Strike-anywhere matches

Apparently, while I wasn't paying attention, strike-anywhere matches have become a very rare and precious commodity here in the U.S. because of the danger of shipping them. The major manufacture has "safety matches" that really don't light well, and the #1 brand (Ohio Blue Tip) has been discontinued.

So, what's the situation over there in the safety conscious E.U.?

 

Hello AL, I have not heard of the brand which you mentioned, but I'm not aware of any problems here yet.

 

The strike-anywhere matches that I remember as a kid would light off of the metal zipper on your pants. Now it's all but impossible to get them to light. Life changed while I wasn't paying attention

 

interesting note, we never had them here so no safty issues to be discussed

 

We still have them in the UK - Swan Vestas is one big brand.

 

Apparently, they are illegal in the US. A friend of mine, a regular dumpster diver at the recycle center, found a large number of cases of Swan matches. The story he got was that a fellow imported a large amount, with the intent on reselling them, and then discovered he couldn't sell them. I have 2 - 3 "bricks" of them. The find was about 5 years ago.

I've had the same frustration with the current offering of stick matches. If your striker on the box gets damp or worn out, the matches are useless. For my stoves, I've been going more and more to the sparking ferro rods.

Paul

 

Paul,

I have found no evidence that they are "illegal", but two other issues:

They are classified as HAZMAT and very expensive to ship (cutting potential profit)

and

Some jurisdictions prohibit the retail sale of them.

But I have not found any evidence that possession is illegal. (It could be suspect though, from a law enforcement perspective.)

 

I thought all Americans got their matches free from bars and night clubs. That's the impression we get from films. Every murder is solved by finding a phone number written on a book of matches from some bar usually called 'Pussycat' or 'Sunset'.

PS.. In the UK if you put more than 144 'Party Poppers' in a box it has to be treated as a Class 1 Explosive!

 

Lol

 

Al:

I was going on the third or fourth hand information from my friend. I live in NJ, and the nanny state impulse is relatively strong here.

Paul

 

I know of NJ, I used to work down in Cape May (Exit 0 on the Parkway...)

Al