Permanent Match

[bothyman]

Has anyone used one of these if so what are they like?? :roll:

>> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=36112&item=5159564368&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

I know they have been round a while but have never seen one in action are they any good??

Also has anyone got one of these, if so how much was it and where from please??
I can't seem to find a UK outlet for them??

>> http://www.silvacompass.com/350.html


MickT :wave:

 

[ESpy]

They work moderately well providing you remember to fuel them... Fuel lasts much longer than a Zippo due to the O ring, and you can light fires at a more comfortable distance than a std gas lighter. Last one I picked up from Oswald Bailey (£3.99 I think), but I still have at least one around from Survival Aids.

 

[tomtom]

bothy.. i looked at geting one of those silva match cases.. but didnt get very far with finding one in the uk! no one here seems to stock them (but Joe ODS was looking in to it) at the moment it seems you can only get one from the US and prepare to pay big money for shipping! i contacted Silva direct and they put me on to the uk importer who were not a lot of help!

 

[Celtic Dragon]

BCB stock them, as do I think Slivermans, but there is something about the ching - clunk of my zippo I find so appealing.

 

[khimbar]

I managed to find one in Oswald Bailey in Solihull in the sale for £1.99 a couple of weeks ago. I don't remember noticing if they had any more though.

 

[bambodoggy]

I had a permanant Match when I was a lot younger....didn't like it much...it was a Survival Aids one in Orange plastic and whenever I used it it always seem to need refueling.... They may have improved the design a bit now (don't remember mine having O ring seals) but if they are the same as the older ones I'd say to give them a miss....

 

[Buckshot]

I've found they aren't resistant to wind. A moderate wind is enough to snuff it out ! Only slightly better than a normal match.

My son has a couple, they work OK within the limitations. He used it to light the kelly in the back garden to make us a brew. He was well chuffed ):

Cheers

Mark

 

[Pict]

My wife bought me one a few years back and I like it. You can fuel it with just about anything flamable, lighter fluid, gasoline, kerosene, etc.

They do blow out like a candle flame or match. Mine has o-rings that keep the fuel in. I collect firemakers and as far as they go this one is pretty good. Mac

 

[bambodoggy]

Oooowww....as for the compass/match holder....found a thread on here all about them for those that are interested ):

http://www.bushcraftuk.net/community/showthread.php?t=2477&page=7&pp=15&highlight=compass

 

[tomtom]

thats a differnet one bam!

 

[bambodoggy]

thats a differnet one bam!

Oh was it??? :shock: Looked the same to me...different make but same sort of thing.... I think....oh I don't know....I'll shut up now! :?:

 

[leon-1]

Oh was it??? :shock: Looked the same to me...different make but same sort of thing.... I think....oh I don't know....I'll shut up now! :?:

From the sound of it the same thing, but better quality as they are hand made. It would also appear that the consistency of the compasses have been called into dispute on the mass produced models, but I cannot state that as fact not owning one or having personal experience of a bad one.

 

[Schwert]

Current production Silva Branded matchcases

as linked by Bothyman are different from the original K&M matchcase.

The Silva 350 model has a screw plug with one O-ring and does not have the twist cord device. The original Keith Lunders designed K&M case has a double O-ring plug, that is friction fit and secured with a twist cord.

K&M cases are made in Idaho USA by Keith Lunders. Silva Cases are the modified design made in Asia.

I have 2 of the screwcap Silva 350 designs and they are well made cases, but I find the screwcap much more futttzie to deal with as the lanyard keeps getting in the way, and the single shallow O-ring pleases me less.

I am a good friend of Keith Lunders so my opinion is biased towards his original design, and I think the Silva copy of his original design, while probably perfectly legal as it has several design changes, bothers me ethically.

I am working with Keith (as noted in the other thread) to supply cases to interested parties in the UK, but again please remember that I am involved with Keith, and do not mean to imply that the Silva case is in any way a bad product, just one that I do not want to use.

Here are some original K&M made cases

As to compass quality....current production Silva and K&M cases have used the same ones. Keith has ended up rejecting 80-99% of the compasses sent to him (Brunton Branded, but Silva made)...he is currently working on a different source.

 

[tomtom]

nice collection you got there Scwert!

what the knife.. i like it!?

 

[Schwert]

Chris Reeve Small Sebenza, a super folder but frame-lock so difficult for the UK.

Those matchcases include my Grandfathers Ever-Dry, and the first year that Keith made his matchcases (the slightly smaller diameter with green compass).

Matchcases are another one of my obsessions. When I was a kid my Grandfather, Uncle, Dad and me would nearly always hunt together. It was pretty common that we would build a fire at lunch and warm our hand or toast our backs while cradling a cup of coffee. My Grandfather's match case nearly always provided the flame after I had collected some sticks and/or cow chips. That Ever-Dry case is the one thing I received after he died and it is my most prized one. For years (well before eBay) I kept my eyes open for another Ever-Dry at garage sales, estate sales, junk shops etc. Then one day I got a catalog from LL Bean, an Outdoor supplier from Maine. In the catalog was Keith's first matchcase, which I immediately ordered. The minute it arrived I knew I had found the perfect case...better than the Ever-Dry and a classic in its own right. I wrote Keith a letter and that began our relationship. This was around 1989 or so....plenty of matchcases down the road.

Now Ever-Dry and Marbles matchcases can be relatively easily found on eBay, but even though they have nostalgic appeal I carry my K&M's....good kit and fond memories too.

 

[Realgar]

I use permanent matches, they're not the easiest to light first time. I've seen them for sale in the Outdoors shop as part of a 'fire starting kit', no mention in the kit of putting any form of fuel in there - it comes with a box of cottonwool impregnated with what smells like tallow and you're supposed ot use a spark from the striker to light the cotton wool. Of course they don't produce many sparks and those that are made don't travel far. Why the kit didn't just use a standard artifical flint I don't know.

Realgar

 

[PC2K]

the flint on a permanent match is artifical! No way you can light the thing if the flintrod is actual flint. It's ferosersium ( or something like that )

 

[Stuart]

to avoid confusion of which there seems to have been a little so far, this is a permanent match:

 

[bambodoggy]

Bothyman was asking about two seperate items, the Permanant match and the Compass/Match case in his original post...think that's where the confusion arose..... :wave: Thread sort of seperated into two discussions!

 

[Realgar]

the flint on a permanent match is artifical! No way you can light the thing if the flintrod is actual flint. It's ferosersium ( or something like that )

I know it's artifical, what I should have said is that it's a much harder alloy than the standard one it just doesn't spark as readily, feels like there's a much higher iron content. Pure cerium by the way goes up in flames completely when struck, so does uranium but you never seem to see it in lighter 'flints'.

they're hardly permanent - I've found that after a couple of months of use the 'flint' wears thin and falls out. On the other hand once fueled up they'll store fine in a kit without the fuel evaporating. I keep one at the bottom of my bag just in case, though you get funny looks when someone stops you and asks for a light.

Realgar