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The printers for Quest for Blackbeard are offering a 25% discount on print versions till Christmas plus whatever the revolving weekly discounts are, as listed on their home page http://www.lulu.com/home. Quest is available also in ebook/Kindle format and is the most updated version. Go to http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/bcbrooks to order. This is quite a savings! Author site: http://baylusbrooks.com #blackbeard #pirates #history #maritime

As a sneak peak to see what is in the works provided the world doesn't end for next year. . .

A Ripoll (norther Spain) style stock bronze blunderbuss barrel, miquelet lock parts from the rifle shoppe. Over the horizon is a prototype test for my wifes pistol, a double barrel single lock (sliding pan) and a Spanish Pistol Madrid/ a la mode style lock.

Are there people out there that would be interested in a Spanish Dragoon pistol circa 1700? Basically a Spanish version of a French Dragoon (spanish lock etc). I came across the plans to build one and have been wondering if there would be a market. Price would be around $800-$900 as a rough guess.

I am in the process of building a Spanish blunderbuss and thought I would share some of the steps I am going in the process. Sort of a "here's my project from start to finish" feel free to comment along the way. It all started when I found an original lock and purchased it. When looking at the lock I estimated it to be around 1720's (see thread on helping to ID a flintlock) for various reasons. As I have been unable to find any original examples of Spanish blunderbusses so I am taking a couple of liberties. I have decided on a simple flared design all in steel, the lock is rather plain and I plan on keeping the buss plain as well. As the lock is of French origin in design due to Spain's ruler if I were to build this as a common buss there would be little to distinguish it as Spanish once done. Cascabel made a wonderful suggestion to go with a Catalan styled stock and this is my intention. I am looking to build a larger buss and the barrel length will be around 20 inches overall length roughly 36 inches. As for caliber I am thinking of .75 which should pair with the lock very nicely. Here is a picture of the lock as well as my rough sketch of what the completed buss might look like.

Antique 19th Century Navaja, A Spanish Folding Pocket Knife with Etched Blade Engraved Recuerdo and stamped with the makers mark of a sword and the name Riberon, 7.5 inches Folded 12.5 inches Open. The knife is in good solid condition with no loose parts however the very tip of the blade has been snapped off by a previous owner. One of the brass panels is a little dented too but has no sharp bits and actually looks worse in the pictures than it is. $196

I'm working on bringing my impression back to a 1670-80 date. One of the reasons is that I prefer the matchlock to the flintlock, and the match fits much better into the early timeframe. I've also been fascinated by the escopeta for a bunch of years. Is there any documentation for a matchlock escopeta or are they all miquelets and flints? I've got a lock and barrel, just need to make a stock, but I don't want a fantasy piece. So documentation before I start cutting wood. Hawkyns

Hi all, Has anyone realized it is a little bit harder to find information on Spanish Weaponry? Information for The English and French are more commonly seen. I can't seem to find anything on Spanish made pikes, mainly those meant to be boarding pikes. I know that pikes did not differ much, but there were some differences between the pikes of France and England, so why shouldn't Spain be different? There are very few books available, maybe a handful at most, that could have that information. But there is a problem, my "treasure chest" has finally run out (unless I want to sell something I own on ebay). So are there any places on the internet where I could find some information? For examples of available books, take a look: Spanish military weapons in colonial America, 1700-1821 Small Arms of the Spanish Treasure Fleets A history of Spanish firearms, (Arco gun library) And, to get an idea of how expensive it can be to get some of these books, here is the cheapest price for the first book in the above list: Ebay Sale: SPANISH MILITARY WEAPONS IN COLNIAL AMERICA 1700-1821