I started exploring the idea that safety match-book matches might be lit if I treated them like fire-by-friction wood… that is, if I pre-heated the match by rubbing it slightly before I used a mild friction surface to strike on. It worked on the ceramic bottom of a cup, so I enthusiasticly showed my son who just plain struck it quickly and succeeded. I continued to explore this discovery and found other objects that worked, such as a medium surface sharpening stone, and a semi-glossy brick. Surprisingly, you can strike a match on a pane of glass too, but it can cause damage to the glass.