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Making paraffin-dipped wood matches, their utility.

This is an old standard. I first made wax-dipped matches while a young boy scout long ago. Wax-dipped wood matches and wax-dipped egg carton section fire-starters were standard equipment for scouts, then.

Today, I used a “household paraffin wax for canning, candlemaking and many other uses” to prepare kitchen matches for outdoor use. I purchased the one-pound box inexpensively at my local grocery store, just $4.29. The matches I used, “large kitchen matches”, “extra thick for long burn time”, cost $2.29 for three large boxes, each holding 300 wood matches with green tips, “strike on box matches” that require use of striker plates bonded to the outside of the box. Each match was a little over 2 1/4″ long.

“Strike anywhere matches”, though popular, are less desirable for general outdoor use due to risk of unintended ignition when dropped, shaken, or crushed. I’ll suggest the special handling and special utility of these powerful matches along with “wind”, “storm”, or “hurricane” matches at another time.

I melted one of four paraffin bars from the package in a double-boiler setup. After the paraffin was entirely melted in a small Pyrex measuring cup, I simply dropped matches into the melt in batches of fifteen to twenty, dunked them under the surface with a fork, then picked them out one at a time with needle-tip tweezers. I pinched each match near the inert end, rotated the match tip upward so drips would flow toward the end, then tapped-off the drips of paraffin remaining before they cooled. I put the hot matches on heavy aluminum foil to cool on a stone counter-top. I left the paraffin melt in the double-boiler on the burner, simmering to keep water boiling around the Pyrex cup, to maintain uniform temperature throughout. I dipped about one-hundred matches, but had enough paraffin melt left to treat at least five-hundred more. I ‘guesstimate’ that one pound of paraffin will treat at least ten thousand matches, using efficient procedures.

Testing:

The toughest challenge I could think of for match performance was based on a personal experience. I had foolishly attempted to cross thin ice formed over a lead in a frozen lake, just two steps wide. I broke through, of course. I climbed back onto the thick ice and walked back to the shore of the lake in single-digit temperature. A stiff breeze formed a frozen casement of ice around each leg and arm segment and around my torso as outer clothing layers froze. I remained drenched and chilled underneath. At the time, I was only a few hundred yards from my vehicle, so I walked out and used engine heat to rewarm and dry out. Had I been solo in backcountry, immediate big fire would have been essential for survival. Had my matches been dry in a match case, the best case scenario, they still would have gotten wet by numb-fingered fumbling as water dribbled from under my frozen wrist cuffs from the still drenched inner layers underneath while I struck matches, attempting to start a blaze. Worst case, matches stored in a poorly sealed container would have soaked until I got them out to dry, at least fifteen minutes, I’d guess.

That day, I carried wood matches in a knurled brass, double O-ring sealed, compass-lid container on a lanyard, but carried in a pocket knife sheath on my belt, lanyard secured through an open grommet of the sheath. The matches stayed at my side and were dry after my mishap.

Today, I tested dry matches and both wet match scenarios suggested by my cold water immersion experience. All testing occurred in still air indoors.

Dry match performance:

Dry matches out of the box ignited easily (a centimeter long strike). Dry matches worked best when rotated after striking so the early flame would spread evenly around the head. A few extinguished themselves without igniting match wood when held vertical and still. Highest flame height, between 3 and 4 centimeters, equaled wax-dipped match flame height but was brief, more variable, and less robust. Six dry matches tested, held horizontally, each ignited and burned about 60 seconds, average.

Wax-dipped matches ignited easily (a centimeter long strike) and developed lasting robust flame immediately. The flame remained strong throughout the burn, maintaining between 3 and 4 centimeters flame height. Performance remained consistent. Six wax-dipped matches were tested, held horizontally, each burned about 70 seconds, average.

Wet match performance:

I dunked matches out of the box in a pool of water, let them float for about thirty seconds, shook them off, and immediately tried to light them. The heads already had softened at the surface and rubbed off when pressed on the striker. One of six attempts produced flame. I repeated the dunking test using running water at intervals of five seconds. Matches flamed reliably up to about fifteen seconds under water, a few flamed after 15 seconds, a surprise.

Wax-dipped matches performed well under the same conditions. Several matches tested flamed easily with a sharp rub on the striker. Remaining droplets on the match stick crackled as they were vaporized by flame. The matches performed nearly as well as dry wax-dipped matches. Wax-dipped matches performed well after I held them under pouring water. Five of six matches tested under pouring water for 30 seconds flamed at first strike.

The last test was extreme, like falling through ice of a frozen lake; total immersion with water penetration into the match case as if it had failed or was not properly closed. I tested the challenge by putting six matches into ziplock sandwich bags with a teaspoon of water each. I left them soaking in the water pooled in the bottoms of the bags for ten minutes, then tried a few immediately. They did not light. Both out of box and wax-dipped matches failed. Next, I dried them off gently on clothing and left them to air dry. After drying about an hour all the matches with intact heads flamed. Heads of wax-dipped matches held together well and ignited with less effort.

Next, I tested the striker, damp, then saturated. I passed the cardboard striker under flowing water, shook water drops off and used clothing to gently dry it further, then immediately struck matches. The striker worked well. Severe testing, dunking in water until cardboard saturated, caused failure of the striker. Attempts to strike matches rubbed the striker coating off of the saturated cardboard. The striker become functional again after the saturated cardboard dried out, the next morning, but only where I had not rubbed off the sticker coating.

Conclusion: Paraffin-dipping improved performance of matches, both water-drenched and dry, enough difference to suggest that dipping is worth the effort. Long water soaking caused matches to fail in all testing scenarios. Test results reinforced the importance of a waterproof match case used properly to protect matches and strikers, and of redundant ignition sources when away from utilities and internal combustion engines. I often carry a small butane lighter and a ferrocerium rod on my person when in the outdoors. Usually, matches in waterproof cases stay in my cooking kits, vehicle kits and wild lands “war bag” or “possibles bag”.

All processing and testing was performed away from flammable surfaces, liquids, and open flames, a Type C fire extinguish, with current inspection tag, at ready.