Match Safe observation

upnorth

upnorth

Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Messages
7,038
I am filling these little plastic Coughlan's match safes with shaved magnesium. I knew that there was a small flint in the base but ignored it. Well I gave her some strikes today out of curiosity, and they actually kick out some decent sparks. Just something to be aware of.

IMG_5704_zps692a99bf.jpg
 
I have used mine, doesnt take long to get flush with the base but a good emergency fire source.
 
I wouldn't give the credit to the rod so much as to the striker! I too am skilled in the arts of the speedy sharp (I've bought & gifted a buttload), and the large amount of sparks you're gettin' is due to the amount of rod the speedy sharp eats at a time!!!
 
I bought a couple of those, and after I tired to submerge one in water with a piece of paper inside. I learned that they aren't water proof, so I packed them full of petroleum jelly cotton balls. I did have the same experience where the soft flint on the bottom wore down fast.
 
SweptEdge said:
I bought a couple of those, and after I tired to submerge one in water with a piece of paper inside. I learned that they aren't water proof, so I packed them full of petroleum jelly cotton balls. I did have the same experience where the soft flint on the bottom wore down fast.
Click to expand...

You must of had a faulty o-ring
 
SweptEdge said:
Yeah, it had to do wit the seal. They were only 1$ a piece though. I ended up getting one of those UCO storm proof match safes w/matches. was like 5 or 6$ more.
Click to expand...

I have never used them for matches, only for back up fine tinder\starter materials.
 
Bowman1911 said:
I wouldn't give the credit to the rod so much as to the striker! I too am skilled in the arts of the speedy sharp (I've bought & gifted a buttload), and the large amount of sparks you're gettin' is due to the amount of rod the speedy sharp eats at a time!!!
Click to expand...

I have only had these speedy sharps for a few weeks now. With a lot of use, do they last months ?, years ? And yes, that little flint is nothing special but still good to remember in the back of our minds maybe. I'm a bit obessessive about redundancy. I generally like to have two back up options to my main tool or fuel. And the reality for myself is that a Bic lighter will take care of 95% of my real world needs. But that 5% chance of hypothermic death in an isolated location still gets my attention.
:)
 
I've tested several and they were all watertight.

I've been using the little rod at the bottom because it's lighter than carrying a full-size rod, and it's a quick windproof way to light an alcohol stove. I haven't been using matches at all. I've been thinking I should fill one with petroleum jelly cotton balls so I'll have something potentially useful inside....
 
If you don't mind changing the outside appearance, duct tape makes a good accelerant and keeps shavings in a pile.
 
upnorth said:
I have only had these speedy sharps for a few weeks now. With a lot of use, do they last months ?, years ? And yes, that little flint is nothing special but still good to remember in the back of our minds maybe. I'm a bit obessessive about redundancy. I generally like to have two back up options to my main tool or fuel. And the reality for myself is that a Bic lighter will take care of 95% of my real world needs. But that 5% chance of hypothermic death in an isolated location still gets my attention.
:)
Click to expand...

Lasts for years!!! I've got a local brick & mortar shop that carried 'em. Every week or so I'd pick up a couple, and where I work, I deal with leo from 37 counties, so I'm friendly with a LOT of knife folk. Well, everytime I turned around, somebody wanted the speedy sharp I kept in my truck. All in all, I've probably been through a case of 'em. But through it all, I always kept the first one I bought. Still have the lil' guy too! As far as wear goes, I've got some misch metal rods that give off such a big spark they have burnt a couple places on the polished carbide, but it hasn't impaired function in the least, be it sharpening or sparking, other than cosmetics, it functions the same as the day I brought it home. They work fantastic for a field expedient sharpener! I have no doubt whatsoever I could use it to sharpen a piece of rebar into a field expedient edge if I had to. A little word of advise though, they take off a noticeable amount of metal with every stroke, so sharpen away from your face & with softer steels, you may wanna wear eye protection, because they literally make the metal fly!
 
upnorth said:
I have only had these speedy sharps for a few weeks now. With a lot of use, do they last months ?, years ?
Click to expand...

Millennia? Hardness cannot be tested with the same rockwell scale as tool steel as it uses pressures that would break the tester. Your great grandkids will be using these speedy sharps with no loss of sharpness.
This is called the MOH scale, basically a scratch test.
hardness_scale.jpg
 
Last edited:
Yes my guess is solid carbide. It would be harder and more expensive to coat something in carbide then make it solid, especially a small piece like that. But carbide tools often have separate coatings to improve tool life.
 
I have several knives from the 1960's that have tungsten carbide coated edges. And the Schrade Honesteel was a coarse TC coated hone. I believe the similar Gerber was too.
 
The carbide in these comes from a company called micro100, and they only do solid carbide.
 
I use these containers for cotton and mineral oil instead of jelly, as they are easier to fill
They are waterproof from the outside in for matches, and from the inside out for the mineral oil
I have a feww scattered thru different kits

What is a Speedy Sharp?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top