A note on using the click to distinguishing genuine vs. counterfeit, depending on what model of real zippo you get, it might be made of different materials. Brass, chrome, black ice, etc. The different materials will produce different sounds. However, they will not be radically different and this is still a good way, used in conjunction with others, to tell. Just so you don't get worried if yours doesn't sounds exactly like the one in the video.
Yes thats true, the lighter is NOT airproof and the fluid WILL evaporate over time, if you filled it up and then never used it but lkept the lid shut it might last about 2 months or so? using it its empty in about a week...
well audio sound will be different when recorded so dont go by the sound, but genuine zippos are made from brass, unless otherwise noted like the copper, gold, silver, and titanium models) unless yours is alot older in which case some were made from steel...
The noise means nothing, I have old zippos that don't make the noise and I have new zippos that have the 3d metal plates on them and they don't make noise because of the weight
You are absolutely correct i have notice that myself about some of my Zippos you just cant trust the sound alone.But man when it does have the sound *AWESOME*
@Pmantis12 Its normal; just means the case was made in Feb. 2009 and the insert was made in Mar. 2009 so they had left over cases the next month and matched it with a new insert...
the left is a letter that represents the month, A is January, B is February and so on, so K stands for November...the right size has the year, in your case since its past 2000 they just use the exact year and no code, so 06, means 2006...your zippo was made in november 2006...
well there have been brand new oens that come liek that, but most of the tiem if its years off then its usually not the original zippo insert that went to that case, but it dosnt make it fake...not a big deal to most people...
older zippos are makeked with pat numbers...you cna figure out when it was made by refferrign to a zippo date chart which cna be found with a quick google search...
If you ahve an original emblem that falls off they will reattach it properly for you but if you have some kind of imagen that rubs away thats not coevered as that does not effect the lighter workign and its to be expected over time with use...
yes, they will work like mnay lighters, the difference is in quality, they will not last as long...they wil have mnay more problems as well down the road...
yes but depending on the seller it may be a difficult refund...if they refuse they it will be a hassle to go through a claim to ebay...BUT they do mena buisness with counterfeight products so if its a counterfeit your safe...
In mostr states its considered a tobacco product like any other lighter so therefore you need to be of age to smoke to buy one, average age is 18 but it depends on your state...
Not really, I mean most of the time they match to the same year at least if not to the exact month, but Zippo has also used older inserts on newer cases so its not a red flag or anythgin...Its normal...
it depends on the model, a real zippo cna sell as cheap as $120 for a plain old one with no design and all the way up to $100, I wodul say everage price for a zippo is between $15 - $25...
@NRXTM I asked myself the same question. The answer is if they made a copy that isn't different at all from the original they could get sewed by the company. That is why they make it look like the original but make a small difference.
i just bought a new lighter from a zippo kiosk in the mall, and the casing was made in october of 2008, but the insert was made in March of 2010. and everything is brand new. i guess the dealer switched up the inserts to keep up it updated which is a pretty good idea.
yes all gen....uine 0zipopos have the same= insert and work the same way, but there is aftermarket inserts that run on butane if thats what you like, I have a review on one called the z-plus...
most states consider lighters to be tobacco products so it woudl be the age where it is legal for you to smoke in your state, but often tiems people dotn care if a kid wants to buy one, depends where you are, like what store...
probably not, if you bought it new its fine if you bought it used just means there is a striong possability the insert wasd not theoriginal, thats all...
this is onyl a guess, but perhaps they had ne stampos made, the punch that stamps the bottk of the zippo and just decited to palce it ina different spot? I dotn knwo for sure though...
It simply means that the shell and the insert were manufactured at different times. My zippo has different dates as well, it just shows that they were in a different batch basically.
If it means alot to you just keep it as is and dotn use it, if you have other items from your grandfather and dont midn selling it, you cna get ALOT of money for that depending on what model, if its a blakc crackel model they sell easily for $200-$300 even used...
Hi, I have a Zippo that I am 100% sure is genuine, it was purchased from Zippo. The year codes are the same, but the insert was manufactured a month earlier. Knowing a bit about manufacturing process, it doesn't always tie in with assembly of the finished product. Months apart is just fine, years apart would be highly unlikely.
Get a plain Matte finish zipo in the color of your chpoice, it wotn show fingerprints at all, but scratchign is another story..they are under $20 most places...
yes you cna google zippo date chart to see the info on the chart...its only in recent years they uised letters though tio show month older zippos dfont have the month, just marks to show year...
soloid matte colors ,ike matte black or matte red, green, organge and so on, they dotn show finger pritns at all and they ahve some grip too, also cheap like $15 each...
after 200 they used a very simple marking, your 08 literally stand for 2008, hha, and the A stands for january, so your zippo was made very recently, in jan 2008...
oh, haha, alot of brass models ahve brass inserts to match...theer IS a 24K gold zippom though that sells for roughyl $3000 some palces sell for more and I ahve seen them as low as $2500...
Very nice and instructive video. I'm new to zippos and just found the 2 I have seem genuine, based on your instructions. The only problem with this video is that it teaches counterfeit makers too :)
No, As far as I know the insert and the case are made separately and then assembled, they were just in different months. It could be the insert was made at the very end of Feb., and then the case was made at the very beginning of March
i collect zippo's aswell and another thing i've noticed is that fake zippo's use a very shiny chrome insert, genuine zippo's use a mat zilver coloured insert. with the fake inserts, you have some sort of a mirror effect =)
Well when you go back to older Zippos you will find some minor differences, I do not have nay info on hollow pins, but it may very well be just an older design...So dont write it off as fake...
there are cleaners on the market made to clean copper, just check your local hardware store and talk to an employee...I have seen infomercials for stuff that cleans copper really well but I dotn remember waht ti was, maybe oxyclean? I remember them dippign the penny in half way to show how good it works, lol...
a good way to make sure its a zippo is to weigh it...Now different models will weight a litle bit different but not by much unless its an armor zippo....So weight one of your real zippos then weigh that one and see how different they are, if you send me detailed pics I cna tell you if its a real one...
Look up the Diamond Fuel tank for Zippo. I also heard something about cutting a circular piece of inner tube from a bike tire, and putting it around the light closure. You have to roll the rubber down when you want to open the lighter, but supposedly this method works pretty well. I have yet to try it.
Thanks man for this useful tutorial, which gonna help not to buy a fake Zippo. Also your other tutorials in which you explain some tricks so on, are very well. So thank you very much and go ahead with the great job
I have also noticed one other thing you might ave wanted to mention, the spot welds on the hinges! I have a near flawless fake (excluding the click). I wanted so bad for it to be real, it had the stainless steel pins and everything. Correct Marking, real dates but the spot welds are circular. Zippo spot welds are always a sideways oval and more discrete. ALlong with that and the click the only other problem is the flame on the "i" which you can only tell when comparing it next to a real one.
I REALLY enjoyed this video! I'm curious though if the Niagara Falls Zippos are considered less valuable? Up here in Canada, that's all I see, and of course my baby is one of them... Not that it would change how I feel about it now, but it got me curious.
I bought my first in a shop many years ago and I didn't realize the inserts had dates on them as well, looks like mine had its insert replaced 3 years after the case was made. I remember the guy selling it to me for less because the case was dented.
correct it is still a lighter just nto a zippo, zippo is a brand name not a style lighter...just like popele use the term leathermna to describe a plier multitool...I know what they mean but its not correct...
just wanna say that I have a zippo that I know is genuine but because it has a secondary metal plate on the face that even goes up to the lid it makes a duller sound. the click is created by the vibration of thin metal, you could get the exact same sound but that's saying you can cut away paper thin slices of the metal.
VERY helpfull video man. I had no idea that you could use all of that to tell the difference. Thanks to you, i saved myself from getting ripped off by a street vendor. Good job. Very usefull
it can decrease the value ALOT if you have a rare case, but a newer unoriginal insert. but if its a rare insert but newer case, i dont think anyone would care unless it was REALLY rare. noneoftheless, keeping a good reliable zippo original is always good
@jgilk1 My Zippo has that too it just means that the case and the insert weren't made the same month (in your case it means that the insert was made in december 2006 and the case was made in january 2007. It doesn't mean it's counterfeit.
I got a zippo the other day on a whim and just happened on this video out of curiosity. I find this oddly fascinating. Good to know I got the real deal. Insert print, proper date (J 09), proper pins, even the tone of the click is spot on.
just spitballin here, but if i take a genuine insert and put it in a fake shell would it still make the dull sound upon opening or would it ting like a genuine zippo?
Thanks! NO, I woudl NOT use charcaol lighter fuyid, its not rthe same, it might work, but its not safe...Just not recommended...I mena soldiers have used gaslonine in their zippos in Nam but even though it worked it was NOT safe...
I am British born and raised in England, I can tell you now I brought a genuine Zippo for £5 brand new. It is a florentine 1974 replica, I love it! The only reason why I am saying this is because I just couldn't believe how fucking cheap it was! Love ZIPPO!!
you already got some answers, but let me just try and make it a little easyer. The zippo click sound has somewhat of a metally pinggggg or zingg to it when you open it. While the fake one sounds more like a regular lighter being lit. Or a dull sound. Bassicly, the cleaner the metal sound, the more likely you have a genuine zippo :)
Sure, there are some Zippo like lighters you can buy from the internet, some shops and possible flee markets. A Zippo like brand is called Star. They look identical, they are around 5-6 bucks or just go to walmart and buy a 12 dollar Zippo :)
A note on using the click to distinguishing genuine vs. counterfeit, depending on what model of real zippo you get, it might be made of different materials. Brass, chrome, black ice, etc. The different materials will produce different sounds. However, they will not be radically different and this is still a good way, used in conjunction with others, to tell. Just so you don't get worried if yours doesn't sounds exactly like the one in the video.
Yes thats true, the lighter is NOT airproof and the fluid WILL evaporate over time, if you filled it up and then never used it but lkept the lid shut it might last about 2 months or so? using it its empty in about a week...
holy crap, I just checked and my favorite zippo that I've had since I was ten is a fake.
Damn that's stupid.
that sucks but it's still probably a good lighter
well audio sound will be different when recorded so dont go by the sound, but genuine zippos are made from brass, unless otherwise noted like the copper, gold, silver, and titanium models) unless yours is alot older in which case some were made from steel...
I got my first zippo a year ago and it is a jack Daniels zippo
no, its common, only reason to worry is if the year was way off...and even then it may still be real just not the original insert..
The noise means nothing, I have old zippos that don't make the noise and I have new zippos that have the 3d metal plates on them and they don't make noise because of the weight
You are absolutely correct i have notice that myself about some of my Zippos you just cant trust the sound alone.But man when it does have the sound *AWESOME*
thats common as zippo often has left over inserts to use on cases made in previous or post months...
yes to tighten it just squeeze the case together a bit to amke the fit tighter...
@Pmantis12 Its normal; just means the case was made in Feb. 2009 and the insert was made in Mar. 2009 so they had left over cases the next month and matched it with a new insert...
the left is a letter that represents the month, A is January, B is February and so on, so K stands for November...the right size has the year, in your case since its past 2000 they just use the exact year and no code, so 06, means 2006...your zippo was made in november 2006...
well there have been brand new oens that come liek that, but most of the tiem if its years off then its usually not the original zippo insert that went to that case, but it dosnt make it fake...not a big deal to most people...
older zippos are makeked with pat numbers...you cna figure out when it was made by refferrign to a zippo date chart which cna be found with a quick google search...
If you ahve an original emblem that falls off they will reattach it properly for you but if you have some kind of imagen that rubs away thats not coevered as that does not effect the lighter workign and its to be expected over time with use...
yes, they will work like mnay lighters, the difference is in quality, they will not last as long...they wil have mnay more problems as well down the road...
After pausing the video over the chart, i found out that my grandfathers zippo was made between 1937 and 1950. Thanks for showing the chart Jeff!
good point, certain emblem models will sound slightly different...thanks for pointing that out!
yes but depending on the seller it may be a difficult refund...if they refuse they it will be a hassle to go through a claim to ebay...BUT they do mena buisness with counterfeight products so if its a counterfeit your safe...
In mostr states its considered a tobacco product like any other lighter so therefore you need to be of age to smoke to buy one, average age is 18 but it depends on your state...
by the markings alone sounds real, H is for August and 08 for 2008
Not really, I mean most of the time they match to the same year at least if not to the exact month, but Zippo has also used older inserts on newer cases so its not a red flag or anythgin...Its normal...
@Broodnoobpaw thats right...its a gamblew BUT it wont effect how it functions or its value at all...
ok so what does the bottom say? the small part on the bottom , watch the video again, and let me kno what the markings on the bottom are...
it depends on the model, a real zippo cna sell as cheap as $120 for a plain old one with no design and all the way up to $100, I wodul say everage price for a zippo is between $15 - $25...
J is the 10th letter in the alphabet which means it was made the 10th month of the year, which is October...
Nothing like watching one of cutlerylover's videos on a rainy day.
Thats possible...Some mix and match inserts with other cases...
Its actually common, slight side to side movement...
@NRXTM I asked myself the same question. The answer is if they made a copy that isn't different at all from the original they could get sewed by the company. That is why they make it look like the original but make a small difference.
i just bought a new lighter from a zippo kiosk in the mall, and the casing was made in october of 2008, but the insert was made in March of 2010. and everything is brand new. i guess the dealer switched up the inserts to keep up it updated which is a pretty good idea.
yeah odften they have left over parts from other months they use...very common...
hey thanks a lot man! i appreciate the info you give here.
yes all gen....uine 0zipopos have the same= insert and work the same way, but there is aftermarket inserts that run on butane if thats what you like, I have a review on one called the z-plus...
thats normal, zippo often uses extra parts they had a month or 2 ago, totally normal dont worry...
most states consider lighters to be tobacco products so it woudl be the age where it is legal for you to smoke in your state, but often tiems people dotn care if a kid wants to buy one, depends where you are, like what store...
yeah if those afre the markings on the bottom of the lighter, then its no way a real zippo...Are they on the bottom of on the front?
probably not, if you bought it new its fine if you bought it used just means there is a striong possability the insert wasd not theoriginal, thats all...
this is onyl a guess, but perhaps they had ne stampos made, the punch that stamps the bottk of the zippo and just decited to palce it ina different spot? I dotn knwo for sure though...
It simply means that the shell and the insert were manufactured at different times. My zippo has different dates as well, it just shows that they were in a different batch basically.
1950-1957 woudl have the patent on it, but 1958 -1965 used dots for date codes..
Hmmm what do you mean flame on the "i"?
also good catch on noticing the hiunge welds...
yeah they work fien as lighters, just dotn last as logn or are as reliable...like a cheap knife compared to a good one...
ohh ok well its common for you to have an insert thats froma different motnh than the case..nothing to worry about...
Any day is a good day to watch Jeff's videos.
If it means alot to you just keep it as is and dotn use it, if you have other items from your grandfather and dont midn selling it, you cna get ALOT of money for that depending on what model, if its a blakc crackel model they sell easily for $200-$300 even used...
Hi, I have a Zippo that I am 100% sure is genuine, it was purchased from Zippo. The year codes are the same, but the insert was manufactured a month earlier. Knowing a bit about manufacturing process, it doesn't always tie in with assembly of the finished product. Months apart is just fine, years apart would be highly unlikely.
no, its fine, thats common to be of a few months just not years...
Get a plain Matte finish zipo in the color of your chpoice, it wotn show fingerprints at all, but scratchign is another story..they are under $20 most places...
yes you cna google zippo date chart to see the info on the chart...its only in recent years they uised letters though tio show month older zippos dfont have the month, just marks to show year...
soloid matte colors ,ike matte black or matte red, green, organge and so on, they dotn show finger pritns at all and they ahve some grip too, also cheap like $15 each...
at 6:32, it shows the counterfeit logo pretty good. the word zippo is angled a bit
actually its the opposite they are more valuable and molre collectible since that plant shut down in 2001...watch them on ebay...
after 200 they used a very simple marking, your 08 literally stand for 2008, hha, and the A stands for january, so your zippo was made very recently, in jan 2008...
oh, haha, alot of brass models ahve brass inserts to match...theer IS a 24K gold zippom though that sells for roughyl $3000 some palces sell for more and I ahve seen them as low as $2500...
@heitzelalvarenga It doesn't matter. They're assembled in the factory out of pre-existing parts. Sometimes they're a month or two off.
@wqdy949 it reffers to the monmth A is january B is february and so on, D is April
actually, they probably would, they make large numbers of inserts, and it can sometimes take a few months to deplete the surplus stocks.
Very nice and instructive video. I'm new to zippos and just found the 2 I have seem genuine, based on your instructions. The only problem with this video is that it teaches counterfeit makers too :)
@benji8561 No. Lots of Zippos do not have "canned" bottoms.
@PyroMighty welkl the XXI means it was made in 96...
No, As far as I know the insert and the case are made separately and then assembled, they were just in different months. It could be the insert was made at the very end of Feb., and then the case was made at the very beginning of March
i collect zippo's aswell and another thing i've noticed is that fake zippo's use a very shiny chrome insert, genuine zippo's use a mat zilver coloured insert. with the fake inserts, you have some sort of a mirror effect =)
yes Thats June 2007...
dotn worry about that, the sound on a video is slightly different than in real life, im sure yours are real...
Well when you go back to older Zippos you will find some minor differences, I do not have nay info on hollow pins, but it may very well be just an older design...So dont write it off as fake...
Hye, well often tiems they have left over inserts from previos months so if you get a case that does not match up with your insert its common...
yeah. my case was made in january 07 and the insert was made in april of 07. so the case sat for sometime.
what marks are to the right of the zippo logo on the bottom? any slash marks or dots?
nope, I use a kodack easyshare model Z1275
there are cleaners on the market made to clean copper, just check your local hardware store and talk to an employee...I have seen infomercials for stuff that cleans copper really well but I dotn remember waht ti was, maybe oxyclean? I remember them dippign the penny in half way to show how good it works, lol...
a good way to make sure its a zippo is to weigh it...Now different models will weight a litle bit different but not by much unless its an armor zippo....So weight one of your real zippos then weigh that one and see how different they are, if you send me detailed pics I cna tell you if its a real one...
Look up the Diamond Fuel tank for Zippo. I also heard something about cutting a circular piece of inner tube from a bike tire, and putting it around the light closure. You have to roll the rubber down when you want to open the lighter, but supposedly this method works pretty well. I have yet to try it.
@Xejke It is real. I have a video explaining just that. The case and the insert do NOT have to match.
Thanks man for this useful tutorial, which gonna help not to buy a fake Zippo.
Also your other tutorials in which you explain some tricks so on, are very well. So thank you very much and go ahead with the great job
I have also noticed one other thing you might ave wanted to mention, the spot welds on the hinges! I have a near flawless fake (excluding the click). I wanted so bad for it to be real, it had the stainless steel pins and everything. Correct Marking, real dates but the spot welds are circular. Zippo spot welds are always a sideways oval and more discrete. ALlong with that and the click the only other problem is the flame on the "i" which you can only tell when comparing it next to a real one.
I REALLY enjoyed this video! I'm curious though if the Niagara Falls Zippos are considered less valuable? Up here in Canada, that's all I see, and of course my baby is one of them... Not that it would change how I feel about it now, but it got me curious.
@PyroMighty yeap they are real,however zippo in niagra closed in 2002 ,so their rare now so be sure to hold on to yours.
i bought my zippo on a trip to new york a while back the case is B 07 but the insert is A 07. i never knew any of this about zippos. cool stuff
I bought my first in a shop many years ago and I didn't realize the inserts had dates on them as well, looks like mine had its insert replaced 3 years after the case was made. I remember the guy selling it to me for less because the case was dented.
correct it is still a lighter just nto a zippo, zippo is a brand name not a style lighter...just like popele use the term leathermna to describe a plier multitool...I know what they mean but its not correct...
just wanna say that I have a zippo that I know is genuine but because it has a secondary metal plate on the face that even goes up to the lid it makes a duller sound. the click is created by the vibration of thin metal, you could get the exact same sound but that's saying you can cut away paper thin slices of the metal.
Thanks for the information. I have quite a few Zippo lighters. And I am just now learning that some of them are not authentic.
VERY helpfull video man. I had no idea that you could use all of that to tell the difference. Thanks to you, i saved myself from getting ripped off by a street vendor. Good job. Very usefull
Zippo duid make a titanium model, I us to own one, the case is solid titanium the insert is a normal zippo insert, the finsh was a dull grey...
i love the top right one, i watched all of your zippo tricks and i know some over then some are not to easy lol
no thats ok they re use old parts from other months its ok...
it can decrease the value ALOT if you have a rare case, but a newer unoriginal insert.
but if its a rare insert but newer case, i dont think anyone would care unless it was REALLY rare.
noneoftheless, keeping a good reliable zippo original is always good
I totally get the sound thing - I was sitting here flicking my zippo when you were pinging it, and it has the exact same pitch zippo 'ping'. perfect
no, they are just less reliable, for the most part this video is for collectors...
@jgilk1 My Zippo has that too it just means that the case and the insert weren't made the same month (in your case it means that the insert was made in december 2006 and the case was made in january 2007. It doesn't mean it's counterfeit.
I got a zippo the other day on a whim and just happened on this video out of curiosity. I find this oddly fascinating. Good to know I got the real deal. Insert print, proper date (J 09), proper pins, even the tone of the click is spot on.
Yeah its real, its common to have an insert ats a different month than the case...nothgin to worry about..unless it was off 2 or more years, lol...
just spitballin here, but if i take a genuine insert and put it in a fake shell would it still make the dull sound upon opening or would it ting like a genuine zippo?
its probably he original its common for zippo to use old parts that were made a motnh ro 2 before...
yes yours was made in May 1993...
Thanks! NO, I woudl NOT use charcaol lighter fuyid, its not rthe same, it might work, but its not safe...Just not recommended...I mena soldiers have used gaslonine in their zippos in Nam but even though it worked it was NOT safe...
Also genuine Zippos don't open at 180 degree angle. And the top bounces a bit after opening.
I am British born and raised in England, I can tell you now I brought a genuine Zippo for £5 brand new. It is a florentine 1974 replica, I love it!
The only reason why I am saying this is because I just couldn't believe how fucking cheap it was!
Love ZIPPO!!
+Lucky Singh It was cheap because It was a replica.
you already got some answers, but let me just try and make it a little easyer. The zippo click sound has somewhat of a metally pinggggg or zingg to it when you open it. While the fake one sounds more like a regular lighter being lit. Or a dull sound.
Bassicly, the cleaner the metal sound, the more likely you have a genuine zippo :)
Sure, there are some Zippo like lighters you can buy from the internet, some shops and possible flee markets. A Zippo like brand is called Star. They look identical, they are around 5-6 bucks or just go to walmart and buy a 12 dollar Zippo :)