These stories first appeared in Hunt's Book of Weapons,
an in-game collection of found documents curated by an unknown researcher. They
are replicated here in their original format. This means that many of the
stories are not presented chronologically, or in one grouping, and it is left
to the reader to put together the puzzle pieces and determine to what extent
they contain fact, fiction, or fable.
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Dynamite Stick
DYNAMITE STICK. (See also, EXPLOSIVES) Invented by a Swedish
Chemist by the name of Alfred Nobel, dynamite was first patented in 1867 and
gained widespread use when it proved to be a safer, and stronger, alternative
to black powder, which is most effective as a propellant. Mr. Nobel's ingenious
mixture of explosive oil, kieselgur, and soda ash keeps the highly volatile
mixture in a stick of dynamite stable, making it an easy-to-store and
easy-to-use explosive with a relatively large blast area. Dynamite is detonated
by placing the charge in the vicinity of the target and then lighting the fuse.
Sticky Bomb
STICKY BOMB. (See also, EXPLOSIVES). The sticky bomb is a
particularly cruel modified explosive device, comprised of two main parts: an
outer frame and an inner charge. The inner charge employed here is most often a
single stick of dynamite. This packs a significant punch, capable of blasting
apart most objects and more than capable of incapacitating a person. When used
in combat, a sole stick of dynamite suffers from one drawback: it is relatively
unwieldy to throw and once landed may shift position, causing it to move away
from its target. The sticky outer frame is a means to compensate for this, and
adding a throwing handle ensures that the dynamite can be delivered with ease.
The frame is mounted with crude metal hooks and spikes. If the frame hits a soft
object with force, these will embed in the target, ensuring that the maximum
power of the charge is delivered as close as possible.
Dynamite Bundle
DYNAMITE BUNDLE. (See also, DYNAMITE STICK) In the pursuit
of explosive destruction, the provision of a dynamite stick is a well-advised
first step. Should one find a single dynamite stick inadequate to the task,
then the addition of further dynamite sticks, bundled together, should suffice.
More sticks can be added until the desired explosive power is achieved. There
is a degree of technique in this, as general consensus deems it of absolute
necessity to remove oneself from the blast radius before detonation—a radius
that can vary unpredictably as sticks are added to the bundle. Dynamite bundles
were often used to great effect by railroad work gangs. The most memorable
member of which was one Phineas Gage, who improbably survived a close encounter
with a dynamite bundle, and lived the remainder of his life with an iron
tamping rod lodged in his skull.
Waxed Dynamite Stick
WAXED DYNAMITE STICK. (See also, EXPLOSIVES) Modified with a
wax coating on both fuse and casing, the so-called "Sigyn" Dynamite
was a kind of unusually stable dynamite stick used near the end of the 19th
century. Most known examples were recovered from the Sigyn, a trading vessel
which was intercepted by the coast guard in 1895 off the coast of New York that
lent the weapon its name in common usage. Thanks to its wax coating, a Sigyn
dynamite stick can fulfill its function reliably even when it is submerged in
water. Very little is known about the manufacturer, Brokker, beyond that it
being the name that appears on the labels on the crates recovered from the
ship.
Frag Bomb
FRAG BOMB. (See also, EXPLOSIVES) In artillery, an iron shell of about 2 1/2 inches diameter and nearly 2 pounds in weight, filled with gunpowder and furnished with a fuse which is lighted as the ball is thrown with the hand. The frag bomb was introduced in warfare in 1594. It has also been much used in naval service in close action.
The construction of early frag bombs was often improvised in the field. In
general, they consist of a handle, usually of wood, attached to a ball-shaped
metal shell filled with gun powder and wrapped with scrap metal and other
shrapnel. When detonated, the shell breaks apart, sending shrapnel in a large
circular area and damaging any soft targets in its radius.
Big Dynamite Bundle
BIG DYNAMITE BUNDLE. (See also, DYNAMITE BUNDLE) By far the advantage of dynamite is its modularity. A single stick of dynamite weighs around 190 grams and contains roughly one mega joule of energy. It is an explosive stable enough for safe transport, but it will explode if another dynamite stick is detonated in its vicinity. It follows that one can bundle any number of dynamite sticks together for larger, more destructive results. The energy released from the explosion caused by one stick of dynamite is more than enough to detonate the rest of the bundle, no matter the size. Bundles can be created with any number of dynamite sticks, a fuse, and a length of tape.
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