Elvis Presley- 50th Anniversary of Army Induction.

This is a black ice finished lighter, laser imaged portrait of Elvis Presley in his military uniform & head-dress. Limited edition to 10 000 made. The only Elvis Presley Zippo lighter design that i own, is of a 1104th piece.

Marvel Comics- 'Incredible HULK'. Limited Edition

This genuine limited edition Zippo lighter is one of a few official designs licensed to VillageSmith Gift Workshop in Singapore.

The High polished chrome-engraved limited edition series included comic pictures of wolverine, Punisher, Ghost Rider etc. This item specifically, bears a comical image of HULK among background & captions.

Produced during a limited time period, up-till December 2013.

Jack Daniels Old No. 7

This very rare or likely.. elusive Zippo lighter gift set, made during the 90's includes a full can of lighter fluid & 6 flints.

White matte finished, etched facade following a paint-filled portrait of Jack Daniels & his trademarks.

Image of Jack Daniel's face portrait on Zippo Lighters wasn't common, however it's been reproduced in late Jack Daniel's Zippo lighters series. 

Picture from www.zippo.com 

Planet Hollywood Australia

Made for Planet Hollywood Australia, this white matte finished lighter was silk screened,  acid etched & paint-filled during the 90's. Another variations, were such as etchings into high polished/brushed chrome without paint fills.

Hong Kong. Rickshaw.

This was brought back by family members visited Hong Kong last year. Laser engraved, Featuring the famous Pulled RickShaw.

Zippo Lighters as Tourists souvenirs.

With vast assortments of souvenirs for sale within visiting destinations & hot-spots, Zippo lighters remain a popular interest among many tourists/visitors who'll like to bring something back home.

Though all lighters are made in Bradford P.A. ; Singapore is licensed to craft designs & etch images of it's own, depicting iconic landmarks & places.

This is one of earlier designs, machine etched into a regular high polished chrome.
 Depicts the Changi International Airport.   

Contemporary productions began using laser engravings technology.
 3D portrait of the famous Merlion Icon & Esplanade art theater in the background.

Hard Rock Cafe Emblem on a regular Brushed Chrome

Zippo through the Vietnam War. part 2. 7th Cavalry Regiment (Garry Owen)

This second Vietnam War lighter with it's insert both originally produced in 1968, bearing a unit insignia of the 7th Cavalry Regiment (United Stated Army). The lid has 'Republic Of Vietnam' heading, because Vietnam(southern) was not entirely a communist country till the war ended.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War

Wordings on the back of this lighter suggested that it'd been used for lighting-up dope. In later years during the Vietnam War, many troops grew resentments & hatred towards the war along with many issues associated. Many of them would turn towards alcoholism, drugs, sex, hatred speech & various symbols to temporarily distract themselves from the relentless battle conditions as well as expressing their ingrained emotions towards what they're going through.

Lighters engravings from those later years(after 1966), had altered & varied significantly alongside their feelings. Many of those engravings included nude/obscene/strong images of naked women & middle fingers, accompanied with harsh/strongly sarcastic statements or sentiments.

The statement engraved behind this lighter stated:

OURS IS NOT

TO DO OR DIE

OURS IS TO SMOKE 

AND STAY HIGH

During the time, many had devoted themselves towards drugs abuse. Many variety of dopes probably were available, Marijuana was likely most widespread & popular. Method of Marijuana intake was commonly through smoking. 

Zippo through the Vietnam War. Dak Tan Kan Valley 1966 Vietnam.

Speaking of that movie 'Full Metal Jacket' showing about the Vietnam war, here's one of both lighters that i have which were likely being carried & used by servicemen serving during the actual periods.  

This lighter casing & it's insert are genuinely made sometime in 1966, of a regular brush-chrome finish. If the engravings are true to that period & possessed by the servicemen, this lighter was issued to each of them back in those days. Having plain surfaces on their new lighters, individuals would have it engraved by Vietnamese street-sides engravers using template or many being custom engraved. These were done during each serviceman's R&R or perhaps when they came across such engravers, etching their lighters for a small fee- detailing their services in Vietnam, as well as many of the sentiments/hatred towards the war & many issues (in later years).

During & especially after the Vietnam war, many Zippo lighters had been left by troops among much items after misplacement, troops withdrawal or some KIA unfortunately. Vietnamese had collected large quantities of these till later, as tourism boomed in Vietnam. Zippo lighters used by American servicemen are among hot sellers from the (Ho Chi Minh) street-side vendors as these're in sky-high demands among foreign collectors & tourists looking for a piece of bitter history. Much of these authentic pieces were available in the streets till end 1990, & later replaced by counterfeits largely/ even totally.

If the accounts are true with the two pieces I've, that both were purchased by my seller in the early 90's from these street vendors during his business venture there in Ho Chi Ming City. Formally known as Saigon.

___________________________

Indeed, there're accounts detailing this lighter's engravings & date code. 

http://oldsite.327infantry.org/first/1_327th_history_page.htm

http://101_lha.tripod.com/101st_lha/id78.html

 

''Zippoman's'' creed.

Using modified phrases from the United States Marine Corps (USMC) Rifleman's Creed. This interestingly crafted Creed Zippo model is done by layering a black matte finish over chrome, uncovering the silvery color of each letters.

Here's an abstract of the original USMC Rifleman's Creed. Here, 'Rifle' is interestingly replaced by the term 'Zippo Lighter'.
Abstract from - http://www.grunt.com/corps/scuttlebutt/marine-corps-stories/the-marine-corps-riflemans-creed/

THIS IS MY RIFLE

THERE ARE MANY LIKE IT

 BUT THIS ONE IS MINE

 MY RIFLE
 IS MY BEST FRIEND

 IT IS MY LIFE

 I MUST MASTER IT

 AS I MASTER MY LIFE

 MY RIFLE

WITHOUT ME IS USELESS

WITHOUT MY RIFLE

I AM USELESS 

A recitation of the Rifleman's Creed from Vietnam war movie 'Full Metal Jacket'. Starring R. Lee Ermey playing a role as drill instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. 

Fom YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgd2F2QNfEE

'My lighter is my life!'

More lighters of the American Naval Ships.

This is an add-on, from the previous sharing about the Black Ice Zippo USS Freedom(LCS-1).

A brief showcase of two more Naval Ship's lighters, one which is still in possession.

USS SHILOH CG-67

Brushed Brass surfaces with laser- engraved front of the ship, her name & badge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Shiloh_(CG-67)

USS FRANK CABLE AS-40

High polished brass surface, with (probably) acid-etched image of the ship & her name.





It'd been sold to someone having an interest too, collecting Zippo lighters of the American Naval Ships.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Frank_Cable_(AS-40)

Zippo lighter of USS Freedom LCS-1 & RSN Changi Naval Base Open House.

This lighter brings about much sentiments, especially the significance of it's origin.

It's a Black Ice finish produced in January 2013(this Year), with laser engraving of the USS Freedom (LCS-1).

Some backgrounds:

During 18-19 May 2013. Republic of Singapore Navy hosted an open house event, as well as the IMDEX Asia 2013 conferences & exhibitions held at Singapore's Changi Naval Base. Participating countries of IMDEX each deployed a battleship towards Changi Naval Base to represent in this occasion.

In-line with the open house, some of these visiting battleships along with the local's; laid their bridges to welcome the public on deck for guided-tours around their interiors.
_________________

Me visited this open house during the 18th with a friend, looking into some ships which we managed to board.
_________________

 RSS ENDURANCE 

Republic Of Singapore Navy 

KRI FRANS KAISIEPO- 368

Indonesian Navy

(Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Laut, TNI–AL)

HMAS BATHURST (ACPB 85)

Royal Australian Navy

INS SATPURA(F48)

Indian Navy

(Devanāgarī: भारतीय नौ सेना, Bhāratīya Nau Sen)

_________________________________________________________________________

Here're all about this Black Ice lighter: 

USS Freedom (LCS-1) represented the United States during IMDEX. Such popular host, inviting the longest waiting queue for boarding.

We were greeted on board Freedom, & soon approached a table manned by some crew-members selling souvenirs of this ship. Stuffs were laid out such as T-shirts, caps, towels, key-chains, formation patches & this Zippo lighter.

____________________________

Feeling thrilled, making it compulsory to grab a piece. Been having some interests collecting Zippo lighters of the American Naval Ships, which aren't quite easily obtained. Hadn't imagined myself in touch with reality, making hand-to-hand purchase of a collectible with crew members on deck an actual ship! 

 Briefly spoken to a few about my lighters collection, before heading for the guided tour.

'Political' Backgrounds of it's deployment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT2XlzLkh5M

Picture from Google Image

That's my story behind this lighter of USS Freedom LCS-1, & that open house's visit to the Naval Base of my home country. 

Another Harley Davidson's

One more Harley Davidson lighter, commemorating their company's 85th Anniversary in 1988.

This too, was a sales sample. How's it possibly been made in 1991 then? Probably a reproduction. Brushed brass surfaces like the Remington's. Despite not having been used, surfaces were horribly tarnished & dusts coated due to prolonged air exposure from neglected storage. 

The power of Brasso & hours of intense rubbing to bring it back it's shine (partially). 

AJ Diana Sons Inc

An advertisement lighter of AJ Diana Sons Inc in Massillon, Ohio.

http://www.manta.com/c/mm2tl9s/a-j-diana-sons-inc

Circa 1983. Zippo high polished chrome 'slim' lighter with multicolored ultra-lite facades including it's back. As with many 'old-school' graphics, each lighter's casing ( in this case it's front emblem) was silk screened under a designed template, acid etched & paint-filled with various colors. Those were the long- lasting beauty of paint-filled artworks.

Zippo Slims were introduced in late 1956.

'Ultra-Lite' is an acrylic material attached onto some models since 1978, including the scrimshaw's boat & lighthouse model still in production.