I don't think Don is being rude at all. I agree with him that the conclusions Blacknet has come up with don't seem correct to me either.
Like which powder has more graphite on it. he seems to be judging that in the color of the finished powder. ?? Graphite is a gray silvery substance. Not Black. By looks alone it would be the Swiss that has the most graphite on it. I do know that none of will know for sure unless someone from the powder companys posts and says for sure what they all use.
I am pretty sure all powders have some on them to help stop them from drawing moisture and clumping together.
I think a powder gets it's color from the charcoal it was made with. Not so much the type of wood but the process in which it was made. Complete charred being very black and lighter or even reddish colored using under charred wood.
The later would make a powder more likely to absorb moisture and for sure wood need the graphite coating.
The next thing is which powder is most likely to foul the barrel.
Most people that use black powder would have no real way to judge that since they use a bunch of lube, wax or grease when they shoot.
I shoot all lead ball guns free of lube. Rifle or revolvers. I use water or spit on the patch to load the rifle. Have since the late 60's. No lube, wax's wads or such in the chamber or over the ball.
I have found the powders that leave the driest residue are the least likely to foul the barrels. The drier the better. I have tried Goex, Graf and sons and swiss. I found the Swiss to foul the barrels well before the other two. Then Graf and Sons and the least being Goex. The last two being close.
I shot 278 rounds without cleaning or disassembly through my 1851 colt using Goex powder and still the barrel had not fouled.
When it comes right down to it, anything posted about how a brand of powder is made or what it is made from would be hearsay or a guess not fact, unless the manufacture themselves posted it.
If you really want to learn about gunpowder then you should read something directly fron the manufacture. Such as this one. I posted this quite awhile ago but here it is again. It was the handbook that all their workers were given. (I think It is now availible on Google Books for download.)
Manufacture and Proof of Gunpowder by Captian smith, Royal Aryillery
Like which powder has more graphite on it. he seems to be judging that in the color of the finished powder. ?? Graphite is a gray silvery substance. Not Black. By looks alone it would be the Swiss that has the most graphite on it. I do know that none of will know for sure unless someone from the powder companys posts and says for sure what they all use.
I am pretty sure all powders have some on them to help stop them from drawing moisture and clumping together.
I think a powder gets it's color from the charcoal it was made with. Not so much the type of wood but the process in which it was made. Complete charred being very black and lighter or even reddish colored using under charred wood.
The later would make a powder more likely to absorb moisture and for sure wood need the graphite coating.
The next thing is which powder is most likely to foul the barrel.
Most people that use black powder would have no real way to judge that since they use a bunch of lube, wax or grease when they shoot.
I shoot all lead ball guns free of lube. Rifle or revolvers. I use water or spit on the patch to load the rifle. Have since the late 60's. No lube, wax's wads or such in the chamber or over the ball.
I have found the powders that leave the driest residue are the least likely to foul the barrels. The drier the better. I have tried Goex, Graf and sons and swiss. I found the Swiss to foul the barrels well before the other two. Then Graf and Sons and the least being Goex. The last two being close.
I shot 278 rounds without cleaning or disassembly through my 1851 colt using Goex powder and still the barrel had not fouled.
When it comes right down to it, anything posted about how a brand of powder is made or what it is made from would be hearsay or a guess not fact, unless the manufacture themselves posted it.
If you really want to learn about gunpowder then you should read something directly fron the manufacture. Such as this one. I posted this quite awhile ago but here it is again. It was the handbook that all their workers were given. (I think It is now availible on Google Books for download.)
Manufacture and Proof of Gunpowder by Captian smith, Royal Aryillery
