MaTcH cAsEs by K & M Match Case, simply the best! Keith and Marge Elk River, Idaho mom+pop match case company  Match Cases by K & M Match Case

Write-up: A match case piece on matches for match cases



NOTICE: NEW SUBJECT PAGE | /*match-case-matches-Paper/Write-up*/

“ABOUT MATCHES: MATCH CASE MATCHES --Keith Lunders”


ABOUT K & M MATCH CASE MATCHES


Over the approximately 16 years since the debut of the K & M match case K & M has had the good fortune to test matches ranging in age from nearly old enough to draw Social Security to those of current manufacture with some surprising results. This unexpected testing has been made possible mostly through the generosity of elderly friends who remembered an old Marble’s or other less well known brand of match case struck away in their hunting or camping gear, located it, and brought it in for our inspection. A retired game warden in his late 60’s who had also worked as a tool and die maker in his younger years and who was a meticulous machinist, rustled up a Marble’s that he had packed as a Boy Scout over 50 years before.


Bob Iselin was one of those rare super-organized individuals who came into Keith and Marge’s lives at exactly the right moment and contributed far more to the success of their match case than he could ever be compensated for. As a mechanically gifted, talented, and healthy small town resident still fascinated by the challenge of tackling new projects, Bob was inevitably drawn to K & M’s machine shop and just as inevitably had to get his hands on the many and varied projects passing both ways through the doors. Sadly, he was lost to cancer much too soon for his family and innumerable friends.


It was during the early development of the match case that Bob showed up one day with his early 50’s vintage Marble’s match case that he had carried as a Boy Scout, a case that had remained unopened for nearly 40 years. The strong odor of sulfur wafting from the match case as it was opened indicated that it did indeed contain some matches, an unexpected bonus that added greatly to the excitement of the moment, a feeling shared with people who discover things like the Dead Sea scrolls or King Tut’s tomb.


The first readily noticeable feature of the “ancient” matches was their size, which was longer than those in production at the time, and even slightly longer than the recently lengthened production matches. They also on average had larger heads, with much more chemical on the striking end. The temptation to test them was irresistible and was rewarded with a flare of flame and the expected pungent sulfurous odor so familiar to outdoorsmen. Only a few were tested but each match lit without hesitation or the need for multiple strikes. Sadly, and the reason for this page, is it ain’t so today.


Comparing the reliability of those vintage 50’s matches with today’s production leaves one with the distinct impression that something has changed. Not only will today’s matches “go bad” relatively quickly, they lack the gusto and horsepower of those old timers.


And so we caution owners of K & M match cases to test their matches for reliability occasionally and especially if a lengthy, dangerous, or particularly demanding outing is planned. Fresh reliable matches win out every time over soft crumbly heads that refuse to light no matter how struck. Cold and wet is not the time to discover dead matches in your match case.


We also encourage an occasional thorough cleaning of the inside of the K & M match case, just to insure against inadvertent accumulation of moisture being allowed into the case by repeated opening, especially in usage involving damp or rainy weather.


One of the best methods we’ve found to thoroughly clean and dry a K & M match case is to rinse the inside with plain rubbing alcohol and then wipe it with a toilet paper swab on the end of a pencil. Be sure and reapply a small film of lubricant to the O rings and inside the match case mouth when finished.


Old Boy Scout tricks that added to match reliability 50 years ago and would work just as well today was to either dip the matchheads in hot paraffin (shaking off the excess) or coating the heads with fingernail polish. Either method will add to the longevity of the matches, even if they are kept in a watertight container. It’s important to remember that ALL air contains moisture and that each time the container is opened fresh air (and moisture) is introduced into the container. It’s also important to remember that a match case is no more immune from Murphy’s Law than your unpaired socks are. Perhaps it only seems so, but matches appear to have a high affinity for water, readily absorbing it from any source and so rendering themselves useless at the most inconvenient times. What’s not much of a problem in your living room can be life-threatening in the out back.




Keith and Marge Lunders
Elk River, Idaho
www.kmmatchcase.com
www.kmmatchcase.com