How to make Grenade simulators for WWI

Reenactment

At the outset of the Great War, grenades were not an integral part of an infantryman’s training.

German Pioneer (Pionier) units were the unit that had the most experience with grenades. With the

clashing Armies bogging down in trenches all sides of the conflict began thinking of ways to break

stalemates. Assaults on fixed positions such as trenches and/or reinforced bunkers brought the hand

grenade into the spotlight as an offensive weapon.

This tutorial is meant to show the basic materials required to make two types of grenade simulators, the

Eire (aka Egg) Grenade and the Stielgrenate (aka “Stick Grenade” or “Potato Masher”) .

The egg style grenade is the most cost effective simulator to make because you can make lots of them at

minimal cost as compared to the more time consuming and multiple component stick grenade.

A real example of the Eire Grenate: An example of a craft egg before modification:

Grenades are key to offense and defense in Great War reenacting. Once the sun goes down nobody

knows who is shooting at whom since we are dealing with blanks. These grenade simulators will employ

a small black powder charge and must actually detonate near or on someone to count at a kill. 5 or 10

grenades are not nearly sufficient for a WWI reenactment since they will be thrown often. Buying in bulk

is the way to go to obtain these wooden eggs. They can be purchased here:

http://www.craftparts.com/212-wood-hen-eggs-p-1577.html

Construction of the egg grenade

1. Once you receive your wooden eggs, the first step is to drill out the center of the grenade. The

exact depth of the hole depends on whether or not you want to add baking soda or not. You

can gauge how deep you need to go by drilling the hole, filling the hole with NO MORE than 20

grains of black powder or making a cartridge as described below. 7/16” gives a very tight

squeeze for cartridges.

2. Drill the hole deep enough to accommodate the 20 grains and baking soda if you choose to use

that. Either way works. Baking soda adds a bit of “smoke” and fire retardant to the grenade.

3. Once all of your grenades are drilled out, they will need to be painted.

“Direct Pour” Method

1. After painting you may now fill the grenades with black powder (and baking soda if desired).

Ensure there is no more than 20 Grains of black powder.

2. To ignite the grenade you will need cannon fuse which can be bought at several online vendors,

however www.cannonfuse.com has proven reliable. American Visco is the best to you use, but

Chinese is ok. You will need to conduct a few test burns to get a feel for the length of fuse

required based on burn times.

3. Insert the appropriate amount of fuse into the hole containing the black powder. At this point,

you can choose to tape the fuse in place as is OR make the grenade more self contained.

4. If you choose to only have a fuse taped into the grenade, you will need a lighter to ignite the

grenade. It’s up to you, but ensure to buy a butane “jet” style lighter. Regular lighters can give

your position away in the dark as you try to get the lighter going.

5. If you want your grenades more self-contained, then try the following.

6. Obtain strike anywhere matches. They are still legal in California (surprisingly enough). Attach

two strike anywhere matches to the fuse with some tape.

7. Tape the fuse/match combo down to the egg grenade body.

8. The strike anywhere matches seem to work nicely when struck on the helmet. ALWAYS carry a

lighter as a backup though.

Views of both sides of the fuse:

(Black masking tape would be better, but none was available at the time of this tutorial)

You can choose to add more features to make the grenades look closer to the real thing, but

remember, quantity is the key with these grenades. You need A LOT at Great War reenactments and

at 2AM, nobody can see what it looks like other than a fuse burning, flash and pop!

The “Cartridge” Method

Another way to make simulators which allows quick reload of any recovered grenade bodies is to make

“cartridges” that are made separately from the egg. Once the egg is drilled and painted you can can

make cartridges from fingers of food handler gloves. DO NOT USE LATEX examination gloves. They are

too thick. You can get food handler gloves from Amazon for $12.00 for 500 gloves.

1. First cut the finger tips off the gloves: 2. Measure 20 grains of powder

3. Pour powder into fingertip: 4. Insert 3”-4” fuze into fingertip:

5. Twist fingertip closed and apply tape: 6. The charge is now complete:

7. Insert charge into egg (paint first is best): 8. Fold down fuze along body:

9. An optional method of attaching two strike anywhere matches will lower the need for a lighter, but

carry one anyways!:

10. BE SURE TO MARK YOUR GRENADES!! Using your Wehrnummer is a good

way to find yours after the event.

11. Light fuze, throw, laugh, repeat (your results may vary).

The Stick Grenade

1. Nothing says “hallo” from Germany like a stick grenade. This style grenade is most associated with

Germany and it “looks” the best, however they are more labor intensive and expensive.

2. Required materials: 300cc bottle, handle, OD spray paint, expanding foam, screws, drill & drill bit:

3. The handles cannot be bought anywhere. They must be turned on a lathe. If you can find someone

to turn these they can be made from 2x2, 2x4 or the poles used to make closet hanger bars.

4. The handles should be approximately 14” long and a diameter that is just barely smaller than the

inside diameter of the bottle you use for the head. The key is that the handles have a nice snug fit

into the opening of the bottle, so keep that in mind if you find another source for bottles.

5. The second biggest component is the head itself. These are made from 300cc packer (medicine)

bottles. Again, bulk is the way to go. This company is reliable and fast shippers:

http://www.containerandpackaging.com/Item.asp?item=B667

Example of a real Stick Grenade: Example of a Stick Grenade Simulator:

*Note the handle of the grenade simulator shown here is a bit fancier than it should be. Try to get

them as close to the original as possible.

6. You will further need two screws per grenade to secure the head to the handle. The author used #6

¾ inch screws, but they could be a little smaller. Expanding foam is also required for weight.

Expanding foam is required to fill the head of the grenade to give it some weight, but not too much

as to be hazard (we don’t want to hurt anyone while we are trying to blow them up right?)

Construction of the stick grenade

1. With bottle attached drill two holes on each side: 2. Remove bottle and fill ½ way with foam:

2. Re-attach bottle and insert screws: 4. Tape off handle and paint (or paint before):

5. Drill a hole in the top of the grenade and use either method of black powder/fuze installation

described in the first part of this tutorial. Be sure to tape the charge in.