse the rayon balls w/ fluid, but how much fluid?

i dont wanna over do it and have leaks...

thanks

kazoo

Once you've pulled the innards out of the external shell, invert it. A screw will be visible-unscrewing it will reveal the spring and flint pusher. Only one flint at a time. You'll also see a piece of thick felt which can be pulled up with your fingertip, revealing the cloth innards which hold the naptha fluid. You want to soak the innards, but don't get crazy, particularly if you plan to carry the lighter in your pocket-the naptha will eat through your skin if you've overfilled the lighter.

Fer chrissakes be careful-or you won't be the first mope I've read about who set himself and everything else on fire.

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There ain't nothin' more powerful than the odor of mendacity -Big Daddy

STi

lol... well i got it :P

damn that shit smells.

Coronaboy72

When I was a smoker ('91 - '99) I used a Zippo off and on, I invested in one of those zippo pouches that you put on your belt. This would be something to look into to prevent getting fluid in contact with your skin. Look for one that doesn't have the back of the snap exposed, if so the casing will get scratched.

Yes that fluid smells awful, sometimes it was a pain in the ass filling and trying not to gag over it.

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~Coronaboy72~

cheeterbo

zippo = dodo, i think

butane

go to the dollar store and pick up some cool butane lighters

STi

hehe, cant do tricks w/ them dollar lighters...

im not really a smoker, trying to stay healthy :P... just want to learn some cool tricks... and have already burned myself

MSD

Accidental self-immolation is more widespread than you'd think. Just counting incidents involving myself, I'd have to say I've seen a few dozen.

Church

You learn to like the smell after a while. For a while, I liked it a little too much.

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Through counter-intelligence, it should be possible to pinpoint potential trouble makers, and neutralize them.

Polyphobic

Fire! Lit myself up a few times. When I smoked and had a zippo I was also into weed. Don't use a zippo to smoke weed when desperate. Nasty tasting crap!

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<--The great infidel-->

sadistikdreams

Yeah, me too!!!

I soaked the lighter in fluid once... And lit it. Hot damn, it was awesome.

Flints and fluid are easy to find, but wait till you run out of wick. Thats not so easy to find.

__________________
"Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone.
The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials."
-Lin Yutang

hearts, by d.a.

tropple

I still have the Zippo I picked up in boot camp during the stone age. It was $2 then. It's still working just fine close to 40 years later.

Zippo still pounds out thousands of lighters a year with all sorts of things embossed on them.

Between 1932 and 2003, Zippo produced 400 million lighters!

Check out the Zippo.com website. It's a nice flash site.

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+++++++++++Boom!

kazoo

Two Zippo lighters here, although I quit smoking (except when I drink). One is an old one bearing the Westinghouse Transformers logo (was my Dad's) and another received as a birthday gift 25 years ago-it bears the logo of the Philadelphia Fire Department-many firematic collectors have tried to buy it over the years.

Wick is usually found at cigar and pipe suppliers-not at the quick stop any more.

__________________
There ain't nothin' more powerful than the odor of mendacity -Big Daddy

mkultra

Zippos are great because they are trully guarenteed forever. I have a friend that has his Grandfather's zippo that he (the grandfather) had carried all through Europe in WW2. About six years back the spring finally gave out and the lid wouldn't flip right. My friend sent the company a letter asking if they could fix it, and they said to mail it to them. They replaced the spring, the flint, and oiled and buffed the whole thing free of charge. They even put in the postage cost for sending it to them in the return package. Not many companies take customer service that seriously anymore.

__________________
In the words of Jello: "Punk ain't no religious cult,punk means thinking for yourself. You ain't hardcore cause you spike your hair, when a jock still lives inside your head."

Y2KDREAD

Don't fill them with ligther fluid you would use for bbq's. My roomate did that to his much to my dismay, it was funny when he realized that even though tehy smelled the same, they do not work the same.

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Signatures are for chumps.

Jelorian

Those are some pretty badassed tricks.....hmmm...must try some...I guess I'll go out and buy and new one as I don't want to bang up some of the older ones I have.

I have to agree on the warranty thing. I've sent in 3 Zippo's over 17 years and each time no problems, no questions, and fixed perfectly every time.

One tip/trick I learned was to store extra flints (1 or 2) under the layer of felt. Make sure you use the real Zippo brand flints (goldish color) because if you use the red Ronsinol flints you'll just end up with red felt (they dissolve)

Rlyss

Does Zippo repair the case or just the lighting mechanism? The hinge on my case is busted (last time I'll ever let my friends do tricks with it!) and I want to get it repaired.

Seems like most people have stories behind their Zippos. In 1997 my friends and I were eyeing them in a display case and we all pointed out the ones we liked best. When I moved out of the country a year and a half later my friend gave it to me as a goodbye present, it was the biggest surprise of my life. He also told me, while holding back tears, that I was his best friend. That was pretty moving for a bunch of fourteen year old guys.

NoSoup

I suppose it is a tad late in the thread, but I remember reading that you should fill it until the wick begins to drip with the fluid.

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I have an aura of reliability and good judgement.

Just in case you were wondering...

flutterby1020

Send it in. Spouse has had Zippo repair hinges on numerous lighters. Not only did they repair the hinges, they replaced the insides. What a company, eh?

Jelorian

I have to agree. I sent one in because the hinge was busted (this Zippo was 12 years old) and they not only fixed the h inge but they replaced the insides as well.

Zippo rocks.

unoaman

Never had to send one in for repair...seems like they almost never wear out. Good advice about filling it too full, not only burn the hell out of your leg, will eat thru your pants to the outside also.

Some of those tricks are great aren't they...after years, I finally learned one, and called that good enough.

Rlyss

I was about to give up after the Australian Zippo repairer hadn't e-mailed me back, but he did the other day and I sent it off to New South Wales to get it repaired.

I'm not really sure what they'll do to it. The hinge is bent way out of shape but I wouln't mind if they cleaned or polished the case too. (And I'm secretly hoping they'll give me some new cotton, a new wick and a new flint.)