The Case of the Quik-Lite Grenado

[Red_Dawn]

This isn't for research, but it's been bothering me for months.

My eldest sister is helping one of our sisters out with her kids. Sometimes she'll watch Deadliest Warrior when the kids are asleep. One day she told me about a fight they simulated between a pirate and a knight.

Wikipedia's explanation for what's going on.

I know these may be fighting words on a pirate forum, but we both believe the knight should've won. But while sis is hung up on the pistol that still fires after being in wet sand (you'll see it near the end of the video), I'm all het up about what I call the Quik-Lite Grenado^TM.

I mean, just how long does it take to light a grenado? Yeah, the pirate in the video has wicks in his hair like Blackbeard, but they're not smouldering wicks. Unless fire-lighting technologies were more advanced than I thought, it must've taken some time to light it, then the grenado. He should've had his head smashed to paste before then.

Seriously, that grenado bugs me, and if you can give me a good estimate about how long it takes to light one in the real world using the technology they had back then I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

[Dutchman]

ok, ill start.....

tis my opinion and not based on actual facts, i'm too lazy to look stuff up tonight.

ITS A TV SHOW, NOT REAL LIFE- ITS RIGGED

now i dont mean rigged in that the pirate has been stacked to win, but they are looking at the effectiveness of weapons-not reaction of man. If we want to look at that, one could argue that the knight would have been worn out just getting to the beach, running after the pirate, hefting all that armor around and therefor would have lost by default. So with that in mind, i would rule out any time line constraints.

To light a grenadoe, slow match could have been used in this scenario. Other than the legend of Black Beard, i have not heard of anyone else carrying it under their hat. Carried in a can designed to contain lit slowmatch, its a matter of transferring the "cherry" of one match to the next, igniting the grenadoe. It happens all the time on a cannon line. PSSST- hey mate, me linstock is out can i have yer cherry? Sure, here ya go. Voila- second linstock is lit. Timely? No, but imagine a dozen of these things being flung at you from a group over the course of fifteen or thirty seconds. I'm sure the slow match can has a name, but i have no idea.

The firelock on the beach firing? Maybe. Its a 1/3% crap shoot to start with.

End result, its a show.

[MarkG]

This isn't for research, but it's been bothering me for months.

My eldest sister is helping one of our sisters out with her kids. Sometimes she'll watch Deadliest Warrior when the kids are asleep. One day she told me about a fight they simulated between a pirate and a knight.

Wikipedia's explanation for what's going on.

I know these may be fighting words on a pirate forum, but we both believe the knight should've won. But while sis is hung up on the pistol that still fires after being in wet sand (you'll see it near the end of the video), I'm all het up about what I call the Quik-Lite Grenado^TM.

I mean, just how long does it take to light a grenado? Yeah, the pirate in the video has wicks in his hair like Blackbeard, but they're not smouldering wicks. Unless fire-lighting technologies were more advanced than I thought, it must've taken some time to light it, then the grenado. He should've had his head smashed to paste before then.

Seriously, that grenado bugs me, and if you can give me a good estimate about how long it takes to light one in the real world using the technology they had back then I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

What this show does is evaluate an equal number of weapons for each side. They then run simulations of how well each combination of weapon works. The side that gets the most kills is the winner. After that their fight choreographer comes up with a battle in which each combatant uses every weapon. There are always problems with this final fight. Warriors shake off major injuries and weapons don't always work the way they would in real life.

If these two ever actually met I would expect the pirate to take cover until the knight was in range and then blast him with a blunderbuss and that would be that.

Mark

[MarkG]

ok, ill start.....

tis my opinion and not based on actual facts, i'm too lazy to look stuff up tonight.

ITS A TV SHOW, NOT REAL LIFE- ITS RIGGED

now i dont mean rigged in that the pirate has been stacked to win, but they are looking at the effectiveness of weapons-not reaction of man. If we want to look at that, one could argue that the knight would have been worn out just getting to the beach, running after the pirate, hefting all that armor around and therefor would have lost by default. So with that in mind, i would rule out any time line constraints.

To light a grenadoe, slow match could have been used in this scenario. Other than the legend of Black Beard, i have not heard of anyone else carrying it under their hat. Carried in a can designed to contain lit slowmatch, its a matter of transferring the "cherry" of one match to the next, igniting the grenadoe. It happens all the time on a cannon line. PSSST- hey mate, me linstock is out can i have yer cherry? Sure, here ya go. Voila- second linstock is lit. Timely? No, but imagine a dozen of these things being flung at you from a group over the course of fifteen or thirty seconds. I'm sure the slow match can has a name, but i have no idea.

The firelock on the beach firing? Maybe. Its a 1/3% crap shoot to start with.

End result, its a show.

The pirate was inspired by Blackbeard. He had the burning slow match on the hat (and the black beard). The best part was when the knight kept coming and the pirate rolled his eyes. You knew he was thinking, "Him again?" That was about as much personality as any of the warriors showed in either season.

A lit match could be carried in a match case which was a metal tube with holes in it to let air in.

Mark

[PoD]

A match case like the one below was carried by grenadiers on their baldrics. Not sure when these came onto the scene but heres some pictures of what they look like:

I always wonder what kind of fuse the grenadoe had. I have seen references that said it was just cloth but i assume there was also such a thing as a fuse around that time?

Edited December 29, 2010 by PoD

[Quartermaster James]

Well, there's slow match, and there's quick match: http://www.pyrouniverse.com/show/fusing/quickmatch.htm

Several kinds of matches were available prior to the 18th-century. Slow match consisted of a length of hemp cord soaked in a solution of saltpeter and lime water. It was designed to burn at a rate of one foot per hour and was commonly used to light grenades and fire the touch holes of artillery pieces. Quick match consisted of a cotton wick impregnated with saltpeter or coated with gum and mealed powder. It as designed to burn very quickly and acted as a fuse. ( http://www.nwta.com/couriers/6-96/matches.html )

[Red_Dawn]

Thanks, guys!

ok, ill start.....

tis my opinion and not based on actual facts, i'm too lazy to look stuff up tonight.

ITS A TV SHOW, NOT REAL LIFE- ITS RIGGED

I know, I shouldn't get so ticked off at a show.

What this show does is evaluate an equal number of weapons for each side. They then run simulations of how well each combination of weapon works. The side that gets the most kills is the winner. After that their fight choreographer comes up with a battle in which each combatant uses every weapon. There are always problems with this final fight. Warriors shake off major injuries and weapons don't always work the way they would in real life.

Emphasis mine.

That could explain a lot. The pirate could've won, just not the way it was choreographed?

To light a grenadoe, slow match could have been used in this scenario. Other than the legend of Black Beard, i have not heard of anyone else carrying it under their hat. Carried in a can designed to contain lit slowmatch, its a matter of transferring the "cherry" of one match to the next, igniting the grenadoe. It happens all the time on a cannon line. PSSST- hey mate, me linstock is out can i have yer cherry? Sure, here ya go. Voila- second linstock is lit. Timely? No, but imagine a dozen of these things being flung at you from a group over the course of fifteen or thirty seconds.

A lit match could be carried in a match case which was a metal tube with holes in it to let air in.

So it's possible for him to have an already-lit match on his person instead lighting it from scratch. I might've thought better of the fight results if they had used a match case instead of the hair matches.

The pirate was inspired by Blackbeard. He had the burning slow match on the hat (and the black beard).

I don't know. It didn't look lit or even smouldering to me until he was using it on the grenado.

If these two ever actually met I would expect the pirate to take cover until the knight was in range and then blast him with a blunderbuss and that would be that.

I like that better, though it would've been too short a fight for TV.

A match case like the one below was carried by grenadiers on their baldrics. Not sure when these came onto the scene but heres some pictures of what they look like:

Nice pics. Thanks!