INIMICUS Posted September 30, 2012 Share #1 Posted September 30, 2012 I CAN'T FIND ONE OF THESE HOLLOW IMPLEMENTS IN MY REFERENCES BUT BELIEVE IT'S CONNECTED TO ARTILLERY, WITH ONE END HAVING ROLLED PAPER WITH MAGNESIUM (?) POWDER INSIDE. IT HAS NO MARKINGS. HELP PLEASE? THANKS A LOT, DAVID Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armormodeler Posted September 30, 2012 Share #2 Posted September 30, 2012 That is called a port fire.It is basically a road flare and was used to fire a cannon when the lintstock(with slow match) wasn't used,usually during wet conditions.they were used from the mid 1600's up through the civil war. I CAN'T FIND ONE OF THESE HOLLOW IMPLEMENTS IN MY REFERENCES BUT BELIEVE IT'S CONNECTED TO ARTILLERY, WITH ONE END HAVING ROLLED PAPER WITH MAGNESIUM (?) POWDER INSIDE. IT HAS NO MARKINGS. HELP PLEASE? THANKS A LOT, DAVID Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted October 1, 2012 Share #3 Posted October 1, 2012 armormodeler is correct. Portfires predate the American Civil War. By that time, however, artillery ignition had switched over to friction primers. Not only was ignition pretty much instantaneous, it was also loads safer than having an open flame near your powder charges which were invariably in untreated linen bags (i.e. highly flammable and explosive). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INIMICUS Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share #4 Posted October 1, 2012 thank you excellent gentlemen! few more Qs.: what's the spike for - vent clearing? what is a fair value range on these objects? lastly, do they come under BATF rules for 'destructive devices' and are therefore illegal to lawfully own w/o registration let alone ship in the mails?! cheers, david armormodeler is correct. Portfires predate the American Civil War. By that time, however, artillery ignition had switched over to friction primers. Not only was ignition pretty much instantaneous, it was also loads safer than having an open flame near your powder charges which were invariably in untreated linen bags (i.e. highly flammable and explosive). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KABAR2 Posted October 1, 2012 Share #5 Posted October 1, 2012 Legal to own yes not an explosive ... closer to a road flare..... point on bottom is so you can stick it in the ground..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INIMICUS Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share #6 Posted October 1, 2012 thanks a lot man! also, does this look period? dw Legal to own yes not an explosive ... closer to a road flare..... point on bottom is so you can stick it in the ground..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cascabel Posted October 1, 2012 Share #7 Posted October 1, 2012 The "holder" for the portfire is called a Portfire Stave. In naval use, the point allowed it to be stuck into the wooden deck of a ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armormodeler Posted October 2, 2012 Share #8 Posted October 2, 2012 the portfire was used during the civil war as a backup way to set the gun off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blair217 Posted October 2, 2012 Share #9 Posted October 2, 2012 Cascabel is correct,the piece shown in the picture with the spike end is a portfire stave,not the portfire itself. Portfire's are still used in lighting fireworks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INIMICUS Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share #10 Posted October 2, 2012 THANKS FOR EXTRA INFOS FELLAS! SO IT'S AN ORIGINAL NOT A REPRO? DAVID Cascabel is correct,the piece shown in the picture with the spike end is a portfire stave,not the portfire itself. Portfire's are still used in lighting fireworks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now