A friend has this piece and I wanted to submit it for opinions of the forum members. This one has been in various collections on the U.S. West coast for at least 25 years that I know of.
It is purported to be an early British commercial type hand grenade, likely from the Hales Cotton Powder Company. It is very nicely machined and the ball end of the handle is spring loaded with an internal striker mechanism. You can see in one of the images some corrosion from a primer or cap fired at some time. It is about 7 1/2" long and the head is 2 1/2" in diameter.
It is completely unmarked which seems odd to me if it is, in fact, something made by the Cotton Powder Company. They generally seemed to be very proud of their production items and marked them clearly.
Any comments are welcomed. I recall seeing a photo recently on BOCN of a group of pre-WWI commercial Hales pieces but cannot find it now. If someone could repost that, it would also be appreciated.
It is purported to be an early British commercial type hand grenade, likely from the Hales Cotton Powder Company. It is very nicely machined and the ball end of the handle is spring loaded with an internal striker mechanism. You can see in one of the images some corrosion from a primer or cap fired at some time. It is about 7 1/2" long and the head is 2 1/2" in diameter.
It is completely unmarked which seems odd to me if it is, in fact, something made by the Cotton Powder Company. They generally seemed to be very proud of their production items and marked them clearly.
Any comments are welcomed. I recall seeing a photo recently on BOCN of a group of pre-WWI commercial Hales pieces but cannot find it now. If someone could repost that, it would also be appreciated.
