Found out something wild about old school blueprint ink

Honestly, I was just messing around on this old drafting history site and I read something that blew my mind. They said back in the day, before modern reprographics, some of the ink used for linen drawings had actual gunpowder in it. Like, the stuff from bullets. The article said it was to help the lines stay super crisp and not bleed into the fabric. I tried to find a modern equivalent for a project last month and couldn't find anything close. Makes you realize how much crazy chemistry went into the tools we take for granted now. Has anyone else ever come across a weird old drafting material fact like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

susan6492mo ago

That's a cool story but the gunpowder thing sounds like an urban legend. Old drafting inks were complex but they used stuff like iron gall, not explosives.

anthony_campbell882mo ago

Huh, wonder if the charcoal acts like a filler.

tara_patel2mo ago

Actually, it's not a legend. I ran into this exact problem trying to restore some old factory schematics. The modern stuff just bleeds on linen. A guy I know in historical preservation told me to try mixing a tiny bit of charcoal powder into india ink. It's not gunpowder, but it does the same job of keeping the line sharp. Works surprisingly well.