Slow Match Help!

[Rudyard]

100% pure cotton woven sash cord slightly smaller than quarter of an inch available from rope and knot on the web.1wash and soak in boiling water about 15 minutes take it out and let dry.2 When it completely dry .place a solution 3 table spoons of saltpeter per pint of water in your pot heat it up to almost a boil place your cord in the pot
4 turn off heat let soak at least a hour to assure total saturation about an hour if cord has completely submerged if not soak until it dose .5 remove match from pot to dry never hang to dry.Always lay flat on to to prevent cold spots this match will be very good it dose burn a little faster than some recipes but more than good enough for the job I have been making for matchlock for over 40 years never failed me I hunt with these alot

Dear Irish Musket . Good on you a serious matchlock devotee . I had hunted for days on end with M locks most of my hunts where about a full week in the local mountains when younger & single at least . Now the hills got steeper .Global warming ? ( or reaching 78 might have more to do with it maybe ?)Ime not surprised it burns a little quicker I used much less saltpeter & wood ash Lye can be used . & in the NZ forests I often recoursed to the' Pre 1840 High plains ' Bick. unless I expected a shot then Ide hold the match down by the butt end And preferred the snap matchlock to the common lock though my common lock was fully up to shooting English Woodpigeons & clays it smooth 12 bore while the Snaplock was a 54 rifled piece. We have to hunt Crown lands & National Parks ect with rifled guns big enough for the Deer & wild Pigs I think its mostly to give no excuse for potting the Native Wood pigeons that are very tame & naturally protected in contrast to UK notions that no BP gun is capable , nor are Bows and arrows . Whatever did Robin Hood do without some oik with a 243 to back him up ? .But I voted with my feet and can hunt as I fancy any day of the year since introduced animals are deemed pests (Same as anti gun politician's really ).
Regards Rudyard

 

[Dryball]

So I have a new Veteran Arms handgonne and it’s really cool. I used the 1/4” cotton cord that veteran arms sells to make some slow match using their recommended method of dissolving a few tablespoons of black powder in water and letting the match soak for several hours, then dried it.

Well, it didn’t work too well! It didn’t want to stay lit and didn’t even light the powder in the pan on the handgonne. I resorted to lighting a leaf on fire and using that!

Can someone either recommend a source for good quality usable slow match, or let me know what I need to do to prepare this cord properly? Thanks gang!

I have success using 100% cotton cord from Joann's fabric. I mix 4f, cord, and water in a heavy sealable plastic container and bring to a rolling boil in microwave. Seal container and allow to sit overnight. It actually creates a vacuum, seals , and partially collapsed the container as it cools. Lay cord flat, pat off excess water and allow to dry.

 

[Irishmusket]

Dear Irish Musket . Good on you a serious matchlock devotee . I had hunted for days on end with M locks most of my hunts where about a full week in the local mountains when younger & single at least . Now the hills got steeper .Global warming ? ( or reaching 78 might have more to do with it maybe ?)Ime not surprised it burns a little quicker I used much less saltpeter & wood ash Lye can be used . & in the NZ forests I often recoursed to the' Pre 1840 High plains ' Bick. unless I expected a shot then Ide hold the match down by the butt end And preferred the snap matchlock to the common lock though my common lock was fully up to shooting English Woodpigeons & clays it smooth 12 bore while the Snaplock was a 54 rifled piece. We have to hunt Crown lands & National Parks ect with rifled guns big enough for the Deer & wild Pigs I think its mostly to give no excuse for potting the Native Wood pigeons that are very tame & naturally protected in contrast to UK notions that no BP gun is capable , nor are Bows and arrows . Whatever did Robin Hood do without some oik with a 243 to back him up ? .But I voted with my feet and can hunt as I fancy any day of the year since introduced animals are deemed pests (Same as anti gun politician's really ).
Regards Rudyard

I am getting old my self 72years old retired 4 years ago from the Railroad after 30 plus years worked out side on that job Track Foreman .Western Mass is hot in summer terrible in the winter.I am still an active gunsmith however.Yes I do hunt with Matchlock muskets 75 cal full muskets have quite a few muskets 3 matchlocks 2 dog locks, 1 English lock,1 Snaphaunce musket etc not to mention 30 Belgian trade guns as well flint and percussion and of course several of the Kings muskets no rifles no good for Hunting around here .I hunt year round mostly the Connecticut river valley a the East mountain the Metacomet trail 3 or4 days a week 5 to 6 miles a day. trecking and hunting .for over well over 55 years .I always have have one of fire lock s unless its raining in which case I have my Belgian percussion trade musket s .I have lived here all of life When I was a kid I hunted all over the Metacomet hills like a young Dan Boone with my Belgian 28 gauge long tom flintlock trade musket still take her out and she serves me well that musket set Me on my path for life the greatest gift my Father gave Me

 

[Rudyard]

Dear Irish Matchlock I got you figured then . I too have a battery of archaic guns I spent time in Hardwick near the Quabin Ime familiar with the hilly State of Mass . friend had a family home nr Sandisford ? or field it might have been did you make yours ? I made mine other than one & got up in Hardwick used old barrel & lock fishtailed affair didn't hunt though just potentional King Phillips reenactments non I found but did F & I mostly or any event going like Bennington Rev (Mutiny ) war one time . 30 Belgium trade guns you trying to corner the market ! Good on you well met . Oh Rail ways I rode them, once lucked onto a Conrail near the Harvard Uni I had just landed at air port Logan at night dont like towns at night went to clear town at Greyhound non due but they took a trade musket original as freight so I asked at the suburban station what was going to a yard they told me Harvard &" why did I want a rail yard ?"" To grab a freight I says " he gave me a ticket & one was pulling out a Bloke says" Its got no cabouses " but I got under a truck diff on a flat car & rode all night to Selkirk yards refuel stay on till Toledo or what I figured might be Toledo (They don't tell you of course ) So I hop off and ask at a 7 /11 " Where are we " got a puzzled look blokes says .' Toledo Ohio ' its dark so I go back find tall grass & camp ere I ran 127 to Greenville next day .I don.t know your views of such antics but I rode lots and had every respect for the crews & the companies .Did get the odd barrel on me but they where allways polite . One rode box car Spokane to Whitefish as it slowed I hop of clime onto the roadside to be greated by a Marshall & his riot gun . again curtesy , There had been a shooting in Spokane & they where checking the trains in case . I useually asked stuff "like purely out of academic interest you understand ,Is there any thing East bound due ?" Academic interest hey ? Hmmm well there a hot shot on line four due ? or some such & dissapear then avail of it ( Prefer Hotshots to secondry puddle jumping empty box cars . Such A snob!) Then I hitched up to the NLMRA Western Rondevous on the Flat head . Then went east with Curly Gostomskies War waggon ( an old stepvan ).CN, Illinois central , mostly Burlington Northern very handy if the Bluett pass is closed picked on up at Skykomish Ide get off in Wenachee my friend fellow muzzle loader lived there he could never understand my delight with trains . I see I got rather carried away but I found the whole thing exciteing And usefull And again had every regard for the companies & their staff . A regular Bo was at Whitefish they checked us both out said" stay there " We did ,they return Marshall says you can go " the Bo says " I've never been put off a train can it get back on ? " The Marshalls says hop on & he continues to Green Bay I expect . Might only be a nuisance in Whitefish one less to bother him I expect .
Regards Rudyard

 

[Spiridonov12]

The handgonne slowmatches have never been soaked in gunpowder or saltpeter in the middle ages. For the manufacture of the slowmatches, only rope boiled in potassium carbonate (K2CO3) was used. I did this and it works great

 

[Irishmusket]

Very good if it works for you .Back in the 1300s hot iron wire was used wood matches treated with potash or salt peter which was did exist at the time it was a primary component of gun powder and of course treated hemp rope which won out in the end .I own several Hand gonnes used to manufacture them still do from time to time bores ranging between 1 inch down to half inch .I Actully own one of the Hasta Hand gonnes .The barrel is strong and safe shoots well loose tiller had to fix that .It shoots well but hand gonnes of this class and this one is no different effective accurate range 25 yards maximum .However they are almost as effective as a flintlock tower pistol and its not a toy .But not anywhere near the power and range and accuracy of a musket

 

[okawbow]

I use 4 ply #72 Jute Cord from walmart. Braid 3 pieces tightly as long as you want your match. Mix a spoon or two of black powder in warm water, just enough to cover the match. Let soak over night and lay the match out to dry. I like to keep the treated match in an air tight container til it is used.
Burns about 1 inch per minute. Does not spit sparks and keeps lit. Cheap and easy.