dano1917
RIP
The relic question is one I have pondered since I began collectiog. In the photo on the right is a relic m1917 n/A german egg with the m1917 stamped friction igniter. The picture shows exactly how I bought the grenade and I thought it was just beautiful as is. I bought it from Dugup about a year ago for 25GBP (reasonable). I enjoyed just looking at it for a few months, but curiosity got the better of this cat and I just had to find out if the porcelain pull was inside. I soaked it in penetrant for a few days, took it out and gave it a few light "hammerlicks" to try and start the loosening process. I then resoaked it a few more days and gave it some light jerks with the channellocks. No go. More tinkering and my patience grew thin. I put a visegrips on the cover and gave it more hammerlicks. Well to make a short story long I ended up with a ruined cap and sure enough the ball was inside but the string had long rotted off. It was not 10 seconds after removal that it hit me. I had f__ked up big time. I keep the picture to remind me sometimes it is best to leave well enough alone. The grenade had come from the Somme area and was a complete genuine piece of history. It is still a good grenade but if I had just left it be I would have been much happier. Moral to this story? Look before you leap. The rusted egg body is still one of my favorites. I love getting a piece that comes with history. The story you get with a relic I guess should be taken with a grain of salt. "Oral history" has a way of growing (if not completely made up) but I believe what I choose to. This is why, depending on circumstance, I choose to leave many relics untouched. The exception being that if something is so rusted over that it is unrecognizable then I will at least partially clean it. But brother this m1917 n/A German egg with the m1917 stamped friction igniter is one I wish I had left alone. I do have pieces from sources whose reputation is beyond reproach and when I know where a piece was originally found it really puts a historical perspective on it. The stuff cannot talk. The original participants are long passed, so this is all I have to go on. Babble, yada, whatever. Y'all have a wonderful day.......Dano