The first model (1933)
Though the zippo company was founded in 1932 the first
zippo lighters were produced in 1933. They were made from brass tubing
on which the top and bottom were soldered on before chroming the case.
A three barrel hinge was then soldered to the outside of the case. The
inserts were also made from brass tubing and chromed. They had a straight
cut flintwheel, a 16-hole chimney and a cam with a piston and coil spring
assembly beneath it to hold the top of the lighter in either opened or
closed position (this can be clearly seen in the picture).
The insert had no markings on it while the bottom of
the lighters were marked “pat. pending”.
About 1500 of these first model zippo’s have been produced between 1933 and 1934 and not many have survived because the hinge had a tendency to crack. Up to the mid 1980’s 1933 zippo’s that were sent back to the factory for repair were replaced by new zippo’s while the broken ones were thrown out.
1934
In 1934 the bottom case of was shortened 3/8 of an inch but the rest of the lighter remained the same.
1935
Some changes to the insert
were made. The piece of the insert that holds the cam was now pressed instead
of cut and soldered to give it more strength. This meant there wasn’t
room for 16 holes in the chimney anymore and the holes that were closest
to the cam were left out which resulted in a 14 hole insert. Though the
lighter case stayed the same the difference between a zippo from 1934 and
1935 is
easy to spot by the insert.
Also in 1935 zippo was contracted by Kendall motor oil
to produce 500 lighters with the Kendall logo on it. This was the beginning
of advertising on zippo lighters which is still a common thing these days.
There are collectors who have specialized in collecting advertising zippo's
and even some who collect only zippo's with a certain brand name on it
(like Camel, Marlboro or Lucky strike).
The first advertising zippo's weren't engraved but had
a razor thin brass plate soldered to their cases which was then filled
in with various colours of enamel paint. These plates are called metalliques
and are very hard to find these days.
