What sits under the wheel
Look at the top of a Clipper. The black part that holds the wheel looks fixed, but it pulls straight out. Clipper calls it the flint system. It has three parts:
- The spark wheel at the top, with fine ridges. When you turn it, it scrapes the flint and makes a spark.
- The flint, a small rod inside the tube that wears down a little with every spark.
- The spring under the flint, which keeps pushing it against the wheel as it gets shorter.
A small screw cap closes the bottom of the tube. The gas tank is separate, in the body of the lighter. So you can take out the whole spark unit without touching the gas. That is the whole idea: the parts that wear out sit in one piece you can replace on its own.
Why Clipper builds it this way
Clipper is open about it: the brand wants a lighter you reuse instead of throwing away. On its own website Clipper wrote that you can refill the gas, replace the flint and replace the spark wheel of a Clipper as many times as you want, and that these parts are sold separately. It calls the Clipper a "truly reusable lighter".
The reason the brand gives is plastic waste. A lighter is a small plastic object, and according to Clipper, reusing a Clipper Classic cuts both plastic waste and the use of plastic and other raw materials. The official Clipper shop says the same: you can replace the flint and refill the gas, which helps reduce waste.
The idea is not new. Clipper is made by Flamagas, founded in Barcelona in 1959, and dates from the early 1970s (1971 according to Flamasats). Flamagas describes it as one of the first plastic lighters in the world. It was refillable from the start and still is. According to Clipper, more than 90% of its sales are reusable lighters.
What it means for you
A lighter stops working for one of two reasons: the gas has run out, or there is no spark. With a Clipper you fix both without buying a new lighter.
- No spark: usually only the flint is worn out. One card of Clipper Universal Flints holds nine flints and lasts a long time.
- The wheel is worn smooth or the tube is lost: fit a new Clipper Flints System, wheel and tube in one piece.
- Out of gas: there is a refill valve underneath. Gas is in the accessories.
So a Clipper that you refill and give a new flint lasts far longer than a single fill of gas. The lighter you like, with that one print or from that one series, does not need replacing because a flint of a few millimetres is gone. For collectors this matters: a Clipper from an old series you cannot find any more simply keeps working.
For the actual steps, see our guide on how to replace a Clipper flint. And for a lighter that is truly finished, see how to throw away a lighter.
How it differs from other lighters
Not every lighter is built like this. What you can replace depends on how the lighter ignites.
| Clipper with spark wheel | Typical disposable lighter | Lighter with electronic ignition | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ignition | Wheel against a flint | Usually wheel against a flint | A click, no flint |
| Refill the gas | Yes, through the valve underneath | No, not made for it | Yes on Clipper models (Jet, Electronic) |
| Replace the flint | Yes, the tube pulls out | No, not made for it | No flint |
| Replace the wheel | Yes, as a flint system | No | No wheel |
| When the spark is gone | New flint or flint system | Into the bin | No spare part from Clipper |
A disposable lighter is made to be used until the gas runs out. If it has a flint, it is held inside the housing and is not meant to come out.
Lighters with electronic ignition, such as the Clipper Jet and many jet and storm lighters, work differently. You press a button and the spark is made electronically. No flint wears out, but there is also nothing to replace if that ignition fails after a long time. Clipper's list of replacement parts has flints, the flint system, gas and refill nozzles, but no ignition for the electronic models. Most of these lighters can still be refilled with gas.
Which Clippers have a replaceable flint
Clipper lists what each model can do. On every classic model with a spark wheel it says "truly refillable gas + flint": both the gas and the flint can be replaced.
- Classic Large: the familiar big Clipper, about 7.4 cm tall. In Clipper Classic and in the 4-packs.
- Classic Medium and Pocket: a little smaller, same system.
- Classic Micro: the slimmest, about 6.3 cm tall. See the Clipper Micro.
- Metal Large: the Clipper with a metal body and a spark wheel, in Clipper Metal.
The models with electronic ignition have no flint: the Clipper Jet (also in metal) and the Clipper Electronic. They can be refilled with gas.
Check the size if you buy a complete flint system: the one in our shop is made for the large Clippers. According to Clipper, the loose flints fit both the Large and the Micro.
All models are in Clipper lighters.
