Making powder

The book, " Foxfire 5: Iron making, Blacksmithing, Flintlock Rifles, Bear Hunting, and Other Affairs of Plain Living Paperback – June 1, 1979 ".

This book is part of a series on the folklore and culture of Appalachia.

The book tells how they made black powder without buying KNO3.
 
Last edited:
sail32 said:
The book, " Foxfire 5: Iron making, Blacksmithing, Flintlock Rifles, Bear Hunting, and Other Affairs of Plain Living Paperback – June 1, 1979 ".

This book is part of a series on the folklore and culture of Appalachia.

The book tells how they made black powder without buying KNO3.
Click to expand...

KNO3 aka potassium nitrate can be made from any fertile dirt and its a much needed substance in black powder you can make sulfur less BP but it will not work in a flintlock sulfur lowers the combustion temp of black powder
 
Extracting the KN03 from fertile dirt such as chicken coop dirt is a nasty and very smelly process. At least that's the assumption I came to after reading about it...
 
It wasn't that long ago we were free to make black powder, free is the operative word here, damn you misguided, fanatic terrorist ba$tards!!!!:mad:
 
if potassium nitrate is controlled then what would one use to cure meat? as that's what we used back in Old country. This is ridiculous again. In communist country almost anyone could buy this in a corner or grocery store. It was fun but then they only sold to people over 18. Mixed with sugar it made a good mini rocket propellant.
 
Maybe it never was legal to make black powder, the fact that it was at one time possible to get potassium nitrate at a drugstore and now it is not may have nothing to do with terrorist type activities but then it is possible.
 
drslav said:
has nothing to do with terrorism. Have you ever met one or were even under any threat here? Imaginary...all of it.
Click to expand...

Guess you didn't pay attention to the arabic fellas arrested in Ottawa and at the MtReal airport who were charged with inciting terrorist acts and instructing others to commit acts of terrorisim.....guess you missed the Parliment hill shootings and the soldiers run down with a car in Qc....shall I continue?

Did any of these situations involve explosives or more specifically BP manufacture? No. But the law is about prevention not preventing further occurances.
 
Boys and girls, KNO3 is NOT ILLEGAL to possess under the Explosives Act; processing it with saltpeter and sulphur (or other substitute) to manufacture an explosive is what is prohibited (without a permit). Cure all the meat ya want (lookin' for the little "thumbs up" thing here?)

I have LOTS of chickens. I am also very aware of the process of making BP. Making anything out of their "droppings" would not be for the faint of stomache ;) Y'all are welcome to it, especially just in time for the spring cleaning of the coops after the winter...However ya gotta fight my wife for it, since she wants it all for the gardens. Mind you it actually needs to cure for a year or so, or the nitrogen levels are too high for gardenin'.

An elderly friend of mine around 20 years ago (now deceased) used to make his own using some innovative substitutes, that worked well. However we are not allowed to discuss these on this forum; and there was a similar thread on this topic a couple of years back that got locked definitively. Soooo IBTL
 
Last edited:
Skinny 1950 said:
Maybe it never was legal to make black powder, the fact that it was at one time possible to get potassium nitrate at a drugstore and now it is not may have nothing to do with terrorist type activities but then it is possible.
Click to expand...

I saw some just a few months ago at a major drugstore, over the counter next to the sulfur...no kidding. Some other drugstores have the behind the counter and you have to ask for it specifically, maybe they didn't get the memo?
 
I just wonder about the wisdom of making BP, from what I've read it's dangerous to do. Quite some time ago I read an article on making it and saw some pics of the buildings used in the manufacture. The buildings had large hinges on the roof and the comment was "It's not in case it explodes from time to time, it's because it DOES explode from time to time."
 
big boar said:
I just wonder about the wisdom of making BP, from what I've read it's dangerous to do. Quite some time ago I read an article on making it and saw some pics of the buildings used in the manufacture. The buildings had large hinges on the roof and the comment was "It's not in case it explodes from time to time, it's because it DOES explode from time to time."
Click to expand...

commercial manufactures make it in a way that creates a lot of heat so from time to time it go's boom there's other methods out there
 
ciphery said:
Guess you didn't pay attention to the arabic fellas arrested in Ottawa and at the MtReal airport who were charged with inciting terrorist acts and instructing others to commit acts of terrorisim.....guess you missed the Parliment hill shootings and the soldiers run down with a car in Qc....shall I continue?

Did any of these situations involve explosives or more specifically BP manufacture? No. But the law is about prevention not preventing further occurances.
Click to expand...

There's always some idiot in the crowd that hates this country. But... it's over exaggerated by media. Besides. .. if you want to make an explosive you will find a way. People are very ingenious species. Take a man's tool away then he will make another.
 
I find it a bit strange to be illegal to make, since you are able to buy it at the store. Especially that basically all it is combining stable products together. My father was a chemistry dork (literally, he only taught advanced chemistry and math). I went for an orientation at a college for biotechnology, and that professor and my dad I swear were having orgasms over the equipment they had in the lab! I recall my father looking at an analytical balance and saying he wanted that (for what I don't know!)

He had a small lab set up in the basement junk room. He didn't do much down there, just tinker, but I sure played in it! He showed me how to make gunpowder and mini fireworks. Adding in other chemicals to change it colour and such. I get it times change, I just don't see why you can't make the product if you can buy it ready made at the gun store!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom