Fakes are Zippo

As 99% distinguish fake Zippo, being in the hands of a real

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

This amazing in its simplicity and effectiveness of the recipe given to me by my friend from New Zealand Paul Fleming - the world famous Zippo-engraver created on lighters unique masterpieces , each unique. A small interview with him I still have to, and that's actually a recipe of how to distinguish fake Zippo.

If you have at hand Zippo, the authenticity of which you are 100% sure, to determine the other fakes, do the following. Remove the screw that holds the spring flint lighters from the present and try to screw it into one that raises suspicions. At 99% it does not twist in the fake Zippo. The answer is simple: at home in the United States Zippo uses the English system of measures (inches, etc.) in which there is a specification of the screw thread, and almost all the fakes are made in Asia, where in the course of the metric system of measurement (and the thread is measured in millimeters) . Therefore, the Asian screws screwed into the US thread.

Lighters like Zippo

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

There are many brands of lighters which apparently repeated design Zippo, however, can not be called fake Zippo for one simple reason: they are never written the word "Zippo". These windproof lighters are merely an imitation Zippo, but are themselves quite "honest" products (leaving aside the fact that the design is borrowed - to come up with something different from the traditional design with a hinged lid and the windscreen - it's like that reinvent the wheel).

Below I will show a few of these lighters that are not forgeries Zippo, but only repeat its design.

Very common lighters Chinese firm STAR. There are two types of STAR - Cheap and luxury :) Cheap quality and feels very different from the Zippo, they are light, made from an alloy, similar to aluminum. More expensive models have higher quality.

On a lighter insert STAR is a logo and website address www.star1988.com:

In my collection there are lighter-known Korean brand Barlow. Externally it is very similar to Zippo, but upon closer inspection you can see the difference in quality of the performance of small parts, wheels, stamp:

At the auctions you can find dozens of other lighters, anyway Zippo similar in appearance, but their stamp may entail a variety of surprises - none of them Zippo, lighters and other brands. The most common Japanese and American models of lighters Park, Penguin, and there are also many others. Some look like Zippo everything except actually die from other different mount cover, windshield design, etc. - But the principle of the design is still the same.

But the Japanese manufacturer Idealine went the other way. This lighter can be accurately distinguished from Zippo - at significantly smaller size. Children Zippo - the right of this :)

Fake Zippo lighters

Friday, August 14th, 2009


This is the most commented article on our website, because all queries about the authenticity of the Zippo lighters Yandex or Google are just here :)

For ease of searching and to all the information about the authenticity of the Zippo lighters are in one place, comments are closed from 15 November 2012.

Please visit our forum about Zippo forum.zippocollector.ru, register and ask questions about the authenticity of your lighters in the "Genuine whether Zippo". Oh, and do not forget to attach a photo! :)

Ask about the authenticity here: forum.zippocollector.ru


One of the most common issues faced by fans Zippo - is the question of the authenticity of the lighters. Fill this gap, in this article I will try to tell you about the authenticity of the Zippo, about counterfeiting, varieties and about how to find out if your not a fake lighter.

We agree that the "fake Zippo" - it is lighter, which is made not by Zippo, but that says "Zippo". There are many similar Zippo lighters other brands that I would not call imitations - they are in another article.

Unfortunately for us, counterfeiters are not static, and often make very high quality imitation. Therefore, you can never be 100% sure, if you have the slightest doubt about the authenticity of the lighter. Even I sometimes wrong (although passed through my hands a hundred Zippo virtually all times), and is particularly difficult to determine a fake one only pictures. More or less you can be sure only in the event that very carefully examine the lighter "live".

For a start - a quick tutorial about how you can have a chance to distinguish a fake.

What should pay attention to if you are in doubt about the authenticity of Zippo:

  1. Accuracy of execution. At present Zippo never be sharp edges, burrs, sloppy pasted posters, etc.
  2. The density of the adjoining parts. At present Zippo never be gaps in the attachment loop, wheel, etc.
  3. The stamp on the bottom must be neat and pressed, not engraved! And, of course, coincide with the dating of the table . Osobeo pay attention to the small details like the location of the ® symbol or the distance between the stripes or dots.
  4. The same applies to the inscriptions on the inserts: they are to be printed, not engraved, and the same with something from the table dating inserts .
  5. The body of this Zippo should be left in the hands of a good impression. Many fake Zippo touch left feeling cheap poor quality stuff, sometimes there are even very low-quality cast or sheet metal body.
  6. The same applies to the quality of the insert. Furthermore, it should be freely removable from the housing.
  7. Audio Opens Zippo can not be confused with anything. Only a real Zippo give a distinctive mellow and sonorous clicks (or SCHЁLK if pasted posters on the case).
  8. What is shown in the lighter should not go beyond a reasonable :) Ask yourself: Could a company to release a Zippo lighter? Of course, no pornography, Nazi symbols, or something ridiculous / shun Zippo on this can not be (if it is certainly not homemade or trench-art). Excluded also grammatical and factual errors in the present Zippo.
  9. Point of sale and the price Zippo. The real Zippo can not buy in the subway or tobacco kiosk for 150 rubles! In Russia, the price of new Zippo start from 600-700 rubles for the cheapest model.
  10. In the box with a cigarette lighter must be pasted article - a piece of paper with a bar code and the name and model number. If it is not, then that's not a sign of forgery. But if he is, he had pasted it! If it is printed right on the box, it is a sign 100% fake.

For the rest, to distinguish a fake from the real can be sure only studying Zippo, holding a variety of lighter and imagining what Zippo generally are. Tell you about the Zippo everything - one of the main aims of our site :)

Now some illustrations about the fake Zippo.

A very common thing in the era of the Vietnam War Zippo - engraved stamp:

Compare - on top of a false stamp, the real bottom:

Another stamp note on what figures are used in the inscription "2517191" - in this Zippo such font has never been used:

Etched insert amazingly shitty quality! This forgery is detected immediately with the naked eye:

This Zippo was bought by our reader in Penza for 4000 rubles. It's a pity it was upset about the authenticity of the lighter (or rather, false):

Of course, such a terrible Harley Zippo simply sound logic could not let himself die :) at first glance seems real, but the letter had not ® on the spot. This stamp of 2006 should be:

For comparison, look, it looks like the same model Zippo in the original version:

This is - the false hinge cover! Such carelessness and gaps in the present Zippo simply can not be:

Fake Mickey Mouse:

False Michael Jackson, RIP (a copy must be alerted immediately, especially if it went on sale at a high price, and fairly quickly after the death of the character)

Quite common with Chinese fake ridiculous inscription "FAME VEHICLE" (I did not translate in the state). To the touch, it is a remnant of cheap manufactured by casting (as it actually is)

Another low-quality casting, do not bother to even put letters of the month:

Another kind of Chinese casting - "CENTURY EAGLE". This specimen was found at a flea market. It remains the envy of the ingenuity of an unknown master, has made such an amusing imitation of the military lighter! In actual fact it is all the same cast Chinese hack.

Note the characteristic texture of the casting, which is never seen on this Zippo:

Chinese fake for some reason much more often than others have the numbers XII or XIII on the stamp. In this very form of punching pattern differs deliberate angularity, "square" and sharp edges, not peculiar to the present lighters:

Zippo with Soviet symbols are usually made on the basis of cheap Chinese fakes, or they would have cost too much to produce them for foreign tourists would be unprofitable. Of course, the company itself is a Zippo produce could not:

Fake Harley Davidson, photos sent to me by Robert Moon of California. Note the very sloppy hinge cover and the same emblem sloppy, uncharacteristic for Zippo:

This is - a fake stamp harleevskoy Zippo. Very similar to the present, it gives only a fake and a lack of depth of punching icon ®:

For comparison - a real stamp of 1996:

Next - a wonderful description of the fake Jack Daniels, made ​​by Alexei Loktev . In all the photos on the right fake, real Zippo left.

The gently different form, especially the upper part. Also, two recesses on the top and bottom hinges more and more pushed through:

In forging the inscription Zippo thinner, lower the flame. Font Bradford, PA. Made in USA - a different, but similar. At present, after the word Bradford is a comma, for forgery - point. Barely visible, but you can make out:

Felt in the bottom insert. Do fake letters LIFT TO FILL much larger, and the screw is smaller and has no incisions at the end:

Stamp on the insert. On the forgery - the inscription ZIPPO MFG without a space:

The end of the brass tube at the same flint significantly. Please note - for a fake lighter horizontal incisions on the wheel at an angle on the true:

Quite a frequent phenomenon, which can be found on the insert fakes - rivet wheel and cam brass. Sometimes the only thing that allows one to say with certainty about the authenticity of the insert, as the inscription on the insert - forgery can sometimes be made very carefully and plausible:

On the original insert studs or steel, or through:

Stamps on the bottom of counterfeiting can also be performed very carefully and misleading, as those two copies.

BUT! We recall that the letter means standing to the left of Zippo. I think everyone remembers - the month of manufacture. And what we see on these stamps - letter Z. In total, only twelve months, respectively, A - January, L - December on the letters L, following the English alphabet, no letters on the stamp should not meet Zippo.

Sometimes, it is very useful to know the history of Zippo lighters, or at least know where to turn in case of large doubts about the authenticity. Legally this Zippo made plausible, no mistakes, no curves inscriptions, nothing that could say with certainty - it is a fake.

But the inscription should make aluminum doubt those who are a little familiar with the history of Zippo, since no aluminum lighters Zippo Mfg Company in 2002 did not release. Aluminum Zippo never acted in the serial production, experts and collectors know only about the existence of the test specimens of rare 1950s. Therefore, hence the conclusion: this lighter - a fake. This is a very rare case in the world of collectible Zippo, but if you succumb to the hype, you can leave the rather big amount of money for a fake. Some gullible and deceived buyers on Ebay have given 200 - $ 300 for each such instance.

It turns out, it can be counterfeited not only the lighter or insert. Forge can be even corporate guarantee, which states Zippo lighter lifetime warranty - business cards and main credo Zippo Mfg Company.

In front of you is one of the fakes warranty card Zippo:

In - the first Zippo inscription in large letters made miserable and not very credible. In - the second, it concerns those who are familiar with English, in the guarantee you can meet the basic spelling and grammatical errors. In this case, (underlined with a red line) is written - a cant for therepair of a Zippo (a penny for the repairs Zippo). Word cents misspelled in the original cent, instead of cant, repair word written together with the article the. For clarity, here is an example of the original warranty:

Be carefull :)


This is the most commented article on our website, because all queries about the authenticity of the Zippo lighters Yandex or Google are just here :)

For ease of searching and to all the information about the authenticity of the Zippo lighters are in one place, comments are closed from 15 November 2012.

Please visit our forum about Zippo forum.zippocollector.ru, register and ask questions about the authenticity of your lighters in the "Genuine whether Zippo". Oh, and do not forget to attach a photo! :)

Ask about the authenticity here: forum.zippocollector.ru