# Does gunpowder smell like...gunpowder? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 7, 2010, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247 "2010-04-07T04:26:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Standup\_Karmic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Standup\_Karmic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Standup_Karmic)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/1 "2010-04-07T04:26:22Z")
The last time I shot a gun was a couple of decades back as a teenaged air cadet. I’d like to make some “joke” soap that smells like that just-fired-rifle odor. Would adding gunpowder to a soap base (just like if one was making any of their own fancy soaps) add that odor? I’ve never smelled raw gunpowder that’s outside of a shell or bullet, so don’t really know what it smells like (if anything). Guidance? ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/2 "2010-04-07T05:03:04Z")
Remind me never to wash my hands at your place. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/3 "2010-04-07T05:47:21Z")
Look to sulfur compounds. I don’t know if potassium compounds have any distinctive smell. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/4 "2010-04-07T05:48:42Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Remind me never to wash my hands at your place. Or at least not to dry them by the fire. ---
**Author:** ![opmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9d8465/32.png) [@opmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/opmike)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/5 "2010-04-07T05:54:13Z")
Well, “gunpowder” is sort of vague. Most modern (post 1900) cartridge ammunition uses smokeless powder. Muzzle-loaders use black powder, but even a lot of those users are using black powder substitute. In any case, none of this stuff is particularly strong smelling in my experience at all, especially in it’s unfired state. I have several containers of Unique and Bullseye powder (smokeless powder) that I use for reloading and I don’t see how it could be used to add an “odor” to something. ---
**Author:** ![kombatminipig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5ac83/32.png) [@kombatminipig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kombatminipig)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/6 "2010-04-07T07:17:51Z")
From personal experience (having handled both smokeless and black powder), gunpowder has very little smell. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/7 "2010-04-07T13:59:03Z")
I always thought the smell of gunpowder was the smell of things after the gun had fired. Burnt gunpowder was the smell not the powder itself. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/8 "2010-04-07T14:09:25Z")
[Sulfur dioxide](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_dioxide) gas is the primary smelly component of burnt gunpowder. It’s pretty reactive stuff, so will probably turn into something else fairly quickly if you add it to soap. ---
**Author:** ![TerpBE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc8723/32.png) [@TerpBE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TerpBE)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/9 "2010-04-07T15:04:12Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Remind me never to wash my hands at your place. Especially if you’re going to be taking a flight in the near future. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/10 "2010-04-07T15:11:26Z")
Don’t ask me how I know this but gunpowder added to the soap won’t give a gunpowder smell to your soap. What you really want is the residue of burnt gunpowder. In the case of black powder you won’t need very much to get that trace-rotten-eggs smell all us muzzleloaders know and love but with smokeless it is tons harder. The result of just burning the powder in an open pan doesn’t have the same “nose” quality as it does burned down a barrel but you would need to clean a couple hundred guns to get enough residue to give you a good batch. (if you flash black powder in a pan or such be sure to do it outside and use a very very long match. This ain’t Hollywood and the stuff burns tall and FAST) ---
**Author:** ![Standup\_Karmic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Standup\_Karmic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Standup_Karmic)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/11 "2010-04-07T16:18:03Z")
I think it’s safe to call this one asked and answered. Thanks all for your input! Decision: no making of gunpowder soap. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/12 "2010-04-07T17:17:00Z")
The smell I most associate with gunpowder seems to be a nitrate smell, not a sulfur-based smell. Or at least, I’ve smelled similar things that had nitrates but not sulfur in them. ---
**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/13 "2010-04-07T17:20:29Z")
As I tell school children when I demonstrate firing my flintlock rifle, “Gunpowder is made of three very common ingredients–which I’m not going to tell you. . .” One of them, though, is sulfur. That’s the smelly part. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/14 "2010-04-07T17:23:16Z")
Black powder does not smell the same as burnt black powder, but in any case it should not be added to anything someone may strike. I haven’t smelled other gunpowder varieties. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/15 "2010-04-07T17:53:47Z")
> [@Standup\_Karmic](#): > > I think it’s safe to call this one asked and answered. Thanks all for your input! Decision: no making of gunpowder soap. Wait, there is one unanswered question: How was this supposed to be a ‘joke’ soap? 1. Lace soap with gunpowder smell. 2. ??? 3. Laughs! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/16 "2010-04-07T18:02:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The smell I most associate with gunpowder seems to be a nitrate smell, not a sulfur-based smell. Or at least, I’ve smelled similar things that had nitrates but not sulfur in them. I think you’re on to something. The entrance to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico smells like bat guano and also has a slight gunpowdery smell to it. So maybe the OP can try to procure artificial old guano scent? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/17 "2010-04-07T18:17:51Z")
Smokekess powder will sometimes have a vaguely ether-like odor of which one can catch a whiff when opening a cannister of powder or an ammo can. Different formulations have different aromas when fired, but most of them smell something like ammonia to me. Blackpowder doesn’t smell like much of anything to me in its unburnt state but, as stated above, blackpowder smoke does have a pronounced rotten egg note to it from the sulfur. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/18 "2010-04-07T18:37:19Z")
I love the smell of gunpowder in the morning. It smells like… fun. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/19 "2010-04-07T20:19:02Z")
> [@VernWinterbottom](#): > > As I tell school children when I demonstrate firing my flintlock rifle, “Gunpowder is made of three very common ingredients–which I’m not going to tell you. . .” > > One of them, though, is sulfur. That’s the smelly part. You’re safe, as long as they aren’t Star Trek TOS fans. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247/20 "2010-04-07T22:21:29Z")
I always though the smell associated with gunpowder was burned cordite. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-gunpowder-smell-like-gunpowder/535247.md?page=2)