Hi, Nando and Marcus,
Sometimes, I too, find it hard to believe that these worms on wooden ramrods actually should have worked and extracted a lead ball without the wood breaking; they are called ball extractors in contemporary documents though, and in my collection are one or two leaden balls that show holes where the worm entered.
We also know that by the early 17th century, musketeers were ordered to extract the ball and powder load from their muskets after keeping watch, and they definitely did not have iron ramrods ...
Best,
Michael
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