Lighting "life boat matches", alternative strikers?

M

matthew rapaport

Joined
Jun 23, 1999
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1,209
What better place to ask than this...

So the other day I tried to start a camp fire in cold damp (but not raining) conditions with my sparker and a few cotton balls soaked in vasiline. Usually it works in the first couple of sparks, but not this time, so I put the rod away and pulled out a brand new container of those "life boat matches" that have huge flaring heads on them that burn about 7 or 8 seconds. I struck the match on the roughened surface on the lid of the container, and to my suprise, the match would not light! I tried another, same thing! Oh my I thought. What if I was really in trouble here (I had still other fire making tools)? I determined that the problem was not the matches themselves. I took some of these to another container and they lit, but not easily. Still, the problem seems to be the striker, not the match.

My question then is what to use to replace or substitute for the striker? Can one use sandpaper or some other commonly available surface to get these matches lit reliably?

Thanks...
 
I think that the matches are 'strike anywhere.' If so, they should easily ignite on sandpaper. If they are safety matches, then they need red phosphorous on the striking surface to catalyze the reaction. Try striking one on dry sandpaper. If it doesn't light, it is a safety match. You will then need to keep the match container and its' striking surface dry. Walt
 
I have had this same problem with "lifeboat matches". I read somewhere that the varnish on them can be too thick. If your hands were injured or very cold it may be difficult to strike these matches properly and so I don't plan to keep them around anymore. I remember an old timer trick is to wrap cotton twine around a strike anywhere match and coat it with paraffin. To light it you just scrap away some of the parfffin off the match head.
 
I've had best results lighting the lifeboat matches with a Bic lighter
biggrin.gif
. I've had nothing but problems with all matches, and nothing but good luck with a .99 cent Bic lighter. They are kept in the survival kits of military pilots around the world because they work. Regards, Clayton
 
I bought some because so many people advocate them. I tried them out on a warm windless day, and still had a really hard time getting them to light. I've put them away and not touched them since, but I'm thinking of going through an entire container, trying to find better striking material, and figuring out the right technique. I've heard that technique is everything with those things.

Joe
 
Save your money, I hate all matches.
Lifeboat matches are bad, normal everday ones very bad and the worst are homemade waxed ones.

Buy a box of mini Bic's and have them everywhere.
 
Thanks for all the feedback. I know they are not "strike anywhere", so I guess I'm just SOL as far as these things go. Not much of an investment anyway (luckily). I do remember though that four or five years ago when I got my first batch of these things I didn't have any trouble striking them, so I'm thinking that the batches now being sold have basically defective strikers and that's why they've found their way to the back-door catalog market.

I'll just have to go through my kits and remove them. Bics are reliable, but difficult to shove under a tinder pile.
 
Well, that is a blow to me! Even the highly recommended British Life Boat matches fail so easily?

BTW, I have my own failure with the ‘strike anywhere’ types. I got that ‘real stuff’ from a friend who is a ‘real’ outdoor person. They are more difficult to obtain in this part of the country. To avoid friction, I cautiously carried them home in my palm and tried to set an impressive pyro-show for the family that miserably failed. Not only that they did not ignite on my jeans, shoe sole, zipper and other cool places, I hardly succeeded with a matchbox! They seemed to be the safest matches to me. OK, it might be a major mix-up but they were even worse than regular strike-on-box matches.
I should still give a second chance however.
Not that I heard of, but is it possible that they have a shelf life?
I still have the Coghlan’s ubiquitous waterproof matches in my kit. I just checked few after reading the post. They seemed to be fine but who knows…
Best to carry matches+ferrocerium’n’tinder+flameless butane lighter IMO.

HM


 
Just don't try what used to do in Scouts, lighting them on our top front teeth (flicking outward). One kid had the head break off when it lit and burned the heck out of his tongue. Oh the perils of childhood.
I've noticed that the "strike anywhere" matches of recent manufacture don't seem to have the instantaneous combustability of the Ohio Blue Tips of yesteryear. Probably the case of Uncle protecting us from ourselves.
Really, they say "Strike Anywhere", not "Light Anywhere".....

------------------
Run and you only die tired....
The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.
Take the Test...
 
I confess I have used these in all types of weather for years and have never had an issue, possibly I have been lucky.
 
I also think it might be a government regulation or product liability problem.I recently bought 3 boxs (750) of Fire Chief brand strike anywhere matchs and while they work with a very vigorous strike on a hard surface,I can't light them one handed with my thumbnail like the old ones.
 
Joe and others,

I recall that I was able to get a lifeboat match to light with my ferrocerium rod. I do want to experiment some more, hopefully that will work reliably. After some emails, Doug Ritter, modified his page regarding these with some suggestions on how to strike them. Push the tip down and foward on the striker.

Once that striker gets damp/wet it does not work too well, even if the matches are waterproof. I might be dangerous to put the striker in with the matches, but I wish they came with a spare to tuck away somewhere.

Walt,
Red phosphorus! I have been wondering what make a striker work as opposed to plain sandpaper. I wish I had some high quality ones. I guess the problem becomes, that unless you can keep your striker dry, your waterproof matches are only useful as tinder for some other system. I have not seen strike anywhere matches for quite some time, not even at knife and gun shows anymore. I did have some hand waterproofed ones in a water proof container, but they disintegrated...and I am not even THAT old. ;)

I know this thread is a little older, but I was looking for http://www.knifeforums.com/ubbthrea...=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=1#Post136203 this thread and Chad had mentioned someone saying his lifeboat matches had gone bad, so I was looking for the source.
 
Matches lately do seem to be a cause of consternation; all of the forums have threads on them. Anyway...

My very fist mini-kit had a matchsafe full of strike-anywhere matches. That safe was indeed water tight, as those matches never got wet. And since they were for emergencies, they never got used. Well, after 15 years in their dark prison, I took them out to give 'em a try. Not a one would light when struck on a rough surface such as a rock or on my iron stove. In fact, although they were totally dry, the heads just flaked away. The only way to light them was with a striker panel from the box. Which, BTW, should also work with lifeboat matches. Just buy yourself a box of strike anywheres, or strike on box matches, and try the striker panel. If it works, just cut a piece out and toss it in with your matches.

That's what I've been doing lately. I just cut out a circular piece and glue it to the top of the match safe or 35mm film can, and I have a striking surface handy. If you cut out more than one, and just press-fit them in place, you have back-up strikers as well. Place a piece of cotton on top of the match heads. This can be tinder, as well as keeping the matches from the striker.

And since I already had striker panels in my match safes, why bother with SA's that *aren't*? I dug around and found about 50 of the Coghlan green head waterproof safety matches. These have to be at least 20 years old, because I bought them for my very first camping trip. After riding in my backapck the original boxes got smashed, so I trandferred the matches (and striker panels) into a 35mm film can. With no more protection than that can, and after living in some pretty humid conditions, they still lit on the first strike.

So I'm planning on buying nothing but green head matches, and USGI plastic match safes. The old, copper match safe I have in one of my kits is too small to fit a striker panel on the lid. With the GI matchsafe, I have a rubber gasketed seal, room enough for 34 green head matches (as opposed to 20 or so SA's), plus 2 pieces of waxed cotton tinder balls. After all, if you have to carry a striker anyway to light your matches, you might as well carry as *many* GOOD matches as you can, plus a little tinder as well. I need to stock up on greenies.
 
I use "regular" strike anywhere matches. I learned from a friend in the Republic of N.J. that these 'hazardous' items are not available everywhere.
Anyway I digress. I take an emery board, like for doing your nails, and cut/ break it off to a length that will fit in my match safe. Keep it in my military match safes along with the matches. Heck it even has a fine and a course side and it's stiff! That way when the outside of the case is wet but the inside dry I still can make fire. Being a boater, there are often times when everything is wet except the inside of the match safe. If you look around, many businesses give the things away. If not they are about 10 for a penny at Wally World [more or less].
 
Per the SAS survival guide:
The "lifeboat matches" are made to strike on the striker supplied with the matches. The technique is to PUSH the match head down into and accross the striker. I have some but have never tried them since I always have such good luck with the ferrocius rods and beeswax soaked cotton balls.
:rolleyes:
 
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