Sorry to hear about Bill going under he was a good man. Bill Knight, aka The Mad Monk or Dutch Bill, the most knowledgeable person in the US about black powder.

Glad he left the documents to benefit other black powder enthusiasts. The BP community is the best.

Bill was a real gentleman. I had the pleasure of corresponding with him over the years. The man was a treasure trove of information

I used to email Mr. Knight and talk about black powder. He told me the Swiss mill wheels were on a counter instead of being milled for a certain time. The reason for yhis is because over time the electric motor which powers the mill will slow down and mill less. I really miss getting to talk to Bill.

I am glad that you got that valuable information and delighted that you shared it. Have fun and safety in your experimentation.

Watching all I can on this subject and you seem to be one I understand best,Thank I made my first batch of BP last week it can only get better from here and hello from Indiana!!

This is exactly why it is critical that we publish all of this stuff. Thank you very much Mr. Knight and RIP. I can't wait to see more experiments with this information. It looks like the next long term step is doing aging experiments while we work with the other information in the document. I'd be very interested to read it in it's entirety. Keep up the good work Sir

I haven't even tried to make my own powder yet and I am excited about the results of your tests!! Looking forward to your next video!

Thanks for the effort and for sharing the info. Great job. 👍

appreciate all your efforts and research brother!.....God bless...woods

Very interesting stuff. Went out and immediately cut some buckthorn and have it split and debarked. We still had snow 3 weeks ago so I'm hoping it's early spring enough. Will have to try to slow roast it the best I can this summer.

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing 👍

I can see where the alder would make a better grade of charcoal. A friend of mine went out west years ago on a hunting trip. While there they stayed in a cabin provided by the outfitter. When they got ready to leave he asked the outfitter, shouldn't we clean out the wood stove for the next party coming in. They had been burning the stove 24/7 for a week. The outfitter told him there's really no need but you can if you like. He cleaned the ashes out and he asked what kind of wood was that? There was barely a cup full of ashes. The outfitter replied it's alder.

Knew to black powder after 55 yrs ty so much for tutoring me and ty mr knight RIP sir

I found that all very interesting. The 78/12/10 ratio matches the ideal ratio I calculated: the exact chemical reaction, actually many different reactions happening simultaneously, is only summarised by most of the formulas found in books or online. The most complex formula I've come across which tried to encompass most of the major reactions is 74KNO3 + 96C + 30S + 16H2O = 35N2 + 56CO2 + 14CO + 3CH3 + 2H2S + 4H2 + 19K2CO3 + 7K2SO4 + 8K2S2O3 + 2K2S + 2KSCN + (NH4)2CO3 + C + S. Ignoring the 16 molecules of water, plugging in the molecular weights gives the 78% 12% 10% ratio . I'm no chemist, but the fact that 16 molecules of water are involved in the reaction implies to me that it is possible for powder to be too dry!

Great research

Try making your own BP charcoal using pressed cotton wool. You should get excellent results.

Bill was very knowledgeable about black power! Hate to hear of his passing! I have learned more about black power from this video! David Back.

Very very interesting??? Thanks again for this!

Could you do a video or maybe make a list of tools for beginners to have to be able to make black powder? I enjoy your videos and just subscribed to you channel. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated thank you.

The 75% powder is military grade or common powder. Musket powders, fuse and booster powder. AND there are different milling times for the various powders be they Musket, rifle or sporting with the musket powder being the shortest mill time. I suspect that “cannon” was milled even less. They did not want a fast powder for this. The wheel mill and the press cake were the BIG changes in the 18th c. Prior to pressing and breaking it was granulated by pressing the damp powder through a screen by hand. AND the shine is from a portion of the saltpeter migrating to the surface and the water is evaporated. I have never seen graphite on Swiss thus it tends to clumpSince the graphite ADDs to the fouling since while its carbon its not combustable at the burn temp of BP and the British military, at least, would NOT accept a powder coated with graphite. Oh and blasting powder was/is typically made with SODIUM NITRATE since ballistic uniformity is irrelevant. the sodium version will change its characteristics since it will absorb moisture from the air. Potassium Nitrate, the pure stuff, will but its FAR less uptake and it will then release it back to the air when the humidity drops. Charcoal color? There was at least one premium American powder that was “brown” due to the charcoal they used. And while at Moosic GOI/Goex made the powder with contaminated saltpeter AND ground water contaminated with sulfur oxidizing bacteria with would turn 10-20% of the powder to dust IN THE CAN. ML shooters did not notice this but the BPCR guys using drop tubes sure did. And I used to throw away a portion of ever can. When loading ammo. The fines would settle at the bottom of the can but would slow fall in the drop tube. So it would show on top of the charge in the case. So if you live in an area with coal mines BOIL THE WATER or use distilled. There is lot more to this from the very early 70s on but this is too long now.

Thank you for sharing this "new"/old information! Do you continue to use the small amount of quebracho bark powder?

Ideally charcoal would be all carbon and then the stoichiometric ratios to produce complete (clean) combustion in BP would be 75 KNO3, 10S, and 15 C, however charcoal is not pure carbon, and the impurities are not likely to be consistent from wood to wood, region to region, or from season to season. The ratios that Swiss is using may only be relevant to the wood they use, where they get it, when they get it, and on the conditions (e.g., temperature and humidity) of aging it. But just knowing what variables Swiss is focused on is a big leg up.

Was a genus/species name given for buckthorn alder? I’ve not heard our non-native introduced from Europe buckthorn called by that name. Probably the same plant but maybe not

Great info, Ben, thank you! Quick question - what would you recommend as a close second in lieu of buckthorn alder? It doesn't grow down here in the south...

Lots of good info thanks

Thank you for sharing that information, and guiding us. I stated before in one of your videos, that just for fun, I milled the powder for 48 hrs, shaking the milling barrel up every few hours as I could to sort of break the clumps back up and let them mill again. Unscientifically, the powder seemed to be more energetic.

I notice that you mention the sugar content of the Alder. Wouldn't just adding a small amount of sugar to your mix accomplish the same thing?

Todo información vale para mejorar 👍👍

What do you mean by Corning I live in Florida and what kind of wood should I be using from my area that would be my next question anyway I appreciate your info and I follow you and I am making my own black powder I've been using grapevines there around plentiful in my area

For me, the BIG question is : WHAT can replace sulfur for the same result ? Knowing that sulfur allow faster burning and lower temperature.

Great information

Very interesting!

Awesome information!! We will keep the traditions alive and well used!!

When you stated that Swiss cooked their Alder at 608Deg. was that Fahrenheit or Celsius?

Do you have a reference temperature for the oven that Swiss uses? Might be pretty easy in an annealing oven.

I wonder if you mill 24 hours. How do you deal with the powder clumping in the edges, and if you don't shake and hit every 15 minutes, it is just wasting the time rolling. I baked the potasium nitrate and made sure it was absolutely dry powder, but after a couple of hours, it starts clumping.

Would you be willing to sell Buckthorn Alder? Cannot find here in Oklahoma.

Thank you for this

From what I have read Buckthorn and Black Alder are native to Europe. Can you find them in the US?

Thank you

Are you going to post links to the information?

Thanks, Ben.

Red Alder from pet bedding is just as good!

"I Never" tied the graphite to ESD or Static potential? I'm still chasing after your BP Speeds, maybe there? with glass tumblers and ceramic media, next I'm charing chicken's waste and more day old bread.

Thank you for bringing this info to us. I cant wait to see how this works. Also i know you sell charcoal. But do you sell buckthorn alder still in wood form.

no link in description, on this document ? not fair.

I miss my old mentor. Bill was the best.

You should get a federal license and go into BP production business.

link to this report?

Thanks for that... Not worth it for my cannon, but for the flintlock for sure!

Knew to black powder after 55 yrs ty so much for tutoring me and ty mr knight RIP sir

Excellent! Thanks for sharing👍