Top 10 items for your pirate kit

[Bloody_Mary_Bonney]

The same goes for a lot of period activities. <WARNING. Personal opinion follows, do not take offense> I've found that if you want to make the public smile for 30 seconds, maybe a minute, then waving a big sword about and saying "aaargh" will do the trick. If you want to keep them interested and entertained for 30 minutes then nothing beats some real period living skills: lighting a fire, cooking food, fixing something broken, writing a letter... the list is endless.

Can i add burning witches and having your own personal rack(the torture device)

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

Yeah! And a good ol' fashioned HANGING would be a blast! Well, maybe not for the victim, but for the rest of the folks... :)

Capt. Bo

[Gentleman of Fortune]

Can you imagine the interest if you have someone hanging up in a gibbet?

Pretty cool... and giant brass ball to the volunteer!

GoF

[blackjohn]

I don't know if you've ever seen it, but Palmetto has this:

It always draws a crowd.

[Rumba Rue]

Cool, but the clean white cover should have been dirty, old, and torn.

[Fox]

There are a couple of guys over here who do a period hanging display and I've gotta say it's pretty well done. The victim has a harness which fits under a coat, and the noose has a hook which latches onto the harness, so there's no tension in the actual noose at all. When the victim is hauled up holds his breath so his face goes read and simulates gasping for breath, all the while kicking his feet and clutching at the noose. When he can't hold his breath any longer he "dies" and is taken down. Every event I've been to with them they have people begging to be the victim. I've helped them out a few times as the officiating naval officer at a pirate execution.

[Rumba Rue]

People begging to be hanged? What's wrong with this picture? Course on the other hand I know people I'd love to hang....

[Slopmaker Cripps]

Foxe,

We did the same thing with the harness and hook on the noose contraption back in December. It is a real crowd pleasure.

Cheers,

Adam C.

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

Kinda changed the thread again GoF...sorry... but now I KNOW I'm in the right bunch! :)

Oh yeah! That is just up my alley too! Soooo, for the top ten items: Length of good hemp rope with thirteen coil noose...

Strike-a-lite

Compass

Belt knife

Mess kit

Hawk or belt/boarding axe

Belt bag for non-period items/cash

Mug for drink

Pistol

Cartridge box

Blade

That's my take. Capt. Bo

[Tora of Tortuga]

Thank you all for your post and to GoF for the original post. Really gave me ideas on what needs to be work on for my kit, since I am going from fantasy/movie-pirate to reenactor-pyrate. Still working on which period but probably early-mid GAoP.

(looks to his dittybag of garb, mumbles something, then heads off to find some shoes and stockings.)

~Tora of Tortuga~

[Matty Bottles]

GoF, Foxe, Hawkins, Kass, Cap’n Bo, I appreciate your efforts for authenticity, and I am grateful that we have such resources on the site. But I am going to make a list for people who are either too lazy, too miserly, or otherwise do not have an authentic kit (myself included…for now.)

1.) Black Oxford Shoes. After your Confirmation and high school graduation you thought you’d never have to wear them again, didn’t you? Well, now you can wear them for fun! So dig ‘em out of the closet.

2.) Brass buckles for your shoes. Attach them to your shoes with the black twisty ties that come with your stereo gear. They will cover up your laces.

3.) Black and white striped high socks. Look, people will argue back and forth about bucket boots and so forth, but really, if anything says PIRATE! it’s striped socks. Really. You can fake so much of the rest of your kit if you have striped socks. I own two pairs of striped socks, a maroon pair of high socks and only one pair of bucket boots (and those’re for LARPing anyway.)

4.) Tan trousers from Goodwill that were intended for a much fatter gentleman. You just get super baggy pants, cut them off about three inches below the knee, boil them with some tea until suitably distressed, and go. What’s that you say? The waistband is a fifty-two, and you’re only a thirty-eight? Fine. Tie two of your belt loops together in back. Trust me, this’ll work.

5.) Either a really long scarf or an actual sash. You might have to bite the bullet and make a sash. Or make a friend make the sash. If you’re thin enough a long scarf will work. Otherwise, sash away. Now, tie the sash around your waist, making sure to cover the tied-up belt loop and other modern features of your ‘slops.’

These are all in the top five because if you wear these, you can wear whatever you want up top – a white shirt and a cardigan with the sleeves cut off, a blue blazer with the labels flipped up and smoothed flat, a Rolling Stones shirt – and EVERYONE will know that you are a pirate. STRIPED SOCKS are the key.

[The Doctor]

Once again, a gentleman I cannot recommend highly enough - Dorsett House. His workmanship is beyond reproach, and he has made fine goods for the "Mortal Kombat" movies and the Broadway play "Spamalot". All my leather has been crafted by this good man, and I cannot recommend him highly enough.

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

Bloody Jack Madd... you forgot the thrift store cowboy hat stapled into a tricorn!

[Matty Bottles]

Thanks, Cap'n Bo... that was going to be number 6!

[Captian Wolfy Wench]

3. Bloomers (it always foils those attempts by men seeking treasure)

LMAO!

Personally, I think the ladies look great wif swords, so I never leave without mine.

[William Brand]

Additional gear for the Bloody Jack Madd kit.

7.) Spyglass - You will need three paper towel tubes and some tin foil. Each tube should be slightly smaller in size and should be wrapped with a thick layer of tinfoil. Then each tube should be inserted into the other for the perfect spyglass.

8.) Eyepatch - For this you will need a small swatch of black cloth or Naugahyde and some black elastic, shoelace or yarn. Trace an oval in the material just large enough to cover one eye and then punch a whole at either end of the oval to tie or string the yarn, shoelace or elastic through.

9.) Hook hand - You will need tinfoil, a coat hanger...

...I can't keep this up. hehehe. It's almost too silly.

[Matty Bottles]

I like where your head's at.

[LongTom]

GoF, Foxe, Hawkins, Kass, Cap’n Bo, I appreciate your efforts for authenticity, and I am grateful that we have such resources on the site. But I am going to make a list for people who are either too lazy, too miserly, or otherwise do not have an authentic kit (myself included…for now.)

1.) Black Oxford Shoes. After your Confirmation and high school graduation you thought you’d never have to wear them again, didn’t you? Well, now you can wear them for fun! So dig ‘em out of the closet.

2.) Brass buckles for your shoes. Attach them to your shoes with the black twisty ties that come with your stereo gear. They will cover up your laces.

3.) Black and white striped high socks. Look, people will argue back and forth about bucket boots and so forth, but really, if anything says PIRATE! it’s striped socks. Really. You can fake so much of the rest of your kit if you have striped socks. I own two pairs of striped socks, a maroon pair of high socks and only one pair of bucket boots (and those’re for LARPing anyway.)

4.) Tan trousers from Goodwill that were intended for a much fatter gentleman. You just get super baggy pants, cut them off about three inches below the knee, boil them with some tea until suitably distressed, and go. What’s that you say? The waistband is a fifty-two, and you’re only a thirty-eight? Fine. Tie two of your belt loops together in back. Trust me, this’ll work.

5.) Either a really long scarf or an actual sash. You might have to bite the bullet and make a sash. Or make a friend make the sash. If you’re thin enough a long scarf will work. Otherwise, sash away. Now, tie the sash around your waist, making sure to cover the tied-up belt loop and other modern features of your ‘slops.’

These are all in the top five because if you wear these, you can wear whatever you want up top – a white shirt and a cardigan with the sleeves cut off, a blue blazer with the labels flipped up and smoothed flat, a Rolling Stones shirt – and EVERYONE will know that you are a pirate. STRIPED SOCKS are the key.

I want to see this approach modeled in the "You In Yer Garb" thread. No, really. I'm not kidding.

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

OK, I wasn't gonna touch this one again, but temptation won out...

#10) A hobby store plastic parrot with flourescent faux feathers! :)

Wear it pinned tho your topside, and don't forget to splatter white paint down the back! :angry:

(sorry... couldn't help it!)

[Matty Bottles]

I accept that challenge, Long Tom. I will wear precisely these sort sof clothes to the pirate ball at the Port Washington Pirate Festival! You will have eye witnesses from the Pub!

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

Just thought to bump this to the top again for all the newcomers. This very important list must be made available so that these dedicated individuals can hve an accurate listing of important items!

[Gentleman of Fortune]

IN light of a resurgence in Authentic Pirate re-enacting, I thought I would bump it for the new folks.

Greg

aka

GoF

[kass]

And I'd like to add a guide for the women:

1) a simple shift. It doesn't have to be perfect because very little of it will be seen. Just something to wear under your stays. And please don't pull the neckline over your shoulders.

2) petticotes. At least two and neither of them hitched up. Also avoid making them too long. Your shoes should show. They could even be as short as mid-calf. We're not Victorians after all!

3) stays. Not a corset or a bodice but a simple set of straight 18th century stays. And a properly-made set of stays will support your back and it won't hurt from standing all day. I cannot stress how important a good set of stays are!

4) cap and kerchief. Add this to the above and you are decently (if not fully) dressed.

-------- The Absolute Beginner Can Stop Here -----------

5) a mantua. They're not just for the upper class. We have pictures of beggars and common women wearing them. And they're dead simple to make. I can make one in four hours and that's sewing everything by hand! Plus they're fairly "one size fits many" so you can always lend one to a friend.

6) straight lasted latchet shoes. I have to admit that I just got my first pair of straight lasted shoes a couple weeks ago. I wore them for the first time last weekend and I will never bother with right/left shoes again. These are FAR more comfortable.

But for beginners, anything with the right shape will pass.

7) stockings. Knit or cut cloth. And garters to hold them up with. Tied around the knee.

8) pockets. On a string tied around your waist under your uppermost petticote. Someplace to keep all your possessions. Not in a pouch that shows.

9) Women didn't commonly wear cocked hats. They wore them when out riding and that's about it, generally speaking. So leave the "boy hats" at home and wear a linen cap.

One short of ten, but I can't think of anything else a woman needs...

[Red Cat Jenny]

Just thought to bump this to the top again for all the newcomers. This very important list must be made available so that these dedicated individuals can hve an accurate listing of important items!

Thanks! I had suggested a topic like this I must have missed this post..I knew it had to exist. Thanks!

[Kenneth]

WTF?

No rum?

Heres my list!

1.Hat

2.RUM

3. slops (if i'm not too drunk to put em on!)

the rest is optional....

The only sword I need is the one the good lord gave me!