Once the seals are replaced they are good for many years. I love them. Id never consider new prices but they are sweet
S.T. Dupont Lighter Owners Club
- Thread starter EA-6B
- Start date
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
Site Sponsors
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
I was working on a Dupont today and I thought Id post this for users of Duponts (and other flint lighters)
If you stop using your Dupont for an extended period Remove The Flint
If you use the little hole in the Dupont body to store a second flint remove it.
Also remember that flint is in there and rotate it as you go.
There isnt much to corrode on a Dupont but Flits corrode like crazy.
They depoit loads of crap in the workings of your lighter and lead to rapid deteroration of operation
In otherwords, corroding flints will cost you time and money paying for an early service call.
If you stop using your Dupont for an extended period Remove The Flint
If you use the little hole in the Dupont body to store a second flint remove it.
Also remember that flint is in there and rotate it as you go.
There isnt much to corrode on a Dupont but Flits corrode like crazy.
They depoit loads of crap in the workings of your lighter and lead to rapid deteroration of operation
In otherwords, corroding flints will cost you time and money paying for an early service call.
Yep I like to pull the flint & also the steel grinder out when storing.
Concerning the 'spare flint well', I have found that the best practice is to always keep the 'spare flint well' clear, & not to 'stack flints' either (trying to use two or more worn flints to equal one flint length). Mainly in order to avoid 'slide-lock', can happen on L1s & L2s. Have had it happen to me on an L1 & L2, & it's a pain to back out of, with a good chance of damaging the lighter.
Some units that have found new happy owners recently:
Line2 shorty:
L2 Table, pre-refresh pic:
Line1 shorty:
Enjoy!
How about this one?
This is a Ligne 1 BS from the late 1950's. It's a presentation piece that was presented to a soldier (likely an officer) of the 4th Saharan Mechanized Company of the French Foreign Legion. The 4th Saharan Mechanized Company was in existence between 1957 and 1963 in Algeria. These lighters were customized for presentation by Drago, the famous French company that produced (produces) insignia and medals for the French military. It's a beautiful example in excellent shape with a really cool history.
This is a Ligne 1 BS from the late 1950's. It's a presentation piece that was presented to a soldier (likely an officer) of the 4th Saharan Mechanized Company of the French Foreign Legion. The 4th Saharan Mechanized Company was in existence between 1957 and 1963 in Algeria. These lighters were customized for presentation by Drago, the famous French company that produced (produces) insignia and medals for the French military. It's a beautiful example in excellent shape with a really cool history.
I might have some questions for you. I am about to take on an L1 Table Lighter. I need to arrange a little backdrop and I will post some pics of mine.Yep I like to pull the flint & also the steel grinder out when storing.
Concerning the 'spare flint well', I have found that the best practice is to always keep the 'spare flint well' clear, & not to 'stack flints' either (trying to use two or more worn flints to equal one flint length). Mainly in order to avoid 'slide-lock', can happen on L1s & L2s. Have had it happen to me on an L1 & L2, & it's a pain to back out of, with a good chance of damaging the lighter.
Some units that have found new happy owners recently:
Line2 shorty:
View attachment 396301
L2 Table, pre-refresh pic:
View attachment 396299
Line1 shorty:
View attachment 396300
Enjoy!
I bought a L1 BR recently. Looks good on the exterior. But I pushed the hinge pin out with my thumbnail (my first indication that something was amiss) and the castle screw came out VERY easily. When I removed the castle it felt light and had a piece of plastic on the end of the barrel. I am not sure what the part is called, but it fits into the body of the lighter, has a lever which shuts off the gas when the lid is closed, and has a spring and ball inside. Anyway, that part was also plastic. I feel like someone bought the lighter, swapped out the castle and whatever the other part is called with cheap knockoffs, and resold it. Think he also swapped out the roller as it seems light.
Have you ever seen/heard of this before? Counterfeits are a pet peeve of mine so I will probably end up swapping out for legitimate parts if they are fake, but wanted to see what you thought first. And bring this to everyone's attention if they haven't experienced it.
Attachments
All of that looks legit, although it is interesting & odd that your spring box (the part with the spring sticking out of it in your pic) appears to be delrin. I've never seen that in plastic/delrin before, usually those are metal. Either brass or steel, I can't remember off the top of my head. That delrin one may be a factory part, or something that someone made, or aftermarket. I suspect it's probably factory, just looking at the shape, & because I never see that part in the aftermarket. Also I've seen Dupont change some other parts in other lighters from metal to delrin, the Line2 lid cams come to mind. But I've never seen that L1 spring box in any of my line1's made of delrin & not metal.
Your lighter is pretty old (that's fine, nothing wrong with it being old), & the Line1& Sobranie fakes didn't start showing up until about 5 years ago. I think that they are coming out of Viet Nam. You can still find them online, & they are usually pretty expensive, like around $100 or so. If they were around $20 I would have bought one just to see what it is.
There aren't really any older L1 or Sobranie fakes beyond the new ones from around 5 years ago that aren't obviously fakes. The newer ones that started showing up around 5 years ago need closer examination. The easiest way to tell the new L1 fakes is that there is some metal milled out of the inner edge of the front of the lid, where it would sit in front of the flint grinder when shut. I guess they needed to clearance that area on the fakes, but it's not clearanced there on the authentic ones. The authentic lids do have a clearanced area on the inside of the lid where it passes by the flint release button on the side, but not in front of the flint grinder.
And with the Sobranie fakes, one really has to know the authentic ones & how the nomenclature on the bottom is supposed to look, in order to tell those apart. I really had to study those to tell the difference. I can see how people were buying those on ebay for $300 when they first hit.
Your lighter is pretty old (that's fine, nothing wrong with it being old), & the Line1& Sobranie fakes didn't start showing up until about 5 years ago. I think that they are coming out of Viet Nam. You can still find them online, & they are usually pretty expensive, like around $100 or so. If they were around $20 I would have bought one just to see what it is.
There aren't really any older L1 or Sobranie fakes beyond the new ones from around 5 years ago that aren't obviously fakes. The newer ones that started showing up around 5 years ago need closer examination. The easiest way to tell the new L1 fakes is that there is some metal milled out of the inner edge of the front of the lid, where it would sit in front of the flint grinder when shut. I guess they needed to clearance that area on the fakes, but it's not clearanced there on the authentic ones. The authentic lids do have a clearanced area on the inside of the lid where it passes by the flint release button on the side, but not in front of the flint grinder.
And with the Sobranie fakes, one really has to know the authentic ones & how the nomenclature on the bottom is supposed to look, in order to tell those apart. I really had to study those to tell the difference. I can see how people were buying those on ebay for $300 when they first hit.
^^^ I've been thinking about that delrin spring box, & perhaps what we're looking at is a factory replacement spring box, probably came as a subassembly with a new spring, ball bearing, cam cam bearing, & pin (just guessing about all of this here). The spring box is a tricky area. Those are staked into place originally. If you look top-down at one installed, you can see the stake mark next to it. That swells the metal next to the spring box & pinches it into place. A replacement made of delrin might be able to be pressed into place & stay put without having to re-stake a metal one.
In general if you're looking at one already in place, just leave it there & don't mess around with it. If you have to re-install the spring box, that kind of sucks. Did you get it back together?
In general if you're looking at one already in place, just leave it there & don't mess around with it. If you have to re-install the spring box, that kind of sucks. Did you get it back together?
Ok. That makes me feel a lot better. I was concerned about it being plastic (or derlin), but it still had the wear one would expect, casting doubt on it being a counterfeit.
I have an L1 Large valve tool on the way. The last one I bought broke after one use. So I will reassemble as is and see what condition it is in and go from there.
Thank you for the info!
I have an L1 Large valve tool on the way. The last one I bought broke after one use. So I will reassemble as is and see what condition it is in and go from there.
Thank you for the info!
It had obviously been recently disassembled and came apart very easily. Interestingly, there was a thin metal strip under the spring box (thanks for that!). I thought it was the broken piece of the gas shutoff spring but it is wider and would be the wrong shape. I am wondering if it is a shim for the spring box. I guess we will see.
Maybe that spring box needs a shim. There's a big witness mark along the side of the delrin piece, what is that from? Does your lighter have a stake mark?
That's what holds in the metal spring box, the swelled metal from that stake mark:
That might indicate if it did have a metal box originally. I've never seen a delrin spring box, so I'm thinking if it is a factory part, it wasn't something that made it into the production line, but may have been an option for factory servicers to use, without having to stake a new metal one in. Maybe they would offer the delrin replacement 'on the spot', or you could ship it back for a metal one. Usually the spring box doesn't cause too many problems. Note of interest, there is a delrin bushing on the pin for the cam pivot there, even on the factory ones.
That's what holds in the metal spring box, the swelled metal from that stake mark:
That might indicate if it did have a metal box originally. I've never seen a delrin spring box, so I'm thinking if it is a factory part, it wasn't something that made it into the production line, but may have been an option for factory servicers to use, without having to stake a new metal one in. Maybe they would offer the delrin replacement 'on the spot', or you could ship it back for a metal one. Usually the spring box doesn't cause too many problems. Note of interest, there is a delrin bushing on the pin for the cam pivot there, even on the factory ones.
Also wondering if you could post a pic of the thing that you found floating around in there. Maybe it is part of the flat steel gas shutoff spring. I was wondering if one in your pic looked a little short or if I was imagining things. Is it in fact broken?
Edit: I just checked some of my pics, & your flat spring is probably broken. I think that the flat springs that screw into the bottom of the castle are a little shorter compared to the other style to begin with, but that one looks like it's too short for the lid to reach it. Were you getting gas flow out of the nozzle even with the lid shut?
In any case it is interesting to see that delrin spring box, though. I wonder what the story is on that.
Edit: I just checked some of my pics, & your flat spring is probably broken. I think that the flat springs that screw into the bottom of the castle are a little shorter compared to the other style to begin with, but that one looks like it's too short for the lid to reach it. Were you getting gas flow out of the nozzle even with the lid shut?
In any case it is interesting to see that delrin spring box, though. I wonder what the story is on that.
Last edited:
The gas shut off spring is absolutely broken. I have a couple of the screw into the body type springs. But when I compare it to the piece I am calling a shim the metals are different, different width, everything. My initial thought was that it was the end of the shutoff spring, too. I will post more pics. Let me know what you want to see.
I bought this without a filling valve, so I have no idea which parts work. But I plan on replacing all the rubber parts anyway. But will have to get the spring, too. No big deal. I knew I would at least need the tool for the filling valve, but wanted to get everything at once.
I also thought the plastic bushing underneath the castle was interesting.
I learned a couple of things today. The floating metal piece was definitely a shim as the spring box isn’t tall enough. The second thing I learned is that I lost the shim. Still hoping I just overlooked it. But the gas shut off spring is broken anyway so Incan make one from that.
Here are some more pictures.
Everything else still looks legit, except I can't speak for the delrin spring box.
If it's factory I've never seen one, & I've probably been inside around 150 L1s by now.
The delrin part looks like it could be factory, but if there are shims floating around & if the spring-box isn't set into place & not moving, then that doesn't really sound like factory. Maybe 3rd party parts & repair, or something.
Perhaps someone 3d printed it, or maybe even machined it out of delrin. I checked around on the aftermarket & didn't see one, but maybe they're out there & I haven't seen one yet.
Do you have a pic of the shim or whatever was floating around in there?
I can't tell from your pics, is there a stake mark on your lighter to hold in a spring box?
If it's factory I've never seen one, & I've probably been inside around 150 L1s by now.
The delrin part looks like it could be factory, but if there are shims floating around & if the spring-box isn't set into place & not moving, then that doesn't really sound like factory. Maybe 3rd party parts & repair, or something.
Perhaps someone 3d printed it, or maybe even machined it out of delrin. I checked around on the aftermarket & didn't see one, but maybe they're out there & I haven't seen one yet.
Do you have a pic of the shim or whatever was floating around in there?
I can't tell from your pics, is there a stake mark on your lighter to hold in a spring box?
Btw. If you have one of these old ones with the screw mount spring you can take parts from a more modern version and retrofit everything from a newer l1. The only thing that wont fit is the slide lock lever and you can just use the old one.
Sure its not original but I think the updated design is better
Sure its not original but I think the updated design is better