Vintage lighter restoration?

M

Mark THS

Herfing at 110°
I've recently come across some very sentimental lighters. They were owned by my grandfather who passed nearly 20 years ago. I know very little about them except for a few markings. They are made in Japan and have "SKKK" on the underside, with three stars adorning the initials.

I assume these lighters are fairly cheap and common, but they have great personal value to me. The flint is gone and the wicks are almost nonexistant.

I've done a bit of searching to find someone who would be able to restore them and put them back into working condition, but I havent found anything too promising.

Do any of you Gorillas have experience refurbishing old lighters?

lighters.jpg
 
I'm no lighter expert but you might try using flint and wicks that are used for Zippo lighters, you can find those most anywhere. Beautiful lighters BTW.
 
You should go to Perretis with that lighter.

They fix lighters and should be able to fix it or put you on the right track.

It almost looks like a Zippo to me. Any names of manufactures on it at all ??

Nice looking piece and what a rememberence.
 
RPB67 said:
You should go to Perretis with that lighter.

They fix lighters and should be able to fix it or put you on the right track.

It almost looks like a Zippo to me. Any names of manufactures on it at all ??

Nice looking piece and what a rememberence.
Click to expand...

Doh! Why in the hell did I never consider Perettis. I'm flying out in two weeks on the 23rd, I'll bring them along and see if they can do anything for them
 
A couple more picture to give dimension..

lighters%202.jpg


lighters%203.jpg


(The insignia doesnt show up well, but it says SKKK with three stars. The indentation on the large screw for the fuel cell says "JAPAN")

lighters%204.jpg


I spoke with a few relatives and they say that they recall them as far back as the 1940's, possibly. My grandfather served as a private contractor in Cairo Egypt for the British Royal Air Force in the 1930's through the 1940's. I'm not sure how feasible it is that Japan was producing these types of lighters in that time period, or that he could have obtained one in that time period (with english lettering, no less). My gut tells me that they were made later, but I really have no idea.
 
I was able to find this...

SKKK,%20Japan-mini2.gif


It looks similar (with the leather casing removed), and dates to 1959 according to the website
 
There's a place in CT that is famous for restoring lighters. They are an ST Dupont repair center and work on all sorts of lighters. I would ask your local B&M where they send Dupont or Dunhill lighters for repair and call them directly. Probably be around $60 or so to fix it up.
 
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