OK, so… I’m doing my prepping, and thought that some strike anywhere matches would be a good thing to have on hand, both at the house and some waterproofed in my bug out bag. Imagine my surprise at finding out that no one in my entire county has them for sale. And that would be, because they are not made anymore, and are actually illegal in many states in the USA. Go figure. Been around for over a hundred years, but now they’re “Bad” for us. Oddly enough you can find them all over e-bay.
Here in the midwest they’re for sale at the local grocery store, so they must still be manufactured.
Retired Paramedic- I googled and found you can buy them from Everest gear in Ohio. 10 boxes of 32 (320#) for $1.70.
http://store.everestgear.com/eqdia101.html
Probably a minimum order, and/or shipping charges to consider. But they are available.
Guess I should be more specific. Ohio bule tip strike anywhere are no longer made. they were the best by far.
I bought some at the grocery last week and they were made in china but seemed to work good.
I get mine from Wal Mart - with the kitchen gadgets or the BBQ items
tried walmart. only had strike on box.
don’t forget to store them in mouse chew proof tins.
another must have is a magnifying glass. if the sun is out, you can make fire. it never runs out.
Old-timey stuff like this is getting harder and harder to find. Try finding clothespins on Long Island! I’ve been looking for them and for the strike-anywhere wooden matches all over the place. As well as an oil lamp.
I did finally find the clothespins. But people think you’re nuts when you ask for this stuff. “Don’t you have a dryer?” “Why not use a lighter?” “What about a flashlight?”
Still hunting for the matches and the lamp.
I’m thinking of telling them I’m converting to being Amish.
Preppers in NorCal, I found strike-anywheres near the charcoal at my local Raley’s supermarket. I had been on a mission to find them for weeks. Occurs to me you might request your local market order them for you. Keep us updated on how it goes.
Backpacker - I found oil lamps and good quality lamp oil at our local WalMart. Don’t much like shopping there, but they did have these at a good price. Haven’t looked for clothespins…thanks for the thought. I live in a rural area, so I have good access to old-fashioned thing like galvanized buckets, lamp oil, clothespins, etc. Let me know if I can help you out.
You can get the cool old-timey style clothes pins at your local arts crafts stores like Michaels. People use them for crafts
I’m just stocking up on matches. Long,extra long one, neat ones in boxes that I can carry in purse and vest and store. My favorite fish restaurant has great little boxes of these and I carry them off every time I get their fish and chips. I’ll have to look for strike anywhere matches, never heard of them before.
dollar general stores here carry cloths pins might be worth a look.
What about Zippo lighters???
SCW,
They are indestructible, but you’ll need flints and fuel.
Get the Swedish FireSteel tool. The largest versions are good for something like 11,000+ strikes. It always works, and as long as you have some dry tinder, you are set to go.
Google search for Swedish FireSteel
Backpacker- you were saying the old timey stuff is geting hard to find. I live in a town that has one of those old time hardware stores. In a building that is 158 years old. It’s like a living museum. While looking for matches, I found wash boards. And I had been wondering how I was going to get my clothes realy clean washing them in the river. They only want $23.00 for them. The old guy tells me that yuppies buy them to use as doors on their laundry room cubboards. lol
One of the best places I’ve found for getting this stuff is True-Value/Ace Hardware. They still believe that people actually use things like clothes pins, strike-anywhere matches, etc…
The Vermont Country Store Catalog. I get one now and again.
My goodness, I would of thought matches could be found anywhere!And come to think of it, I have an old waahboard..( hope we don’t have to use it though) also, I have a old wringerwashing machine..Because of our power system I don’t use a regular machine..You can run one off a generator.A neighbor gave me hers a few years ago.works just fine!
I purchased strike anywhere matches at ace hardware. Super one grocery store sells washboards for $5.95.
The ACE hardware near me has them. They are located near the barbecue supplies.
Be careful with these matches. They are much more sensitive to mishandling than the strike-on-box type.
Older thread, closing for speed purposes.
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