4F powder

[George]

It is my understanding that there were no priming horns & no separate grades of gunpowder used for priming in the 18th century.

The military was at least recommending powder horns and fine 'pistol powder' as early as 1758, and for sound reasons:

Extract from a letter from Major George Scott, 40th Foot, CO of the Light Infantry Battalion on the February, 1758, Louisbourg expedition, to Lord Loudoun, CIC in America. This letter refers to kit he is recommending for rangers and light troops:

“The powder horn recommended carrying pistol powder with its more combustible grain. Easily ready to hand and slung off the left shoulder under the right arm pit, the horn is a quicker and more convenient way of priming one’s musket, and is not subject to burn powder [flash in the pan] or miss fire. It also prevents the most common fault which men are subject to in time of action Vis, that of spilling 1/2 of their cartridge of powder and at times more in priming and shutting their pans. The result of such nervousness or sloppiness on the part of a soldier in action means that the ball will not be sent with 1/2 the force it is intended or anything near the distance it aught to go.”

Spence

 

[George]

adoption of the F screen size standard seems to have been adopted around 1825, but I do not have a name to associate with it yet.

Wonder what they meant in this ad, then...

THE SOUTH CAROLINA GAZETTE
September 25, 1736
Charleston, South Carolina
JUST imported in the King George, Jacob Ayres from London, white and colour'd plains, strip'd duffils, bullets, shot, F FF FFF gunpowder, Saxe Gotha hoop-petticoats,

Spence

 

[Carbon 6]

Excellent!

 

[Rifleman1776]

I use 4Fg because I was originally taught to use it for priming and nothing else. Even though I have since learned other granulations will work I still stick with the FFFF out of long time habit and I have a large supply. BTW, it is not the finest granulation. There is a 12Fg and something called Null B. I have never seen either and feel no need to. And, contrary to what many believe, the fine granulation does not attract moisture. What many who shoot in humid environments experience is moisture being attracted to the burned residue from previous shots. And, yes, that can turn a pan into a mud puddle very quickly.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I use 4Fg because I was originally taught to use it for priming and nothing else. Even though I have since learned other granulations will work I still stick with the FFFF out of long time habit and I have a large supply. BTW, it is not the finest granulation

Before Elephant powder went belly up …,
(HA see what I did there? Did ya get it? Elephant? Belly Up ? )
I bought a pound of 5Fg which I thought was like fine salt in granule size....,
I found that 4Fg and 5Fg seem to gather moisture well, so I stopped using either.

The 5Fg works well for DIY firecrackers though!

LD

 

[WildBillJr]

I have a really stupid question... Back in the day, couldn't they have just used a stick, or antler to gently grind their powder to prime?

Seriously, just asking

 

[azmntman]

I am sure they did.....until by necessity one fine morning whist running pel mel from a tribe of angered natives they tried 2f and it worked just fine

 

[WildBillJr]

I am sure they did.....until by necessity one fine morning whist running pel mel from a tribe of angered natives they tried 2f and it worked just fine

Gotcha azmntman! I said it was a dumb question. I could just see them making their own priming powder out of 2f while relaxing in the evening...everyone needs to relax while getting ready for the next day.

 

[Carbon 6]

I have a really stupid question... Back in the day, couldn't they have just used a stick, or antler to gently grind their powder to prime?

Seriously, just asking

No.

 

[azmntman]

They couldn't have? I HAVE NO FACTS or EVIDENCE but I disagree. Heck, even I did it with a mortar/pedestal (trying to make fireworks, dad was NOT pro firecracker)

 

[Carbon 6]

Grinding or crushing amplifies all the negative qualities that you don't want.
Can't say any more than that without breaking forum rules.
So, while yes you can do it or it could have been done it does not give you the product you seek. So the answer is No.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Grinding or crushing amplifies all the negative qualities that you don't want.
Can't say any more than that without breaking forum rules.
So, while yes you can do it or it could have been done it does not give you the product you seek. So the answer is No.

Correct. Grinding and crushing does not reduce granulation size. That is accomplished during the wet stage of making bp and is called 'corning'. Grinding and crushing bp gives you crushed and ground up bp dust. At one time a bp grinder was on the market. I still have one and have tried it. Good at making bp dust but not anything resembling 4Fg.

 

[Carbon 6]

Good at making bp dust but not anything resembling 4Fg.

Dust created from manufacturing is used to make fuses. look how slow fuses burn. Imagine that in your pan.

 

[bigted]

Interesting!

 

[WildBillJr]

Great information. I was just curious. Another question... Wouldn't it still go bang? I'm just trying to put my mindset of what our forefathers might have done.

 

[WildBillJr]

What if all they had was 1f available?

 

[WildBillJr]

Correct. Grinding and crushing does not reduce granulation size. That is accomplished during the wet stage of making bp and is called 'corning'. Grinding and crushing bp gives you crushed and ground up bp dust. At one time a bp grinder was on the market. I still have one and have tried it. Good at making bp dust but not anything resembling 4Fg.

Can you please explain corning? I'm very curious.

 

[Carbon 6]

I'm just trying to put my mindset of what our forefathers might have done.

No need to guess, what they did is well documented.

 

[Bo T]

Dust created from manufacturing is used to make fuses. look how slow fuses burn. Imagine that in your pan.

Is there a large difference between the burn rate of the different granulated powders and the 'dust'?

 

[Carbon 6]

Is there a large difference between the burn rate of the different granulated powders and the 'dust'?

It's a "Red Herring" to go down that path. It wasn't my intention for you to look at it like that. I'ts only one piece of the puzzle.