ZIPPO Information

Zippo Manufacturing Company is the maker of the world famous windproof lighter with the Lifetime Guarantee. Other products from Zippo's diverse line include a variety of pocket knives, key holders, money clips, writing instruments, tape measures, and the new Multi-Purpose Lighter.

History

Zippo was founded in Bradford, Pennsylvania in 1932 when George G. Blaisdell decided to create a lighter that would look good and be easy to use. Blaisdell obtained the rights for an Austrian windproof lighter with a removable top, and re-designed it to his own requirements. He made the case rectangular and attached the lid to the bottom with a welded hinge, and surrounded the wick with a windhood. Fascinated by another recent invention, the zipper, Blaisdell called his new lighter "Zippo", and backed it with a Lifetime Guarantee.

George G. Blaisdell was born on June 5, 1895, in Bradford. On the surface of it, young George Blaisdell hardly seemed like someone who would find success in the brutal years of the Depression. He had very little formal education. He hated school; walked out of fifth grade and told his family he wasn’t going back.

His father bundled him off to a military academy, but young George Blaisdell lasted only two years there before he was summarily dismissed. His father put him to work in the family business – the Blaisdell Machinery Company – where he learned metal work, a skill that would come in handy in the germination stages of the Zippo lighter nearly thirty years later.

After World War I, he took over the family business, then sold the machinery company in 1920 and put the money in oil. The 20s roared – then stopped. Oil plunged – along with just about everything else – into the Great Depression. In Bradford, PA, where years of oil-boom business seemed invulnerable, the effects of the Depression were deeply felt.

Sarah Dorn provides this account of her father in the early days of Zippo: “My father hated the oil business. He wasn’t particularly good at it; in fact, he was a man for whom the boom was bust. He didn’t have the temperament for it. The one thing he did know in the early ‘30s was that he needed to do something, because those days were tough. There wasn’t a lot of money lying about then, but he went to everybody to get the money to launch Zippo Manufacturing Company. Nobody had any faith in it. It seemed like a foolish, harebrained idea. And it was. Imagine: manufacturing and marketing a lighter for $1.95 when that amount of money fed a family. What kept him going? I think whatever it was, it was tinged with desperation. He had to make this work. For him and his family, as they say now, there was no Plan B.”


 

Today

Zippo has produced over 400 million windproof lighters since its founding in 1932. Except for improvements in the flint wheel and modifications in case finishes, Blaisdell's original design remains virtually unchanged today. The Lifetime Guarantee that accompanies every Zippo lighter still guarantees that "It works or we fix it free".

Zippo has expanded its sales operations nationally and internationally through a wide network of sales representatives. In more than 120 countries throughout the world, Zippo is synonymous with American made quality and craftsmanship.

Zippo windproof lighters enjoy a widespread and enviable reputation as valuable collectibles. The company produces the Zippo Lighter Collectors' Guide containing illustrations of the lighters and descriptions of the series, as well as an explanation of the date code found on the bottom of every Zippo lighter. Clubs for lighter collectors have been organized in England, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Japan and the United States. Zippo also sponsors its own collectors club, Zippo Click.


The World Famous Zippo Guarantee

Zippo Windproof Pocket Lighter
Any Zippo lighter, when returned to our factory, will be put in first-class mechanical condition free of charge, for we have yet to charge a cent for the repair of a Zippo lighter, regardless of age or condition. The finish, however, is not guaranteed.

This guarantee gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary state to state. Other Zippo products carry their own specific warranties.

Zippo Multi-Purpose Lighter
Any Zippo Multi-Purpose Lighter returned to our factory for warranty repair will be repaired free of charge or replaced, at our discretion. There is a $5.00 shipping and handling Fee. Damage to the Multi-Purpose Lighter resulting from abuse or misuse is not covered by our warranty. The finish is also not warranted.

This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary state to state. Other Zippo products carry their own specific warranties. To obtain service under this warranty, follow the shipping instructions in the FAQ MPL section.