Survival Matches

These are homemade super matches! They are sealed in a water tight plastic case and have wax heads for a longer and more intense burn time. This instructable will show you the technique needed to create these tools.

You will need:
• matches
• plastic straws
• a candle
• tin foil
• a needle nosed pliers

Light the candle and let it burn for a couple minutes. I used a thin candle so I could simply turn it over and drip the wax out. Take your match and drip wax onto the wood from right behind the head until it is about a half an inch back. Try not to get too much on the head or it can become very hard to light. Turn the match as the wax cools so you get an even coating.

Now cut a plastic straw so that it is slightly longer than the match on both ends. I found that the easiest way to seal the straw was to coat your thumb and index finger with tin foil to protect from burns. Heat the end above the candle and just before it starts to burn, pinch the sides together tightly and hold it until it cools (about 15 seconds). Then insert the match so the head is near the sealed end. That is very important because the match can catch fire when you are trying to seal the straw. Seal the other end and you are done!

To test the power of the matches I placed a normal match and a survival match into lumps of clay, both horizontally and vertically. I lit them at the same time and found that the treated matches were the obvious winners.