Thank You Gun Click Rick

[Danny Bear Claw]

I got the Controla lighter in the mail Saturday.  I've been way too busy to get on line until this morning.  It certainly brings back some memories.  I was around 10 or 11 years old when I saw one of these lighters.  My uncle owned a little neighborhood bar at the time and my Dad would take me there and he'd have a couple of beers and I'd have a couple of Cokes and we'd play billiards.  There was a cigar smoker there who used a Controla lighter and I remember a discussion once about lighters in general where Controlas and Zippos were discussed.
I have been unable to find anything on line about Controla lighters, however.  It appears to be an old one, yet is still in good working order.  It is also a bit larger than a Zippo. You can tell the date of manufacture of a Zippo by the codes used on the bottom stamps.  It's going to be difficult to research the Controla lighlter as it has no code markings on it, but you can bet I'm going to try.  The sleeve reveals it's place of manufacture is Chicago.  I'm thinking the company is no longer in buisness.  We'll see what I can turn up about it.

Thanks again for sending it.  I'll keep you posted on what I find out.  If you need another of those small Indian blankets let me know.  I still have a couple of them left.   

[Vern]

Howdy......
How 'bout a picture.......

Vern / Foothills Drifter...

[GunClick Rick]

Figgered it would give somethin fun to do,i don't collect lighters and know you do,figgered you should have it for yopur collection.No biggy just goin where it should be.

It almost makes ya think military with that color and rough coating.

[Danny Bear Claw]

Vern... Rick already posted a pic in my post titled "Zippos".

Rick... funny you should mention the military.  I was a grunt in the US Army.  On night ops we used to use Zippos for signaling in the dark.  Not by actually lighting them, though we did do that sometimes, it was the distinctive sound a Zippo makes when the lid is opened and closed.  It's the only lighter that sounds like that, so if you heard it in the dark you knew it was an American out there in the bush.  Also, overseas, at least in the orient, local artisans would use small hammers and chisels to etch all sorts of things onto Zippos, i.e., unit crests, eagles, dragons, etc.  Their work was quite good.  I had several of these at one time but, alas, they've disappeared over the years.  "Liberated" by friends no doubt.
Again, thanks Rick.   

[GunClick Rick]

Now that's a cool story,do have thier own sound don't they