I know these guess guarantee their stuff for life and I have even toured the factory in Bradford PA. I sent mine in for repair because it was having an issue I had never seen before. It would take 10-20 flicks of the abrasive wheel thing to light it. That means an interesting thumb callous.

Has anyone needed a zippo repaired and if so did you have any bizarre problems like that. Keep in mind my wick was trimmed properly, flints and fluid were "official".

Cosmetically it looks like it is in working order and sometimes it does light on the first "flick".

Any ideas what to expect? Am I gonna gonna get this thing back ready to "flick" 20 times again because it APPEARS to be in brand new condition?

I probably should have hit it with a hammer before I sent it in.

Also, do you guys have any experience with the butane (NOT naptha) fueled models? They are pretty cool looking. I have never seen a butane lighter that uses a flint before just those electronic ignitions.

In case any of you are thinking of sending yours in I am told it takes around 6 weeks turnaround in the US and 8 weeks in Canada but if they are paying shipping I can cope.

Never had a problem like that . My guess is the hole where the wick goes thru is dirty or to tight so the fuel can't be drawn up thru the wick .

Cool! It's not the easier thing to see what's going on in there so I'll let you know when it shows back up. If.

But with everything else seeming to be right that is reasonable.

My first guess would be the fuel itself is bad, like diluted or "gelled".

I have a couple zippos. How old is the one you're having problems with ?

I carry a Zippo and have never had the problem you describe. I've burned my leg many, many times over the years but never had one not light. Something is amiss- let Zippo suss it out.

BTW, Ronson fuel (the yellow canister) works much better than Zippo fuel.

I have two zippo lighters. The oldest is from the mid-1960s and the newer one from around 2000. Both still work well. I've always used that Ronson fuel and never had an issue with it.

Had the same problem with a Zippo a while ago. Tried to just swap innards with one that worked fine, but there was a slight difference in size, so it didn't work.

I eventually gave up on Zippos. When you find one after a month, all the fluid has evaporated. Buy a package of Bics, and leave them around randomly, and you can always pick one up and get a light. The pink one in the package, I'll leave laying around at a bar or a party, so I can call whoever loots it a fag and/or thief.

grab a pair of needlenose pliers and pull the wick up 1/8" or so and kinda scruff it up/unthread the wick a little, sometimes it's a little tightly-bound and doesn't absorb the fluid right when new.

then pick up a flint kit they sell at any cigar store, if it's been in storage forever the flint/wheel might not be creating the kind of spark it was originally making. my bet's on doing some scruffing up of the wick itself, they get a lot better with age after unraveling a bit and they're wound too tight and covered with almost some waxy shit that prevents them from absorbing the fluid as well. i've futzed around with mine for hiking(they're invaluable along with a few emergency matches double-ziplocked. for freaky-windy conditions i find the big-tank/high-flow windproof benzomatic-style lighters. zippos are still my desert island pick, but they make some damn good mountaineering lighters that don't have the cold issues found when butane turns to a liquid, probably the surrounding tank's insulative properties and they're easy to work with gloves on and throw as huge a flame as you dial them to do. fuel hogs, but you don't need them for weeks either.