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Canadian No36 M markings

I

Infanteer

Well-Known Member
Has anyone ever encountered WW2 No36 M mills with red X's over green X's instead of a green band? I am negotiating on a complete box of Frost and Woods (FW) marked grenades and they are marked with red and green X's which appears to be original in the photos but I've never seen this type of marking on a Canadian grenade before. Can anyone confirm or deny that this is an original form of marking?
 
Interesting.
I've never seen Canadian or any other Mills 36m Grenades marked in this way.
I have several Canadian Mills, all have red X's above a green band.

Hope this helps.

Sounds like they were repainted at some time.

Do you have photos you can post?

Cheers,
Brad
 
If that's off of CGN. I think the seller is a little shady.... just my 2 cents...

Tried dealing with him on a few things and he is over priced and not forthcoming with info...
 
Yes, that is the guy... that being said, a complete No36 in nice condition (even touched up) is desirable as not many examples are available anymore. Perhaps the markings can be carefully removed if they are in fact added post war. My interest is primarily in the wood crate, det tin and dummy fuses that haven't been crushed like the majority that you see available on the collector's market. Yes, he does want top dollar but I'll see if he will let the group go for something a bit more reasonable.
 
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definitely a repaint of the markings, but, having said that, the grenade itself looks to be in great condition, if its complete and reasonably priced, I would buy it.
 
If it's a repaint, why have the red crosses mainly worn off? I think this may have been a factory error. Photos I've seen of the F&W production line seemed to show grenades being painted by a teenager. Paint Chip analysis would show if the paint was modern. I'd not discount them being original yet. John
 
The paint appears to me to be the correct color and consistent with originals I've seen which is why I thought it looked original. However, it's possible that someone just did a really good job of matching original paint. I guess in the end it's not something serious enough to stop me from pursuing this collection.
 
In case anyone was wondering, I did not purchase the case of grenades but I am still very interested to know if the markings were original. Honestly, I am leaning towards not original but of course I'm no expert and will maintain an open mind.
 
I'm still going with repaint, the colors are very good, but a bit bright for something 70+ years old. They are also very nicely painted from corner to corner on the fragments. Most I have seen are a bit smaller and not so "perfectly" positioned. These also appear to be freehand painted with a brush whereas most I have seen appear to have been done with a stencil.
 
I have couple of nice Montreal Munitions examples with original markings and the X's are definitely applied with stamps. That being said, I know that some British grenades had the markings applied by hand so that alone does not indicate a repaint. Also, Millsman has stated that he has seen a photo of a worker at Frost and Woods applying markings by hand so that leads me to believe that hand applied markings on Canadian grenades are plausible. The only real issue for me in this case is the application of the green X's which seems unlikely at this point... unless someone can present evidence of this practice. As for the paint being bright, it depends on how the item has been stored. If it hasn't been handled and has been kept in ideal conditions then it's very possible for the paint to be nice and bright. Yes, the average item will show age but every now and then items are found that appear near mint due to proper storage.

Check out the grenade posted by MissingSomething in this old thread: http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/72079-Canadian-No36-with-excellent-markings
 
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I think stamps will be the exception not the rule. Most painted bands and X's I've seen in original paint have all been crude by today's standards. But then this was a 'throw away' product.. John
 
Millsman said:
But then this was a 'throw away' product.. John
Click to expand...

Agreed, however, from the limited number of Canadian grenades I've seen that have original markings it would seem that in Canada the use of stamps was common. A stamp would be much quicker and consistent to use then a paint brush. In England it seems the use of a brush was far more common.
 
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