They will repair any Zippo lighter and return it to its owner in like-new condition for the cost of postage. In 86 years no one has ever paid to have a Zippo lighter repaired. They can even be personalized with custom engravings.īut the number one reason Zippo has endured is good old fashioned customer service. This has made the lighters highly collectible and items that can have a great deal of significance for the owner.

Everything from military unit insignias to hippy peace signs. If you have an interest, Zippo has probably made a case for it. The interchangeable case has been produced in a very large variety of designs as is evidenced by even a quick look inside the Zippo museum in Bradford PA. One is simple reliability, the lighters work well and continue to work well with very little maintenance. There are several reasons that Zippo lighters have such enduring popularity. Surprisingly, this simple design requires 108 manufacturing steps to fabricate and assemble. A pipe style chimney is also available containing holes in the sides that allow the flame to be drawn down into the tobacco chamber.

The striker is a simple knurled wheel mounted to the top next to the distinctive chimney which provides the lighter its windproof quality. There is also a tube with a screw-captured spring that hold the flint in place below the striker wheel. The innards are quite simple with a friction fit wick, rayon wadding to hold the fuel, and a felt pad to hold everything together. Mounted to the insert is a spring loaded cam which keeps the lid closed and provides that satisfying Zippo clink. A brass case containing an insert represents the working heart of the lighter. The design of the Zippo is deceptively simple. But there is a primary reason the company has made over 500 million lighters and continues to survive in the present anti-smoking era – customer satisfaction.

Sure the lighter has it’s critics, and there are certainly some negatives to using a Zippo for pipe smoking that I will get into below. The Zippo has an unmistakable appearance and feel in the hand, and an instantly recognizable sound. For 86 years the Zippo Manufacturing company of Bradford PA has been making the iconic Zippo lighter.

Common zippo problems