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Francotte Eprouvette

Posted: Thu May 18, 2017 2:53 pm
by Flash
Before black power was commercially available, people had to make their own. Without knowing the exact purity of the ingredients, every batch was different, and the makers needed some way to test the powder to determine how much to load.
eprouvette_francotte.jpg
eprouvette_francotte.jpg (162.46 KiB) Viewed 3772 times
This is a photo of one of the eprouvettes in my collection. A fixed measure of powder was loaded, and the resulting shot showed the relative strength on the scale. This particular eprouvette was made by Belgian gunmaker Auguste Francotte, known especially for their high quality engraving and well made guns. I believe this one was made in the 1870's. An identical model resides in the National Firearms Museum.