Survival II

"T o d d P a t t i s t" wrote in message
...
We always found we needed to use a pocket knife and
slightly sharpen the shelf for the cocked spring to hold
against. A third piece of wood (from another clothespin)
could be used like a ramrod to quickly cock the spring.

We would score the wood slightly to help the match ignite or glue a bit of
sandpaper to the wood. Remember, I'm in the Northwet, so the clothespin was
always damp.

Rich S.

Rule of Three's

3 minutes without air (brain damage)
3 hours without water (dehydration)
3 days without sleep (loss of cognitive function)
3 weeks without food (tissue breakdown)

On 8 Jun 2006 09:42:43 -0700, wrote:


wrote:



MATCHES

...

The two basic types of match are those which may be scratched anywhere
versus the 'safety' type which can on be struck on an abrasive pad
treated with red phosphorus. The 'strike-anywhere' type are
preferred since there's no need to provide for the special
striking-surface.

The surprise came from hearing some folks insist that the
'strike-anywhere' type of match was not available, at least to
them. I assume they are the victim of some do-gooder regulation which
allows only the sale of 'safety-type' matches in their locale.

Before the last long trip we took I specifically went shopping for
"kitchen matches" IE the ones that come in the large box. When I got
them home the damn things were safety matches and I didn't want to
have to take the whole box with me. After several days of hunting
with no success, I gave up.

I did find the Tapers (SP?) or fireplace matches work well, but are
expensive and you end up throwing most of each one away, but they are
great if you don't want to get too close to the fire. OTOH a box of
the things have enough wood to make a small fire :-))

As to the paraffin, as a boy scout we dipped the whole match, usually
molding 6 or 8 together. When we wanted one a thumbnail would peel
one off the bunch and clean off the paraffin to the back of the tip.
You learned to hold them hot end up as with all that paraffin you
could get quite a blaze including your fingers when held hot end down.

The new LED flashlights are great. I have several. Some have switches
like the old flashlights that are momentary when pushed part way down
and toggle when pushed all the way down. If you know the Morse code
these can be really handy IF whoever sees it can read Morse. I have a
couple that are a single LED on a flexible "goose neck" and a clip
that will hold them to my shirt. The brightness is just right for the
panel. I had one of the earlier single LEDs that also was about the
right brightness and it would clip on to the bill of a cap which meant
they lit up where ever you were looking. Unfortunately the cheap
plastic clip broke. OTOH I have a TAC light with 5 LEDs and they
are BRIGHT!. In the center is a single red LED that can be seen from a
long way off.

Knives: I almost always carry a "box cutter" that folds up like a
jack knife, is all metal, has extra blades, and clips to my belt.
There is usually one in the glove compartment with the spare batteries
and flashlights.

Tinder: You look for tinder with a chart case full of bible paper?

Of course this is assuming that you can get back to the stuff in the
plane you are not carrying on you.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

The favourite when I was a kid was cutting a small hole in a ping pong ball,
cutting the heads off enough "strike anywhere" matches to nearly fill the
ping pong ball, a bit of tape to cover the hole, and throw it at
any(thing)/(one) you wanted to scare the **** out of. Big bang...


"T o d d P a t t i s t" wrote in message
...
"Rich S." wrote:

We would score the wood slightly to help the match ignite or glue a bit of
sandpaper to the wood. Remember, I'm in the Northwet, so the clothespin
was
always damp.

I was in Texas. The impact of the spring on the head was
usually enough to start it for us. It's been a long time,
but I vaguely recall a double barrelled version with two
clothespins held together top to bottom.
--
T o d d P a t t i s t
(Remove DONTSPAMME from address to email reply.)

Make a commitment to learn something from every flight.
Share what you learn.

"T o d d P a t t i s t" wrote in message
...
Ron Wanttaja wrote:

We used to disassemble a wooden clothespin, turn the two pieces of wood
back-to-back, and slip the steel spring over them with one "arm" inside.
You
could then cock the spring and slip a farmer match between the jaws. The
coil
spring was a natural trigger, and when you pulled it, the contrivance
simultaneously launched the match while igniting it.

We always found we needed to use a pocket knife and
slightly sharpen the shelf for the cocked spring to hold
against. A third piece of wood (from another clothespin)
could be used like a ramrod to quickly cock the spring.

--
T o d d P a t t i s t
(Remove DONTSPAMME from address to email reply.)

Make a commitment to learn something from every flight.
Share what you learn.

You guys bring back memories.

No one mentioned that a carefully selected kitchen match would fit down the
bore of a Daisy BB gun. The Daisy could deliver the match with athority
resulting in a satisfying "POP' on impact and burning phosphorus shrapnel
for a couple of inches around the impact point - very deadly when used
against a horsefly on a concrete sidewalk. Ocasionally, a match would
ignite in the barrel creating an interesting tracer-like effect.
Fortunately, I grew up in a desert where almost nothing would burn.

bildan

"Richard Riley" wrote in message
ups.com...

Stealth Pilot wrote:
if you really want to survive carry water.

of course, if you really, REALLY want to survive, carry a 406 mhz ELT
with a built in GPS, and lithium ion batteries.

And for the really, really REALLY folks, there's satellite phones.


That's the right idea - communicate.

Level one: Cell phone. Satellite phone for the really paranoid.
Level two: VHF radio to call an airliner on center frequnecy or 121.5 and
ask for help.
Level three: Handheld strobe at night and signal mirror for day. (Smoke
bombs and flares are fun if you get bored.)

For comfort at night, no fire is needed just roll up in a space blanket or
parachute. Don't forget bug repellent.

Basic need is water. A Katydyn water filter is standard USMC kit. For
glider types, retain a few gallons of ballast water and filter with the
Katydyn before drinking.

Knife? well I have a hook knife in a pocket on my parachute to cut shroud
lines - otherwise, I plan to stay out of knife fights.

bildan

Bill Daniels wrote:
Basic need is water. A Katydyn water filter is standard USMC kit. For
glider types, retain a few gallons of ballast water and filter with the
Katydyn before drinking.

What is Katdyn? I haven't heard fo it before.

For water purification, the most interesting thing I've come across is
this.

http://www.miox.com/News/CDI_MIOX_License.html

Expensive ($130 at REI) but elegant.

Jase Vanover wrote:
cutting a small hole in a ping pong ball,
cutting the heads off enough "strike anywhere" matches to nearly fill the
ping pong ball, a bit of tape to cover the hole, and throw it at
any(thing)/(one)

KEWL!

I'm pretty sure there are state regulations, as I've bought the
strike-anywhere kind in some states (illinois, Missouri) but in others
(Iowa, Minnesota) can only find strike-on-the-box matches no matter how
hard I look. Camping outfitters are a good idea for a source, though.

Anecdote: On a high-school camping trip, a bunch of boys were scrambling
down the rocks when one discovered a handful of matches he'd stashed in
his pocket had scraped against each other and they all ignited. In the
front pocket of his jeans. He disrobed with memorable speed, though to
my disappointment I only heard the story second-hand.

Thanks to good girl-scout training, I lay a good fire and can build one
ready to start with one match, even if no paper's available. A popular
skill at keggers...er, survival expeditions.

On Fri, 09 Jun 2006 20:31:50 -0400, Bryan Martin
wrote:

In article ,
Roger wrote:

On 8 Jun 2006 09:42:43 -0700, wrote:


wrote:



MATCHES

...

The two basic types of match are those which may be scratched anywhere
versus the 'safety' type which can on be struck on an abrasive pad
treated with red phosphorus. The 'strike-anywhere' type are
preferred since there's no need to provide for the special
striking-surface.

The surprise came from hearing some folks insist that the
'strike-anywhere' type of match was not available, at least to
them. I assume they are the victim of some do-gooder regulation which
allows only the sale of 'safety-type' matches in their locale.

Before the last long trip we took I specifically went shopping for
"kitchen matches" IE the ones that come in the large box. When I got
them home the damn things were safety matches and I didn't want to
have to take the whole box with me. After several days of hunting
with no success, I gave up.


Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

The only place I could find strike anywhere matches was at Ace Hardware.
They were on a shelf at the far end of the store about as far as you
could get from the main entrance (in the end of the downtown Midland
store towards Main Street). I don't know if I would have found them if I
hadn't asked the salesman where to find them. None of the sporting goods
stores I checked had anything but safety matches.

Thanks Bryan. If my memory lasts until tomorrow I'll pick some up.
OTOH maybe I'd better write myself a note. :-))

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

On Fri, 9 Jun 2006 19:26:42 -0600, "Bill Daniels"
bildan@comcast-dot-net wrote:


"Richard Riley" wrote in message
oups.com...

Stealth Pilot wrote:
if you really want to survive carry water.

of course, if you really, REALLY want to survive, carry a 406 mhz ELT
with a built in GPS, and lithium ion batteries.

And for the really, really REALLY folks, there's satellite phones.


That's the right idea - communicate.

Level one: Cell phone. Satellite phone for the really paranoid.
Level two: VHF radio to call an airliner on center frequnecy or 121.5 and
ask for help.
Level three: Handheld strobe at night and signal mirror for day. (Smoke
bombs and flares are fun if you get bored.)

For comfort at night, no fire is needed just roll up in a space blanket or
parachute. Don't forget bug repellent.


the fire is not for comfort. the smoke is a very visible signal by day
and the glow of a campfire can be seen from 50 miles away.

I agree with the rest but good maintenance is the best way of
preventing the problem in the first place.



Basic need is water. A Katydyn water filter is standard USMC kit. For
glider types, retain a few gallons of ballast water and filter with the
Katydyn before drinking.

Knife? well I have a hook knife in a pocket on my parachute to cut shroud
lines - otherwise, I plan to stay out of knife fights.

bildan