A look back at some of our older videos reveals an obvious evolution as new friends inspire growth I hadn’t previously considered.
Looking The Part
Nostalgic images are always popular. Taboo subjects can be appealing as well. I put much thought into the images and themes going on in the background of the YouTube videos we produce at DependableFlame.
They are designed to elicit certain emotions or reactions. To transport the viewer, if only for a moment, to a different time or place. To give the feeling that you are steeped in that which we discuss.
Music was a huge part of this when I began. Those quick as lightning show and tell videos I was making back in the summer of 2018 all the way up until we expanded their length and breadth and began publishing video each weekday
morning. Looking back at some of those old videos recently was a little jarring at times and very enjoyable as well. It was fun listening to all those Sturgill Simpson and John Fullbright songs again and made me a little jealous of the guy that was fumbling his way through those videos.
The main video set was once blank cardboard but now holds layers, yrs actually of memories and moods that have faded. Some of those layers seem goofy or just a plain bad idea now but they are they rungs we climbed to get where we are today.
Curiosity Turns Into A Collection
One of the first lighters I ever wrote about on this site, the appreciation I now have for Park Industries products is rivaled by few other vintage lighter brands. Park produced a terrific array
of advertising lighters and other themes, a subject that I really enjoyed writing about this past week.
Storm King were produced by Park Industries which is something I was completely ignorant of when I wrote the original article back in late 2017. I have learned a lot of other things since then as well like the Vernon Lighter marked Newton, Iowa was actually made by Park.
My education in Park lighters has led to an admiration and appreciation which now demands that some be added to my personal collection. I especially like the two enameled multi-color advertisers and golf themed Parks that were added to my collection over the last yr.
I know there are at least as many motivations for collecting as there are collectors. For me though, there is one overriding factor: I love discovering something inexpensive(we’re talking about the money I have to pay for it) and being able to show it off knowing the value is much greater than what I paid.
That value is not always necessarily in the lighter’s resale dollar figure either. I have bought and sold some terrific items for great monetary profit and am blessed and thankful that I was able to do so but some of my greatest joys in this wonderful world of cigarette lighters are setting right there on my shelf and I will never profit from them financially.
Flames In The Oklahoma Wind
Pulling out and fueling up one of my trusty old Cygnus on Wednesday unfortunately led to me getting caught out in the wind without a light, if only for a few moments. Public perceptions being what they are, I explained the situation a little deeper in Friday morning’s video.
Suffice is to say, I don’t like getting in those situations and won’t be leaving the house without one of the half dozen or so Ronson Jet Lite butane lighters that I have lying around. The Jet Lite is a terrific lighter that you can read about here.
I really like using old cigarette lighters in my daily life and the Park and Cygnus lighters I used to demonstrate are a couple of my favorites. Neither has any bells or whistles. Not made of sterling or any grand embellishments attached. Just very dependable, well-designed and manufactured petrol lighters that will still be relevant long after this generation and its trends have passed.
I Don’t Need Paperweights
I don’t remember for sure the first time I encountered the KARO petrol roller lighter Made In Switzerland. It’s very possible it was the Ebay listing in which I purchased the one I currently own and have cursed myself for buying for much of the last yr. I don’t remember seeing it listed on any of the other vintage lighter sites like The Lighter Library or Toledo-Bend.
The KARO is a beautiful lighter, heavy in the hand and seems solid. It looks like a perfect lighter but I have seldom been able to get it to light, at least reliably. I have tinkered with it in general, replaced the wick and wadding, fretted over and cussed it, the one thing I never really did was just put it in my pocket and take off intending to use it.
Maybe it was the show of faith or the lighter was camera shy. Perhaps being removed from the anxiety of the situation allowed the vapors to disperse or recede or burn. It is possible I’m just not a very patient man and the jury could still be out on whether my reasoning is sound in the first place.
Alas, the lighter appears to be a worker after all. I’ve carried it with me all weekend since making that video on Thursday and it hasn’t failed me one time. It is rather a remarkable development in my way of thinking because this lighter seemed hopeless. I feel like I need to prove it extra now though, having been such a downer on the lighter for so long.
Friends All Over The World
I received emails this week from Gavin Lannan and my friend Steven who runs the miiigoreng YouTube channel. Both were passing on messages as friends often do. It is a welcome phenomenon, though one I had not considered previous to creating the YouTube channel.
I think I knew I was passing on information that would resonate with a certain segment of the population, maybe I even knew there was some kind of kinship shared but I never anticipated the level to which those who watch would invest in the videos being presented nor did I see beforehand the height to which my own curiosity could be sated by the information being presented by others.
There are people everyday leaving comments on DependableFlame videos that rival the length of anything they have written since high school. I know this because I find myself in the exact same position. I am not at all the kind of person who ever called in to the radio or these days even really participates in social media.
I am however the kind of person who watches a YouTube lighter or piper video that I really appreciate and some times I just have to leave a comment. In my experience YouTube is an honest source of community these days, where we may find our options lacking in the traditional avenues that community has been felt.
Have You Told All Your Friends?
In order for the cigarette lighter hobby to grow, we must not only share the information we have with those who are actively seeking it but also with others who could possibly be stricken with the same zeal that has caught us all. It is always interesting to me to see what other items fellow cigarette lighter collectors accumulate.
There is always some crossover between niches of collectors and hobbies. There are also assumptions made at times that may undermine a person’s entire view of the hobby such as the oft misconceived notion that all lighter collectors smoke.
Just a few examples and various situations noting where the hobby might be promulgated and benefit from the specter of a wider audience.
You can copy the address to any page on this site and paste it into a text message, email or social media. However you communicate with folks now days, tell them about DependableFlame.com and everything that we are doing.
We publish informative vintage lighter repair and show & tell videos to our YouTube channel every weekday morning @8am central time. It’s where I met Gavin and Steven and where we
continue to communicate when we are not exchanging emails. I also met ZF77, Giovanni Abazia, Comrade T MAN and a host of others in the comments section of YouTube videos. There is always something going on in the cigarette lighter collecting community on YouTube. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel and pass on the good word.
Please leave any comments, questions or suggestions in the section below the article. Even if you have never left a comment on a website before consider that your input is both appreciated and necessary for this work to continue. I can not tell you how many times I have gotten a video or article idea from a question or comment in reaction to a video covering a completely different issue or concern.
If you need to post photos to illustrate your question or suggestion, please make use of the DependableFlame.com Facebook page. You can post on the page or direct message which are both very user-friendly. Please like the page and join the group while you are there.
You can also contact me anytime by using the messaging function on Ebay.
Until next time…
Good day, Joseph. I’ve heard of Park Lighters, but I’m not familiar with cigarette lighters. I like the notion of adding these items into our collection. This page contains a wealth of useful information. Thank you very much for sharing this fantastic post. Can you tell me more about the Döbereiner Lamp, which is the world’s first cigarette lighter?
Thank you for stopping by and reading the article Raja. I am not familiar with the lamp you are asking about but will do some research and be sure to keep my eyes open should I ever run across that name. You should check out the OTLS cigarette lighter collector club as I can think of at least one member right off the bat who would know the answer to your question.
Interesting post…You are the first person I’ve met who collects lighters. Not a bad idea, though — usually small, usually not too expensive, and from many places. How many do you have in your collection?
As a kid, I had several collections, but seem to have lost the desire to collect anything at my old age. Maybe that’s because I have been trying to clear out stuff instead. However, your hobby seems to be somewhat practical and useful, as well as being fairly lightweight. Do you just collect vintage lighters? Some of those must be hard to find. Interesting post!
You are exactly correct about the small nature of cigarettes lighters. Thank you for stopping by Fran, I appreciate you reading the article. It was the small nature that really convinced me this business model would work as I felt it was very important to offer free shipping so the prospective buyer could take that out of the equation when deciding how much they were willing to pay. Lighters don’t weigh anything therefore don’t cost much to ship.
I actually like antique lighters. They are a bit more costly than regular Bic lighters but it is worth the design, style, and craftsmanship. One of the things that detoured me from developing a collection is the reliability of the successful light. Another thing that use to stop me from continuing the use of vintage lighters is changing the wick.
Ah, I understand Alex and you are not alone with these concerns. Old lighters really can be rather reliable and changing the wick is not as difficult as most people. Let me know if you decide to give it a try. I have plenty of repair videos and articles to help!
Joseph, another great write up! It’s awesome being able to look at these articles and walk with you on your journey. It is empowering as small business owners seeing how you got started, & how you got to where you are today! It’s amazing how a small hobby that we fall in love with, or even just tickles our fancy, can be something that empowers us to educate ourselves, expand our businesses, and grow on all fronts! Networking with others is not optional, when running a business, It is a necessity. Your paragraph on the “KARO petrol roller lighter Made In Switzerland” made me chuckle a bit as well, as I understand how it feels when you find use in something previously thought unusable, and would like to make up for the time lost.
Thanks for stopping by again Randi, I always appreciate that you read the articles. The most important thing to remember for anyone wanting to start a business for themselves is what you are offering helpful? If you have a good product or information and are helping people with it, you will have a hard time not succeeding. Using the unusable is what carries me from one day to another!
I have been trying to start up a YouTube account for my website to better explain what I do and to have a video as well as a blog. I want it for the community I have been on YouTube and watched videos and even commented on the video.
I have looked up many lighter videos, as I have a zippo and sometimes it does’t work. I will look up videos on how to trouble shoot. I have then found myself looking at other videos and that had nothing to with lighter repair. Videos explaining other types of lighters and lighter reviews. I found that watching these lighter videos are relaxing and interesting.
Thank you!
I understand what you are saying Reggie. Some people just like the casual nature of following along with the project while others can be fascinated by the fire sort of like when you are hanging out around a campfire and can’t take your gaze off the flickering of the dancing flames. Thanks for stopping by again!
Another Great read on lighters, but this time I was more fascinated with your videos.
Two in particular were the tests you did with them in the wind, and the one where you introduced the old county music in the background. It reminded me of an older fella I used to work with. Picture an old 60 year old who has smoked and drank most of his life, very rough looking, unshaven, in the middle of the bush sitting on a ski-do in the winter, next to a campfire.
We were out there having lunch during our surveying task, when another co-worker comes up to this guy and asks “desmond” for his lighter. He turns and asks “what for”? The response was “Because these Bic lighters are absolute garbage, they don’t work in the wind, or do they work in the cold”. Without missing a beat, Desmond responds, “well, if you were smart, you would have used the fire that’s burning on the ground, grabbed a stick and used that instead!”
The other guy says ” But I thought you had a lighter?” to which desmond responded and said, “I do, it’s mine, and I’ll die before I lend it to anyone”.
To this day, I often wonder if he was still around, if he still had that lighter that was as old as he was…
Great story Jeremy, thank you for sharing it here! I would have to agree with Desmond that using a burning branch to light your stogie is more appropriate in every instance than using a plastic Bic! I also don’t blame him for not handing the lighter away but do hope at least I would share my flame if a fellow combustionist needed it! Your story reminds me of some of the stories my old man told me about his experience in the US Army in the wilds of 1970s Alaska.
Hi Joseph, I don’t know much about lighters because I by the ol’ bic ones from your friendly gas station neighbor! I didn’t know lighters were a collectors item! That’s very interesting.
What’s your favorite all time lighter? The most expensive one you have ever purchased? How did you get started in this line of work/hobby?
What separates lighters one from the other? Is it the metals or materials they are made from?
Thank you for sharing
Thank you Jenny for stopping by and reading the article and especially for asking all the questions! My favorite is probably the Cygnus, I’ve written about it to some degree and made even more videos on the subject. I’ve sold some pretty expensive lighters but the one that fetched the most was a 1949 or ’50 Zippo Town & Country Geese that went for $789!
I got started in this business as a seller because I needed a way to make money and saw an opportunity, it’s been a whale of a ride. As for what makes one lighter more desirable then another, check out this recent article that I wrote.
I hope to see you around and if got get tired of reading, check out our YouTube channel!✌️