1880s Black Powder Express loadings often list "greased cloth" after the millboard wad over the powder. Anyone know or have an educated guess about what the greased cloth was? Was it heavily lubed felt? How thick was it? To fill up the empty space in a shell, it must have been pretty thick, or had several thicknesses layered until the bullet was seated firmly.

I dunno, maybe linen? Linen was supposed to have been the patch material of choice for roundballs, maybe it was used in some way here, too.

Good question.

SRH

Linen is probably the right answer. Linen is a fabric made from the fibers of the flax plant, which was widely grown throughout the world a long time before cotton.

I'm just guessing here, but my speculation is a patch of whatever cloth they had handy smeared with whatever grease they had handy.

For sure it was not this. Greased cloth was like all of the other load components in the British BPE rifles at the time: Exhaustively researched, carefully documented and tested, flawlessly functional. Nothing random about it. I wish I could upload photos to this site from my computer, because some of the rifle case labels have intriguing descriptions of the greased cloth they used. There's an 1880s Charles Lancaster rifle case label that describes the greased cloth as a "perforated green cloth," as though it were a felt wad with holes punched in it, dipped in grease. I have been experimenting with different types of materials, and one thing for sure, these wads were pretty thick, like 0.07" and thicker. Graeme Wright describes what he found inside the BPE cartridges: "a grease/ wax type wad." When the powder did not fill up the case, then these components had to be stacked upon each other until the air space was filled and the bullet could be properly seated.
Anyhow, inquiring minds want to know...
thank you!

One thing is certain... prior to Edwin Drake drilling the first oil well, black powder lubricants were not petroleum products. And it has been shown that the older plant and animal fat based lubes were less corrosive when used with black powder.

When I started shooting flintlock and percussion guns, I had after-rusting in my bores no matter how carefully I cleaned, dried, and oiled them. Then I switched to Thompson Center Natural Lube. I now clean with hot water only, and swab the bores with the same T/C Natural Lube after drying thoroughly. I no longer have any issues with after-rusting. The principle involved is the same as the process of "seasoning" a cast iron skillet.

Knowing what I know now, I don't ever want a drop of petroleum based lube or cleaner anywhere near the bores of my black powder guns.

A 'grease cookie' is part of a BP cartridge load that uses a paper patched bullet.

It takes over the function of grease in the grooves when a grease groove bullet is used.

The purpose is to leave a coat of grease in the bore to keep the powder residue soft.

As mentioned, it would be a non petroleum grease such as lard or tallow.

Taking up space is not the function, although it certainly does.

The concept of 'express' is a light-ish bullet driven to maximum velocity, so any space it takes up runs against the concept.

It's possible, likely even, that with light bullets in BP cartridges an extra grease bearing wad was a necessary evil to keep the rifle free enough of fouling for use in the field, the short bullets having insufficient grooves to do the job.

It's likely that any and all fabrics of the day were tried, as long as they would absorb grease and hold it. They are loaded over a tight fitting hard card wad, the powder being compressed before seating.

I don't know how far back it dates but a 50-50 mix of beeswax & Mutton Tallow has been stated as a most efficient lube for black powder. One thing's for certain, there would have been no shortage of mutton tallow in Merry Ol England.

It's according to what your need is. That mixture is fine for hunting, but unnecessarily messy and slow for exacting target work. Teflon coating is the best for that. Saliva works great for informal offhand target shooting and plinking.

SRH

I have been shooting black powder shotgun cartridges on doves for the last three years, in this case old production Kent Gamebore 2-1/2" 20s. These in a 12 ga twist barreled Brit hammer gun, with ChamberMates. I usually clean the day I shoot, but this trip waited until I got home. I was amazed at how crusty the barrel fouling was after about a day and a half. Stuff was peeling away in chunks rather than coming out on the swabs. I'm guessing this is why bullet lube is so important in BP rifles. So, I finally decided to use the bucket of hot soapy water to clean the bores, rather than multiple passes with Windex and Ballistol. A bit messy, but quicker than my old ways and I have more confidence in the cleanliness of the bores. I also just ordered a pack of T/C Natural Lube patches, per Keith's suggestion, for the final dry pass.

I also spent some time on Google looking for info on "greased cloth," for rifles. Found a number of mentions, but nothing definitive. Did see some passages that indicated that early patches may have been wool, because the Brits had so much of it.

Baize perhaps? An open weave that would hold a lot of solidified grease.

Many modern day BP cartridge shooters do mix their own lube.

A popular commercial product is called SPG after the initials of the 'inventor'.

The shooters and rifles are capable of very fine accuracy.

Brings back a lot of historical memories of the Indian Mutiny. I suspect the greased cloth of the 1870's was identical to the Grease cartridges of the 1853 .577 Enfield Rifle Musket. The Enfield cartridges were "overland with a thin mixture of beeswax and mutton tallow for waterproofing." Here are the references (from wikipedia but there are thousands of references to this) - note the mention of saliva too:

Pattern 1853 Enfield rifled musket
The two weapons which used the cartridge supposedly sealed with pig and cow fat
The rebellion was, literally, started over a gun. Sepoys throughout India were issued with a new rifle, the Pattern 1853 Enfield rifled musket—a more powerful and accurate weapon than the old but smoothbore Brown Bess they had been using for the previous decades. The rifling inside the musket barrel ensured accuracy at much greater distances than was possible with old muskets. One thing did not change in this new weapon — the loading process, which did not improve significantly until the introduction of breech loaders and metallic, one-piece cartridges a few decades later.

To load both the old musket and the new rifle, soldiers had to bite the cartridge open and pour the gunpowder it contained into the rifle's muzzle, then stuff the paper cartridge (overlaid with a thin mixture of beeswax and mutton tallow for waterproofing) into the musket as wadding, the ball being secured to the top of the cartridge and guided into place for ramming down the muzzle. The rifle's cartridges contained 68 grains of FF blackpowder, and the ball was typically a 530-grain Pritchett or a Burton-Minié ball.

Despite no discernible reason for a change in practice, some sepoys believed that the cartridges that were standard issue with the new rifle were greased with lard (pork fat) which was regarded as unclean by Muslims and tallow (cow fat) which angered the Hindus as cows were equal to a goddess to them. The sepoys' British officers dismissed these claims as rumours, and suggested that the sepoys make a batch of fresh cartridges, and greased these with pig and cow fat. This reinforced the belief that the original issue cartridges were indeed greased with lard and tallow.

Another suggestion they put forward was to introduce a new drill, in which the cartridge was not bitten with the teeth but torn open with the hand. The sepoys rejected this, pointing out that they might very well forget and bite the cartridge, not surprising given the extensive drilling that allowed 19th century British and Indian troops to fire three to four rounds per minute. British and Indian military drills of the time required soldiers to bite off the end of the Beeswax paper cartridge, pour the gunpowder contained within down the barrel, stuff the remaining paper cartridge into the barrel, ram the paper cartridge (which included the ball wrapped and tied in place) down the barrel, remove the ram-rod, return the ram-rod, bring the rifle to the ready, set the sights, add a percussion cap, present the rifle, and fire. The musketry books also recommended that, "Whenever the grease around the bullet appears to be melted away, or otherwise removed from the cartridge, the sides of the bullet should be wetted in the mouth before putting it into the barrel; the saliva will serve the purpose of grease for the time being" This meant that biting a musket cartridge was second nature to the Sepoys, some of whom had decades of service in the Company's army, and who had been doing musket drill for every day of their service. The first sepoy who rebelled by aiming his loaded weapon at a British officer was Mangal Pandey who was later executed.[25]

Thank you, gentlemen. Your comments are helpful. If you use any internet search engine like duckduckgo.com, google etc the best "greased cloth" results you will get are a few photos of old Purdey and Lancaster gun case labels, where the millboard card wad and the "greased cloth" are explicitly mentioned. While I thought that lubed felt wads would be the equivalent of greased cloth, my guns get terrible accuracy with the felts. So scratch that idea. Whatever it was, it was a known thing and it worked well. Those people lucky enough to have pulled apart original BPE rounds seem to have dismissed the two wads found inside, or not really analyzed them. Recently I ordered and used actual millboard in lieu of the regular vegetable fiber wads most of us use. Millboard in 1888 was used for bookmaking and also as the over-powder wad in black powder cartridges. It is much stiffer than the vegetable fiber wads, though bendy enough to not act as an obstruction in the barrel. As the felt wads have always let me down, I have gone back to using Dacron pillow stuffing over the millboard, because something must take up the air space in the shell, and unlike the felt wads, the Dacron rounds are really high performers. Now I wonder if I dipped the Dacron in some sort of natural grease, would it in effect basically amount to the "greased cloth" of yore...By the way, in my flintlock I have been using bear grease on the round ball patches, and it is fantastic. Best lubricant I have ever used.

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Wife just bought some Bees Wax Cloth to preserve food...not cheap. I'm wondering if it might work in muzzle loaders? It seems to have the right ingredients:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X28GG5B/ref...0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

I have seen it promoted, but have not tried it for both greasing the patches for a ML rifle & the filler wads for black powder shotguns a 50/50mi of Beeswax & Mutton Tallow. Mutton tallow is said to have a much longer life than most animal tallows/lards without going Rancid.

Beeswax and mutton tallow were apparently the ingredients of the 1853 Rifle-Musket paper cartridge...tear open the cartridge and dump the powder into the barrel. The bullet adhered to the paper sort of but looks like you removed it...but the bullet had the beeswax and tallow on it and rested on top of the powder without a card.... and viola.

Since I don't have mutton tallow...I just might steal one of wife's new Bees wax cloths ("made of organic cotton, sustainably harvested beeswax, organic jojoba oil, and tree resin" ) and cut some holes in it...or better..cut off a couple of inches and just claim she was shorted by the company or something.



1855 British loading-firing drill:

Prepare to Load.
1st. At the word Load, seize the firelock with the right hand immediately under the cock, the forefinger touching the back part of it, the thumb between the stock and barrel, pointing up, the firelock kept steady.
2nd. Quit the butt with the left hand, and grasp the firelock firmly with it, the little finger as high as the shoulder.
3rd. Bring the firelock down in the left hand, and place the butt quietly on the ground, six inches in front of the body, with the barrel to the front, and perpendicular; carry the right hand at the same time to the pouch or ball bag, and draw from it a cartridge; the firelock to be held at the full extent of the left arm.

Load.
1st. Bring the cartridge to the mouth, holding it between the forefinger and thumb, with the ball in the hand, and bite off the top, elbow close to the body.
2nd. Raise the elbow square with the shoulder, with the palm of the hand inclined to the front, and shake the powder into the barrel.
3rd. Reverse the cartridge (keeping the elbow square) by dropping the hand over the muzzle, the fingers in front of the barrel, and place the bullet into the barrel nearly as far as the top, holding the paper above it, between the forefinger and thumb.
4th. By a turn of the wrist from left to right, tear off the paper that remains between the forefinger and thumb, dropping the elbow into the side at the same time, and seize the head of the ramrod with the second joint of the forefinger and thumb.

Rod.
1st. Force the ramrod half out, and seize it back-handed exactly in the middle, the elbow square with the shoulder.
2nd. Draw it entirely out with a straight arm above the shoulder, turning it at the same to the front, put it on the top of the bullet, turning the back of the hand to the front; the ramrod is thus held between the two forefingers and thumb, with the two last fingers shut in the hand.

Home.
1st. Force the bullet straight down till the second finger of the right hand touches the muzzle; elbow close.
2nd. Press the ramrod lightly towards you, and slip the two forefingers and thumb to the point and grasp it as before.
3rd. Force the bullet steadily straight down to the bottom, bringing the elbow down with it close into the body.
4th. Ascertain that the bullet is resting on the powder by two slight taps, avoiding all sharp strokes.

Return. 1st. Draw the ramrod half out, catching it backhanded, with the elbow square.
2nd. Draw it entirely out with a straight arm above the shoulder, turning it to the front; put it into the loops, and force it as quickly as possible to the bottom, the forefinger and thumb holding the ramrod as in the position immediately previous to drawing it.

Cap.
1st. Make a half face to the right, by raising the toes and turning on the heels in that direction, the right heel in front of the left, the left toes pointing to the front, and the right toes pointing to the right; bring the firelock at the same time to the right side, with the left hand at the swell, and hold it in a horizontal position, the front rank pressing the side nail against the right hip, the rear rank four inches above it; the right hand holding the small of the butt, and half cock the piece, thumb resting on the cock.
2nd. Advance the forefinger to throw off the old cap (after having fired). Carry the band to the cap pocket, and take a cap between the forefinger and thumb. Put the cap on the nipple, and press it down with the flat part of the thumb ; fingers clenched. Then carry the hand to the small of the butt quietly.
As Front or Rear Rank ---- yards.

Ready.
1st. Adjust the sight; with the forefinger and thumb of the right hand place the sliding bar even with the line which indicates the required elevation for the distance named; after which, raise the flap steadily from the top; the fingers of the hand will then resume their former position behind the guard, the thumb resting on the cock.
2nd. Cock the piece, then replace the thumb on the small of the butt, at the same time (as a front rank) the right foot will be carried six inches to the rear of, and in line with, the inner side of the left heel; (as a rear rank) the right foot will be carried nine inches diagonally to the right, and in rear of the left heel of the man on the right; fix the eye steadily on the object, and incline the body forward from the heels.

[Editor's Note: Sights varied on each model of musket. The 1842 musket had a block sight good for about 150 yards. The Pattern 1851 Minié Rifle Musket had a graduated backsight to 1000 yards; and the pattern 1853 had graduated backsight to 900 yards.]
In firing by companies, the sliding bar will generally be set to the correct distance before the firing commences; the soldier will then be required to raise the flap only, and cock the piece at the word Ready; but when the squad is exercised in slow time, it will be advisable, for the sake of practice, that some arbitrary distance should he given. Whenever no distance is given, the soldier must judge for himself the distance from the object he is to aim at.

Present.
1st. Bring the firelock at once to the shoulder, pressing the centre part of the heel-plate firmly into the hollow of it, with the left hand, which must grasp the piece at the swell, the right hand holding it at the small, the right elbow slightly raised (but not so much as to impede the aim of the rear rank 'man), the muzzle inclining to the bottom of the object and the forefinger of the right hand extended along the side of the trigger guard; at the same time shut the left eye.
2nd. Raise the muzzle, slowly and independently until the foresight is aligned through the back sight with the object the right eye is fixed upon; at the same time placing the forefinger on the trigger.
3rd. Pull the trigger with the second joint of the finger 'by a steady pressure, without the least jerk or motion of the band or elbow, keeping the eye still fixed on the object.
4th. Bring the firelock down to the capping position, at the same time bring the right foot to the position in which it was placed before coming to the ready; shut down the flap, count a pause of the slow time, and come to the position of Prepare to Load.

And all that whilst being shot at! The Thin Red Line in action. Lagopus…..

Thanks for the lead on new material , Argo, and for that nice painting. I’ve been experimenting with a heavy 0.023” canvas soaked in bear grease and then with a dab of Old Slickum on top before the pp bullet is seated. It’ll take four pieces compressed to equal the 0.07” thickness common to greased cloth of the 1880s. The original greased cloth was described as “perforated “ and green. One thing i have learned is the felt wads do not help accuracy. Strangely.