They were actually MORE effective. The problem is, they were also more easily broken and less reliable. The ceramic grenades had a plug fuse like a civil war era cannonball and match compound was put over the top of the fuse. A striker was used to light the match compound which then started the fuse. Detonation was somewhere between instant and never. When it detonated, countless shards of razor sharp porcelain flew in all directions and the concussion itself had a kill zone of about 15ft.