Old Firecrackers

[displayfireworks1]

http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=2271&stc=1
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[ras1986]

Omg I want that!

[nayslayer]

Pretty cool, thanks for sharing. Where was this?

[countryboy7978]

Pretty cool, thanks for sharing. Where was this?

http://www.greatamericanfirecrackers.com/

You can buy these here. Also keep in mind these are conversation pieces. These are highly inaccurate in many ways.

[nayslayer]

http://www.greatamericanfirecrackers.com/

You can buy these here. Also keep in mind these are conversation pieces. These are highly inaccurate in many ways.

wow, thats great, thanks!

[RalphieJ]

wow, thats great, thanks!

The older versions that were available when they first came out a few years ago were very realistic, accurate, and more skillfully crafted. I'll dig around to try to find a photo to post.

[countryboy7978]

That's true but still not historically accurate

[RalphieJ]

That's true but still not historically accurate

Countryboy: When we were kids (loooong time ago) playing in a friend's cellar we found a small box of globe salutes. Silver, made with 1" cups (just like a torpedo) with a visco fuse that was wrapped with (if my memory serves me correctly) yellow, blue, and green threads. Unfortunately the box was discarded immediately and the brand long forgotten. I've never seen anything like them since. Have you ever seen one like that?

[Rick_In_Tampa]

When I was a kid back in the late 60's, early 70's we used to buy M-80's and something called H-100's. The H-100's were silver as I recall. Has anyone every heard of them? Any history on them? As I recall the M-80's were military (hence the "M") training devices. I'm guessing the H-100's were similar, yes?

[countryboy7978]

Ralphie, I have seen the salute you are referring to. They were silver spheres with a visco fuse containing red/yellow/blue threads. The picture I have does not belong to me and I do not have permission to share it publicly so I won't. They were made by Victory Fireworks of Elkton, MD.

[countryboy7978]

I've never heard the term H-100 but I have heard M-100 used. This might be regional slang. This is where a lot of confusion occurs. In the 1960s the silver salute was a 1/2" ID x 1.5" long paper tube containing about 2 grams of powder. The M80 was larger (9/16" ID) and contained a gram more flash. After the bans (or maybe even before) there was a silver tube used to make clandestine firecrackers. It was 3/4" x 2.25" long and was referred to as a silver salute. These were widely distributed in my area in the 1980s/1990's and were smaller than quarter sticks which used a 3.5" long tube of the same diameter. So many people still know the silver salute as a larger firecracker than an M-80 which was both a civilian firecracker and military training device. The difference was simply the wrap and possibly the original composition contained antimony and sulfur. Most civilian M80s made by companies like Miller and Kent used whatever flash composition they were using in their cherry bombs and aerial bombs.

[PyroManiacs]

Countryboy, I was wondering if you could tell me who makes the best 1.4 firecrackers now-a-days?

[countryboy7978]

The answer to that is unfortunately nobody if you mean 1 1/2"ers. Brothers Blast Crackers were excellent and so was the first run of Black Cat String of Fire from 3 years back. Both are discontinued in their previous form. There are non-compliant crackers out but most were imported earlier than this year. I won't post them in public view.

[cherrybomb1]

Countryb7978,You seem to be the resident expert on old fireworks.I would like to share a story with you of how i got into being a backyard pyro(this is going to be long).Back when i was a kid we used to spend a lot of time on my grandparents farm as my dad was part owner.As i got older you never wanted to go because its was to boring.My grandparents had a big farmhouse with more bedrooms then they needed so one was what we all called the junk room.I mean that thing was chalk full of stuff to where you couldn't hardly walk in there.Well one weekend in 1975 i went in there and made it to the closet and found a huge suitcase.When i opened it up i swear it was the holy grail, like a light was shining out of it!.Well i bet you know what was in there FIREWORKS!.There was a box of cherry bombs and if I'm not mistaking it said 144 in the box.Now a little back story.My uncle had a partially mangled thumb that the grownups would never tell us what happened.Well i put two and two together and it was later confirmed years down the road that he did it with one of those cherry bombs.That was one hell of a summer for me and my friends.My parents couldn't understand why i always wanted to go to my grandparents after that.I would just take a hand full at a time until they were all gone.I think they were bought in Missouri.Am i right about the number on the box?.144.Whatever it was if my memory serves me right there were only 2 missing out of the box.So my uncle and my dad didn't get to enjoy them as much as me and my friends!

[countryboy7978]

I was born well after the cherry bomb was banned but I do have a lot of interest in firecrackers, especially old ones. Cherry Bombs did come packaged in gross (144), half gross (72) and quarter gross (36) count boxes as did M80 and Silver Salute firecrackers. I've never shot a true vintage cherry but have seen them at conventions and have shot some very nice reproductions. Sounds like quite a find in your grandparents home!

[cherrybomb1]

What year was the cherry bomb banned?.These were sitting in that suit case for years.By the time i found them my uncle had been a teacher at Florida State university for quite some time.He was a kid when it happened.

[countryboy7978]

What year was the cherry bomb banned?.These were sitting in that suit case for years.By the time i found them my uncle had been a teacher at Florida State university for quite some time.He was a kid when it happened.

The first law banned Cherry Bombs in 1966 however the manufacturers and vendors were allowed to sell them for several years later under an exemption (not sure for how long) that they be labeled Class B pest control devices rather than sold as consumer firecrackers. Bootlegging continued for a while too but you typically saw M80s rather than cherry bombs due to the louder report, bigger profit margins, and ease of production in comparison to the cherries.

[RalphieJ]

The first law banned Cherry Bombs in 1966 however the manufacturers and vendors were allowed to sell them for several years later under an exemption (not sure for how long) that they be labeled Class B pest control devices rather than sold as consumer firecrackers. Bootlegging continued for a while too but you typically saw M80s rather than cherry bombs due to the louder report, bigger profit margins, and ease of production in comparison to the cherries.

I was told they could legally be sold past the date of the ban until their inventory ran out. Which invariably led to underground production. Bootlegging began almost immediately and continues today. There's some extremely high quality devices out there with very long visco, and there's also infernal crap with powder leaking from every orifice. Back in the early '80's the company that I was associated with was approached by a couple of shady characters to manufacture M-80's and M-100's. They would supply all chemicals and components and semi-automated equipment and pay a per-piece price. They were told to leave and not return, and the incident was reported to the authorities.

[cherrybomb1]

Thanks for all the information!.There's a wealth of information on this website.