Axite and Cordite
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Cordite is not a powder, but is extruded gun-cotton in the form of miniature sticks of spaghetti. As originally loaded, the charge was inserted into the un-necked case, which was then necked down to the correct size, and the bullet inserted. It was/is fearsome stuff to shoot, especially if tried in a .303cal Nepal Native Police M-H carbine - not something I'd like to do more than once or twice. It is also prone to decomposition over long periods of storage, and can be seen 'weeping', as demonstrated by the greasy stains seen on the cardboard containers. If it takes place within a sealed metal container, then, Sir, you have a bomb, powered by the 'weeping' substance. In this form it has its own name - one I'm sure is familiar to you.
Nitro-glycerine.
During WW1 it happened that some soldiers, pressed beyond endurance of the rigours of the trenches, broke open their .303 cordite-loaded cartridges, and chewed a few sticks of the Cordite. Thr ingestion of nitro-glycerine on an otherwise healthy body simulated the early symptoms of a heart attack, and the soldier was taken out of the line. When the problem became more prevalent, and the 'how' was more generally known by the medical staff, it was made a punishable offence - malingering - and the soldier may have wished he hadn't bothered. It is, of course, nitro-glycerine in tablet form that is often taken as a quick-fire remedy for angina or incipient heart attack, althugh it can have much less pleasant effects such as extreme nausea and headaches of cataclysmic proportions.
tac
Nitro-glycerine.
During WW1 it happened that some soldiers, pressed beyond endurance of the rigours of the trenches, broke open their .303 cordite-loaded cartridges, and chewed a few sticks of the Cordite. Thr ingestion of nitro-glycerine on an otherwise healthy body simulated the early symptoms of a heart attack, and the soldier was taken out of the line. When the problem became more prevalent, and the 'how' was more generally known by the medical staff, it was made a punishable offence - malingering - and the soldier may have wished he hadn't bothered. It is, of course, nitro-glycerine in tablet form that is often taken as a quick-fire remedy for angina or incipient heart attack, althugh it can have much less pleasant effects such as extreme nausea and headaches of cataclysmic proportions.
tac
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Axite was a tradename for an early nitro-cellulose propellant in the early part of the 20th Century. Cordite, Axite, Ballistite, and the other early nitrocellulose-based propellants (some double-based) were used in magnum and non-magnum applications alike. Cordite got its name from the stick shape of the grains. That alone would disqualify it from consideration these days for what we now consider slow burners for magnum rifle cartridges. A stick burns on the outside surface. If you think about it, that means that the surface area of a cylinder of the stuff gets progressively smaller as it burns. Some time back the scientists who work on this stuff, being good at geometry, realized that a hollow tube would act differently. As the inside of the tube burns, that surface gets larger. Many cylindrical propellants these days are hollow, tubular in shape. And some even have several parallel holes in the middle of the tube. Those, along with coatings of chemical retardants, allow the slower but more consistent burning rates sought for use in the overbore cartridges. That also explains why some cartridges (25-06 comes to mind) were distinctly unpopular in the Cordite days: the propellant technology of the time couldn't take advantage of all that case capacity, so you couldn't push a 117 grain bullet out of a 25-06 any faster than you could out of a smaller but more efficient 257 Roberts case, until slower-burning propellants became available.
Ballistite was the charge used in a blank cartridge to drive the Number 36 Energa grenade from the GFA on an FAL/C1/SLR, after you had turned the gas plug setting to zero. It was extremely unpleasant, as I remember all too well. As you can read above, all of these products tended to explode, rather than progressively burn like an decently-behaved NC propellant, regardless of the clever retardents that were used to haul things back a bit.
f you have any ammunition with an Axite propellant declared on the packaging, you might well prefer to dismantle it rather than shoot it - the proponents of this means of shooting a bullet were mainly makers like Kynock and the usual providers of double rifles of the Edwardian era. Such ammunition is no doubt collectable, but not, IMO, shootable.
tac
Ballistite was the charge used in a blank cartridge to drive the Number 36 Energa grenade from the GFA on an FAL/C1/SLR, after you had turned the gas plug setting to zero. It was extremely unpleasant, as I remember all too well. As you can read above, all of these products tended to explode, rather than progressively burn like an decently-behaved NC propellant, regardless of the clever retardents that were used to haul things back a bit.
f you have any ammunition with an Axite propellant declared on the packaging, you might well prefer to dismantle it rather than shoot it - the proponents of this means of shooting a bullet were mainly makers like Kynock and the usual providers of double rifles of the Edwardian era. Such ammunition is no doubt collectable, but not, IMO, shootable.
tac
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DaveMachine
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That was an awesome read.
You'll notice that many proprietary propellants, explosives and 'energetic' compounds end with -ite - dynamite, gelignite, cordite, axite, thermite et al. The suffix, -ite, means that it was the product of a chemical change, sometimes, like lignite, haematite and magnetite, a natural phenomenum. Other times by the application of some form of human-directed interference.
The tradename 'axite' denoting a nitro EXPLOSIVE [!] was first documented in 1905. I have not the foggiest notion why axite should have been called axite, but an acquaintance of mine, CEO of Kynamco Ammunition, probably does know. I'll talk to him in the morning, as it's now just past 7pm here in England.
tac
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Mornin' all. I've just come home from a morning's shooting here in gloomy East Anglia, but afore I went out, Mr David Little, CEO of Kynamco, returned my call, and we passed a very pleasant and informative half hour or so with me askin' and him tellin'.
So here's the skinny on Axite, with apologies for any discernible rambling. To help you out in getting the most from the natter, I'll paragraph it for you, adding snippets as I go. Being half-Irish, it's going to be a bit of a history story too, so I hope I may be forgiven.
1. Axite was simply another form of Cordite, developed by Alfred Nobel in Glasgow at the beginning of the 20th Century as a more readily handy alternative to Cordite. As you know, Cordite was extruded gun-cotton, taking the form of miniature sticks of spaghetti. Axite was nothing more than CHOPPED Cordite [hence the use of the prefix Ax-], simple, but the truth.
2. Axite, in its chopped format, was handier than Cordite because, as I explone in my earlier post, Cordite had to be loaded in a little bundle into an un-necked case. Axite, on the other hand, could be easily loaded into a ready-formed case, which meant it was no longer necessary to have at least one stage in the manufacture of ammuntion omitted. This made it easier to out-source ammunition supplies.
3. Axite was made redundant at the start of WW1 because other more effective double-based nitro-cellulose propellants had meanwhile been developed. So basically, there was around a ten-year production run of Axite-driven ammunition of all kinds - from 1905 to ca. 1915. Axite was, however, slightly more pleasant to handle than Cordite, and easier to 'slow down'. Both had a prodigious burning rate, more akin to a Class 1 explosive than a flagrating propellant, as some of you may know [wink], so Axite had a retardant coating that served to slow it down a small amount, making it ideal for large calibre 'African' rifle cartridges - for as long as it lasted. BOTH Axite and Cordite were extremely corrosive, and firearms in which they had been fired had to be cleaned without delay the moment shooting had stopped. The combination of the noxious chemistry of the propellant added to the mercuric primers of the day offered the chance to destroy a fine firearm by simply shooting a box of ten cartridges through it without cleaning it.
So now, to the skinny of Cordite and Axite and the health of the workers who handled it on a daily basis in its raw form. The company of Nobel Glasgow was HUGE, and with the outbreak of WW1 got even bigger, with a work-force of thousands. As such, there was in inevitable high turnover of the mainly female workforce having paid leave of absence for a week or ten days. At that time, especially on a war-footing, the 'working week' did not exist, and working periods consisted of six days at work and one day off, regardless when that initial period began. At that time, women wore their hair piled high in a permanent 'fixture', so they used to take a small strip of uncut gun-cotton and work it into their hair. Men, who ALWAYS wore hats or caps, would do the same with a piece inserted into their hatband.
Why?
Because, as I explone, Cordite has a very low vapour pressure, and after an initial period of developing intense headaches and/or nausea, the worker would become inured to it, and, although they might turn an unfortunate shade of yellow, could live with the side-effects. Being away for a week or so, breathing the clean air of the Scottish countryside, effectively destroyed their tolerance to the unwelcome side effects, and returning to work, their bodies had to 're-learn' to tolerate the vapour that gave so much trouble.
It was always easy to see - walking around in the streets - those who worked in the ammunition and explosives factories, especially where cordite was handled in HUGE amounts. Not only did they sport interesting hairdos - if women - but the men never removed their headgear. They also had a uniform jaundiced yellow appearance to their exposure to the explosives, a feature that took many years, if ever, to diminish. Their unkind nickname was, you guessed it - canaries.
Thanks here to Mr David Little of Kynamco UK for this information.
tac
PS - note that Cordite and Axite are registered tradenames, and as such, are initial capitalised.
So here's the skinny on Axite, with apologies for any discernible rambling. To help you out in getting the most from the natter, I'll paragraph it for you, adding snippets as I go. Being half-Irish, it's going to be a bit of a history story too, so I hope I may be forgiven.
1. Axite was simply another form of Cordite, developed by Alfred Nobel in Glasgow at the beginning of the 20th Century as a more readily handy alternative to Cordite. As you know, Cordite was extruded gun-cotton, taking the form of miniature sticks of spaghetti. Axite was nothing more than CHOPPED Cordite [hence the use of the prefix Ax-], simple, but the truth.
2. Axite, in its chopped format, was handier than Cordite because, as I explone in my earlier post, Cordite had to be loaded in a little bundle into an un-necked case. Axite, on the other hand, could be easily loaded into a ready-formed case, which meant it was no longer necessary to have at least one stage in the manufacture of ammuntion omitted. This made it easier to out-source ammunition supplies.
3. Axite was made redundant at the start of WW1 because other more effective double-based nitro-cellulose propellants had meanwhile been developed. So basically, there was around a ten-year production run of Axite-driven ammunition of all kinds - from 1905 to ca. 1915. Axite was, however, slightly more pleasant to handle than Cordite, and easier to 'slow down'. Both had a prodigious burning rate, more akin to a Class 1 explosive than a flagrating propellant, as some of you may know [wink], so Axite had a retardant coating that served to slow it down a small amount, making it ideal for large calibre 'African' rifle cartridges - for as long as it lasted. BOTH Axite and Cordite were extremely corrosive, and firearms in which they had been fired had to be cleaned without delay the moment shooting had stopped. The combination of the noxious chemistry of the propellant added to the mercuric primers of the day offered the chance to destroy a fine firearm by simply shooting a box of ten cartridges through it without cleaning it.
So now, to the skinny of Cordite and Axite and the health of the workers who handled it on a daily basis in its raw form. The company of Nobel Glasgow was HUGE, and with the outbreak of WW1 got even bigger, with a work-force of thousands. As such, there was in inevitable high turnover of the mainly female workforce having paid leave of absence for a week or ten days. At that time, especially on a war-footing, the 'working week' did not exist, and working periods consisted of six days at work and one day off, regardless when that initial period began. At that time, women wore their hair piled high in a permanent 'fixture', so they used to take a small strip of uncut gun-cotton and work it into their hair. Men, who ALWAYS wore hats or caps, would do the same with a piece inserted into their hatband.
Why?
Because, as I explone, Cordite has a very low vapour pressure, and after an initial period of developing intense headaches and/or nausea, the worker would become inured to it, and, although they might turn an unfortunate shade of yellow, could live with the side-effects. Being away for a week or so, breathing the clean air of the Scottish countryside, effectively destroyed their tolerance to the unwelcome side effects, and returning to work, their bodies had to 're-learn' to tolerate the vapour that gave so much trouble.
It was always easy to see - walking around in the streets - those who worked in the ammunition and explosives factories, especially where cordite was handled in HUGE amounts. Not only did they sport interesting hairdos - if women - but the men never removed their headgear. They also had a uniform jaundiced yellow appearance to their exposure to the explosives, a feature that took many years, if ever, to diminish. Their unkind nickname was, you guessed it - canaries.
Thanks here to Mr David Little of Kynamco UK for this information.
tac
PS - note that Cordite and Axite are registered tradenames, and as such, are initial capitalised.
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Thanks for posting a fine read. I enjoy these esoteric topics.
I do wonder why those powders are corrosive, and to such a degree, when our powders are not. Or has the chemistry behind nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine changed, or other agents added to the powder to neutralize this effect?
I know that all my life we would routinely leave rifles uncleaned for months or even years with no ill effect. Of course this was with modern versions of IMR and Hercules powders (some of which originally date back to the early 20th century, but are no doubt changed over the years).
I do wonder why those powders are corrosive, and to such a degree, when our powders are not. Or has the chemistry behind nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine changed, or other agents added to the powder to neutralize this effect?
I know that all my life we would routinely leave rifles uncleaned for months or even years with no ill effect. Of course this was with modern versions of IMR and Hercules powders (some of which originally date back to the early 20th century, but are no doubt changed over the years).
As I understand it, Jim, the main problem devolves around the old style mercuric priming. RWS in Troisdorf were among the first to adopt non-mercuric priming for their entire range of cartridges, hence the by-line name 'Sinoxid' - without an oxidiser.
I guess that you don't have military background, so cleaning up your firearm the instant the last fired case is in the air is not something that you would automatically think about doing, but folks - and their guns - are all different.
I clean my guns on the range while they are warm, particulalry the Swiss stuff, then again when I get home, and check them out again a few days later, but that's just me being Pavlov's soldier doggie.
Shoot it = must clean it - asap.
tac
I guess that you don't have military background, so cleaning up your firearm the instant the last fired case is in the air is not something that you would automatically think about doing, but folks - and their guns - are all different.
I clean my guns on the range while they are warm, particulalry the Swiss stuff, then again when I get home, and check them out again a few days later, but that's just me being Pavlov's soldier doggie.
Shoot it = must clean it - asap.
tac
No, we were just casual shooters back in the day, and life long reloaders so I've never dealt with old surplus ammo and their chlorate primers until recent years.
I wasn't certain when fulminate went out of style, but I do remember cautions against reloading brass that had used mercuric primers, as it causes embrittlement.
I've some of my grandfathers old guns. A nice old 250 Savage 99 takedown with a sadly pitted barrel because an old uncle at some point back in the 30's had been hunting too much and cleaning too little....bugger also left the .410 barrel in some trappers hut someplace. pity, that.
I clean often now because I grease every wear surface to death (another recent compulsion), and I hate leaving dirty grease in a gun (this is for semi autos more than anything).
I wasn't certain when fulminate went out of style, but I do remember cautions against reloading brass that had used mercuric primers, as it causes embrittlement.
I've some of my grandfathers old guns. A nice old 250 Savage 99 takedown with a sadly pitted barrel because an old uncle at some point back in the 30's had been hunting too much and cleaning too little....bugger also left the .410 barrel in some trappers hut someplace. pity, that.
I clean often now because I grease every wear surface to death (another recent compulsion), and I hate leaving dirty grease in a gun (this is for semi autos more than anything).
Biggunners
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