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Sword question (screws lid off of Foxe's worm can)


dasNdanger

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Okie dokie - in the boots thread Foxe posted this picture:

88584799.jpg

I have a question about the weaponry...specifically about those squiggly swords (*note my in-depth knowledge of proper terminology...* :wub: )

I thought the only ships that had such swords were Klingon ships!! :wub: Please explain their place in history, and on ships...and while yer at it, what's up with that ugly dame?? :wub:

Thankies in advance...

das

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Of course I fully expect to be contradicted, but, here goes.

The one appears to be an ugly dame isn't... he is a Moorish pirate....and though most used a scimitar which is a curved blade the ones shown...those are Egyptian swords. They would do nasty damage when used.

Lady Cassandra Seahawke

Captain of SIREN'S RESURRECTION,

Her fleet JAGUAR'S SPIRIT, ROARING LION , SEA WITCH AND RED VIXEN

For she, her captains and their crews are....

...Amazon by Blood...

...... Warrior by Nature......

............Pirate by Trade............

If'n ye hear ta Trill ye sure to know tat yer end be near...

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The swords or daggers... It's hard ta say which they be... are known by different names... All of which I do not know, and I am going by my slightly faulty memory...

Kris Blades is one term, and Flamberge or Flame Blade is another I know...

Era's of use? they've been around for a long time... exact dates I cannot say... But up through the 1700's, give or take 25 years...

At one time I almost owned a Flamberge Rapier circa 1650...

And as for nationality... european, Indonesian, Indian... that I know of....

here's a pic of Indian blades

k14.jpg

And here's a European war sword

flamberg3.png

Truly,

D. Lasseter

Captain, The Lucy

Propria Virtute Audax --- In Hoc Signo Vinces

LasseterSignatureNew.gif

Ni Feidir An Dubh A Chur Ina Bhan Air

"If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me." Deuteronomy 32:41

Envy and its evil twin - It crept in bed with slander - Idiots they gave advice - But Sloth it gave no answer - Anger kills the human soul - With butter tales of Lust - While Pavlov's Dogs keep chewin' - On the legs they never trust... The Seven Deadly Sins

http://www.colonialnavy.org

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Aha! Herein lies the danger of relying on pictures without explanation of what they are...

The picture is an illustration of the murder of English seamen by a savage tribe in the East Indies (IIRC, though I suppose it might have been North Africa). The funny looking fellow is a nondescript East Indian savage, drawn in such a way that would appeal to the English readership. Neither he nor his weapons are really meant to be taken as accurate representations. So, civilised people use straight swords and dress normally, savages and heathens use wiggly swords and wear funny clothes. :wub:

Foxe

"With this Fore-Staff he fansies he does Wonders, when, God knows, it amounts to no more but only to solve that simple Question, Where are we? Which every chi'd in London can tell you." - Ned Ward The Wooden World Dissected, 1707


ETFox.co.uk

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So, civilised people use straight swords and dress normally, savages and heathens use wiggly swords and wear funny clothes. B)

B) Now yer soundin' like Petee...

Thanks, DL, for the pics - okay - now I think I remember seeing weapons like that in the armory at Philadelphia Museum of Art ....or somewhere.

So - such weapons would not have been used by a European-type sailor as a standard issued sort of thing - right? (Unless someone had it in a private collection or something, I suppose.)

Thanks for clearing that up!! LOL...I STILL say it's an ugly woman...looks a lot like ol' lady Santaniello - mustache and all... B)

das

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I'm not convinced all this attention is good for my ego... but we won't know unless you carry on :)

Foxe

"With this Fore-Staff he fansies he does Wonders, when, God knows, it amounts to no more but only to solve that simple Question, Where are we? Which every chi'd in London can tell you." - Ned Ward The Wooden World Dissected, 1707


ETFox.co.uk

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I'm not convinced all this attention is good for my ego... but we won't know unless you carry on :)

be careful of what ye ask fer, mate... ;)

Actually, I'm just posting so I can be promoted from first mate, to notorious pyrate...and at this rate, it'll take me about three years... ;)

*searches through Foxe's weevil cannes...looking for one that's not been opened...*

das

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You could just ask... ;)

Foxe

"With this Fore-Staff he fansies he does Wonders, when, God knows, it amounts to no more but only to solve that simple Question, Where are we? Which every chi'd in London can tell you." - Ned Ward The Wooden World Dissected, 1707


ETFox.co.uk

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Actually, I'm just posting so I can be promoted from first mate, to notorious pyrate...and at this rate, it'll take me about three years... :rolleyes:

Well, y'll get thar twice as fast if half your posts are apologizin' for pissing people off with the other half of yer posts, like mine ! :rolleyes::lol:

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Actually, I'm just posting so I can be promoted from first mate, to notorious pyrate...and at this rate, it'll take me about three years...  :rolleyes:

Well, y'll get thar twice as fast if half your posts are apologizin' for pissing people off with the other half of yer posts, like mine ! :rolleyes::lol:

Oh no...wait...did I piss you off??!! I'm so sor...aaaahhhhhh, I see...you were just givin' me a suggestion... :lol:

I'll keep it in mind...but I'm finding I'm doing just as good re-explaining my confusing posts.... :lol:

das

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Well this talk of interesting swords has brought me to bring this up.

I have in my possesion two sword canes (yes they are illegal in Calif.) that were given to me by a good friend years ago.

They are clearly made in India.

I'm curious as to when something like this might have come into being and/or being used?

My guess is Victorian, but I could be wrong.

Anyone care to discuss the sword cane?

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I've never seen a sword-cane pre-victorian, probably because the need for them wasn't there. Right up until the early 19thC if you were wealthy enough to own a sword then you wore it. It's only when the wearing of swords becomes unfashionable and unrespectable that you need to start concealing them.

Foxe

"With this Fore-Staff he fansies he does Wonders, when, God knows, it amounts to no more but only to solve that simple Question, Where are we? Which every chi'd in London can tell you." - Ned Ward The Wooden World Dissected, 1707


ETFox.co.uk

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  • 2 weeks later...

Maybe we should do a new topic on Sword Canes... Or it may be kinda dead...

But just to breathe some life into it....

I found this site;

http://www.swordcane.com/

They have several very nice (and very expensive) canes...

the Mark I has an interesting bit of information listed...

"Swordcanes were found in Tutankhamuns Tomb - 1334 BC"

So... they been around a long time... I'll take it with a grain of salt... I've never heard that they were found in Tut's tomb...

Someone prove or disprove this...

Truly,

D. Lasseter

Captain, The Lucy

Propria Virtute Audax --- In Hoc Signo Vinces

LasseterSignatureNew.gif

Ni Feidir An Dubh A Chur Ina Bhan Air

"If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me." Deuteronomy 32:41

Envy and its evil twin - It crept in bed with slander - Idiots they gave advice - But Sloth it gave no answer - Anger kills the human soul - With butter tales of Lust - While Pavlov's Dogs keep chewin' - On the legs they never trust... The Seven Deadly Sins

http://www.colonialnavy.org

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The oldest confirmation I have ever found on the subject is the Revolutionary War. The French revolution also has literature that speaks of "scabbard canes" which came into use as the popularity of wearing swords in public diminished.

Most historians hint at earlier weapons of this kind, but I have yet to find an actual archived remark on the subject.

 

image.jpeg.6e5f24495b9d06c08a6a4e051c2bcc99.jpeg

 

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Not having posted in quite a few months...

this post is certainly interesting from the visual

standpoint, so I thought I'd add my 2¢.

Certainly as Foxe stated, it's hard to ascertain

what exactly is going on in the picture, by merely

looking at it without any sort of explination.

That being said....Here goes....

To me, it looks like the man on the right may be Indian,

by that I mean a Hindi, I would base this on the hairstyle,

the loose pantaloons, and what look like well fitted

boots of some sort (not bucket however :lol: )

I certainly could be all awash here, but the "look"

of the pirate....facial hair, hairstyle, features, and

clothing as well as arms, certainly looks indian to me.

Basing my assesment on period woodcuts and artwork...

tho the one thing missing is a the very distinct turban.

Interesting post however.

-Redhand

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I realize that the persuasive value of any novel is zero, but merely for the record I'll mention that Louis L'Amour's Fair Blows the Wind has the gypsy Kory armed with a sword-cane.

But perhaps there's a point there. Would it be worthwhile for petty merchants, gypsies, Jews, and other fellows low on the social scale to have sword-canes? People who were generally considered not to be socially entitled to wear a sword, or who may even have been prohibited by law from doing so, but who wanted to defend themselves?

This is speculative, I realize, unless someone actually can find evidence of a pre-Revolutionary sword-cane.

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Truly,

D. Lasseter

Captain, The Lucy

Propria Virtute Audax --- In Hoc Signo Vinces

LasseterSignatureNew.gif

Ni Feidir An Dubh A Chur Ina Bhan Air

"If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me." Deuteronomy 32:41

Envy and its evil twin - It crept in bed with slander - Idiots they gave advice - But Sloth it gave no answer - Anger kills the human soul - With butter tales of Lust - While Pavlov's Dogs keep chewin' - On the legs they never trust... The Seven Deadly Sins

http://www.colonialnavy.org

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