The Filthie Pyro: Reconsidering The Zippo

 

So I’ve basically given up on matches for my emergency and bushcraft stores. Thanks to liberal and nanny state faggotry I can’t buy them or easily make them myself. I have tons of the shitty anemic ones but I simply won’t rely on them. I stocked up on Bic lighters and have at least a dozen in the house and squirrelled away. 

But… I have a few zippos too. I adore them. They feel great in the hand, they ride well in the pocket, they’re super handy. I love the memories they evoke. My dad and grandpa smoked like stacks and the “ka-chink/snick” sound stirs many fond memories as they lit up during breaks. I love the smell of them. The nostalgia and charm of them are not lost on me either. The problem is the damn things just won’t retain lighter fluid! It evaporates away and sure as chit… when you need them - they’re dry and you are SOL! my zippos sleep in a decorative wooden box beside my pipe, along with a couple Bics. What a waste. Used to be Pop would sit down a couple times a week and refill his zippo and wind his watch. It was a ritual. It was a good time to catch him and discuss important father/son business like who the toughest guy on Stampede Wrestling was, why is mom such a stupid bitch, why can’t I have an allowance without having to work for it…

😂👍

Such was the life of a little kid 50~60 years ago… today my watch is solar powered. It’s linked via satellite to a cesium atomic clock in Europe. It does altitude/barometer, stopwatch, timer, compass, temp, day/date, GMT… and it’s tougher and keeps better time than a Rolex. Certainly better than the manual winding Timex watches that working men had back in the day. When I was smoking I lost my Bic lighters before I ran them out. Mine “grew legs” and walked away. Others ended up in my pocket because I forgot to give them back. No one cares; if it runs out ya throw it away and buy another one. Or a pack of them. If Pop and Grandpa had access to these things they’d have thrown their accouterments in the garbage and grabbed the modern replacements in a heartbeat, and be thankful for them! HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR!!! Your cell phone will blow the best wrist watch out of the water too.

In my comments it was said that Bics have a shelf life and that the flints will crumble over time. I’ve never noticed that because I generally lose them within a month or two! But it does pay to have back up. The modifications in the above vid are easy enough, I suppose…? I started idly looking at options and did a deep dive on the subject. I want to put these old zippos back to work. Nostalgia is all well and good but I am too scatterbrained and lazy to sit down and do needful things like Pop and Grandpa did. I also have other needful chores and priorities to take care of that didn’t exist in their day. I wondered if there is a happy medium… and there may be a couple. 

One stubfart on OyTube uses a piece of bicycle tire inner tube. It fits tightly around the zippo and effectively seals it and also makes it “water resistant” - with emphasis placed on water resistance rather than “waterproof”. Only drawback is pushing the lighter in and out of it. That fit has to be tight. I decided to keep looking and see if there are other options.

This is basically a ballastic polymer plastic that replaces the classic metal zippo case. It closes up with an O ring seal. According to the bushcrafters on OyTube this one is only water resistant too. I don’t care… I ordered one off Amazon for under 20 bucks. A lot of people don’t like them. They say the ergonomics are wrong, it lost the feel of the original zippo, blah blah blah. I get that… but my zippos are for starting fires these days. I don’t need the lightening lighter draw that Pop and Grandpa did. They’re made by a company called Thyrm, if you’re interested.

If you’re REALLY determined, and seeking the best leak-proof flint/fluid lighters… the peanut lighters seem to be the best of the bunch.

I’m gonna buy some of them too, maybe? This one’s under 25 bucks on Amazon. They seal up right tight and seem to be the most waterproof of them all. They’re small enough to squirrel away anywhere too.  There’s far more expensive, flashier versions available but they are for cooler kids than I. 

In the real world? I dunno if these are seriously required. I discovered the hard way that in my entire life of camping, fishing and hunting - that I never once had to have a knife larger than three inches long. All my bigger knives are attributable to my knife fetish. I just bought a Gerber Strongarm because I REALLY wanted a mid length fixed blade. I didn’t actually “need” it.

The same may hold true for lighters, I guess. Do you or I need anything other than cheap disposable Bic lighters? I seriously don’t know. I see bushcrafters coming down on both sides. For me… I’ve never needed anything more than a Bic. I never needed any more of a rifle than your average Enfield or Mauser milsurp beater. But I have lots of rifles too. 

It’s nice to play with all the options I guess. You do you.