After looking up the formula for blackpowder and unsuccessfully attempting to obtain the ingredients i have come up with this substitute. Give me some input so i can improve it or create something new altogether.

Replace sulphur with match-head powder, as they both speed the combustion and lower ignition temps.

Replace KNO3 with AN, less powerful but more readily available.

BBQ Charcoal, if you know a better kind I can get my hands on at a store, let me know.

The mini batch (silver dollar sized) i just lit on my desk gave quite a show, although it didnt burn completely. I know i got the ratios wrong because i didnt measure it at all.

i say some experimentation is in order..... :)


the AN will make it useless if stored improperly, devices will have to be air and water tight.


a good way for getting the shite of matchheads is to have a .5cm high layer of water in a pan and on LOW neat (120f tops!) tap the tips on the bottom of the pan to get the good stuff off (mix of KClO, S, and clay)

evap and your done

you only have so little sulfur in it though its not really worth it , just force crystallize the chlorate out of the solution...

use google? :eek:

edit: i'm sorry but if you cant find natural hardwood charcoal, sulfur dusting powder, and stum premover in your local lowes...you dont need to be making "devices"

i say some experimentation is in order..... :)


the AN will make it useless if stored improperly, devices will have to be air and water tight.


a good way for getting the shite of matchheads is to have a .5cm high layer of water in a pan and on LOW neat (120f tops!) tap the tips on the bottom of the pan to get the good stuff off (mix of KClO, S, and clay)

evap and your done

you only have so little sulfur in it though its not really worth it , just force crystallize the chlorate out of the solution...

use google? :eek:

edit: i'm sorry but if you cant find natural hardwood charcoal, sulfur dusting powder, and stum premover in your local lowes...you dont need to be making "devices"

Could I buy all those items at the same time without causing my house to be raided?

You're incredibly more likely to be raided buying AN and forty boxes of matches.

First things first.
You clearly don't know much about chemistry.

There are so many extremely dangerous incompatibilities in your proposed solution that you may as well huff raid. It may be slightly safer.

Ammonium chlorate formation... BAD
KClO3/S... BAD
KClO3/P... BAD
*BAD == EXTREMELY HIGH CHANCE OF EXPLOSION WHILE MIXING... NOT MEARLY IGNITION... FUCKING EXPLOSION... BOOM YOU HAVE NO MOTHER FUCKING HANDS AND ARE TEH DEAF.

Raid Ant & Roach Killer
CAUTION: Harmful if swallowed. Avoid contact with eyes, skin, and clothing. Wash hands after using. Do not allow children or pets to contact treated surfaces until spray has dried.
IF SWALLOWED: Drink one or two glasses of water and induce vomiting by touching back of throat with finger. Do not induce vomiting or give anything by mouth to an unconscious person. Get medical attention immediately. IF INHALED: Remove victim to fresh air and apply respiration if indicated. IF ON SKIN: Wash promptly with soap and water. Rinse thoroughly. IF IN EYES: Rinse eyes for at least 15 minutes with water and call a physician immediately.

Buying KNO3, S, and charcoal... MOST store people know very little if anything about black power. Chances are you would be fine. If your so paranoid about it buy them from different stores... You might be able to find some bargains.

First things first.
You clearly don't know much about chemistry.

There are so many extremely dangerous incompatibilities in your proposed solution that you may as well huff raid. It may be slightly safer.

Ammonium chlorate formation... BAD
KClO3/S... BAD
KClO3/P... BAD
*BAD == EXTREMELY HIGH CHANCE OF EXPLOSION WHILE MIXING... NOT MEARLY IGNITION... FUCKING EXPLOSION... BOOM YOU HAVE NO MOTHER FUCKING HANDS AND ARE TEH DEAF.

Raid Ant & Roach Killer
CAUTION: Harmful if swallowed. Avoid contact with eyes, skin, and clothing. Wash hands after using. Do not allow children or pets to contact treated surfaces until spray has dried.
IF SWALLOWED: Drink one or two glasses of water and induce vomiting by touching back of throat with finger. Do not induce vomiting or give anything by mouth to an unconscious person. Get medical attention immediately. IF INHALED: Remove victim to fresh air and apply respiration if indicated. IF ON SKIN: Wash promptly with soap and water. Rinse thoroughly. IF IN EYES: Rinse eyes for at least 15 minutes with water and call a physician immediately.

Buying KNO3, S, and charcoal... MOST store people know very little if anything about black power. Chances are you would be fine. If your so paranoid about it buy them from different stores... You might be able to find some bargains.

Good info man, you probably saved my ass good.

What items would i need to buy?

What items would i need to buy?life insurance?

lol my days off are always full of lulz!

... KNO3, S, and charcoal...

KNO3 as KNO3 fertillizer.
Sulfur as agricultural sulfur.
Charcoal as hardwood lump charcoal. NOT brickettes.

Come on man. Your killin me. Do some fucking research.

KNO3 as KNO3 fertillizer.
Sulfur as agricultural sulfur.
Charcoal as hardwood lump charcoal. NOT brickettes.

Come on man. Your killin me. Do some fucking research.

If you really wanted to make him do the work, you wouldn't have posted and made him report back to see if he got it right.

Meh, BP is one of those things you should help out with, as opposed to flash mixtures or HE's.

Meh, BP is one of those things you should help out with, as opposed to flash mixtures or HE's.


I agree wholeheartedly here. I hate helping on most things, but ya gotta start somewhere, and BP is the best place for a new person to start. Refusing help on some subjects is understandable, but BP, I mean, we gotta help people wanting to start right, or this whole community will just rot.



Anyway, OP, Sulfur can be found through many online chem stores, it's not watched at all, and you can get it very cheap. That's if you can't find it in a store. KNO3 is stump remover, comes in a plastic jug or can, says CONTAINS POTASSIUM NITRATE on it.

And charcoal can be had in the fish section, just look for a small can of activated carbon.


Ball mill the SHIT out of the KNO3 and the charcoal, SEPARATELY because they are sometimes in prill form, and you want powder, then just follow whatever method you are using.


The key is the fineness of the powder. The finer and more intimate the mixture, the faster it burns. Substituting this for that is NOT something you should be doing at all, you have no idea what is being created there, and many people have been killed doing that exact thing, mixing random chems.

Stick to what has been proven. You aren't anywhere good enough yet to start tweaking your own comps. In time, but not right now. You gotta learn the basics of preparing powders, handling explosives, all that shit before you can even start fucking with the more dangerous powders like flash.

BP is a great place to start, and it isn't as hard as you think, there is tons of info in the info links thread stickied here in BB, and you can google black powder production and find TONS of shit.

Is there anything else i can use in place of the ball mill?

I've had good success with a mortar and pestle just lightly pounding it while lightly moist, great exercise, after 30 minutes (all you need really if you use a proper scale) its black as can be and your arms are burning...... a ball mill would best... If you need to ghetto rig one you should use a drill, vice clamp, and PVC parts.


DONT BUY SCALES FROM EBAY!!!!!
trust me on this....

goto your local headshop and get the 60 dollar one with the 20 year warranty.


the best way I've found to make as a process is to grind the charcoal in a coffee grinder (which by the way is a GREAT tool for airfloat grade ANYTHING) just use seperate ones for each chemical.

as it goes you CAN mix the sulfur and charcoal in the same grinder, just whisk to combine.


do a ethanol recrystalization and pound or mill.

please be safe as BP WILL eventually set you on fire and scare the living shit out of your wife (if you have one)
....don't judge everyone has accidents.


i hope this helped.....


oh if you live in an agricultural area you can order KNO3 by the fucking truckload if need be.

40dollars for a 25kg sack

Precipitation method generally makes too much of a mess to be worthwhile... and it also sucks...

You can get a ball mill at harbor frieght tool for cheap. Or a similar store where ever you are.

You really need to do a lot of reading up on chemical incompatibilities and such especially pyrotechnic ones before you attempt to progress much more in this hobby.

A scale accurate to .1g is often recommended... I have one that is accurate to 1g... however it has a pretty good capacity and i tend to make big batches because i have a big mill and supplies for big shells...

Pyrotechnics is an expensive hobby... you know that right?

I suggest you make your own charcoal. Hand collecting wood and making charcoal is one of my most cherished activities, Plus I know I'm not getting shitty quality charcoal.