The grenade thing depends on the generation of grenade. Also depends on the country of origin. Assuming we are talking about the American M67 one you see in most movies, there are 3 different generations of safeties.
Quick basics of an American grenade- the spoon is the handle looking thing that is sticking out the top and runs along the side. Under it in the head of the grenade is a spring that is always trying to push the spoon off its hinge and make it fly off, while then starting the fuse and the whole bang process. The safety pin (a codder pin with a ring on one side to pull on) runs through the head of the spoon and is held in place simply through binding into its hole/channel by tension provided by the spring. For a little bit of extra safety the end of the pin sticks out about a quarter inch and is bent for a little, but easily straightened and pulled out with the ring (look up a picture and you will see what mean).
The old ones were just the safety pin held in place by the spring/spoon mechanism. But if you had excessive vibration or just enough pressure and you had pre-straightened the safety for pulling ease, it would negate the spring pressure and the safety pin could slip in and out with ease (thus easy to pull with teeth for Rambo effect). People didn’t trust it, so it was typical to then use electrical tape to hold the spoon down wrapped around the full body and then a bit extra folded back to make a quick pull tab. To throw: pull e-tape, pull pin, throw. The army then added a secondary safety to the safety. It was this secondary safety clip that held the spoon down to the head, providing constant tension and stopping the vibration loosening issues. They were also intentionally designed to have to get pulled off in opposite directions. To throw: (I am left handed) sweep safety clip left, pull pin right, throw. This was in my opinion the best setup and my favorite of grenade generations. Apparently this was about 50/50 with other others. So the army then came out with their third generation, the “confidence” thumb guard thing. It is a metal flap switch that locks/latches the safety clip onto the pin ring. I thought it was dumb. Most people hate it. But credit where credit due- it is impossible to fuck it up. Now to throw: thumb/sweep up on confidence latch, sweep left on safety clip, pull right on pin, throw.
The grenade thing depends on the generation of grenade. Also depends on the country of origin. Assuming we are talking about the American M67 one you see in most movies, there are 3 different generations of safeties.
Quick basics of an American grenade- the spoon is the handle looking thing that is sticking out the top and runs along the side. Under it in the head of the grenade is a spring that is always trying to push the spoon off its hinge and make it fly off, while then starting the fuse and the whole bang process. The safety pin (a codder pin with a ring on one side to pull on) runs through the head of the spoon and is held in place simply through binding into its hole/channel by tension provided by the spring. For a little bit of extra safety the end of the pin sticks out about a quarter inch and is bent for a little, but easily straightened and pulled out with the ring (look up a picture and you will see what mean).
The old ones were just the safety pin held in place by the spring/spoon mechanism. But if you had excessive vibration or just enough pressure and you had pre-straightened the safety for pulling ease, it would negate the spring pressure and the safety pin could slip in and out with ease (thus easy to pull with teeth for Rambo effect). People didn’t trust it, so it was typical to then use electrical tape to hold the spoon down wrapped around the full body and then a bit extra folded back to make a quick pull tab. To throw: pull e-tape, pull pin, throw. The army then added a secondary safety to the safety. It was this secondary safety clip that held the spoon down to the head, providing constant tension and stopping the vibration loosening issues. They were also intentionally designed to have to get pulled off in opposite directions. To throw: (I am left handed) sweep safety clip left, pull pin right, throw. This was in my opinion the best setup and my favorite of grenade generations. Apparently this was about 50/50 with other others. So the army then came out with their third generation, the “confidence” thumb guard thing. It is a metal flap switch that locks/latches the safety clip onto the pin ring. I thought it was dumb. Most people hate it. But credit where credit due- it is impossible to fuck it up. Now to throw: thumb/sweep up on confidence latch, sweep left on safety clip, pull right on pin, throw.