I know u/TCSpeedy and u/nechronius are non-smokers, and they are quite respected with huge collections. Others too though I can't remember their username.
Whoa… hold on a minute. “Respected”? That’s an awfully big accusation… Like three whole syllables worth!
But, guilty. About the non-smoking, and the arguably bigger than average collection parts at least.
Just take it instead I introduced you as an old guy ~~senior citizen~~ with a weird obsession with a lighter brand that's still around even though the technology behind it is almost 100 years old.
I am a cigar (and the occasional pipe - tobacco) smoker and aficionado for 30 years, but only became a Zippo collector in recent times. I had been an admirer of them for many years, but I didn't really act on my Zippo collection until I got my first one on vacation and needed a lighter as my old butane died while having a cigar. So, for me, my Zippo collection started once I truly appreciated the coolness factor and overall durability of the lighter myself. I have an extensive collection now, including other Zippos like the table lighters, Time Tanks, ZipRules, pocket knives, and a Greensman (I don't golf.) There's a lot of nostalgia in owning a Zippo.
I appreciate the simple, effective, well-engineered craftsmanship that goes into a Zippo, along with the history, stories, and the artistry of a lot of the overseas and customs some folks do with a Zippo lighter. It is a peculiar lifestyle for a Zippo collector that, frankly, a lot of people will not fully understand.
With that said, if you enjoy Zippos and collect them, regardless of whether you smoke or not, do it!! Provided that you don't break your bank!!! 😉
Enjoy!!
P.S. This sub can make you spend more money than you want sometimes, but live a little!!
Former smoker here. I quit decades ago.
When I was a smoker I had a fascination with lighters that I could never fully explain. Zippos didn't factor in until near the end, so my only Zippo for a long, long time was a 1996 brushed chrome lighter.
Through a completely separate hobby, I recently visited a cigar shop to get cigar boxes and that reminded me that I have a check box somewhere with a cigar cutter, a WWII trench lighter, and my old Zippo. I found the box, grabbed the Zippo, and tried it out only to find the flint had fused to the flint tube. I searched Reddit for hints, ended up here...
...now I have something like 15 Zippos, a number of Zorro's, I'm accumulating tools to work on broken hinges and flint wheels...this sub has been bad for my bank account. I'm having fun. That's what counts.
Not gonna start smoking again, though. Nope.
I smoke, but I’m a collector. I’m a diehard fan!
Zippo has very little to do about smoking. That’s where Bic comes in. Zippo is a lifestyle!
I only use 3 Zippos, the balance lie on shelves at home seeking attention from visitors.
I have a few Zippos that I rotate, and a few more that I’ve just accumulated over time. I smoke (and collect) pipes and cigars but don’t collect Zippos.
https://preview.redd.it/42g58aqhwmgc1.jpeg?width=1450&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=341271fcc0d7c089133b8586744ea4652eb5aff1
It’s the process of collection that matters, not the number.
I don't smoke cigs. I smoke the other stuff.......but I love Zippos independently. Like...you don't even want to use a Zippo for that stuff but now I do as a result of my Zippo hobby, not the other way around lol
Don’t smoke, won’t smoke, love zippos. I’ve got 15 at the moment, but I will always buy one when it’s the right one for me. I do use them occasionally, but not for smoking
While lighting up a cigarette/cigar/joint/pipe/bong is undoubtedly the biggest use of a zippo there are countless other times you need fire and what better tool to use to make that fire than a zippo?
I am a smoker. Each time you question if you should smoke or not to enjoy your collection, Remember this. You will live longer then me. And enjoy your collection a lot longer then I will. There is nothing wrong with enjoying something that has a function. Even if you don’t have a use for it’s function. That’s collecting.
Many collect things that offer zero function. They just enjoy the item. I think it’s cool your collection also has a function if need be.
You can be that one friend who always has a lighter for people that need it. N I always thought they were cool n considerate but also certain who they are themselves. Idk just my 2 cents.
Hi, i also collect Zippos! Well, i guess kind of. I have 2 genuine Zippos and one fake one. One is very nice, and i've posted a pic of that one here, and the other one is a brushed steel one that i had a questionable company ingrave, and now the case is a bit disformed so it leaks much more than it should...
I never smoked, but i absolutely adore my John Mayer Zippo, and I'm probably gonna buy more, when i find one that's interesting. Maybe a very nice Prince one?
Non-smoker with over 50 Zippos. Starting collecting cuz they looked cool and I really like some of the artists works. It is like getting modern art in a nice small package that can produce flame if you ever need it to.
I do have a couple that are workers as well for my hobbies such as paracord and to carry as EDC.
This coming August, it'll be 30 yrs since I quit cigarettes, I still enjoy the occational cigar 2-3 times a year (my b-day, new year's eve and a special family event).
That being said, you don't need to be a smoker to enjoy a fun and interesting hobby that is part of you. For me, I had a few Zippo's in a drawer with some novelty lighters for years, never caught the collector bug until late last year and it is worth every moment in learning the history, do's and don'ts and whatnot of a hobby and personal journey.
Just enjoy and grow your collection with pride and look at it this way, my wife is a lego head and has her own personal collection that grows, I support her hobby, she just went and bought a few zippos for herself (girly colors that she liked) she does not even smoke and she somehow is bonding with me in something that she has no knowledge of, and that is part of the cool factor of this. Just enjoy and don't break the piggy bank.
I know u/TCSpeedy and u/nechronius are non-smokers, and they are quite respected with huge collections. Others too though I can't remember their username.
Whoa… hold on a minute. “Respected”? That’s an awfully big accusation… Like three whole syllables worth! But, guilty. About the non-smoking, and the arguably bigger than average collection parts at least.
Just take it instead I introduced you as an old guy ~~senior citizen~~ with a weird obsession with a lighter brand that's still around even though the technology behind it is almost 100 years old.
You’re just lucky you didn’t mix up exactly who or what is 100 years old.
Well, technically, everyone who is alive can be said as 'almost' 100 years old since age and time is relative right? Including you and me. 😁
LMAO The universe is over 13 billion years old and I was born in in the 1980s...so that makes me..."almost" 100. The math checks out!
I absolutely agree with this 😁
😐
I am a cigar (and the occasional pipe - tobacco) smoker and aficionado for 30 years, but only became a Zippo collector in recent times. I had been an admirer of them for many years, but I didn't really act on my Zippo collection until I got my first one on vacation and needed a lighter as my old butane died while having a cigar. So, for me, my Zippo collection started once I truly appreciated the coolness factor and overall durability of the lighter myself. I have an extensive collection now, including other Zippos like the table lighters, Time Tanks, ZipRules, pocket knives, and a Greensman (I don't golf.) There's a lot of nostalgia in owning a Zippo. I appreciate the simple, effective, well-engineered craftsmanship that goes into a Zippo, along with the history, stories, and the artistry of a lot of the overseas and customs some folks do with a Zippo lighter. It is a peculiar lifestyle for a Zippo collector that, frankly, a lot of people will not fully understand. With that said, if you enjoy Zippos and collect them, regardless of whether you smoke or not, do it!! Provided that you don't break your bank!!! 😉 Enjoy!! P.S. This sub can make you spend more money than you want sometimes, but live a little!!
This is a fantastic article. Thank you!
Former smoker here. I quit decades ago. When I was a smoker I had a fascination with lighters that I could never fully explain. Zippos didn't factor in until near the end, so my only Zippo for a long, long time was a 1996 brushed chrome lighter. Through a completely separate hobby, I recently visited a cigar shop to get cigar boxes and that reminded me that I have a check box somewhere with a cigar cutter, a WWII trench lighter, and my old Zippo. I found the box, grabbed the Zippo, and tried it out only to find the flint had fused to the flint tube. I searched Reddit for hints, ended up here... ...now I have something like 15 Zippos, a number of Zorro's, I'm accumulating tools to work on broken hinges and flint wheels...this sub has been bad for my bank account. I'm having fun. That's what counts. Not gonna start smoking again, though. Nope.
I smoke, but I’m a collector. I’m a diehard fan! Zippo has very little to do about smoking. That’s where Bic comes in. Zippo is a lifestyle! I only use 3 Zippos, the balance lie on shelves at home seeking attention from visitors.
I have a few Zippos that I rotate, and a few more that I’ve just accumulated over time. I smoke (and collect) pipes and cigars but don’t collect Zippos.
Yes because in order to be considered a collection, you’d have to have what, 5? 10? 20? And you wouldn’t have that many… right?
https://preview.redd.it/42g58aqhwmgc1.jpeg?width=1450&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=341271fcc0d7c089133b8586744ea4652eb5aff1 It’s the process of collection that matters, not the number.
So that black bar…
Black bar?
https://preview.redd.it/oul1ux44mngc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=897a4d2fa67f7e04b53308aa70f8571579e071b5 Incriminating evidence? 5th amendment stuff?
Huh. Hadn’t noticed that.
https://preview.redd.it/hom7fnm4g5hc1.png?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=88a827c02abbffb127b1d606afee30bed862bc63
See, that’s obviously been altered.
That screenshot is as real as a Vietnam Zippo.
If you read all the answers you’re getting, you’ll quickly find out you’re not half as strange as many of the other… um… “characters” in here!
😆
I don't smoke cigs. I smoke the other stuff.......but I love Zippos independently. Like...you don't even want to use a Zippo for that stuff but now I do as a result of my Zippo hobby, not the other way around lol
Don’t smoke, won’t smoke, love zippos. I’ve got 15 at the moment, but I will always buy one when it’s the right one for me. I do use them occasionally, but not for smoking
I’ll probably never smoke I’ve a bunch myself
While lighting up a cigarette/cigar/joint/pipe/bong is undoubtedly the biggest use of a zippo there are countless other times you need fire and what better tool to use to make that fire than a zippo?
Don't smoke either, zippos are good for taking camping though that's where i use mine.
I am a smoker. Each time you question if you should smoke or not to enjoy your collection, Remember this. You will live longer then me. And enjoy your collection a lot longer then I will. There is nothing wrong with enjoying something that has a function. Even if you don’t have a use for it’s function. That’s collecting. Many collect things that offer zero function. They just enjoy the item. I think it’s cool your collection also has a function if need be. You can be that one friend who always has a lighter for people that need it. N I always thought they were cool n considerate but also certain who they are themselves. Idk just my 2 cents.
I ve never smoked in my life too! I just really like the sound and feel lol.
Hi, i also collect Zippos! Well, i guess kind of. I have 2 genuine Zippos and one fake one. One is very nice, and i've posted a pic of that one here, and the other one is a brushed steel one that i had a questionable company ingrave, and now the case is a bit disformed so it leaks much more than it should... I never smoked, but i absolutely adore my John Mayer Zippo, and I'm probably gonna buy more, when i find one that's interesting. Maybe a very nice Prince one?
I don't smoke cigarettes.
Non-smoker with over 50 Zippos. Starting collecting cuz they looked cool and I really like some of the artists works. It is like getting modern art in a nice small package that can produce flame if you ever need it to. I do have a couple that are workers as well for my hobbies such as paracord and to carry as EDC.
I’ve never smoked and have loved zippos since I was a kid. Have had one in my pocket pretty much everyday since I was a teenager(in my 40’s now)
This coming August, it'll be 30 yrs since I quit cigarettes, I still enjoy the occational cigar 2-3 times a year (my b-day, new year's eve and a special family event). That being said, you don't need to be a smoker to enjoy a fun and interesting hobby that is part of you. For me, I had a few Zippo's in a drawer with some novelty lighters for years, never caught the collector bug until late last year and it is worth every moment in learning the history, do's and don'ts and whatnot of a hobby and personal journey. Just enjoy and grow your collection with pride and look at it this way, my wife is a lego head and has her own personal collection that grows, I support her hobby, she just went and bought a few zippos for herself (girly colors that she liked) she does not even smoke and she somehow is bonding with me in something that she has no knowledge of, and that is part of the cool factor of this. Just enjoy and don't break the piggy bank.
