5 ms·

Those sure were different times. I recall in the mid 1970s, as a kid no less, being able to go into a pharmacy and buy sulfur or KNO3 w/o any trouble at all. Ho

Those sure were different times. I recall in the mid 1970s, as a kid no less, being able to go into a pharmacy and buy sulfur or KNO3 w/o any trouble at all. However it wasn't more than a couple years later, when a request for phosphorus was met with an icy "do I need to call your mother" stare, that my budding career as a chemist came to an end. Besides, the Radio Shack across the street had this computer set up for customers to play with..

denton-scratch 4y ago
Sulphur? My local hardware store sells flours of sulphur for gardeners. It's used for acidulating soil, and for combatting some kinds of fungus. I don't know why anyone would want to regulate the sale of elemental sulphur; it's not toxic, caustic or explosive. It's less flammable than a piece of wood.
- chihuahua 4y ago
  GP mentions S and HNO3 in the same sentence. Those 2 combined with charcoal results in black powder.
  - pclmulqdq 4y ago
    You can use household fertilizer to make ETN, which is much more dangerous. There should be no problem with black powder.
  - denton-scratch 4y ago
    So regulate charcoal. And black powder requires saltpetre, and doesn't require nitric acid. You can make saltpetre from piss, but I don't know how. And is black powder so scary? You can get it out of firecrackers, which are sold (here) without ID, although I guess you might have to prove your age to buy fireworks. It doesn't detonate, so it can't be used to prime a high-explosive like ammonium nitrate fertilizer.
    - tragomaskhalos 4y ago
      Saltpetre was available from chemists (ie pharmacies) in the UK, but me and my pals had limited success making decent gunpowder with it - I strongly suspect it was heavily laced with some form of fire retardant precisely to thwart pyromaniacal little herberts like us.
      - thesaintlives 4y ago
        Dry all parts. Mix in food blender, bingo!
        dtgriscom 4y ago
        ... hopefully the "bingo" is delayed until after the mixing process.
      - nibbleshifter 4y ago
        Its still sold in the UK for certain culinary purposes, surprisingly enough. As for why your experiments weren't as spectacular as you hoped: the particular charcoal you use is really important. Its best to make your own with a paint can, some willow, a nail, and a campfire. Adequate crushing of components into floury powder follows, then adequate mixing, and ideally wet-pressing and corning. Source: an extremely misspent youth.
        matthewaveryusa 4y ago
        yeah its a meat preservative. I used to buy it at the butchers, then cook it into sugar and some cotton balls to make spectacular smoke bombs
        kqr 4y ago
        The thing sold in grocery stores is usually CaNO3 though and not KNO3.
        nibbleshifter 4y ago
- djmips 4y ago
  I would collect sulphur - good quality from near the railroad tracks as small amounts would inevitably bounce out onto the ground from large shipments going by.
mauvehaus 4y ago
Some pharmacies still sell saltpeter, which you're of course using to make corned beef. Maybe don't ask for sulfur at the same time though.
ajsnigrutin 4y ago
Can't even buy 30% peroxide anymore over here :/ Some regulation, some scare mongering and it only got sold to business customers... I can do that, but the quantities are also business-sized, and I don't need 20 liters of peroxide, but can't buy it in 1L bottles anymore
xkcd-sucks 4y ago
For all the broke young thrill seekers still out there and reading hn, KNO3 is readily available as "stump remover / killer" (for which it's ... better than placebo) and dirt cheap since it's technical grade
- foobarian 4y ago
  Stump remover is cheap and plentiful. I tried to make gunpowder with it but it was not what I hoped. (It fizzled and went out). What I did have more success with is smoke bombs. Mix sugar and KNO3, heat up slowly in a non-stick pot until molten, pour into appropriate molds, let cool and ignite as desired.
__MatrixMan__ 4y ago
My friends and I found documents authored in the 70's and went around the 90's trying to buy saltpeter--whatever that is. Luckily time had changed "Do I need to call your mother?" into "What the hell is that?" and our mothers were never called. We eventually gave up and graduated to shoplifting model rocket engines, which we powdered with vice grips.
- chiefgeek 4y ago
  Yes! So many Estes "D" engines up in smoke. Loved the mini-mushroom clouds!
nigamanth 4y ago
Life was so safe back then, I remember not even locking the door in the mid 80s LOL. The door to my house was open, and we were sure no-one would enter.
- phkahler 4y ago
  >> The door to my house was open, and we were sure no-one would enter. Except close friends, who could just walk in. Sometimes after a quick knock.
- asdff 4y ago
  I know a family that continues to do this. They say if someone breaks in they'd rather not have to replace a window on top of it all.
  - nigamanth 4y ago
    For real? Where does that family live? (asking just to know whether the area is safe/not) There are parts of the world (Compton, for instance) where crime rates are so high houses get broken into no matter what.

denton-scratch 4y ago

Sulphur? My local hardware store sells flours of sulphur for gardeners. It's used for acidulating soil, and for combatting some kinds of fungus. I don't know why anyone would want to regulate the sale of elemental sulphur; it's not toxic, caustic or explosive. It's less flammable than a piece of wood.

chihuahua 4y ago
GP mentions S and HNO3 in the same sentence. Those 2 combined with charcoal results in black powder.
- pclmulqdq 4y ago
  You can use household fertilizer to make ETN, which is much more dangerous. There should be no problem with black powder.
- denton-scratch 4y ago
  So regulate charcoal. And black powder requires saltpetre, and doesn't require nitric acid. You can make saltpetre from piss, but I don't know how. And is black powder so scary? You can get it out of firecrackers, which are sold (here) without ID, although I guess you might have to prove your age to buy fireworks. It doesn't detonate, so it can't be used to prime a high-explosive like ammonium nitrate fertilizer.
  - tragomaskhalos 4y ago
    Saltpetre was available from chemists (ie pharmacies) in the UK, but me and my pals had limited success making decent gunpowder with it - I strongly suspect it was heavily laced with some form of fire retardant precisely to thwart pyromaniacal little herberts like us.
    - thesaintlives 4y ago
      Dry all parts. Mix in food blender, bingo!
      - dtgriscom 4y ago
        ... hopefully the "bingo" is delayed until after the mixing process.
    - nibbleshifter 4y ago
      Its still sold in the UK for certain culinary purposes, surprisingly enough. As for why your experiments weren't as spectacular as you hoped: the particular charcoal you use is really important. Its best to make your own with a paint can, some willow, a nail, and a campfire. Adequate crushing of components into floury powder follows, then adequate mixing, and ideally wet-pressing and corning. Source: an extremely misspent youth.
      - matthewaveryusa 4y ago
        yeah its a meat preservative. I used to buy it at the butchers, then cook it into sugar and some cotton balls to make spectacular smoke bombs
      - kqr 4y ago
        The thing sold in grocery stores is usually CaNO3 though and not KNO3.
        nibbleshifter 4y ago
djmips 4y ago
I would collect sulphur - good quality from near the railroad tracks as small amounts would inevitably bounce out onto the ground from large shipments going by.

mauvehaus 4y ago

Some pharmacies still sell saltpeter, which you're of course using to make corned beef. Maybe don't ask for sulfur at the same time though.

ajsnigrutin 4y ago

Can't even buy 30% peroxide anymore over here :/ Some regulation, some scare mongering and it only got sold to business customers... I can do that, but the quantities are also business-sized, and I don't need 20 liters of peroxide, but can't buy it in 1L bottles anymore

xkcd-sucks 4y ago

For all the broke young thrill seekers still out there and reading hn, KNO3 is readily available as "stump remover / killer" (for which it's ... better than placebo) and dirt cheap since it's technical grade

foobarian 4y ago
Stump remover is cheap and plentiful. I tried to make gunpowder with it but it was not what I hoped. (It fizzled and went out). What I did have more success with is smoke bombs. Mix sugar and KNO3, heat up slowly in a non-stick pot until molten, pour into appropriate molds, let cool and ignite as desired.

__MatrixMan__ 4y ago

My friends and I found documents authored in the 70's and went around the 90's trying to buy saltpeter--whatever that is. Luckily time had changed "Do I need to call your mother?" into "What the hell is that?" and our mothers were never called. We eventually gave up and graduated to shoplifting model rocket engines, which we powdered with vice grips.

chiefgeek 4y ago
Yes! So many Estes "D" engines up in smoke. Loved the mini-mushroom clouds!

nigamanth 4y ago

Life was so safe back then, I remember not even locking the door in the mid 80s LOL. The door to my house was open, and we were sure no-one would enter.

phkahler 4y ago
>> The door to my house was open, and we were sure no-one would enter. Except close friends, who could just walk in. Sometimes after a quick knock.
asdff 4y ago
I know a family that continues to do this. They say if someone breaks in they'd rather not have to replace a window on top of it all.
- nigamanth 4y ago
  For real? Where does that family live? (asking just to know whether the area is safe/not) There are parts of the world (Compton, for instance) where crime rates are so high houses get broken into no matter what.