Tools of the gunner's trade (not to scale). The sponge, moistened with water, extinguished sparks in the bore after firing. The worm cleaned unburned fragments of cloth powder bags from the bore. Ladles were originally used to load powder; after cartridge bags came into use, they were used to extract loads from muzzle-loaders without firing. The rammer sealed cartridge and ball in place; the scraper and searchers were used to clean the gun and to find damaged spots in the bore. The handspike ...
