Brass Trench Lighter

After seeing this thread, I bought a real one too...real fake. :lol

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This is so rediculously awesome. I don't smoke, and nobody I know smokes, but I want one like nobody's building. The wheel looks really exposed though, does it have a safety? Because I'm the exact kind of person who would have it for 3 days before it went off in my packet and lit my pants on fire :D
 
I picked this one up at an Antique Shop. I don't know the history of it but all I knew was that it looked cool and I had to have it.
The brass was tarnished very badly so I polished it back up with Brasso and it looks fantastic now. It still works too.

http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l69/TonySA/Old Lighter/?albumview=slideshow

That's a fantastic lighter but by polishing it I'm afraid it's now lost a big part of it original antique value. Half the value of these things is the history of the patina and dirt. Sounds silly I know but I have collected lighters for years on and off, sold most of them on but I did keep this old Dunhill Tinder pistol lighter with the original British patent which makes it more collectible than the later US one. It has been crudely repaired on the front foot and the mechanism does need repairing but when I took it to the Dunhill museum they said they only see about 1 a year if they are lucky The fact that it was repaired and still in it's original dirty condition does not refract it's value in fact it's better to see than a clean polished one.
It's a bit like repairing old buildings, they often make the repair obvious so the history can be seen. Even listed buildings.
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This is so rediculously awesome. I don't smoke, and nobody I know smokes, but I want one like nobody's building. The wheel looks really exposed though, does it have a safety? Because I'm the exact kind of person who would have it for 3 days before it went off in my packet and lit my pants on fire :D

Well, it won't light without being open. When it's closed, a cap covers the wick and the striker is too far above the pipe to light it. I wouldn't worry about it. :cool

I had a chance to get a real Austrian IMCO trench lighter yesterday but some punk outbid me by $3 in the last 10 seconds. :angry
 
Camel made a line of trench lighters several years ago. Not sure if they still do. Other than the name camel stamped into it looks just like the real one. Gave it to a buddy that collects lighters.
 
Your definitely right about the trench lighters becoming popular among the steampunk fans. It'll certainly drive the price up as they buy these to chop into itty bitty bits to use on crappy steampunk rayguns. :cry

Rather then butcher theses lighters for steam punk gun parts, I would add stuff and make it a steam punk lighter!!!!!!
Like ( forget what they are called “ there made of glass and look like sand clocks that are all warped and filled with water, when u hold them the heat off your palm makes the water “boil” or bubble) add one of thous. I remember seeing them be made at school fairs by glass smiths in any shape/form etc.
Incorporate the glass to the lighter etc etc ….. steam punk lighter that works…..
 
haha, I hate getting outbid in the final seconds...I missed out on two props that way this year

Yeah, my latest attempt was even worse. I fell asleep right before the auction was over! :lol

As for the steampunk aspect, there are plenty of modern replicas out there and, as I'm sure anyone who visits here long enough can attest, we replicators can make anything look however old we like. If one were to do anything other than meerly restore function to these pieces, I would prefer they use a modern one and save the antiques as antiques. But heck, buy them up, save them from the scrap heap, just... don't kill them. :D
 
Don't you guys use auction sniper or something similler? No waiting up or bidding at the last minute, ot does it all for you 3 seconds before the end. ;)
 
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