Personalised Lighters

They were used in military operations, in which paratroopers would spray gasoline over the area to burn enemy compounds and dwellings. The soldiers would usually carry the lighters in their chest pockets or fasten them onto the camouflage band on their helmets. As substitutes for lighter fluid alcohol, diesel or even gasoline was used. Zippo lighters were used as Id's and canvasses. The PX's in Vietnam carried a large amount of them and this explains the reason why there were so many Zippo lighters in Vietnam. Zippo merchandise quickly found it's way onto the black market and soldiers were able to buy brand new Zippo lighters without having to go to the PX. Vietnamese craftsmen would engrave anything from pictures to phrases onto the Zippo lighter for the soldiers. Zippos lighters engraved "in-field" for Army GI's have the largest variety of personalized phrases and images. The most popular motif engraved onto a soldiers Zippo lighter was the map of Vietnam. Every soldier had his own personalized Zippo lighter, which accompanied him until the fall of Saigon and beyond.

Zippo

Zippo Lighters used by American Soldiers during the Vietnam war have since become collector's items. Every Zippo lighter from the Vietnam war bears Silent witness, conveying a great sense of emotion of having been there on the battlefield. The soldiers who faced death and stood on the brink of hell, carrying their Zippo lighters who transformed these simple Zippo lighters into and integral part of their own bodies and souls. Vietnam has immortalized the Zippo lighter and has sense became a priceless collectors item.

The great majority of Vietnam Navy ship Zippos were factory engraved. To be considered a "Vietnam Zippo" the engraving should include specific reference to Vietnam. Military Zippos made during the Vietnam War years that do not refer to Vietnam are often referred to as "Vietnam Era Zippos".

The "Brown-Water" Navy combined Coastal and Riverine Operations to stop the enemy's re-supply of arms from Cambodia by sea and river. It involved destroyers, escorts and minesweepers along with Cost Guard cutters and low draft boats and PBR's patrolling the Mekong Delta. They averaged 85 firefights per month and almost one third of the sailors were killed or wounded. The Riverene Operations were Vietnamized in 1970.The main US Allies during the Vietnam War were South Vietnam, South Korea, Australia, Thailand, the Philippines, and New Zealand. The Allied soldiers enjoyed Zippos too.

For Military collectors the Vietnam War represents a varied and popular category of memorabilia as well as for the Zippo lighter fans. There are Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard Vietnam Zippo lighters, as well as Zippo lighters for the RVN, Australian and other services. "Brown-Water" Navy Zippo lighters are from a subset of the Vietnam War Navy Zippo category called " Riverine"or the so called "Brown-Water" Navy Zippo lighter.

There are several different types of engravings which are not mutually exclusive to the Vietnam era. Some Zippos are factory engraved: engraved "in Field" during the war: some were engraved by Veterans after the war as personal souvenirs: some Zippo lighters were engraved at a more recent times to be sold as "in-field" Vietnam Zippo lighters to unsuspecting collectors. There are also fakes that closely resemble genuine Zippo lighters that collectors should watch out for.

Looking for a great place to shop for Zippo Lighters ? Visit http://www.ZippoPros.com

1. They are considered a status symbol.
Let's face it, Zippo lighters are actually status symbols. Why else do corporate gifts include these engraved with the company's logo? Why else do smokers anywhere in the world proudly flaunt and flip and flick these? Because it shows you are somebody.

Zippo

2. No other lighter brand can compete with a Zippo
Name one other lighter brand in the world that can go head to head with it. None. Nada. Zilch. It has established itself to be THE mainstream lighter brand of this generation.

3. With them, you can express yourself.
A hard edged military guy? There are military lighters for you. A patriot? There are flag-patterned for you. A football fan, there are various football teams' logo designs for you. Wherever your interest lies, whatever your personality type, a custom Zippo lighter can speak for you. The great thing about custom Lighters is that you can freely express yourself, create your own designs or be your own person without losing a morsel of class and sophistication -- even if you are a leather donning, motorcycle wielding guy at that.

4. They make a statement.
Flipping and flicking a playboy Zippo is a statement by itself. What does it say about you? You are one heck of a playboy fan. Military lighters show that you are one tough military cookie. Lugging around a Barbie lighter shows, well, just how much you love pink -- and how much you adore Barbie dolls for that matter. No worries, though. Custom Zippo Lighters do not dent your sophistication level, remember. You still are sophisticated, albeit, a Barbie type of guy.

5. They make great conversation pieces
Since it is established the custom Zippo lighters (a) make a statement, and (b) is an outlet for you to express yourself. You don't have to ask how. Of course, when someone sees you flashing your interesting and unique lighter, most likely, they would be curious as to what your logo stands for. Nevertheless, the unique details of each custom Zippo lighter attract attention. That attention may entail new friends and new acquaintances. Not too shabby right?

Looking for custom Zippo lighters? Visit ExecutiveGiftShoppe.com for a wide array of playboy Zippo and military Zippo lighters.

They were used in military operations, in which paratroopers would spray gasoline over the area to burn enemy compounds and dwellings. The soldiers would usually carry the lighters in their chest pockets or fasten them onto the camouflage band on their helmets. As substitutes for lighter fluid alcohol, diesel or even gasoline was used. Zippo lighters were used as Id's and canvasses. The PX's in Vietnam carried a large amount of them and this explains the reason why there were so many Zippo lighters in Vietnam. Zippo merchandise quickly found it's way onto the black market and soldiers were able to buy brand new Zippo lighters without having to go to the PX. Vietnamese craftsmen would engrave anything from pictures to phrases onto the Zippo lighter for the soldiers. Zippos lighters engraved "in-field" for Army GI's have the largest variety of personalized phrases and images. The most popular motif engraved onto a soldiers Zippo lighter was the map of Vietnam. Every soldier had his own personalized Zippo lighter, which accompanied him until the fall of Saigon and beyond.

Zippo

Zippo Lighters used by American Soldiers during the Vietnam war have since become collector's items. Every Zippo lighter from the Vietnam war bears Silent witness, conveying a great sense of emotion of having been there on the battlefield. The soldiers who faced death and stood on the brink of hell, carrying their Zippo lighters who transformed these simple Zippo lighters into and integral part of their own bodies and souls. Vietnam has immortalized the Zippo lighter and has sense became a priceless collectors item.

The great majority of Vietnam Navy ship Zippos were factory engraved. To be considered a "Vietnam Zippo" the engraving should include specific reference to Vietnam. Military Zippos made during the Vietnam War years that do not refer to Vietnam are often referred to as "Vietnam Era Zippos".

The "Brown-Water" Navy combined Coastal and Riverine Operations to stop the enemy's re-supply of arms from Cambodia by sea and river. It involved destroyers, escorts and minesweepers along with Cost Guard cutters and low draft boats and PBR's patrolling the Mekong Delta. They averaged 85 firefights per month and almost one third of the sailors were killed or wounded. The Riverene Operations were Vietnamized in 1970.The main US Allies during the Vietnam War were South Vietnam, South Korea, Australia, Thailand, the Philippines, and New Zealand. The Allied soldiers enjoyed Zippos too.

For Military collectors the Vietnam War represents a varied and popular category of memorabilia as well as for the Zippo lighter fans. There are Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard Vietnam Zippo lighters, as well as Zippo lighters for the RVN, Australian and other services. "Brown-Water" Navy Zippo lighters are from a subset of the Vietnam War Navy Zippo category called " Riverine"or the so called "Brown-Water" Navy Zippo lighter.

There are several different types of engravings which are not mutually exclusive to the Vietnam era. Some Zippos are factory engraved: engraved "in Field" during the war: some were engraved by Veterans after the war as personal souvenirs: some Zippo lighters were engraved at a more recent times to be sold as "in-field" Vietnam Zippo lighters to unsuspecting collectors. There are also fakes that closely resemble genuine Zippo lighters that collectors should watch out for.

Looking for a great place to shop for Zippo Lighters ? Visit http://www.ZippoPros.com

Date coding is a procedure that was adopted by the Zippo Manufacturing Company for quality control purposes. The date coding procedure was first started in the mid 50's when the date codes were stamped on the bottom of the Zippo lighter's case.

Zippo

Although the original purpose for date coding was for quality control, the procedure became an invaluable tool for the Zippo lighter collector. The date code enables the collectors to determine the age of the Zippo lighter at a glance. This is fun and easy to do because every Zippo lighter since 1933 has some kind of identification on the bottom of the Zippo lighter case.

The Zippo lighters made in 1933 and up till the mid 1950's have "Zippo" stamped in block letters on the lighter case.

A new Zippo logo was developed in the 1940's but was not implemented until 1955. The new logo was a script version of the word "Zippo" and was phased in about that time along with the year coding by the use of dots (.). Over the years, the dating codes has been modified, several times over like for instance in 1966 till 1973 the code was denoted by a combination of vertical lines (|), 1974 until 1982 with forward slashes (/), and 1982 until the middle of 1986 with backslashes (\).

Around the late 70's the logo was redesigned again, but not implemented into the bottom stamp until 1980. In July of 1986, lot codes were also being included on all Zippo lighters, showing the month and the year of production. The Zippo Manufacturing Company started featuring at the bottom of the lighter case, on the left side of the logo, the month code in the center, and the year stamped in Roman numerals (XVI).

At the turn of the new century, Zippo Manufacturing Company introduced a new and easier way to recognize the date codes. The letters A-L on the left side of the Zippo logo represents the month that the lighter was manufactured (A = January, B = February, etc.), the year is identified by the last two numbers on the right of the Zippo logo.

As always since 1933, thanks to Mr. George G. Blaisdell, founder of the Zippo Manufacturing Company, the Zippo lighter carries a 100% lifetime guarantee on any problem that might arise with any Zippo lighter.

Ready to start a collection today! Visit http://www.ZippoPros.com and start your own Zippo collection today.