Review of Thai Granite Mortar & Pestle

RE: Thai granite stone Mortar & Pestle:

http://importfood.com/mortarpestle.html.

The 9 inch OD Mortar (6 1/2 inch ID) plus 9 inch length Pestle, 24 lbs
weight, sells for $49.95 plus $12 flat-rate shipping from Washington
State throughout the Continental USA, i.e., $61 total.

The grey granite is hard, but somewhat more porous than marble; it
should be washed clean after use to avoid impregnation of oxidiser
salts. Anybody have a 'good' exploding mortar & pestle story? The
upper half of the pestle, and the outside and lip of the mortar, are
clear glazed and non-absorbent. There are sort of pug ears at both
sides the mortar, which aid in lifting or positioning this chunk,
one-eighth the weight of a grown man.

The M&P is beautifully ground, the convex bowel actually convoluting
back past demi-sphere, to form about 13/20 of a sphere -- so that
pulverising ingredients tend to fall back into well should they begin
to reach the lip. The pestle style is bulky, not tall & thin like some
Eastern brass types.

I wonder how it will work for non-corned (not cake-pressed) BP,
because, after wet-grinding and drying, the KNO3 crystals in the result
were never easy to pulverise in a standard porcelain Mortar to prime
fineness, I discovered at age 9 in my basement 'lab' (as Harry Conover
and others also doubtless did). I concluded then, as now, that the
common American porcelain, at least, was just too soft to get a true
powder much smaller than circa 40 mesh granules out of reformed
Saltpetre crystals -- though its been a half century since I've tried.
(I take the point that forced drying, with agitation, may result in
finer crystals.)

For wet-grinding it should do splendidly. For pulverising corned
press-cakes, it should do well vs. the Aluminum pressure pot & wood
baseball-bat method discussed recently. It seems rational that dry BP
ought not to be unnecessarily struck or treated to rough friction, and,
of course, n.b. chlorate & even perchlorate compositions ought never to
be dry milled by any method; and common fuel metals dry or wet!
Doubtless there are those who disagree re BP, but it simply goes
contrariwise to my instincts and there remains stories of unexplained
BP explosions (e.g., the 1911 Hitt Fireworks explosion, which resulted
simply upon opening the wood cask,
http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=3036). Neither
ought an electric coffee grinder or blender to be used nonchalantly --
the fine aerated dust of any fuel is highly explosive and ESD sensitive
even without containing oxidiser! (You know, the old grain silo
explosion hazard . . . or the tossed lead balls in aluminium jar trace
Magnesium milling stunt, the flashing result in toasted flesh of which
befell one of our company not long ago; trust you are healing superbly,
good-natured brother!)

{The Japanese porcelain M&Ps which a heavens-illuminating supplier
purveys might do better on re-crystallised KNO3; the set I received
last week was so hard as to seem almost vitrified, not quite
translucent, and yielding a crystal-like ring when struck. They come
in 90, 100, & 120 mm OD mortars, also with the same OD in pestle
length.}

This hard granite stone Thai Mortar & Pestle is well worth the price,
several sizes being available down from the 9 inch (225 mm) maximum --
but I suggest going the max. Aussies, Netherlanders and others
doubtless can also obtain these readily, in Thai & Indonesian culinary
supply stores.

Appreciative of any proffered corrections/additions to the BP
information -- about which I am obviously novice but have an American
1858 replica New Calvary .44 in my sights, with intention of period BP
preparation for use therein. (BTW--a stainless steel strength version,
might it run best on a finer powder, even perhaps at reduced load? For
the pyrotechnics of pistols sometimes cross this subject [of
pyrotechnic BP] and apparent experts post great stuff.)

GOD Bless!

Edward

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