Strike anywhere wood matches

[Naphtali]

Please identify current manufacturers of Strike anywhere wood kitchen matches. Recently, I can obtain only "safety" matches.

[Bent Ramrod]

I can't recall where I got them, but I have a 3 pack of 250 each strike anywhere kitchen matches. The maker is Diamond.

[Old School Big Bore]

Wally world sells Diamond. Look in the BBQ area.

[starmac]

As far as I know, none of the currant strike anywhere matches is anything like real strike anywhere matches. In fact they are a complete joke compared to the old dangerous matches.

[Iowa Fox]

I think the only way your going to find the good old style strike anywhere matches like we used to have is at an estate sale or something like that. The wood on the stuff you buy now is so flimsy you can barely rub the side of the box without breaking and when they do light it barely burns.

[375RUGER]

Diamond- they ain't what the use to be.
I can still buy them at the local Alberson's IIRC. I think I saw them in TrueValue the other day but didn't need any.

[w5pv]

Try the matches for lighting fireplaces,the last one I bought would fire by rubbing the inside of the fireplace.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I believe all the current US made 'strike anywhere' matches have some fire extinguisher chemical built in (thanks to the lawyers), making them go out easily shortly after ignition.

Look for a foreign made Match, like Penley (made in Chile).

[lka]

I believe all the current US made 'strike anywhere' matches have some fire extinguisher chemical built in (thanks to the lawyers), making them go out easily shortly after ignition.

Look for a foreign made Match, like Penley (made in Chile).

Wonder if you can still make primers with the mew style?

[HarryT]

The old strike anywhere matches are being hoarded by the same people that hoard .22 rimfire ammunition.

[Col4570]

there was a time when matches could be lit by the friction on your Levis Butt.

[Thin Man]

Try shopping in the grocery and farm supply stores that support Mennonite or Amish communities. This is where I have always found strike-anywhere matches.

Thin Man

[Col4570]

http://thumbs1.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mquh-VX8d4Hw8BEBAcROt6g.jpg
E Bay U K.have them.

[Garyshome]

I am currently hoarding 50,000 rounds of old diamond strike anywhere matches. I will put them up for sale shortly for $1.00/round!

[DLCTEX]

The druggies were buying them to get the phosphorus to make Meth. The strike on box ones are not usable for that. If buy many at a time you may get a visit from the DEA. I saw an individual buy all our local grocery had once and reported him to Sheriff.

[montana_charlie]

The Redbird matches on this page are said to be as good as the ones we used to be able to get at the grocery store.
http://www.scouttech.com/search.php?search_query=matches

CM

[bangerjim]

Wonder if you can still make primers with the mew style?

At around 3¢ a piece for any size primer, why would anyone waste their time trying to make unreliable home-made primers from matches? I could see if you were living in a cave in Afghanistan (or a blue state!), but I can buy all the primers I could use in a lifetime locally by the thousands. I have watched videos on the net of guys in their basements whittling down matches. The time I wasted watching it is gone and I can never recover it!!!!!!!

What good are strike-anywhere's other than camping? I have them in my camp gear. And plenty of them.

banger

[lka]

At around 3¢ a piece for any size primer, why would anyone waste their time trying to make unreliable home-made primers from matches? I could see if you were living in a cave in Afghanistan (or a blue state!), but I can buy all the primers I could use in a lifetime locally by the thousands. I have watched videos on the net of guys in their basements whittling down matches. The time I wasted watching it is gone and I can never recover it!!!!!!!

What good are strike-anywhere's other than camping? I have them in my camp gear. And plenty of them.

banger

I don't know, just something that would be good to know how to do it. I've never done it but I've seen the videos.

[357maximum]

I know where 6 boxes of OHIO BLUE TIPS are located........YES I am a quality match hoarder :lol:

[bangerjim]

I know where 6 boxes of OHIO BLUE TIPS are located........YES I am a quality match hoarder :lol:

HEY........stay away from my camping gear stash!!!!!!!

banger

[trapper9260]

Wonder if you can still make primers with the mew style?

I try that and dose not work good.For me that is.I use cap gun caps and fine black powder and good for all but alittle delay on rifle.Also works good for shotgun primers.

[bangerjim]

Two things that really chap my keister........dam-o-craps and FTF!

One I cannot do anything about (except vote). The other one I can........buy commercial primers all the time! For 3 cents a piece!
Making your own primers is just asking for FTF's. Makes absolutely ZERO sense. We have enough variables in casting and reloading to worry about, let alone the stupid primer not working.

But have fun playing with matches!!!!!!!!!!! Your momma warned 'ya!

banger

[oldred]

About a year ago I set out on a quest to find real strke-anywhere matches, I even discussed it here, and I'm here to tell you there are not any to be had except for old stock or maybe some foreign country. Yes you can find what is sold as strike-anywhere but they are nothing but a bad joke with only a tiny trace of the volatile tip chemical that we used to harvest from matches as kids for various (and somewhat ingenious) uses but except for old stock they are simply gone now. A quick check with E-Bay will locate the good ones but the sellers are worse gougers than 22 RF salesmen and the cost will knock your socks off! I know well meaning folks will tell you where to look for them (don't waste your time at Wally World) but believe me if they were available they wouldn't be bringing such a ridiculous price on E-Bay, don't be misled by some of the E-Bay listings at somewhat "decent" pricing as these are the newer worthless type that barely have enough of the desirable chemical on the tip to even light the match and often they won't even have enough to do that! The bottom line is if you really want some REAL strike-anywhere matches you will have to locate some old stock, there are no good new ones to be had.

[mold maker]

Well bangerjim, around here primers are non existant at any price. And no telling how long the next dry spell will be.
Hey I remember just a few years ago, you could buy 22 LR at some grocery and all hardware stores for less than 2c a round.
The future may get even worse than it is today, and some simple supplies, and a little knowledge may save your bacon.
I wouldn't look at your 3c primers as a perminate thing.
Yep, I watched several videos, and the time wasn't wasted. I also make my own BP, and just maybe I'll have to fire it with reloaded primers.

[montana_charlie]

What good are strike-anywhere's other than camping?
For lighting the pellet stove and fireplace, I like to use the large kitchen matches.
Same goes for any outdoor burning chores that come around.

Only once did my wife bring home a box of kitchen matches that were the strike-on-box type.
When I had used about 80% of the matches in that box, the striker pad was worn out.
There is nothing as useless as 75 matches that can only be lit by holding a Zippo to them.

That's why strike-anywhere matches are preferred by adults who actually use matches.



The bottom line is if you really want some REAL strike-anywhere matches you will have to locate some old stock, there are no good new ones to be had.
Have you tried the Redbird product, oldred?

CM

[dbosman]

Redbird is getting down rated in Amazon.com reviews due to being thin and not working as well as the olden ones.

I was looking forward to giving my son some wax dipped strike any where matches for his "survival" camping tube. Now I plan on buying a spare magnesium unit to use up learning how to use it in really wet conditions. Probably a better skill lesson anyway and lawyer and insurance life lesson. Sigh!

[Outpost75]

Matches are for REMFs. Use your K-Bar, ferro rod and a pinch of gunpowder from a misfired round you pulled with your teeth, or a pinch of belly button lint infused with petroleum jelly from your first aid kit.

Or Flic your BIC....

Real stike anywheres went away because the meth heads use them to cook dope and the mall ninjas use them to make detonators.

[oldred]

Have you tried the Redbird product, oldred?CM


Yes I have, those were recommended to me when I was looking for real matches last year and they definitely are the best I tried and by a good margin. They will, like the matches of old, strike on denim jeans or they can even be lit with a thumbnail with enough practice but they are still a long way from the matches of old, while the tip seems to work much better than anything else made today it's still just a tiny speck and just barely enough to get the job done. I would highly recommend them for use as matches but I am assuming the intent here is for primers or other purposes and for that the tips are just too small to yield enough material to be of much use. By far the worst was the Green Light, those things were a joke and if the stick didn't break they MIGHT light with a little luck.

[kootne]

I will trade a box of those old matches for a flintlock rifle;)
kootne

[bangerjim]

Well bangerjim, around here primers are non existant at any price. And no telling how long the next dry spell will be.
Hey I remember just a few years ago, you could buy 22 LR at some grocery and all hardware stores for less than 2c a round.
The future may get even worse than it is today, and some simple supplies, and a little knowledge may save your bacon.
I wouldn't look at your 3c primers as a perminate thing.
Yep, I watched several videos, and the time wasn't wasted. I also make my own BP, and just maybe I'll have to fire it with reloaded primers.

I feel for /ya, brother! Some place eapecially blue states, have no reloading stuff at all. Only thing you can do is mail order with the stupid hazmat fee. Order as much as you can to soften the fee.

My LGS's around here keep getting more primers and powder in every week! I am set for many years.

banger

[357maximum]

I will trade a box of those old matches for a flintlock rifle;)
kootne

PM me some pics of the rifle and maybe we can talk turkey :smile:

[Blacksmith]

I have remanufactured primers just to prove I could do it. I have no reason to use them to do normal reloading. However, someday in the future if no primers were for sale at any price I could and would make my own and keep on shooting when no one else could. By the way I also own a couple of "Rock Locks" and flint will always make sparks.

[kootne]

PM me some pics of the rifle and maybe we can talk turkey :smile:

you're hurtin' my feelings, callin' me a turkey. I think this is a situation with an abundunce of old matches and a dearth of flintlock rifles.

[starmac]

Talk of foreing countrys has my curiosity up. Do you guys in canada still get matches you can light with your thumbnail? I know you still have gas can spouts that you can actually pour gas out of. lol

[Naphtali]

So "lifeboat" matches are not strike anywhere? But fireplace matches might be?

[Col4570]

Any chance that strike anywhere Match Reloaded caps may strike when fitting the Cap to the nipple.
The old Eley Surefire Shotgun Primers have a percussion Cap in them.It can be knocked out and used as a cap.I have done it many times.At present there is no Shortage of Caps here but very often we are governed by the American Market.All my guns are now converted to Military Top Hat Caps apart from the Flinters.

[WILCO]

Recently, I can obtain only "safety" matches.

http://kissurvival.com/strike-anywhere-matches/

http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Strike-Anywhere-Matches-10pk/dp/B001PIEFOS

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM7999591925P?ci_src=184425893&ci_sku=SPM7999591925&sid=IDx20131030xMPHMxCPA12

[blackthorn]

I can buy Red Bird strike anywhere matches at Wally World, Wholesale Sports and other places. They are certainly not as good as the old Bluebird or Red Bird we used to get years ago. Last time I looked (last Sat.) they run about -$2 a box. The Red Bird are made by Eddy Match Co. in Ontario.

[oldred]

http://kissurvival.com/strike-anywhere-matches/

http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Strike-Anywhere-Matches-10pk/dp/B001PIEFOS

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM7999591925P?ci_src=184425893&ci_sku=SPM7999591925&sid=IDx20131030xMPHMxCPA12



I can assure you, and I tried them, that those Diamond "Strike anywhere" would be better described as "Strike nowhere"! They are a joke compared to the old Strike anywhere types and while you probably could get them (some of them anyway) to strike on a rock, etc a LOT of them will simply fail to light, and that's if the stick don't break first! Even if someone manages to get a box that will light 100% of the time the igniter tip is way to small to be of any use for something like a primer. They are not even close to being like the old style matches.

[snowwolfe]

I have remanufactured primers just to prove I could do it. I have no reason to use them to do normal reloading. However, someday in the future if no primers were for sale at any price I could and would make my own and keep on shooting when no one else could. By the way I also own a couple of "Rock Locks" and flint will always make sparks.

It is simply a lot easier to hoard primers:)

[MaryB]

I have 4 boxes of the green tip matches, all 4 half empty with the striker strip worn off. Haven't found a use for them other than a quick light of the pellet stove if I pile a bunch against the ignitor. Around the house if I need it on fire I use a presto-light torch, I KNOW it will light and the 16 canisters of propane are not that expensive. Truck has some of the green tip matches and a half dozen lighters floating around in the back seat. I need to measure that space and make a cargo carrier that fits under the seats. Also several magnesium rods and sparkers, a bow starter and dowel and board but that is absolute last ditch.

[Blacksmith]

I have 4 boxes of the green tip matches, all 4 half empty with the striker strip worn off. Haven't found a use for them other than a quick light of the pellet stove if I pile a bunch against the ignitor. Around the house if I need it on fire I use a presto-light torch, I KNOW it will light and the 16 canisters of propane are not that expensive. Truck has some of the green tip matches and a half dozen lighters floating around in the back seat. I need to measure that space and make a cargo carrier that fits under the seats. Also several magnesium rods and sparkers, a bow starter and dowel and board but that is absolute last ditch.

Include in that kit a twist type pencil sharpener. Insert an appropriate sized stick and make your own fine shaved tinder great for starting the kindling.

[Ajax]

I carry a small pouch of lighter pine with me, dont take much for me to get it going.

Andy

[webfoot10]

I don't even carry any matches, I fired up my forge and made a striker out of some drill rod and found some flint schards
and made a fire start kit that I store in a old Altoids tin with some char cloth and tinder. Any of you guys that go to the
primitive blackpowder shoots know how fast some guy's and gal's can get a fire going. Not as handy as matches, but is
good in a survival situation.
webfoot10

[trapper9260]

Two things that really chap my keister........dam-o-craps and FTF!

One I cannot do anything about (except vote). The other one I can........buy commercial primers all the time! For 3 cents a piece!
Making your own primers is just asking for FTF's. Makes absolutely ZERO sense. We have enough variables in casting and reloading to worry about, let alone the stupid primer not working.

But have fun playing with matches!!!!!!!!!!! Your momma warned 'ya!

banger

As for your statement .my primers that I reload always work.and I seen in the past that primers was not to be found besides powder.That is why I started to reload them.There will be a day to come when you are not going to be able to find any primers or able to buy them anymore for .3 each and your out of luck.I rather be ready for anything to happened that be stuck like so many have and pay high price for something that is not worth it.But if you need it that you will pay the price.I know the matches dose not work like some I seen on other sites stated.also for how much more you need to do to reload a primer is not worth it.But for how i do it is simple and it works for shotgun and handgun with no problems at all.just what I stated in my last post about rifle.I will be doing some test on that after all warm up.to take care of that.

[Ajax]

I also carry a flint and steel with charcloth.

Andy

[jaysouth]

I think that cheap reliable butane lighters have more to do with the demise of wooden matches than lawyers, treehuggers or space aliens.

[oldred]

I think that cheap reliable butane lighters have more to do with the demise of wooden matches than lawyers, treehuggers or space aliens.

It's not the demise of wooden matches themselves they're not going away and are very easy to find, it's the type that will strike on any surface (and more specifically the older types) rather than needing the chemically treated strip on the box in order to ignite. That has nothing to do with butane or other types of lighters and the disappearance of the old style matches is a direct result of liability and legal restrictions (and quite possibly space aliens).

[owejia]

Those old strike anywhere matches were used to make mail bombs with, that is one of the main reasons they were replaced with this **** we have today.

[bearcove]

I just strike them on the box, crazy I know but I keep them there.

[mtnman31]

I'll just stick with a butane lighter. They are cheap and plentiful, usually less than a buck if bought in bulk. Yes, I understand the fact that you can't buy reliable strike anywhere matches anymore is a drag, but why loose sleep over it. The lighters I use are clear so I can see how much life they have left and they last a long time. They light fires just as easily as matches. If I don't want to stick my hand and lighter into whatever I am lighting, I can use the lighter to spark up a piece of paper and stick that in there. A lighter in a small ziplock is just as compact as a waterproof tube of matches and will start a lot more fires than the number of matches you get in a kitchen sized box. For the Murphy's Law folks out there that will say the lighter can break or what have you... I've never had a lighter break in normal use. I've had Zippos that unexpectedly go dry or the flint is used up, but the cheap old butane lighters seem to just work well for me. I suppose if I fell off a cliff and landed on my pocket that has the lighter in it, it might get crushed. But then again, my waterproof match tube could get crushed too. I've done a lot of camping over my lifetime in a variety of environments and never had weather or conditions so bad that I couldn't start a fire with a lighter. If it is too windy to light a fire with a lighter, it's probably too windy to safely have a fire in the first place (at least that's what Smokey Bear would tell me). I also like the long barreled style lighters for lighting fires. My favorite is the one I have in my garage. It is about 10 inches long, refillable (a most useful feature) and has a window so I can see how much of a charge it has.

In my opinion, spending time looking for the matches of old is like spending time driving around trying to find leaded gas for your car. The old stuff is gone, live with the new stuff or find a suitable replacement.

BTW - since you can't hear me or read my mind, my tone is conversational and NOT confrontational.

[MaryB]

vaseline thinned down then soaked into dryer lint. Makes a great fire starter although dryer lint on its own is decent.

[oldred]

I'll just stick with a butane lighter. They are cheap and plentiful, usually less than a buck if bought in bulk. Yes, I understand the fact that you can't buy reliable strike anywhere matches anymore is a drag, but why loose sleep over it. The lighters I use are clear so I can see how much life they have left and they last a long time. They light fires just as easily as matches. If I don't want to stick my hand and lighter into whatever I am lighting, I can use the lighter to spark up a piece of paper and stick that in there. A lighter in a small ziplock is just as compact as a waterproof tube of matches and will start a lot more fires than the number of matches you get in a kitchen sized box. For the Murphy's Law folks out there that will say the lighter can break or what have you... I've never had a lighter break in normal use. I've had Zippos that unexpectedly go dry or the flint is used up, but the cheap old butane lighters seem to just work well for me. I suppose if I fell off a cliff and landed on my pocket that has the lighter in it, it might get crushed. But then again, my waterproof match tube could get crushed too. I've done a lot of camping over my lifetime in a variety of environments and never had weather or conditions so bad that I couldn't start a fire with a lighter. If it is too windy to light a fire with a lighter, it's probably too windy to safely have a fire in the first place (at least that's what Smokey Bear would tell me). I also like the long barreled style lighters for lighting fires. My favorite is the one I have in my garage. It is about 10 inches long, refillable (a most useful feature) and has a window so I can see how much of a charge it has.

In my opinion, spending time looking for the matches of old is like spending time driving around trying to find leaded gas for your car. The old stuff is gone, live with the new stuff or find a suitable replacement.

BTW - since you can't hear me or read my mind, my tone is conversational and NOT confrontational.


Can you reload primers with a butane lighter?


I think some are missing the entire point here, it's not about starting fires it's about using the tips of the old type matches for purposes other than matches.

[bearcove]

Please identify current manufacturers of Strike anywhere wood kitchen matches. Recently, I can obtain only "safety" matches.

OP is about matches not primers

[montana_charlie]

I'll just stick with a butane lighter.

BTW - since you can't hear me or read my mind, my tone is conversational and NOT confrontational.
I needed to light a fire yesterday to burn an accumulation of old records.
There was a light wind to make my 'burner' draw well, and all I had to destroy was common paper.

My attempts to light it off with a butane lighter became 'confrontational' in the extreme.
A single strike-anywhere kitchen match got her going, but I had to go back to the house to get some.

In that breeze, the lighter would simply not produce a flame.

CM

[357maximum]

you're hurtin' my feelings, callin' me a turkey. I think this is a situation with an abundunce of old matches and a dearth of flintlock rifles.

Trust me.....I would not call someone a turkey unless I knew them well and they actually deserved it. Not many animals out there that deem less respect from me......they are like brainless lice that just happen to have a good set of motion detectors......if it were not for their eyesight and do-gooder reintroductions we would only know them from the fossil records just like their dodo cousins......next to libtards/demturds I do not think God has ever made a dumber critter.

[Iowa Fox]

The days of lighting matches with a BB are long gone. Heck me and my pals were doing "Imposible shots 60 years ago". I watched the old guys light their matches with their thumb nail to light up a smoke as a kid.

[geargnasher]

Mike, I would submit the domestic barnyard duck as the dumbest creature on earth, but only by a narrow margin over turkeys.

Around these parts, the Spanish word "Guajalote" is used as a mortal insult, most likely due to the fact that Mexican turkeys are every bit as stupid as turkeys from Michigan or anywhere else.

Iowa Fox, I still have a little spot under the edge my thumbnail where the nail bed doesn't grow quite right from my early childhood attempts to mimic my dad lighting Ohio Blue Tip matches. He popped them with his thumbnail to light the Prince Albert in his pipe while driving, but knew how to keep from breaking off a chunk of 4,000-degree pain under his nail. I did not. We used kerosene lamps exclusively for light, propane for the kitchen stove and refrigeration, and wood for heat. We had little ceramic crocks full of kitchen matches scattered throughout the house and one of my chores was to keep all those "light switches" filled. They all had their un-glazed bottoms blackened from years of striking matches there. One particularly suitable limestone rock in the wall with the fireplace still bears the marks of 30 years' service as a match striking surface, the white slashes across it being from attempts to use the "new" matches when they first came out. I can remember the cussing like it was yesterday. Butane lighters are worthless for lighting kerosene lamps save for the "bbq" lighters, which aren't nearly as classy as a good old fashioned MATCH. I wish lots of things were still made like they "usetabee".

Gear

[otter5555]

At around 3¢ a piece for any size primer, why would anyone waste their time trying to make unreliable home-made primers from matches? I could see if you were living in a cave in Afghanistan (or a blue state!), but I can buy all the primers I could use in a lifetime locally by the thousands. I have watched videos on the net of guys in their basements whittling down matches. The time I wasted watching it is gone and I can never recover it!!!!!!!

What good are strike-anywhere's other than camping? I have them in my camp gear. And plenty of them.

banger

right NOW you can (and should) buy a lifetime supply of primers but how about after the next shooting?
i have 2 lifetime supplys (bought during the clinton years) but still learned to make reliable primer material from the original strike anywhere matches. mine worked just fine so i bought a lifetime supply of them also.

my reloading supplies and matches are in my will :)

[Iowa Fox]

Mike, I would submit the domestic barnyard duck as the dumbest creature on earth, but only by a narrow margin over turkeys.

Around these parts, the Spanish word "Guajalote" is used as a mortal insult, most likely due to the fact that Mexican turkeys are every bit as stupid as turkeys from Michigan or anywhere else.

Iowa Fox, I still have a little spot under the edge my thumbnail where the nail bed doesn't grow quite right from my early childhood attempts to mimic my dad lighting Ohio Blue Tip matches. He popped them with his thumbnail to light the Prince Albert in his pipe while driving, but knew how to keep from breaking off a chunk of 4,000-degree pain under his nail. I did not. We used kerosene lamps exclusively for light, propane for the kitchen stove and refrigeration, and wood for heat. We had little ceramic crocks full of kitchen matches scattered throughout the house and one of my chores was to keep all those "light switches" filled. They all had their un-glazed bottoms blackened from years of striking matches there. One particularly suitable limestone rock in the wall with the fireplace still bears the marks of 30 years' service as a match striking surface, the white slashes across it being from attempts to use the "new" matches when they first came out. I can remember the cussing like it was yesterday. Butane lighters are worthless for lighting kerosene lamps save for the "bbq" lighters, which aren't nearly as classy as a good old fashioned MATCH. I wish lots of things were still made like they "usetabee".

Gear

I only tried lighting a match with my thumbnail once. The pain from the match head burning under my thumbnail was horrible, never forgot it. At home and grandma & grandpas we had tin match holders that looked like a miniature hog feeder hanging on the wall. I think they were from the local elevator at Christmas. You slipped the slidding cover off a box of wood matches and then slid the box into the holder that had a trough at the bottom with a lid on it. When you needed a match you just took your finger and lifted the hinged lid and grabbed one. Sure didn't need the box with a striker because they would go off on anything you rubbed them on. Most usually on top the stove.

[Newtire]

there was a time when matches could be lit by the friction on your Levis Butt.
My brother & I used to love doing that after watching one of my uncles light his smokes on the butt of his Key coveralls.