Editing Slow match (section)

== Design and use ==

The slow match attached to the lock of the [[matchlock]] gun was usually a length of [[hemp]] or [[flax]] cord<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musketeer.ch/blackpowder/lunte.html|title=Slow Match|publisher=Musketeer.ch|access-date=2011-11-11}}</ref> that had been chemically treated to make it burn slowly and consistently for an extended period.<ref name=poa/> In Japan, however, match cord was made from braiding together strands of bark from the [[Chamaecyparis obtusa|Japanese cypress]]. The rate of burning was approximately 1&nbsp;ft (305{{nbsp}}mm) per hour. The British Army estimated that a single soldier on guard duty, for one year, could use an entire mile's worth of match cord. In practical use on a matchlock, both ends of the match cord were often ignited, as the flash of gunpowder in the flash pan could extinguish one end of the match cord, and the remaining end could then be used to reignite the firing end of the cord upon reloading the matchlock musket. To prevent dragging the match cord on wet ground, a [[linstock]], a forked wooden support inserted into the ground and used for holding the end of the match cord furthest removed from the matchlock, was typically carried.

Many formulas for match cord exist, providing varying burn rates. The predominant chemical used was [[potassium nitrate]], although [[sodium nitrate]], and [[lead(II) acetate]] {{Citation needed|date=January 2024|reason=Acetates are not normally oxidising agents, nor are lead compounds.}} also appear to have been used. Potassium nitrate had an advantage over sodium nitrate, being less likely to absorb atmospheric moisture.

Match cord was often used from the 15th century until about 1630, when the [[flintlock]] started its rise to prominence. (The arrival of the [[snaplock]] after 1540 had only limited impact on match cord use, snaplocks generally being considered a peasant's weapon.) Match cord remained in use with limited numbers of matchlocks in Europe until approximately 1730, and in Japan until the early 1900s. Even once it became obsolete for small arms use, some artillery users (notably the [[Royal Navy]]) continued to deploy it as a backup until the end of the flintlock era.

[[Historic England]] published a well illustrated account of the investigation of conservation work on a slow match pouch found in the intertidal zone at Medmerry, West Sussex, now in the collection of the [[National Museum of the Royal Navy]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nordgren Eric; Middleton A|date=2018|title=Conservation of a leather slow match pouch from Medmerry, West Sussex. Historic England Research Report 60/2018|url=https://research.historicengland.org.uk/Report.aspx?i=16171&ru=/Results.aspx?p=1&n=10&rn=60&ry=2018&ns=1|access-date=2020-06-09|website=research.historicengland.org.uk}}</ref>

[[File:Cannoneer CoGH-3 jeh.jpg|thumb|Artillery demonstrator with burning slow match]]