Wood Match Annoyance

[TheWhale13]

I use the cheapest matches I can get here in Sweden occasionally, and they work great. I don't know if it's because they are Swedish, but they work fantastic.

 

[Pipeoff]

Several years ago I bought a large lot of vintage matches included were boxes of white and black tip wax shaft made in Italy. Only a touch on the striker needed. Unknown if still made maybe not as they are not safety matches.

 

[Aomalley27]

I use matches exclusively. Swan Vestas are my faves.
Another issue people have is flareup/rim char. The key is to bring the flame to the bowl on the inhale, and pull it away before you stop the inhale. Otherwise you get a backdraft causing a flareup which causes the rim char.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Matches are for smoking around the camp or campfires

 

[Strauss]

I use matches fairly often. Some cheap off-brand, some of those new diamond greenies. I don't love them but I have not had the problem complained about here. I used to have a bunch of matches from Nat Sherman in NYC, they just gave them when you bought anything, and those were great. If you can get to a B&M, maybe they will have matches intended to be used for more than lighting birthday candles.

 

[Egg Shen]

I find no performance difference between diamond brand and three star. As others have stated matches aren’t what they used to be, which makes it even more important to realize it’s about friction - not pressure. I would add strike away from you, not towards. That way if any bits of lit matchhead fly off you at least won’t have it fall on you/your clothes. Swan matches may be better quality wood but tough to find in America. Ivan Ries has them though.

 

[--dante--]

You could just light your match with a bic and be done with it. Lit match. No little sparkling mortars flying off, no butane flame, none of that. And you still get to light with a match. I know you mentioned that in your post, but really it's a very effective simple solution I think.

 

[ray47]

You could just light your match with a bic and be done with it. Lit match. No little sparkling mortars flying off, none of that. And you still get to light with a match. I know you mentioned that in your post, but really it's a very effective simple solution I think.

I do this everytime I light a match to light my bowl.

 

[J-Evverrett]

Anyone else notice the piece of match head that always flies off every match when you strike it? They always land on my keyboard or clothes or some other awkward place. Probably not a problem for someone smoking outdoors, or whoever doesn't use matches, but I much prefer wood matches over lighters, and this feature irritates.

But my preferences are neither here nor there. My real question is, does anyone know of a suitable substitute for the match stick ? In other words, something I could light with a Bic or something? Call 'em match blanks, for lack of a better word. I suppose I could just turn the match around...hmmm.

(Manufacturers, take note--assuming there are any that give half a rat's ass about the 37 pipe smokers left that use their product for lighting pipes.)

My guess is your using kitchen or fireplace matches. There are much better quality out there, that light smoothly. I highly recommend three star safety matches. They’re made by Swedish match. Low smell, decent burn and the bod even looks cool.

 

[autococker07]

I have noticed the little flecks coming off too.... matches suck since they stoped making strike anywhere matches

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

That's what I feared. It's not the head that shears off; it's a tiny particle that's hot enough to slightly embed itself in plastic. I never noticed it until recently--maybe a year or so ago, which is suspicious. I tolerated it for a while, now it annoys. (Brand is Diamond, with the "Green Light" logo.)

Don't use the Diamond "Greens" - just the regular. Shouldn't have any problems ever lighting the match off the side of the box.

 

[Honkytonk Man]

I use the cheapest matches I can get here in Sweden occasionally, and they work great. I don't know if it's because they are Swedish, but they work fantastic.

Swedish matches are renowned for being great.
As an Expat living in Korea, it drives me nuts that I can't buy matches here, since they stopped selling them more than 10 years ago.

 

[anotherbob]

I think there is a difference between matches just in general. I use the strike anywhere matches. After my Mom died, I found a big box of them in her pantry. They were much more substantial. I don't know if burleybreath uses these or the strike on box kind, but the new strike anywhere matches are incredibly cheap...the heads tend to break off even with gentle pressure, in my experience, and they seem to spit off little bits much more easily.

they changed them to make them less dangerous because if you moved enough they could light the whole box

 

[anotherbob]

Don't use the Diamond "Greens" - just the regular. Shouldn't have any problems ever lighting the match off the side of the box.

i like the green they have less match smell and who has trouble lighting them?

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

i like the green they have less match smell and who has trouble lighting them?

They seemed less efficient to me the one time we had a box in some way that led me to suggest not buying them again, but I just can't remember the specifics of why and we haven't bought them again.

 

[anotherbob]

They seemed less efficient to me the one time we had a box in some way that led me to suggest not buying them again, but I just can't remember the specifics of why and we haven't bought them again.

you know I buy it by the brick and one box I got was wonky. Like really thin matches that broke easily. Out of the three bricks I got through in a year that ain't the worst.

 

[Jimmy_Jack]

Best matches I’ve used. No smell. Great construction.
Swedish Match, Three Stars Safety Matches, 10 pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015AJRCN8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_NM2M6VHHT1FR8Z5QSC67

 

[jpmcwjr]

My guess is your using kitchen or fireplace matches. There are much better quality out there, that light smoothly. I highly recommend three star safety matches. They’re made by Swedish match. Low smell, decent burn and the bod even looks cool.

My guess, too. Lots of reasons I won't use kitchen matches.

If you have access to a fancy bar, restaurant or hotel, the boxed matches are great. No extra wood to burn up and dispose. Compact, easy to stick in pocket. Also, smaller flame= easier to manage.

 

[bullet08]

Knew a professor who used to get drunk and flick match off the box all night long. Usually, his friends get pissed and try to stop the house fire. Some seriously mentally unstable people in academia. I was saying.. Trying to light a pipe with a flying match would be a neat bar trick.

 

[burleybreath]

I don't have trouble lighting these matches, I know how it's done, and it's not the head that flies off. It's a tiny, barely noticeable fragment that seems to eject from the match when struck, every friggin' time. It has just enough mass to cause trouble. Thanks for the recommendations; I think I'll try another brand, as suggested above. Can't believe this country can't produce a match that's not encumbered by what appears to be some greenie PC horse shit. What would Ivar Kreuger think?