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Matches improved!

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I go through a fair number of matches with two wood stoves in my house providing full time heat. It seems, that at least in the US, Diamond is the only game in town when it comes to wood matches. And over the years the quality has gone down the toilet on both the strike on the box as well as the strike anywhere matches. They were sometimes difficult to strike even on the box and worthless for striking anywhere else. Sometimes the match would flare and then go out. I'd pretty much resigned myself to this being the new normal so imagine my joy when I opened a new box of strike anywhere matches I'd ordered a month or so again and got a pleasant surprise.

The first match I struck on the box lit with much more force than I was used to. I tried another match and got the same result. I struck a match on the side of my stove and it lit right up. I tried striking a match on the zipper of my fly and it lit on the 2nd try.

So it appears there is some good news in the world after all. I hope they keep up the good work.

Alan
 
I never have luck with strike anywhere. Either they don't or if they do the lit half breaks off and lands wherever it can be the most inconvenient.
 
I go through a fair number of matches with two wood stoves in my house providing full time heat. It seems, that at least in the US, Diamond is the only game in town when it comes to wood matches. And over the years the quality has gone down the toilet on both the strike on the box as well as the strike anywhere matches. They were sometimes difficult to strike even on the box and worthless for striking anywhere else. Sometimes the match would flare and then go out. I'd pretty much resigned myself to this being the new normal so imagine my joy when I opened a new box of strike anywhere matches I'd ordered a month or so again and got a pleasant surprise.

The first match I struck on the box lit with much more force than I was used to. I tried another match and got the same result. I struck a match on the side of my stove and it lit right up. I tried striking a match on the zipper of my fly and it lit on the 2nd try.

So it appears there is some good news in the world after all. I hope they keep up the good work.

Alan
The strike pad quality has gotten so bad, I bring a lighter so I can light the match.:ROFLMAO::LOL:
 
I used to lift a leg, stretching the back side of the pant leg tight, and with a swift stroke, of the match head, against the cloth. The friction would ignite a Strike Anywhere Match.
I haven't seen the Strike Anywhere Matches in a long time.
 
Same Brand? Or, if not, which brand?
Yeah we NEED to know for sure the brand. I haven't bought matches in years and years because the modern ones simply don't work. Most paper book matches are pretty useless now as well!

Zipper, pant leg, and my favourite a fingernail no longer work AT ALL. I also used to do the front tooth method, that one always impressed people. I had a front tooth with a chip out of it, this left a rough surface with a very sharp edge that was perfect for matches.

I have distinct memories of the smells coming from the EB Eddy match factory that was located on the Quebec side of the Ottawa river right beside the (at the time) only bridge from Ottawa to Hull (now known as Gatineau).

 
Yes, same brand, I wasn't clear on that - Diamonds. I've haven't seen anything available in years other than Diamond brand.

I'm not saying they're as good as the good old days but they're a heck of a lot better than they were a couple years ago, which was pathetic.

I had to order the strike anywhere matches from Amazon. Just checked now and don't see them there anymore. Diamond still shows them on their website so they must be available somewhere.


Alan
 
I found some in Canada 'Red Bird' at a Canadian Tire Store. They work very well.
Was that recently? I found them ok in the 80's but then they because almost useless.

Red Bird were made by the EB Eddy Company I mentioned previously. When that plant closed they moved further up the Ottawa River to Pembroke. They then became the Eddy Match Company and outsourced production to the USA, the matches where never the same but they might still be the best out there.

Here are some vintage Eddy's, the "silent" at bottom left were the best and what we always had at the family cabin!

1642288885175.png
 
I was raised on the great old Eddy matches also. Use to light them with one hand holding them tight and flaring them with a prick of the thumbnail. Long time no see. Canadian Tire brand Red Bird were once sold in double packs of either the "strike anywhere" type or the "strike on box type". Then last year, their double packs contained one of each type of match. Now I can only get the "strike on box" type from CT. The problem is that the sides of the boxes wear out when the box is a little more than half empty. Thanks, Allen for the heads-up. I'll look into finding some Diamond brand up here in Canada.
G.
 
I found some in Canada 'Red Bird' at a Canadian Tire Store. They work very well.
Having grown up using Eddylites, and later Seafarer, I find Redbirds an insult to the term "strike anywhere", I usually go through 4-5 before one actually lights.
 
Maybe I got a good box but I won't have recommended them if only 1 out of 4 worked. I only used them to light my wood stove at home, I would never take matches to the backcountry.
 
I have no issues with UCO matches, but too expensive to use every day. They are in my ditch kit in a waterproof case and the storm matches are in my regular fire kit.

Bob
 
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Bob, I found some UCO stormproof matches at Wally world. They seemed pretty pretty reasonable and the burn time was really impressive! They are "strike on box" (actually, a separate striker strip) which isn't ideal IMO and they quickly found a home in the ditch kit as well as the glove box of all vehicles driven by me or my kids.
 
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Used to like the strike anywhere ones with my thumbnail until a small piece broke off and lodged underneath my nail and continued burning. That put an end to that!
In those days I only wore denim jeans and went back to lighting them on the back of my leg.
 
We burn wood for heat. We get a lot of solar heat in Nevada and so we light fires and let them go out. Our current wood supply is a little greener than usual and we have had lots of snow and rain lately. Lighting fires is not so easy. I use fat wood, little fire starters and either fireplace matches, the big long ones, or a butane lighters. Sometimes nothing seems to work so I just bought a new propane torch designed for soldering.
 
I haven’t found strike anywhere matches anywhere. It’s been so long, I stopped looking.
 
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