So why were they used so much in WWI?
Yes, they can be a two edged sword, but that's why care is taken to place it upwind of the intended target (at which time you start praying the wind doesn't shift).
Improvised explosives, weapons, and boobytraps can be fabricated from just about anything your imagination can come up with. If a defender has nothing but time and an axe, you've no idea just how much they can achieve - use the axe to cut down a tree, part of which is shaped into wooden shovels. Pits and ditches can then be dug, stakes emplaced both in the pits and on the surface, walls contructed, etc, etc. Only takes time and imagination....
The most commonly known explosive created from farm chemicals is ANFO aka nitrofil. It's a mix of nitrogen fertiliser (which as of that nastiness with the twin towers a few years back is largely a prohibited, or at least controlled substance), and diesel fuel. Mixed in the right proportion, it makes a very good explosive and has been used in mining operations for decades.
Other commonly available materials such as some toilet cleaners, moth balls, and polyurethane are all ingrediants in improvised charges or incendiaries (obviously I'm not about to post the actual recipes), and many of these recipes would be known to the average science teacher let alone chemist.
In the world of the average T2K civilian, improvisation is the key. Modern military weapons are likely to be few and far between, at least up until around early 1998 IMHO.
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