Oh, and by way of follow-up, some of you may recall the Xikar lighter I sent back to the mfg for repair/replacement? Xikar responded that since it had CI emblazoned on it that they would refer it to CI. I figured oh well, wasn't working anyway.
Well lo and behold, CI sends me a replacement, free of charge. So the vaunted Xikar warranty does indeed work, even once removed.