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Russian Hexagonal Grenade


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Another WW1 era grenade, a Russian hexagonal type stick grenade. Thought to be also created by Colonel Stender, this grenade has a sheet metal casing for the explosive, inside the head and on the lid were small square pieces of metal to act as shrapnel when the grenade was exploded. The fuse was located in the handle, a string with a wooden toggle was secured inside a cap (missing from this example). This was a dug model and has been repainted, the handle is a replacement. The notches in the handle towards the end were to hold the cap in place. There are two types of this grenade, the one pictured below and another similar type with a much narrower head, about half the size of the one pictured. Sometimes these grenades have the fuse in the head of the grenade rather then in the handle, this can be identified by a hole in the detachable lid on top of the grenade. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

You may have seen this already on my reply to a previous post of yours. Anyway Ive just landed this. On route in the post. Nice original example. Just missing the fuse cover.IMG-20200709-WA0004.thumb.jpg.f9c2bf2e76aa21ac95bde14a9db3704a.jpg

 

 

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Very nice! Yes, the fuse cover is usually missing from these I have noticed. Keep your eyes peeled for the slender version, it is about half the diameter of the type you got, still hexagonal in design, it is much harder to find. 

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  • 3 months later...

Here are some images I found on the internet showing the slender head version of this grenade, also with the fuse in the head as well.

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Nice condition & detail with the fuse. So there were 2 different ignition systems. So the slender version has an impact fuse? The one which has the wider head & shorter stick has a pull mechanism similar to a German stick grenade it would appear though that's a loose analogy.There's one of the 'slender' types for sale over here. The dealer has both versions and of the two the 'slender type' is the cheaper of them with both being in a similar fair condition £395/£295 .He does charge top dollar though. It would appear that a number of these grenades all go under the collective of Stender Grenades after Colonel Stender. There don't appear to be any model names or numbers. I have a Stender grenade on route same as the type you have with the belt hook at the base. I'll post pics when it lands on your other relevant post.

 

 

 

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You are correct, they are usually called Stender types. I am guessing that records from this time in Russia got wiped clean for whatever reason. We may never really know the specs or information. The fuse in the head of the slender type was a ignition type, meaning it basically had a wick that was ignited and then thrown, which I am guessing was a simplification as the version with the fuse and pull ring in the base took longer and cost more to make. 

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I have a new 'acquaintance' who has a vast collection of WW1 Russian grenades amongst many other types from other nations. He is also very knowledgeable on the subject and is writing a book on WW1 Russian grenades.This is his fabulous Russian collection which does include a small number of none Russian types.

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Things to note in the photo below:

The grenade on the extreme left is what I believe to be a projectile weighing about 1kg which was possibly fired from a Balista which is some kind of catapult as I understand but would welcome further information about it. The majority of other projectiles on sticks are Lishkin grenades which I won't elaborate on as they've been covered in a previous post.

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Photos source courtesy of Simon.

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Very nice, I think I might know this "acquaintance" of yours....

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I have seen the Ballista type before, however no real data is out there so far. Maybe your friend can shed some light on them?

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