In 1924, Dunhill set London’s Duke Street ablaze with excitement with its introduction of the Dunhill Unique. It was the first lighter made that could be held and operated with just one hand. (Wikipedia lists the launch date of the Unique as 1927; Dunhill claims 1924. The British patent application was dated 1927).

The Dunhill Unique, like the “Old Boy” that is descended from it, is of the “lift arm” lighter variety. The design utilizes a horizontally oriented flint mechanism where the thumb animates the wheel by moving the striking wheel from right to left. From my research, it appears that the Uniques were originally manufactured in Switzerland.

I was surprised to learn that the Dunhill lighter – a significant manufacturing and marketing milestone in Dunhill’s ascent to brand-powerhouse status – was invented not by the company’s founder and marketing whiz, Alfred, but rather by his inventor-brother, Vernon.

My unique is a wonderful lighter. Mechanically simple and reliable, like a Zippo, it will light in the wind due to the windscreen around the wick. It uses liquid fuel rather than gas. A downside is that the flame orients vertically rather than horizontally. It’s not a huge problem, but the lighter is probably better suited to cigars or cigarettes than to pipes.

The Sillem Old Boy you see depicted at left is another lighter of the lift-arm variety. (Sillem’s lighter mechanisms are manufactured by IM Corona.) Like the Unique, the Old Boy also uses the horizontal flint mechanism, but instead of being fueled by liquid, today’s Old Boys are butane-powered.

The Old Boy’s elongated shape serves two purposes. It is comfortably secure in the hand and the elongation provides space for a larger butane reservoir. The Old Boy’s butane capacity makes it possible to go a long time between refills.

Aside from its reliability and durability, I love my Old Boy because the flame is horizontally oriented; it shoots out from the gas nipple with enough force that I can accurately aim the flame toward my loaded tobacco chamber, helping me prevent accidental charring of the pipe bowl top.

In 1932, George Blaisdell founded the Zippo Manufacturing Company in Bradford, Pennsylvania, and in the following year (1933), Blaisdell produced the first Zippo lighter. Blaisdell’s design took its inspiration from an Austrian cigarette lighter of similar design. Blaisdell obviously did many things right since over 400 Million Zippo lighters have been produced since 1933.

The people making Zippo lighters must firmly adhere to the “Don’t-fix-it-if-it-ain’t-broken” school of thought. The fiercely reliable and functionally simple Zippo lighting mechanism remains virtually unchanged from the beginning. Made of only 22 parts, and manufactured in just 108 operations, it’s easy to understand why Zippo is a symbol of reliability to those of use who use them. The company clearly understands just how reliable their lighters are; every lighter is guaranteed for life.

I love my Zippo most for its windproof design – a feature for which it is most famous. It is literally hard to extinguish the flame by blowing it out. Since Zippo introduced its improved lighter fluid, that old nasty smell is no longer in evidence when lighting a pipe. And with the pipe insert, it is relatively easy to place the flame over the tobacco, but I cannot help but worry about charring the bowl top due to the size of the flame.

For those pipe-smokers who think Zippo lighters are best because they’re cheap, consider that Zippos range in price from $12.95 to more than $4,000. In 2007, the company sold a mint 1933 collectible lighter for a whopping $37,000. Dupont has got nothing on Zippo when it comes to premium price positioning.

For the pipe smoker who is looking for a status symbol that makes fire – and if a Dunhill or a $4,000 Zippo is not enough – there is always the Dupont. I have owned several (the best of my collection – an enameled red piece –  I traded with Manduela for a brand new Manduela squat bulldog.) You see to the left a smallish square black enamel Dupont that came with my Davis-Johnson motorcycle set.

Dupont lighters are wonderful little objects. Carved from a single brass block, when a Dupont lighter top flicks open, one hears the signature ping sound from the lid. Remarkably, Dupont has actually made the ping sound adjustable. Talk about brand.

Upsides? They are beautiful. The flame is easily adjustable with a thumb wheel located on the top of the lighter mechanism. Downsides? Refill cartridges are expensive and last for one fill. I find that I have to put my in the freezer and my lighter in my armpit to create enough temperature differential to cause the gas to move quickly from cartridge to lighter.

For those who are interested in a terrific article outlining the history of lighters from the 17th century tinder pistol forward, here is a wonderful link.