Get the butane insert and read this if it has problems lighting.
I do adore my zippo, have a vintage WW2 style raw brass one that has a fantastic patina. I really like natural wick lighters, but I don't smoke, and I generally just keep a lighter in my pocket for when I have a patient that does smoke and really wants a light before I drop them off at the psych hospital or something, or need to melt off a frayed nylon end or something. And I was literally refilling this once a week.
I got the butane insert and noticed that it really struggled to light.
Figured it out - the post that creates the ignition arc was vent far enough back that it was arcing backwards to the body and not down to the rim of one of the torches like it should. Used a flathead screwdriver (anything would work though, you could do it with a dime) to push it down just a touch and after that, every time I pushed the ignitor, it arcs down to the rim of the torch and lights with 100% reliability. And it holds onto butane well, also. Leave it for months unused and it lights right up.
I do with there was a way to make the wick system last longer. Even if I still had to fill it once a month, I'd be happy. But the butane insert means I still get to have that nice clinkey toy in my pocket.
HoneybadgersYou should try the rechargeable double arc electric one. Like a little mini taser. And as for the butane inserts the best way to do it is turn the flame height down when you refill it, wait 5 minutes for it to get back to room temperature and put flame height back to mid to high, and it lights everytime after it gets back to room temp.
KiefofpoliceLike I described - none of those were my issue - I have the double flame butane insert, and have a rechargeable arc lighter stick lighter, but that would be much less useful unless I was using it to light very specific things (they suck for melting the edge of frayed nylon in particular.)
The problem was very specifically that the electrode itself was not bent far enough forward (it really needed a half millimeter of adjustment downward) which was causing the arc to go backwards to the body of the insert, not down to the rim of the torch.
Essentially it was like having a spark plug wire that was broken internally, causing it to arc to the engine block instead of through the spark plug. Ain't gonna make fire when the spark is somewhere there ain't nothing to burn.
Brass-finish Zippos might be objectively disadvantaged when compared with their satin & nickel-finished brethren...they don't patina, scratch, foul, and dent as easily. But for those who own & love brass, there is simply no replacement.
I bought the high polish brass version. I was expecting that: just a polished brass zippo, nothing more. But it comes with the phrase "SOLID BRASS" engraved on the front and is ugly af. That engraving wasn't showed on the produt page and kinda ruins my plan of making my own engravings to the lighter.
Zippo quality isn't what it used to be. The metal is thinner and the hinge is pretty weak and flimsy. I have 4-5 zippos all pre 1990s and they're all really solid and sturdy. Many of them have taken a beating (one even saved me from serious injury if you cant believe that!) and are as reliable as they day I acquired them. I doubt I will be able to say the same about this one. Oh well... Guess its just how it is these days. Honestly for the price, it really doesn't matter. They're still as dirt cheap as they've always been. I don't mind that the company has had to cut corners to stay US made.
*New one on the bottom right.
While I like the thicker material and the tumbled finish, the hinge on mine is so poorly fit that the top rattles even when the lighter is closed. Very disappointed at the shoddy construction of the only moving part on the thing.