im not going to make it i just want to know how it was made.  Medival gun powder, explosives, anything that explodes or burns. i know how to make pitch and that burns but now i want to know how to make exploding stuff out of plants natural things.

i know that most will not work most of the time i just want to document how to make them and add them to the book im making.

Charcoal you can get anywhere, and sulfur is a little harder to come by, and saltpeter can be found in bird droppings. (good luck getting these in any real quantity.) Mix all three ingredients together and you have primitive gunpowder. My theory is that adding Magnesium sulfate to the gunpowder mixture will cause it to explode with a bright white flame. I haven't tried this yet, so don't quote me on this, but it looks promising.  As for explosives and incindieries from plants, I don't really have much of a clue. However, thanks to my google check this morning of "Primitive gunpowder and explosives" I've probably just added my name to Dubya's List of Potential Evil-Doers to Look Out Fer. But hey, an aluminum can full of match heads, and a row of nails taped around the outside, lit and thrown is an old IRA favourite anti-personnel device.

That reminds me of making thermite, for some reason.
Nail bombs (or fullmontys, as I think they are nicknamed) are very nasty things. I think that animal fats are an obvious choice for an incendiary.
Stale urine and vinegar were said to be able to put Greek fire out.

bird droppings eh? well any bird? i have a friend how has a perit and man that thing can crap.

i also know about greek fire. i have read someware that they have made something simalar to it, not as good but simalar, and it was made from sulfer and willow charchoal. all of this would be ground down and it ignights as soon as it hits mosture. like your skin. any one know what im talking about?

I can see it now.. birds around the world being stalked for thier droppings my members of our forum.





I think any explosive based on these ingredients is not only primitive, but STINKY!

or you can use coal and phosperes nitrate to make gun powder

well the book is not on survival but on all sorts of weapons used in primitive times. from cave man to late middle ages.

And that parit can crap. its name is bubby but my friends father calles it poopy box. haha any way they have several birds all of them verry good at crapping. I think my friend would be thrilled if i asked him if i could clean out his birds cages.

by the way how long can i keep the crap befor it becomes use less? whats the best charcoal? and whats the shelf life of the explosive its self?



ok thats 2 things that go boom and burn that i know of. keep the primitvie booms and bangs coming.



i have been tempted to make exploding staff sling ammo. My friend (same one with the crapping birds) has a grandmother and she has a kiln. and she has lots of ceramick hollow eggs. I wanted to try filling thoes eggs with the primitve powder and make a nice long wick, light, throw, duck, and cover.

So if i come back to the site, with even less typeing skills i have blown off my fingers.

well how can you write a book with out some hands on?

You know, oil works very well as a propellant.  I remember quite vividly a science lesson where my mad science teacher showed us about energy by taking us outside and setting off two mortars.  Two long pipes with tin cans as ammo.  One had oil and one had gunpowder.  The oil actually fired much further.