New Faster Obatex Black Powder From South Africa

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arcticap

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Obatex.jpg obattex 1.jpg

A South African company is making a black powder that's faster than Swiss.
The 3F is so light and fluffy that an equal volume only weighs about 1/2 as much as other powders,
and an equal weight and/or volume is generally faster than all other powders by about 200 FPS or more.
The manufacturer recommends only loading 1/2 as much by weight until a person can work up their load by volume.

"In comparison to weight and volume it was clear that Obatex is as a general rule a lot faster than Wano and Swiss.
No more than 55% of your loads for Swiss or 50% for Wano should be shot with this Obatex.
If the same equivalent by weight is used, the velocity is much too high and the extremely fast ignition will burn
through the nipple very quickly, leading to other possible damage on your firearms."

See velocity comparison test data:--->>> https://www.bpsu.co.za/BPSU_Newsflashes/2016/BPSU Newsflash 7 of 2016.pdf

Obatex tested in BPCR:--->>> https://www.bpsu.co.za/Obatex 2 - By the numbers.pdf

Obatex tested in .45 acp:--->>> https://www.bpsu.co.za/Obatex 3 - ManMagnum December 2017.pdf
 
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Interesting.
Is there an ingredient in addition to charcoal, sulphur, and saltpetre to increase energy and reduce bulk density?

400 Rs for 500 grammes is about 26 USD/lb Avd.
 
Let's see if it ever becomes available here in the States. I hope so, and at that time they will be required to state whether it is a black powder substitute (like Pyrodex, for example) or some fancy new way to use the original BP components. I wouldn't mind another substitute if it required less cleaning after firing than BP.
 
Interesting.
Is there an ingredient in addition to charcoal, sulphur, and saltpetre to increase energy and reduce bulk density?

400 Rs for 500 grammes is about 26 USD/lb Avd.

This is total speculation, but perhaps they're using special charcoal that's made from something akin to balsa wood.
I've read that balsa can help make some powerful and clean burning powder.
Balsa is the softest hardwood species there is, less dense that cork, fast growing and also grown on plantations.
And it has relatives....
If not balsa then probably another soft wood charcoal known for making fast black powder.
 
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The powder and OP information is also being displayed on a website that's affiliated with the MLAIC,
- The Black Powder Shooting Union of South Africa - which would seem to lend the powder some credibility as being authentic:--->>> https://www.bpsu.co.za
 
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On the CastBoolits forum, member rfd posted:

"somewhere someone posted that obetex used paulownia charcoal - this is a lightweight (varying densities, just like balsa) hardwood, fast growing asiatic tree (30 feet per year) that we also farm here in the USA."

While what he read was an opinion based on speculation, Wikipedia does state that Paulownia wood is used for making fireworks.
 
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Article says superior ingredients and I can't enlarge the screen. What is it?
 
The article talks about the problems with the 1st batch tested, and how this new product is superior to that initial production run.
It says that one problem was with finding the correct wood used for the charcoal since the qualities needed
for consistent & clean burning are very specific.
And that the problems were solved by finding the right local ingredients, which seems to indicate the wood and quality of the charcoal
was the problem which they improved somehow.
 
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I make my own black powder...so far red alder, paulownia, black willow, and tree of heaven have all given me very clean burning powder that burns cleaner or just as clean as swiss and is faster. Some of us on castboolits forum are really into trying new wood charcoals. Balsa and paulownia has been used.and makes a.very fluffy charcoal that makes a fast hot.black powder...i wouldnt doubt this.new company is using one of them two woods. I hope it becomes available state side.
 
I can't find any information on it here in the US so it's very probably not imported yet. I'd venture that as it's the only BP source right now in SA, that it will be a while before they can export it. Likely the folks there will want to create individual stockpiles of the product which will gobble up the available product for the near future. Depending, of course, on the output volume of the SA plant, they may or may not have a surplus in the future to export. ;)

LD
 
It states in post #18 that they are using Willow Wood fr the charcoal. I really want to try some of this powder. I hope it gets imported soon but it sounds like a small operation and I bet we never see any of it.

Thanks for the heads up Arcticap.:thumbup:
 
Can't get that high velocity from traditional black powder. It contains something other than charcoal, sulfur and potassium nitrate. The fluffiness comes from some other ingredient, possibly a big slug of potassium perchlorate.
 
Can't get that high velocity from traditional black powder. It contains something other than charcoal, sulfur and potassium nitrate. The fluffiness comes from some other ingredient, possibly a big slug of potassium perchlorate.
If that is true (don't know, here) then it will be very similar to Pyrodex, which also uses the KClO4.
 
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The fluffiness of the powder doesnt mean other ingredients are present. I, and many other bp makers in the castboolits forum have made very fluffy powder....it depends on the charcoal used and wether it is screened or corned by first compressing it before screening. For instance if u decide to make bp without compressing corning and instead want to just push ur wet mix through a wire mesh screen to get a specific grain size...u will get a light weight fluffy black powder. Some prefer this method as its easier to just add a binder to the wet mix and push it through a screen. I prefer adding no binder and just compressing it in a die to make disks that then have to be corned into the grain size i want. Makes a denser clean burning bp. They must be using a very good charcoal...the charcoal makes or breaks ur powder if all else is done right. they mentioned willow but it must be some specific native willow...wish i could get a hold of some or know which type of wood is used. I still suspect a wood closer to balsa...as balsa wood charcoal makes a very fluffy fast clean burning powder.
 
I posted a link to this thread on a South African forum. Please see the response below:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Re: Johan Greyling -High Quality Black Powder available for sale- no shortage anymore

quote_icon.png Originally Posted by Patocazador viewpost-right.png
Obatex is gathering interest in the US also. See the comments in the link below.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.ph...#post-11032647

Please keep in mind when using Obatex adjust your loads to 10% lower ...Obatex is not a Black Powder as we know it, it has much higher pressure spikes than normal Black powder. The information regarding the use of obatex in muzzle loaders /the pro/con there of can be find in articles written by Dr. Wallace Vosloo.
Please read /research the use of Obatex when shooting it in your black powder rifles.. thumb_up.gif thumb_up.gif
 
I posted a link to this thread on a South African forum. Please see the response below:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Re: Johan Greyling -High Quality Black Powder available for sale- no shortage anymore

View attachment 823165 Originally Posted by Patocazador View attachment 823166
Obatex is gathering interest in the US also. See the comments in the link below.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.ph...#post-11032647

Please keep in mind when using Obatex adjust your loads to 10% lower ...Obatex is not a Black Powder as we know it, it has much higher pressure spikes than normal Black powder. The information regarding the use of obatex in muzzle loaders /the pro/con there of can be find in articles written by Dr. Wallace Vosloo.
Please read /research the use of Obatex when shooting it in your black powder rifles..View attachment 823167View attachment 823168
what ingredients are use in making this powder??
 
what ingredients are use in making this powder??

I don't know. I originally thought it was just black powder that had cleared the So. African government's hurdles. They have been without a source for black powder for a couple of years. Their government is very restrictive about guns and powder. Muzzleloaders have to be registered after one passes a proficiency test and pays for registration fees. It usually is a process that involves months rather than days. It appears to be a way to eliminate private ownership of firearms and their components through exhausting regulations rather than a ban ... sort of like California.
 
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