blackjohn Posted October 24, 2004 Posted October 24, 2004 My crew has been looking for replica grenades for awhile now. So far, these are the best I've seen. Anyone have other sources? Blackjohn My Home on the Web The Pirate Brethren Gallery Dreams are the glue that holds reality together.
Bad Rum Ian Posted October 24, 2004 Posted October 24, 2004 Searched around but haven't come up with any grenades, but I did find a Cannon Girl. ...which is no help to you but I thought I would just pass along the link any how, you know, as a public service.
Duchess Posted October 24, 2004 Posted October 24, 2004 Hmmm, Stephanie looks a little nervous to me. Must be her first time being exploited...
Patrick Hand Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Must be her first time being exploited... Well without using any powder in the cute cannon.... she can't "explode" it.....
BLACK SKOT Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Hmmmm.....Nice cannon! BLACK SKOT ---(BLACKIE) "Quarter" Master Pyrates of the Coast "Permit me aboard and I'll be takin' over yer ship... Don't permit me aboard and I'll still take over yer ship"
Captain_MacNamara Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Yeah! Nice um... Cannon.. Yeah... Captain of the Iron Lotus It is the angle that holds the rope, not the size of the hole.
Hrothgar Addams Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Cannon? There was a cannon ? Never give up--Never surrender! Remember -- A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...BUT a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!" Live while yer alive--an' when yore dead be done with it!
Gentleman of Fortune Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Back to the Grenades guys.... I would be interested to see an example of Grenados that were not under water for 300 years. In the Whydah picture the grenade body is very rough looking and uneven. Maybe this is due to the technology being very basic that produced it and the article says that there is no uniform thickness throughout the body. The ones available to us... look like the tops of chain link fence post (or something similar). How about the "neck" on the repro.... Has anyone seen an original example with a neck on it like that? I agree that the repros are the only game in town at this point.... Come aboard my pirate re-enacting site http://www.gentlemenoffortune.com/ Where you will find lots of information on building your authentic Pirate Impression!
the Royaliste Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 There are signs of seaming, welding, or both on the 'new' ones...The older originals would be all cast parts, and forged, not welded. Tis the reason for the reverse conical shape of the neck and throat of the grenadoe........When the 'neck' was added, the body was hot also, and the 'neck' swedged into the body.
blackjohn Posted October 25, 2004 Author Posted October 25, 2004 They are generally round and smooth. I heard that! Who is laughing?!? I'm talking about the grenades, d--n your eyes! I've seen the examples in the Whydah museum, and have some pics somewhere around here. Also, the pics I've seen of from those recovered from the wreck of the HMS Invincible round and smooth, with a dimple on the bottom to keep them from rolling away. I have not seen an original with a neck like that. The grenades, that is. My Home on the Web The Pirate Brethren Gallery Dreams are the glue that holds reality together.
Gentleman of Fortune Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 Well if anyone has pictures of originals... don't hesitate to post them. Is this correct?... A round cast iron hollow ball approximately 3 inches in diameter. Slight dimple in the bottom and maybe a quarter inch hole in the top (for the wooden dowel/fuse. The thickness is approximately 1/4 inch in the top half and gradually gets thicker to about 5/8" toward the bottom? There is no neck at the top, just a hole. Come aboard my pirate re-enacting site http://www.gentlemenoffortune.com/ Where you will find lots of information on building your authentic Pirate Impression!
corsair2k3 Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 I'll be posting some more grenades as I can get to them----their roughness or smoothness seems to have more to do with the quality of the original cast iron than the fact that they were in water. The thickness varies on the broken grenades but they are thicker at the bottom. We have seen none with necks--either on the site, or in the literature for this period. They vary a bit in diameter but three inches/90cm would be a good working average. Will try to post a couple more by the weekend Also a pistol. Regards, The Corsair
Hawkyns Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 I got to handle one of Therion's granadoes a couple of weeks ago. Sweet. Good size and heft, the plug and match looked reaaly good. Far better than some of the repros I've seen dummied up from baseball grenades. One thing to remember. Original grenades were not made to government spec in a factory. They were made by local founderies and smiths and were expendable, so not made with a huge amout of attention to detail. I've seen a number and they are all different. it's difficult to determine the original surface after 300 years, especially since most extant examples are battlefield finds. Anything reasonably close would seem tp be acceptable. Hawkyns Cannon add dignity to what otherwise would be merely an ugly brawl I do what I do for my own reasons. I do not require anyone to follow me. I do not require society's approval for my actions or beliefs. if I am to be judged, let me be judged in the pure light of history, not the harsh glare of modern trends.
Duchess Posted October 27, 2004 Posted October 27, 2004 It seems like maybe the question to ask is: What do you think is wrong with the reproductions you've already found? The Duchess
Gentleman of Fortune Posted October 27, 2004 Posted October 27, 2004 What I think is wrong? To me the seem too round and uniform. Also, it looks like galvanized steel and not cast iron. And I don't like that "neck" either. I applaud Therions' attempts and they seem to be the only game in town. I just wanted to get some more information before I found some sweat shop in China to cast them for me... thats all Come aboard my pirate re-enacting site http://www.gentlemenoffortune.com/ Where you will find lots of information on building your authentic Pirate Impression!
blackjohn Posted October 27, 2004 Author Posted October 27, 2004 What do you think is wrong with the reproductions you've already found? As GoF says, the neck is wrong. Every example I've seen has been a hollow ball with a hole in the top. The hole is plugged with a long wooden stopper holding the fuse. On these repros, it appears that the neck is actually part of the ball, either welded onto it or cast as part of it. Blackjohn My Home on the Web The Pirate Brethren Gallery Dreams are the glue that holds reality together.
the Royaliste Posted October 27, 2004 Posted October 27, 2004 As noted prior, the nipple is welded to the body, and seam welded all aroud the diameter, then ground. Most likely a fence part, altho I've used different caps on fence. Made of steel, not cast.
Silver Steele Posted October 27, 2004 Posted October 27, 2004 Found this little tidbit from the QAR. QAR: Lab Update With the picture of the "hand grenade" being Hand Grenade from the QAR http://www.qaronline.org/artifacts/grenad-2[1].gif Two More "grenades" from the QAR
blackjohn Posted October 27, 2004 Author Posted October 27, 2004 Most likely a fence part, altho I've used different caps on fence. Have you ever seen weighted gates for fences? In Williamsburg many (all?) of the gates have a weight attached to them so they close slowly behind you. They seem like they would make good grenadoes, but I've never been able to find them online (nor have I searched in a year or two). Blackjohn My Home on the Web The Pirate Brethren Gallery Dreams are the glue that holds reality together.
blackjohn Posted October 27, 2004 Author Posted October 27, 2004 Well if anyone has pictures of originals... don't hesitate to post them. GoF, I checked the Files section of our mail list, and found more grenade pics in a folder labeled Whydah Artifacts. My Home on the Web The Pirate Brethren Gallery Dreams are the glue that holds reality together.
Gentleman of Fortune Posted October 27, 2004 Posted October 27, 2004 Thanks BlackJohn! That is just the sort of picture I was looking for. I am beginning to think that maybe Williamsburg had them made for themselves. I have googled "fence gate weight" and came up with nothing. I would think that technologically speaking, it would be an easy thing to have made.... like in India, Pakistan, or China. Obviously, the shipping charges would bite because of the weight but who knows. I will keep you posted as events warrant.... PS Were this type of Grenade shot out of the Hand Mortar? Come aboard my pirate re-enacting site http://www.gentlemenoffortune.com/ Where you will find lots of information on building your authentic Pirate Impression!
blackjohn Posted October 28, 2004 Author Posted October 28, 2004 Now where on Earth are you going to find a hand mortar!?!?! To answer your question, yes. Some were tossed, others fired from hand mortars, and there were even granade launcher cups designed with a socket attachment for the brown bess. Fwiw, if you ever watch the special edition version of Last of the Mohicans there is an additional battle scene with a grenadier carrying a hand mortar! And I know Boarders Away has at least one illustration of one. Blackjohn My Home on the Web The Pirate Brethren Gallery Dreams are the glue that holds reality together.
Gentleman of Fortune Posted April 5, 2005 Posted April 5, 2005 Reviving an old thread cause E-bay's been good to me!!! Look what I scored guys! GoF Come aboard my pirate re-enacting site http://www.gentlemenoffortune.com/ Where you will find lots of information on building your authentic Pirate Impression!
Gentleman of Fortune Posted September 13, 2005 Posted September 13, 2005 Out of the archives for those interested..... GoF Come aboard my pirate re-enacting site http://www.gentlemenoffortune.com/ Where you will find lots of information on building your authentic Pirate Impression!
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now