Blank Stielhandgranate WW1 handle

[jeeeensy]

Paul, I swear I thought that handle as original when I got it, still not 100% sure it aint PM me for full story I was given...Dano

Not that old Chestnut again :tinysmile_eyebrow_t,,,,,only kidding Dano..
if these are copies, thay are close to the real thing.

Paul ..look at the top opening and see if the thickness of the outside wall is slightly offset , the larger opening that the fuse is seated into looks to be not centre on my one,, is yours the same? cheers Nick

 

[jeeeensy]

Laser Cut

The marks seems to be done with a surgeon laser. They are too perfect, look other German WWI handles. And you say that you were going to buy a set? Do you mean a lot? Hummm, very suspicious that you can find a seller with a lot of these handles with these markings. Nor in WWII Germans handles were marked so beautiful.

Hmm just looked closer at the stamping,,, under a scope you can see that the base of the stamp is at 90 degrees to the wall thus meaning laser cut.if it were stamped you would see rounded edges and in the bottom of the letter it would also be slighlty rounded where the puch pushed the wood down at the top of the said letter or number.
hope this makes sence ??

regards Nick

 

[Grenadier]

Hi Gus,, it is drilled all the way through handle have checked with a spare fuse,, below,,,

I have a few period fuses for these, and have checked to see is they would fit, in short yes they do,, notice the metal clips on the bottom
of the fuse,, these are there to stop the fuse pulling down the shaft
of the handle when the pull cord was pulled, so installed from the bottom and sealed at top with a bitumen or tar type substance. it is a tight fit but if genuine then yes shrinkage would occur as the moisture leaves the wood, also checked some nice original bottom fitings and these fit snug also, just need to fing the top collar i had for on od these,,,:nerd:
Back later.. nick

Hi Nick,
Note that the fuze on the pictures is not complete. Here a complete one. Diameter of the central hole in the stick should be about 16,5 mm.

 

[jeeeensy]

Hi Nick,
Note that the fuze on the pictures is not complete. Here a complete one. Diameter of the central hole in the stick should be about 16,5 mm.

Hi Dimitar.. ahh ,,,thought something was missing,,it was held in a allunimium jacket,, and inserted from the top then sealed with tar to hold it in place, thank you, Best Regards nick .

 

[paul the grenade]

hi nick.
mine is identical to yours in every way.
no pic yet as my batteries are flat, i'll get some more tomorrow and post the pics.
cheers, paul.

 

[Tmine35]

Here one guaranteed original handle variation. Ink markings only, not stamped or burned.

 

[paul the grenade]

Heres some pics of the one i got from Dan.
lt looks identical to me. Cheers, Paul. :tinysmile_shy_t:

 

[jeeeensy]

Heres some pics of the one i got from Dan.
lt looks identical to me. Cheers, Paul. :tinysmile_shy_t:

It is identicle,,,look into the lettering .. A for instance,,the bit in the middle of the letter A would not withstand stamping this deep also notice that the side wall of the lettering in at 90 degrees to the base of the stamp... laser stamped not struck stamped with a reverse metal stamp i'm afraid to say. Oh well... lemons R us :tinysmile_tongue_t:
There were 4 of these for sale on US Site called Great War Militaria..i enquire about all four but lost the details..thank f@#K . bought mine on E-bay before x-mas for 35 quid,,13 to import + the postage.

regards nick

 

[Davidliebely]

Hi Gus,, it is drilled all the way through handle have checked with a spare fuse,, below,,,

I have a few period fuses for these, and have checked to see is they would fit, in short yes they do,, notice the metal clips on the bottom
of the fuse,, these are there to stop the fuse pulling down the shaft
of the handle when the pull cord was pulled, so installed from the bottom and sealed at top with a bitumen or tar type substance. it is a tight fit but if genuine then yes shrinkage would occur as the moisture leaves the wood, also checked some nice original bottom fitings and these fit snug also, just need to fing the top collar i had for on od these,,,:nerd:

Back later.. nick

Hallo jeeeensy
what are the metal clips and the small ball exact used for ,I am very confused?:frown:

 

[jeeeensy]

Hallo jeeeensy
what are the metal clips and the small ball exact used for ,I am very confused?:frown:

Hello.. I think the claws are to hold the det in place inside the tube when you pull the cord it holds it in place, otherwise it wouls possibly slip out withg the cord and the small ball hold s the cork stopper in place as a seal to keep moisture out.. just my gues!

Regards nick

 

[dano1917]

another shot at this one

Okay, First I double checked my source. These guys were in France often in the early to late 80's. They dug, they hit flea markets and they visited farm houses close to battle locations. These unfinished sticks as they say were in a partially filled box (about 30 of them there, in a Barn in France). Now to analyize the stamping, well i've seen original WW1 sticks with no more than stenciling on them, and just about a dozen variations of stampings. We must remember that until the m1917 stick came out there was little uniformity in the making of these grenades. I had bought 2 of them, both went out on trade, 1 here in the US and the other to England. I trust my source implicitly. They sold them off one by one until they were gone. I always keep in the back of my mind that on these WW1 grenades there is no hard and fast rules in manufacture. With that said I have a really weird WW1 German? egg grenade coming in about 1 to 1 1/2 weeks, and should really stir the pot with this one. I sold my house as many of you know, set aside 2 large to buy some nicer WW1 German grenades, and socked away the rest for a rainy day. Out of the 2000.00 I have about 300.00 left which should get me a few of the lesser pieces I need to fill a couple of gaps in my collection. My wife said okay spend the 2 large but I will be needin' to get my hair done!!!! DEAL ............Respectfully...Dano

 

[paul the grenade]

the thing i cant understand is why would a box of unfinished handles be in a barn in france? surely as they were manufactured in germany they should have been in a german factory:tinysmile_hmm_t2:

 

[dano1917]

The only half way plausible answer I can come up with that is that if you study the Verdun 1916 expedient stick grenades, the heads were made from pipe fittings with a crudely carved handle. the little later on verdun sticks had a more well finished handle that were fitted to the pipe heads. Perhaps the half finished handles were shipped to put a better handle on the 1916 expedient Verdun grenades. For the offensive itself these expedient grenades were needed by the thousands and in a short period of time, and maybe, just maybe these partially finished handles were shipped to artisan shops to finish the pipe fitting sticks. I know this is a reach at best but if only these 90+ year old pieces could talk. I had at one time a Verdun expedient 1916 pipe fitting stick with a finished handle and it looked original. Probably no one will ever know..Dano