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Grenadoes


blackjohn

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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

Grenade.jpg

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...

therionarms_c487.jpg

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....

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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.

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They are generally round and smooth.

I heard that! Who is laughing?!? I'm talking about the grenades, d--n your eyes!

:ph34r:

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.

:ph34r:

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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.

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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

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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

:blink:

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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 :D

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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

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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

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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?

:D

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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

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