Huo Fei Zhua (火飛抓)

Drawing of a Fei Huo Xiang Mo Chui, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Huo Fei Zhua (火飛抓, lit. 'Fire flying catcher'), also known by another fancier name Fei Huo Xiang Mo Chui (飛火降魔槌, lit. 'Flying fire demon-subjugating hammer'), was a rather unique weapon of the Ming Dynasty. Essentially a spiked, baton-shaped grenade, it served as the Ming equivalent of anti-ship sticky bomb (although Fei Huo Xiagn Mo Chui did not attach to its target through sticky adhesive, but by barbed spikes).

Fei Huo Xiang Mo Chui was made of white poplar wood of about eight cun long and three cun circumference (not counting its narrower handle). The top half of the wood was hollowed, filled with incendiary gunpowder, and waterproofed with oil paper, while the bottom half was a solid wooden handle. The bomb was not designed to explode like ordinary grenade, instead it projected flames through multiple nozzles drilled all over the cylinders for a short period of time. It also featured up to twenty barbed spikes which allowed the bomb to catch on enemy rigging, deck, or even human body. The barbed spikes (and the fact that the bomb would be spewing flames) also rendered extraction extremely difficult, if not impossible.

While usually employed as naval weapon, this weapon worked just as well on land.