Uber Matches

Not everyone, when they get started, has the skill required to start fires with char cloth, flint and steel, or ferro rod. Not to mention bow drills, magnifiers or other primitive techniques.

Here are a few things you will need.  (We made these with box strike matches.  Next time we'll do them with Strike Anywhere Matches.)

That said...  I like to share ideas that get people working/doing, thinking, trying and practicing.

Here is one of those ideas.

This was passed along to me through a friend.  It was one of those, "sounds plausible" ideas.  So, we tried it.

We used strike on box matches.  It was what I had and didn't add any expense the supplies that were already available through my many other projects.

They typically run about $0.97 per large box of about 300. Occasionally I can find them in 2 packs for just a bit less.

1 bag of large cotton balls is typically about $3.97 per bag of 400 count.

Candles are also usually cheap and easy to find.  They even can be found fairly large at the dollar store.  Paraffin is typically $3.00 or a bit more for 16 oz (1 lb) of the Gulf wax brand.

This is the site where the idea came from.  Practical Primitive.

Easy to understand instructions, and photographs.  Even a show off moment at the end with a glass of water and then striking the new match combination.

Simply wrap half of the un-rolled portion of a cotton ball around four matches.  Make sure that the cotton weaves through the matches.  We did this by simply starting the wrap around one match, and then adding on the rest as we rolled the cotton.

Next we made sure that the cotton was nice and packed and securely wrapped around the matches.

After melting the wax in a "large bean" sized can we were able to dip each of the Uber matches first one end and then the other into the wax.  (Of course letting the first end cool.)  We placed them on a sheet of aluminum to allow them to dry.

Once they dried and cooled completely we placed them into a tea tin.  We hot glued the strikers onto the under side of the lid.

The ones we made burned just shy of 10 minutes/ Not bad for a few matches and some cotton and wax.

When we did this test burn it was a very windy day.  The thunderstorms always bring in the wind this time of year.  The Uber Match lived up to its reputation.

Now, it is one more simply, fast, and reliable way to get a fire started if we need one.

In the meantime, we are working on all of those other cool ways to start our survival fires.  Char cloth, Flint and steel, ferro rod, and all the others.


Want more information on readiness survival?  Check out this site.  NewSurvivalSkills.com.