Old smokey

[abunaitoo]

Look what I found!!!!!
263809

[corbinace]

I had one of those long ago when I competed for the Marine Corps.

[wch]

Yep, I had one long ago when I competed for the Army.

[MrWolf]

What did it do? I tried to do a search but nada.

[Wayne Smith]

used for darkening sights with smoke.

[dale2242]

I still have the one we used when shooting silhouettes.
You put carbide and water in it to produce acetylene that produces very thick black smoke when the wick is lit,
You use to blacken sights...dale.

[wch]

What did it do? I tried to do a search but nada.
The user filled the reservoir with carbide pellets and added water which produced acetylene gas. There's a flint and wheel striker on top which you spun and then smoked your iron sights to knock down the sun's glare and made the sight picture sharper.
(As I age I find more items that tell me I'm obsolescent!)

[trebor44]

WOW, I forgot all about how the sights, especially the front had to be smoked to reduce the glare way back then. I do remember the acetylene gas lights we used in lieu of flashlights when doing chores.

[Alstep]

There's nothing like carbide to blacken sights. It's just that deep dark flat black that makes them stand out. All the spray on stuff is garbage by comparison. Nothing else quite like it. Used it for years when I shot service rifle.

[Texas by God]

A kitchen match works fairly well for the same purpose.

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[Pressman]

I still have mine, left over from my younger competitive days, and a bottle of carbide pellets.

Does anyone know if the pellets are still available??

[Scrounge]

I still have mine, left over from my younger competitive days, and a bottle of carbide pellets.

Does anyone know if the pellets are still available??

Amazon isn't my favorite place to buy, but:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=calcium+carbide+pellets&hvadid=77859219986656&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&tag=mh0b-20&ref=pd_sl_7qjuxsfttz_e

Or a search on your favorite search engine using "carbide pellets" will find a bunch.

[country gent]

I always bought a can of calcium carbide on commercial row every year. Union carbide came in a quart paint style can. Shipping it other wise is a problem. They really work well way better than sprays or matches. Clean sight when done as it builds up it also will change zero. Miners lamps were also popular with the high power shooters In the morning the team would get together and that little smoker could smoke 7-8 rifles sights easily.

If you use it keep the filter clean and dry thats under the burner orifice, a new cigarette filter fit in works well. Keep the threads clean and free turning. You will be tightening it up as pressure builds. also keep the oring in good shape and lightly lubed.

A couple "rocks" and a little water is all thats needed, to much and the jet wont light. I still remember the pops of these lighting up and down the line in the morning.

[john.k]

If you want the carbide to last in storage ,store in a tin of kerosine ....I think carbide is still stocked by some hiking /camping/explorer type shops...at very high price.