Testing a hand grenade for authenticity

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madoka

madoka

Diamond Member
Jun 22, 2004
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I was at a pawn shop when I heard two employees discuss what to do about a hand grenade. Their store bought the estate of some old white guy survivalist who lived alone in the mountains. One of the items they found was a hand grenade. There was a good chance that he was a war veteran, but they did not know for sure. They could not come up with a way to test if it was inert without actually using it. Is this even possible to determine?
 
lxskllr

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
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You could unscrew the fuse and look inside. Not sure what you'd be looking for, but maybe it'll be obvious when it's apart.
 
madoka

madoka

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Jun 22, 2004
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I don't know if I'd have the balls to tinker with a hand grenade.
 
IronWing

IronWing

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Jul 20, 2001
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Possible outcomes:
1) real - boom or call bomb squad, no profit
2) fake - not worth much

Why are they doing this?
 
W

whm1974

Diamond Member
Jul 24, 2016
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MagnusTheBrewer said:
Old explosives are a danger to everyone. Should have told these geniuses to turn it in.
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They should turn it in as they can get into big legal trouble if they don't. A live grenade is considered a Destructive Device by US Law and carries severe penalties if you are caught with one.
 
blankslate

blankslate

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Jun 16, 2008
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would have been more interesting if it was an incendiary grenade used to destroy sensitive communications equipment or other military property you want to destroy if you have to leave it behind.

could've done an incendiary device vs asshat neighbor's car video similar to something like this


Kidding of course :p
 
sandorski

sandorski

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Oct 10, 1999
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One way might be to find out the original weight of that type of grenade, then weigh it. If it's close, then I would assume it is intact, although it may not function normally anymore. If it is intact I'd call some expert to come pick it up and dispose of it.
 
kage69

kage69

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
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Legit inert training grenades should have that clearly on the exterior, and they are usually a different color than frags. Sounds like it might be either a replica or the real deal.

They should go find someone in EOD, or get it xrayed. If there is an open void inside rather than a handful of comp B, there you go. I'd leave the fuse alone, especially if it's old. Just ain't worth it.
 
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BoomerD

BoomerD

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Feb 26, 2006
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Pull the pin...throw it. If it explodes it’s legit. If not, it MIGHT be a training grenade...or just a dud.
 
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lxskllr

lxskllr

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Nov 30, 2004
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Darwin333 said:
Wouldn't a zero second fuse kind of defeat the purpose of a hand grenade?
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I used to read a lot of military history and fiction, so my memory may be off regarding which category it falls in, but I seem to remember zero second fuse grenades being created for booby traps. If accurate, I don't remember how you could tell them apart by sight. That would be a disaster grabbing the wrong grenade.
 
D

Darwin333

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Dec 11, 2006
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lxskllr said:
I used to read a lot of military history and fiction, so my memory may be off regarding which category it falls in, but I seem to remember zero second fuse grenades being created for booby traps. If accurate, I don't remember how you could tell them apart by sight. That would be a disaster grabbing the wrong grenade.
Click to expand...

I'd hope they painted them a different color or something because yeah, grabbing one of those by mistake or it being mistakingly packaged with regular hand grenades would lead to a very bad day for the user.
 
FeuerFrei

FeuerFrei

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Mar 30, 2005
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Is this a pineapple style grenade? They usually hollow them out, when selling them off. Nice hole in the bottom. Explosives missing. Fun paperweight.


kage69 said:
Legit inert training grenades should have that clearly on the exterior, and they are usually a different color than frags. Sounds like it might be either a replica or the real deal.

They should go find someone in EOD, or get it xrayed. If there is an open void inside rather than a handful of comp B, there you go. I'd leave the fuse alone, especially if it's old. Just ain't worth it.
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Aren't they tagged with a stripe of blue? (Or is it ... yellow... oh sorry :grimacing:)
 
lxskllr

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
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Darwin333 said:
I'd hope they painted them a different color or something because yeah, grabbing one of those by mistake or it being mistakingly packaged with regular hand grenades would lead to a very bad day for the user.
Click to expand...
Thinking about it, they could have been assembled on an as-needed basis. Keep some extra fuses, and put them together when needed. Setting traps isn't something you need to minimize time on.
 
kage69

kage69

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
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Darwin333 said:
Wouldn't a zero second fuse kind of defeat the purpose of a hand grenade?
Click to expand...

I think that's a reference to back when they had chemical fuses, which weren't exactly known for their precise time keeping. Using a 4 second timer gets a lot more interesting when they can vary by a couple seconds. Makes me wonder how many guys had them go off in their hands, intending to cook off for a second or two before the throw to minimize toss back odds. Yikes. Supposedly we're going to laser ignition for grenades, which will be safer, more precise, and might allow for a grenade with multiple settings (Push 1 for Concussion, Push 2 for Fragmentation, etc).

Captante's post reminded me of a guy that was in the news not too long ago. Chinese clone of a potato masher, live one, and had been used for decades as a walnut smasher.

Found it: https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a24544/hand-grenade-crack-nuts/

I'd have gone right out and loaded up on lottery tickets after that. Some luck.
 
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