Okanagan, have you tried to light your waterproof matches with the emory cloth you use. A lot of safety type matches require a chemical in the striker or they won't work. Strike anywhere matches, obviously, are a different story.
Paul, you just explained an oddity to me. One time I had a batch of waterproof matches that I decided were defective so threw them away because they would not strike on hardly anything. Some did strike on the side of the box they came in but on nothing else, (and even on the box they had a poor percentage of lighting.) I didn't know about the striker requirements of some safety matches. The waterproof ones I have now strike well on many surfaces, but from now on I will make sure what I buy.
One time I cut the striker side off of a box of matches and put that in the pill bottle, but it didn't hold up as well as sandpaper, and especially the tougher emery cloth.
Thanks for the info! That could be a disaster to have matches that wouldn't strike. Same lesson again, down to the smallest detail, we need to test gear to make sure it all works.
