How To Light A Match (video)

abo4ster

abo4ster

Joined
Aug 24, 2003
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It is an important skill to know how to properly strike a match as in many cases it is or becomes a limited resource. Even if you don't carry matches (like me), you never know when it maybe your only option.

So check out the link and add this to your repertoire if you don't already have. Would be a shame if you were fire's master with a bow drill, hand drill, flint and steel, focused sunlight, fire piston, fire saw, fire plow, etc., but you couldn't get a fire going with a match!!! :D


http://s305.photobucket.com/albums/nn230/abodude/?action=view&current=HowToLightAMatch.flv
 
Neato.
Might want to mention the match-splitting part, for those who haven't heard of it.
 
Well, I already knew how to light a match, but the match splitting part was cool! Pulled the matchbook out of my back pocket and tried it immediately, and hey it works!
 
He might be a member over here, I saw another one of his videos on the rock, knife fire thing and he had a couple good ones, a gossman psk, mora and a carbon v master hunter.
 
Another slightly different method is to fold the match case cover over the striker, inserting the split match between the striker and cover, sandwich style, give it a light squeeze, then simply pull the match out lit, works every time.
 
martoonisotu - heard the same thing, but I think they were splitting wooden matches (haven't tried it yet). BTW, the method in the video is perfect in wooden matches lessing the chance of breaking the match stick.

IUKE12 - that method absolutely works, have used it myself. Slightly concerned with that method as too much pressure can damage the match head and/or book cover and having a damp match book cover.

The big thing though is you are pulling your hands apart exposing the lit match to wind. The other method leaves your hands close together to protect it from the wind as the book hand is steady and the match hand is twisting, not moving in terms of distance. :)

Thanks for the feedback. Peace, Chris
 
Very good video. I carry several packs of waterproofed paper matches in my various kits. Mac
 
Never thought about splitting matches. Thanks for posting this.
I haven't got paper matches here, but tried with wooden ones.

So here are my results with wooden matches:
When I tried doing it by hand, like in the video, the match broke.
So I tried splitting it with a knife at the end, but that didn't work well either.
But then I found the trick. if you push your knife gently in the longitudinal direction on the side of the match, you can easily split the match into two parts. Some parts of the matchhead were lost tho.
I have even split the match into 4 parts, of which I was able to light all 4 of them. I was even able to light the remainings of another match with the part of the matchhead that fell of before.(but also burnt my finger a little with that). So I got 5 separate fires from one single match. not bad.

This was in an evironment without wind, so I'm not sure if it will work as good when it is more windy.

My conclusions: is a good trick when you are short on matches, but if you haven't tried it before, you risk losing your only match trying to split it in a survival situation.

A few remarks:
I have always learned, and learned others, to keep you match upside down(at about 30°) after it is lid. That way it goes out more difficult, as the warmth of the flame supports itself. Can't see that in the video.

Of course this shortens the time the match burns up.

So if you are short on matches, It is important to extent the time they burn, to make sure the tinder is enough on fire before the match goes out.
You can wet your fingers before, to make sure you can resist the warmth of the flame longer before you let it fall.
You can also stick the other end of the match in a small dry wooden stick or something similar(hollow thatch?, don't know the english word). That way it can burn all the way to the end, and with some luck(or the right stick) it will go further on the stick.
 
buckabee said:
A few remarks:
I have always learned, and learned others, to keep you match upside down(at about 30°) after it is lid. That way it goes out more difficult, as the warmth of the flame supports itself. Can't see that in the video.
Click to expand...

Buckabee - great observation, and you were right, wasn't noted in the video as I didn't think of it. By luck alone, I guess I hold it like that as my tinder bundle is in my teepee of sticks on the ground when I have gone to light with a match (which is not that often ;) ). Nice post on splitting the wooden matches too - good info.
 
I have seen this before from a show Ray Mears had a few years ago on the Travel Channel. If I'm not mistaken I think it was the episode involving the desert and how to survive in it. There were I think 6 episodes total at 30 minutes a piece or something like that. To this day I can't remember what the show was called.
 
cssims said:
I have seen this before from a show Ray Mears had a few years ago on the Travel Channel. If I'm not mistaken I think it was the episode involving the desert and how to survive in it. There were I think 6 episodes total at 30 minutes a piece or something like that. To this day I can't remember what the show was called.
Click to expand...


Hadn't seen his shows before, but I do like the one book I have of his. I actually picked this up from Cody Lundin one late afternoon several years ago; after showing me how to split a match he handed me ONE match and told me to get a fire going. It was raining and we were around 9,000' in the San Fransico mountains. I got a fire on the second half of the match after I dried out my tinder a little more. I love Cody like a brother, but he gets serious about this stuff - I was stressing.
 
After reading Cody's book I have been trying to run down "strike anywhere" matches like he had in his book. So far no luck. Anyone know where I could get them. Sorry to change the subject a bit.

Nice video, never seen that done before.
 
Great stuff!

Messer454, you can get SAM's at Ace Hardware if you have one. Might try some other hardware stores, too. I've also seen them at surplus stores and gun/knife shows. I think it depends on where you live too, because I can get them at almost any of my local grocery stores and "mart" stores here. I have friends in other parts of the country that can't find them anywhere and have to pay the extra haz-mat charge to get them through the mail. Crazy.

One of my fondest memories of when I was a Boyscout was playing "Strike the Match" with SAM's, a tree stump and an ax for hours on end it seemed. :D
 
messer454 said:
After reading Cody's book I have been trying to run down "strike anywhere" matches like he had in his book. So far no luck. Anyone know where I could get them. Sorry to change the subject a bit.

Nice video, never seen that done before.
Click to expand...

I buy mine at REI
 
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