Are Zippo Wicks Still Asbestos?

Origins of the Zippo brand

The first Zippos were manufactured and sold in 1933 after founder George Grant Blaisdell identified a flaw in the current lighter designs. While relaxing at a country club in Pennsylvania, he spotted someone lighting a cigarette with a cumbersome Austrian lighter. Blaisdell noted that, though the lighter featured a chimney design that allowed the flame to stay lit (even in the wind), it took two hands to operate it. 

Blaisdell went on to develop the classic flip-top design, with the chimney lighter inside, and the iconic Zippo brand was born.

A cultural icon

In the 1930s, a Zippo lighter sold for $1.95 – equating to around $40 in today’s money – not a particularly small purchase. Nevertheless, the sophistication of the design soon catapulted it to must-have status.

In World War II, Zippo stopped consumer manufacture and focused solely on making Zippo lighters for the war. Hundreds of thousands of GIs carried Zippo lighters, contributing significantly to their prominence and popularity long after the war. 

Further cementing the brand as a cultural icon, Zippo lighters were assigned their ultra-cool status through the silver screen. Several thousand movies are known to have featured a Zippo lighter, with some of Hollywood’s leading names using them to full effect in captivating scenes.

It was a Zippo that triggered Ocean’s 11 casino takedown; a Zippo that illuminated Bruce Willis’s ‘Walk of Flame’ in Die Hard; a Zippo embellished with a four-leaf clover design that served as Indiana Jones’ lucky charm. Casablanca, Reservoir Dogs, From Here to Eternity, the list goes on and on. The famous Zippo ‘click’ even features in a music video collaboration between Sting and Eric Clapton. Clapton allegedly dug his lighter’s percussive qualities so much he insisted on featuring it in the production. 

One of the most iconic zippo-related movie scenes is arguably in Alfred Hitchcock’s Man From the South, in which Steve McQueen and Peter Lorre make a wager over the reliability of a Zippo lighter. Tragically, Steve McQueen died of a heart attack following surgery to remove cancerous tumors that he attributed to asbestos exposure while working in the movie industry. The primary focus was on the asbestos used in stunt suits and on set, but perhaps the Zippos of the time played a part.

Risks remain in collector pieces

Given that these lighters were designed to take a beating, many are still around today. As collector pieces, you can find them for sale online or at swap meets, etc. 

The first series from the 1930s are valuable collector items today. In the 1950s, Zippo began date stamping their lighters, so many that are still around can easily be dated. Unless a Zippo was made during or after the late 1980s, there’s a good chance that the wick will contain asbestos.

If you do have a Zippo that likely features an asbestos wick, there’s no need to panic; just don’t light it or handle the wick. Asbestos fibers become airborne when the material is disturbed, such as through handling or when lighting the wick. Also, if you ever sell it on, do the right thing and ensure the buyer understands that asbestos is likely present.