Speaking of book matches, I was back home visiting my family for the holiday and needed to light a candle. The only matches I found were a pack of book matches from around 1978 or so. Lit up with no problem, although the paper did break too far down on one and (seeing this as a good opportunity to practice a last match survival scenario) I wound up burning my fingers. But hey, I lit the candle. Note to self, use tweezers next time. Anyway, point is, if paper matches from 25+ years ago are still useable, I'm pretty sure yours are. Like DR said though, you just have to strike them properly. Try holding your index finger over the head while striking so you don't put any stress on the wood.