I found this near mint Zippo made right after the attacks on 9/11. Its manufactured date is H 01 which means the case was made before the attacks happen.

Sorry in advance for the wall of text. 😄 If you don’t feel like reading all of it, the short version is: this is what I do.

Hello everyone!

As promised, I wanted to share a little more about my engraving process. But I decided to make this one a bit more extensive and use a used Zippo as the starting point rather than a new lighter, which is what I mostly work with these days.

The lighter I chose has clearly seen better days. It’s a 2012 model with a PVD-type finish — I believe it may be Sapphire or something similar. Overall, it’s actually in reasonably good condition, but it has quite a bit of lid play and a few dents. Fortunately, the hinges themselves are intact and there are no problems with the insert.

I’ve had to replace hinges, wheels and even cam springs on other used Zippos, but none of that was necessary here.

Before anyone asks why I didn’t simply preserve the original appearance of the lighter — because every now and then I get reactions that make it sound like I’ve painted over the Mona Lisa. 😄 — let me explain my reasoning.

I bought this lighter from someone who, for whatever reason, no longer wanted to own it. For me, objects like this can have a certain sentimental value. For example, I have a watch that belonged to my grandfather. I did some mechanical work on it to get it running properly, but otherwise I left every scratch exactly where it was. From a collector’s point of view, those watches aren’t particularly desirable, and as watches themselves they aren’t exactly the best option anymore — they’re just ordinary Soviet-era watches.But for me, every scratch on them has its own value, because each one is part of their history and reminds me that my grandfather actually wore and used them.

But this Zippo is a different story. It doesn’t really have any significant collector value, and apparently it didn’t have much sentimental value to its previous owner either, since they were willing to let it go for a relatively small amount of money.

So I think this is actually a good candidate for a second life in the hands of someone who will appreciate it.

I also have a principle when working with used Zippos: better fewer, but better.

I would rather do the necessary work properly so that the lighter can be considered fully repaired and restored, while preserving the character that makes that particular lighter unique, without spending so much time on it that I end up polishing it until it’s worth its weight in gold. 😄

If I wanted something brand new, I could simply buy a new Zippo.

So, let’s get started.

I’ll divide the process into two parts: the case and the insert, although in reality I usually work on both at the same time.

Fixing the case

First, I deal with the lid play.

I start by removing the hinge pin. And this is actually the main problem — after years of use, the pin has worn down so much that it almost looks like a tiny driveshaft. 😄

So we say thank you for its service and replace it with a new piece of steel wire.

The new piece is slightly longer than necessary, so I cut it down to the correct length for the hinge.

Before putting everything back together, I insert the new pin separately into the ears of the lower hinge and gently tighten them around it. I do the same with the upper hinge.

Then I put the case back together.

After assembly, the lid was sitting slightly off-center. With a few simple adjustments — which, unfortunately, I forgot to photograph — I brought it back into position and adjusted the gaps.

Much better.

The next problem is the dent on the top of the lid.

Normally, I don’t try to eliminate every little scar on a used Zippo. Those marks are part of its history. But this particular dent was fairly deep, so I thought it was worth fixing.

I put the lighter on a small anvil, placed a punch against the inside of the dent, and carefully worked it out.

It’s not perfect, but it’s much better than it was.

I gave the area a little local sanding just to see the result more clearly. The smaller scratches will eventually be covered by the engraving anyway, so I’m not particularly worried about them.

Removing the old finish

A long time ago, I did something similar with a Spectrume. I was obsessed with that model when it first came out, but the particular one I had was pretty beaten up.

Back then, I decided to keep the original coating. Surprisingly, it looked quite extravagant combined with the biblical engraving I put on it.

This time, however, I’m not repeating that experiment. 😄

I’m removing the remaining coating completely.

Years ago, this would have meant hours of manual work or experimenting with chemical solutions and electrolytic methods to strip the finish.

Today I can make my life considerably easier and simply use a laser.

Yes, the laser costs about as much as a car. 😄 But it makes this kind of work considerably easier — and, in a way, it’s the main co-author of most of my pieces.

I set it up with parameters that remove only the upper coating without damaging the layers underneath, and this is the result.

(And yes, if you haven’t been scrolling through the image carousel while reading this, now is probably a good time to start. 😄)

Now the case is finally ready for engraving.

And once again, I hand it over to the laser.

The first layer begins here. There are several hours of engraving ahead.

The engraving

The final result still requires quite a bit of manual work.

After the laser is finished, I spend several more hours on hand finishing and polishing.

And then…

voilà.

(Next photo, please. 😄)

The case is finished.

I’m not going to go into too much detail about the polishing process. Apart from being a very dirty job, I’d rather not give away too easily a technique I’ve spent years developing.

And finally, the insert

As I mentioned earlier, there are no serious problems with the insert. It mainly needs to be cleaned, washed, and given fresh cotton and a new wick.

First, I remove the old consumables.

The original wick is a little short, and the old cotton has that unmistakable smell of whatever fuel has been living inside the lighter for years.

In a used Zippo, I replace the wick anyway, even if it looks almost new.

Next, I use a rotary tool with a metal brush to remove dirt and carbon buildup from the outside of the insert. At the same time, this brings back some of the shine and texture that the inserts have when they leave the factory.

And of course, I clean the flint wheel from all the accumulated dust and carbon.

After that, the insert goes into an ultrasonic cleaner.

This doesn’t always remove every trace of old carbon, but it gets it clean enough that I can hand it over to a new owner without feeling like I cut corners.

I install the new wick in a zigzag pattern, add fresh cotton, put in a new flint, and finally put everything back into the finished case.

And that’s it.

The lighter is ready for its new owner.

Why do this at all?

I don’t do this kind of work on used Zippos very often anymore.

Financially, it doesn’t really make much sense. There is considerably more work involved, even though this particular lighter was actually fairly straightforward.

And, as I said earlier, it isn’t like new.

I’m not claiming to be the world’s greatest Zippo restorer, and that wasn’t really the point.

A new Zippo isn’t expensive enough for spending endless hours trying to make an old one completely indistinguishable from a new one to make much sense.

I simply wanted to give this particular lighter a ticket to a new life.

And I wanted to show you what I actually do and what the process behind one of my pieces looks like.

Also, apologies if some of the photos aren’t very clear, or if there are missing steps. I’m definitely not a photographer. 😄

I have enormous respect for people who can not only make things with their hands, but then somehow manage to film, photograph and edit the whole process into a proper video afterward.

I’ve learned my part of the job.

And I’m very grateful that I did.

So, what do you think?

Would you personally keep a used Zippo’s original scars and finish untouched, or do you think giving it a new life like this makes more sense?

And if you’ve restored or modified old Zippos yourself, I’d genuinely like to hear how you approach them.

I still need to learn how to Nickel Plate pieces, so I’ll share this once it’s all finished but I couldn’t wait. I was too excited. LOL.

I can’t remember who gave me this idea but I’ll try to find out and tag them. I started with two new street chrome Zippos. I sanded them down to brass I removed the hinge from one of the bodies. Cut open the bottom of the other one. I ended up leaving a lip so the insert seats properly. Soldered the two bodies together. Sanded and polished.

There a a few pits in the solder I gave up trying to fill as more would show up every time I’d sand down the repairs.

I hope to have it plated by tomorrow, or early next week at the latest. (That isn’t I can get the plating process down by then).

I will share the completed project when finished!

u/TCSpeedy…. You’ve convinced me. After two months of looking all over this reddit, I landed on the answer of getting myself a solid copper as my second zippo. Price point was high but I knew it would be worth. To the people who store it their coppers, look away! But I will be edcing the copper with the black insert. I will post updates and let you the patina progress. I can see patina on the edges but I think it gives character. Slight sticker mark but not too worried since it’ll disappear over time as I carry it often or I can polish it off. If you have any tips other than buying another copper 😂😂, let me know.

So I went out for a ride on my bike and stopped for a smoke, but my zippo was empty.
Instead of just accepting defeat, I decided it was a great idea to pull a fuel line off the bike and use that fuel to fill up my zippo.
Seemed like a genius idea at the time.
Now the lighter smells like it was baptized in gasoline, you can probably smell me coming from a mile away, and when I light it, it produces a smoke screen.

So now Im trying to get the smell out with alcohol, sunlight, and baking soda.

Terrible idea, would probably do it again

Decided to get a new copper zippo. Upon opening I got a tarnished lighter that someone had pulled the black insert out of and swapped in a regular. What a great way to start a Saturday.

Hey everyone!

I wanted to show you this Zippo with a samurai engraving. I might tell you more about the design itself in a future post, but this time I want to talk about the lighter.

This isn’t one of the Zippos I made for sale. I made this one for my personal collection. It’s a 1977 Zippo, and when it came to me, it was definitely not in the best condition. The insert was in particularly bad shape. The upper plate that holds the cam spring and flint tube had actually come loose, which is something you don’t see very often on Zippos from this era. Somehow, this one managed to get there. Usually, when I find an insert in this condition, I simply take whatever parts are still usable and put the rest aside for spare parts. But this time I decided to restore it instead.

There was one particular reason for that. Inserts from this period have a surprisingly shallow engraving on them, and once you remove it, you’re left with a little piece of metal that can become another canvas for engraving. I’ve been working with Zippos for many years, but I had never engraved an insert before. So I thought — why not?

I worked on the case first, restoring it and then doing the engraving, roughly the same way I’ve shown in some of my previous posts.

With the insert, I did things in the opposite order. I engraved it first and restored it afterwards. The reason was simple: engraving generates quite a bit of heat, and I didn’t want to take any unnecessary chances with an already damaged insert. I’m not sure the heat would actually have been enough to cause any serious problems, but since I had the option to play it safe, I did.

Unfortunately, I made this Zippo quite a while ago, so I didn’t keep many photos of the process and I don’t remember all the details anymore. So I’ll keep the story short this time.

But I thought the result was worth showing.

Let’s start from beginning

15 of June, at night, Russian rocket hit Mayak manufactory at Kiev, close to it was biggest flea at Ukraine which also suffered from rocket attack, 30% of flea was completely destroyed

Owner/seller of this lighter found it in ruins of his shop and gifted it

Lighter was restored and now it is fully functional(melted metal still left on shell)

So yeah, I’m not the second and even third owner of it, it have some text on it, that lighter made a big way

Planning to sell it like Ukrainian- Russian war artefact - souvenir, maybe some collectors will be interested

Brass patinas the best and it does it so fast it's interesting.

I've always used butane lighters as they are cheaper and more convenient to refill but I just couldn't resist this zippo when I saw it at a smoke shop today. So far I'm loving it, but I still think I might need to buy a butane insert for it at some point.

Is this good…wish it wasnt labled but hey zippo for .50 cents

Just did a few more up recently! Hope you guys like them! If you do, and you want one, they are on eBay! If you just like them and don’t want them, hit the upvote! Downvote if you hate them!

• Mr. Woody

Amazon sent me a pile of rocks. Apparently a new one is coming saturday lol

I wanted to test how long an inset would last using the plastic bag method. I used my favorite Zippo which I carried exclusively since 2004-2025. I repacked the insert and installed a new Zorro wick because they are a little bit thicker and I think fill up the hole in the insert better. I filed it up completely so it pooled at the top and dripped out the wick (with the insert upside down for refueling). I then used it without the plastic bag and it lasted 10 days (lighting at least ten times each day).Then I filled it again and inserted it into the case with the piece of plastic bag sealing the bottom of the insert in the case. Again, I made sure I lit the lighter at least ten times each day. It finally ran out of fluid on day 22! I don’t recommend using a Zippo till it runs out of fluid because that is when the wick gets damaged.

Didnt know it was pre-production and apparently this is the official Armored logo

Especially with occult themes.

☘️☘️☘️

Made my girlfriend this case for her Zippo from curly siamese rosewood, I hope you enjoy it!

Made this Cyberpunk edgerunners themed zippo with Rebecca for a friend :)

I designed and printed out masks which I applied before spraying the base coats to retain some metal details on the front and back. The rest is painted with fluid acrylics and then varnished (if anyone has tips for a good clear coat that would work for this please tell me)

It's the first time I've painted a zippo, but I'm quite proud of the result, even though it's a bit messy :)

Had to pick up a Zippo for my favorite Smokes even if I don't smoke them much. I think they're cool because they always came in the U.S WW2 military rations Steve mre always opens. Any one have am idea for a date in this Zippo

If you can’t tell…top is when I bought it new December 2024, bottom is today! August 2025. I haven’t done anything special with it. Just carried it almost every day and used it. I accidentally left it out on the porch overnight a few times.

It’s a high-polished brass model. I’ve been happy with how the patina has developed over time, and it feels uniquely mine now.

i was in line the other day at walmart. they always have zippo displays. the impulse buy marketing works because they are always empty. always. but not that day! street brass. left to sit in a jar of acetone for a week. the coating peeled off like dried white glue on your fingers. the overspray inside was tougher to get at so after i got a bunch of it lifted and tearing like the reflecting pool i put it back in the jar. i'll finish cleaning it in a day or two.

😂 It’s been awhile. 🫠

I’ll clean these up and take some better photos this weekend.