Capt. Galvon St.Paul

(edit: Okay, no codes are working to imbed images, and it's pissing me off. here's links instead...) Here's my pirate garb. Nothing particularly historical, but I work with what I've got. I haven't taken any photos since I cocked my new hat, hoping to get some soon. http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/They...=S3010011-1.jpg http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/They...nt=S3010030.jpg http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/They...current=mme.jpg Here I was bored at midnight and I was playing with my cell phone camera. My overcoat is a Swiss military wool coat. Obviously not period at all, but looks pretty good, I think. http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/They...1607_004150.jpg

If you don't have an online host, make an account at Photobucket.com. It's free, and holds a lot. (edit: They don't allow naughty pictures. Just so you know...) Then use this code: >img src="IMAGEURL"< I can't post the REAL code, as it'll encript. Reverse the < and > on the sides, and replace "IMAGEURL" with the...well...image's URL... I keep a Notepad document with important HTML codes on hand in my Start menu. Codes like this, and URL linking codes, are good to keep close. (EDIT: This code isn't working. Neither is the IMG auto-coding button up top. Maybe I'm the only one with the problem, but it gets spit back as not allowed. I suggest just hyperlinking to the images. Photobucket provides link for doing such...)

I once played a scenario similar to this idea. I forget what it was called, but we could only remove one ball from our pouch, load, and fire at a time. The idea was more Revolutionary War based, but the musket idea can transfer over pretty well. It was two teams of 5 lined up at arms length in a swamp, a good distance apart(enough so that even relatively accurate guns have to be fired with a little arc). You couldn't move from your spot, only drop down on one knee. It sounds kinda slow, but it's REALLY interesting since you can't move. And it's funny as hell when the annoying rich kid with the expensive marker can no longer spray-n-pray at the insane speed his electronic, automatic, bullcrap setting allow him to fire at. Takes the smug right out of ya, lol. To make it about as accurate as a period pistol, you could rule in that players can use only cheapo, WalMart, Brass-Eagle Talon(or whatever the modern equivalent is...) markers. One thing I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to try was open-water paintball. Musket rules, only in row-boats or canoes. No hiding, no trickery, just boat-to-boat warfare...

::Happy to be moving to Pennsylvania::

So... Steel? You can go with stainless steel if you don't want it to rust. Or use mild-steel, which you can polish, then apply gun-blueing solution to give it a rich, deep-blue-to-black color. Or you can heat-blue it. But that's a pain in the butt for such a small project.

I've yet to purchase a flintlock(I'm trying my best to find an affordable model or kit), I've looked into general supplies. Being in Jersey, where NOTHING is allowed EVER, it's hard to find. Thankfully I'm piss-distance from the border, so I can hop into PA whenever I want. In Pennsylvania, even WalMart carries black powder for muzzle-loaders. Not even behind the counter, just on the shelves in a jug. Speaking of black powder, anyone ever try Killdevil?

Rifeling Did exist during the GAoP..... but the common long arms used are going to be smoothbore...... <mini rant over.... back to the discussion.....> True. I use "rifle" to refer to any long gun. It's a bad habit, I know. ::slaps self in wrist:: --------------------------------------------------- During shore raids, it may have been sensible to have armour. My main question would be about availability. Plate armour has always been pricey. At the point of the GAoP, even military forces weren't using armour. Closest to it was the gorgets, which were more decorative then functional. Without being used by military personel, and not really being made, access to functional armour would've been minimal, if at all possible. Can't steal something if your target doesn't have it. And even if you managed to find a piece that fit, it still wouldn't protect against a musket ball. You'd probably be better off without weighing yourself down. Like I said above, proper armour isn't as heavy as people believe it to be, but if it isn't going to help then it's just a waste of energy to have around.

Once on deck, yes, the only had one shot per pistol, then out comes the trusty cutlass, cuttoe, hanger, boarding-axe, club, pistol-butt, dagger, belaying pin, or maybe even a sock full of shot. But after the cannonfire, and before boarding, any available long-rifles were used from possible vantage points. Getting a good shot off may have been difficult, but certainly possible. And worth it. It's just basic warfare. Use all available projectiles to thin the enemy ranks, prior to melee engagement. Your main weapon is the one you prefer, and any sensible pirate(or person in general) would prefer to take out an enemy from as much a distance as possible.

I can think of stranger things. I mean, a good sailor need never touch the waters!

I've never seen any record for it. Wouldn't really make sense anyway. It would proect your chest against a sword, but thats about it. Melee weapons weren't primary, rifles and other small arms were, and even a small firearm would pierce steel plate, which is why plate armour pretty much ceased to be with the proliferation of guns. Once the matchlock was adopted for military use, metal armour became almost useless overnight. No sense spending all that money on something that no longer protected you against the main technological threat. In the 1600's, during the English Civil War for instance, many soldiers opted for a heavy leather buff-coat, though at that point, segmented steel-plate pieces were still occasionally used for upper arm and thigh protection. Anyway, a piece of steel armour would be quite a pain in the ass to keep maintained on board a ship. Salt air is murder. Not to mention the piece being hot as hell in the sun. Though armour isn't nearly as heavy, cumbersome, or constricting as some believe it to be, wearing a cuirass would hinder one slightly on a ship. Finding an individual with actual sword training would've been difficult enough, but someone who could fight well armoured? Changes things a little more than one might believe.

Actually, the pedestal upon which the Katana has been placed is nothing new. There are several stories of Japanese soldiers during WWII completely ruining priceless heirloom blades. Toshi(swordsmiths) were hired by the government to travel to the front lines to repair swords. I forget the specific names, and I wish I could find where I read the account, but one smith was approached by a soldier complaining that his sword (a masterpiece) must've been fake because it had broken. Of course, the sword was only broken after said soldier had attacked a piece of thick, steel, armor-plating(on a tank or something). He had even made a significant cut into it, but the sword was destroyed. The smith was horrified, quoted that such a work of art had "...died a dog's death." My point is, whether it was due to Japan's egotistical over-nationalism or otherwise, the Katana has been heavily glorified for quite some time. ----------------------------------------------------------------- As for the edge-reforging, this has really got my interest. Especially since perfection is rather important to the Japanese(particularly with high-end swords worth ownership by the Samurai class), so a high-end weapon would certainly lose something after such a procedure. No matter how good the smith was, there would always be visible proof that the damage was done. It couldn't as easily be hidden as filled Mekugi-Ana(holes in the tang for the bamboo set-pins), being under the hilt.

A correctly made blade should neither break, nor bend. Like the leaf-springs on the bottom of a car, it should flex(to a good degree), and return true. The way Japanese swords were made, this wasn't really an option. Due to the materials, and traditions to some extent, it was preferable to have a less-flexible blade. A misake during a cut(even on light practice materials) could chip or warp even a flawless piece work. As for the edge-reforging, I've never heard of this. If you have proof, I'd love to see it. It would certainly be problematic, having to carefully forge in the edge material(sometimes being a higher grade steel than the spine, such as in San Mai construction methods). Then the geometry of that area would have to be reestablished, then the whole heat-treating process repeated. Another problem lies in the forgewelding itself. Forgewelding results in material loss, and carbon loss. By reforging a piece into the edge, you stand a VERY good chance of softening that spot. Generally, when a sword bent/broke, it usually continued life as a shorter blade. It is very well known in the Nihonto community that sword were shortened, and there are several signs that can indicate this in an antique.

Not true. No sword can be considered "THE best". The Katana was good for its context, as any sword can be. If it wasn't effective, it wouldn't have been used. And it was ultra-effective in other contexts, chances are it would've spread, which it didn't. Similar styles can be found in Korea, and a few in China, but other than that, nothing. And even then, there's a good argument for the Japanese swordsmithing style branching off from the Chinese upon colonization of the Japanese archipelago. It had its advantages, but like anything else, it certainly had its weaknesses. Side-to-side flex was limited due to the differential hardening. Though he blade was quite strong laterally, it could easily be bent and ruined on the flat. They were certainly sharp, but needed a considerable amount of maintenence to keep it that way. Like I said before, they are easily chipped. This isn't something that is "reforged". A sword doesn't get "reforged" without having to completely recycle the blade material. Life isn't like Lord of the Rings. It's possible to forge-weld a sword broken in half, but it still must be completely re-heattreated, and remains with a significant stress-point. If a chip forms in the edge, it must be polished out. Material must be removed along both planes, until the sword is sharpened and the chip is gone. If the chip is left alone, the sword will break. If the chip is too deep, or there isn't enough active hamon left in the blade, the sword must be retired. After careful(and expensive) polishing, the sword required a new scabbard to be made, as the geometry of the blade has been altered. Also, the edge was not left serrated. Serrations are found on FEW swords, all of them being from the middle-east that I've seen. Serrations create stress-points, which would DRASTICALLY weaken Japanese style swords due to their form of heat-treatment. Though it is known for a stone to be run over an edge to modify the sharpness(in actuality causing micro-serrations and allowing the edge to bite into cloth slightly better), full serrations don't offer any sort of advantage in battle. Serrations are made for sawing, not chopping. Even the draw-cut of a curved sword relies mostly upon the strike and smooth geometry of the edge to cleave through material. True serrations would only help if your enemy had no problem with sitting still and allowing you to saw on them.

Though it is certianly POSSIBLE that a Euro-American pirate may have somehow gotten ahold of a katana, it certainly isn't probable. Also, there is nothing authentic about stainless swords. I don't know if it's been said elsewhere, so I'll say it here. Stainless steels did not exist before (IIRC) the 1950's. They are not goods for sword-length blades mostly due to a rough grain-structure. They are brittle, and prone to breakage in blades longer than 1 foot. Stainless steels are used in cheap reproductions that are only good for hanging on a wall, or costuming. Even light swinging has been known to cause a blade to snap. Though possible to create a properly heat-treated sword blade from stainless, it would cost cojnsiderably more than a high-carbon blade, and yet have only the slightest advantage in having to be oiled less. Stainless steel still can rust, as it contains iron. It's name is misleading, as it should more rightfully be called Stain-Resistant steel. Traditional Katana were forged from Tamahagane, which is a sort of crucible steel. It was folded several times to spread out the impurities in the steel(Japan has poor-quality iron deposits) to even out the flaws, and were differentially hardened to achieve optimum performance from the available materials. Due to the folding, Nihonto(true Japanese swords) will show Hada, which is a fine grain structure alone the blade, as well as a Hamon, which is a cloudy, whispy effect showing the harder edge in contrast to a softer spine. Though truly inovative in using their available resources, Katana were certainly not the miraculous, unstopable, unbreakable, fantastic, be-all-end-all of swords that some people believe them to be. They flex minimally, are prone to chipping, and are costly to sharpen(as the whole blade needs to be repolished in the process, NO secondary edge-bevels). Even minimally-functional, low-end production katana will run you a minimum of $150. Anything sold for less should be researched thouroughly, and even then you're better off saving for something nicer. Most wallhangers don't even bare a resemblance to traditionally made swords.

Aye, I be needin' no skulls to strike fear into me prey.