Wartooth

Two Years... is definitely a must read. Another one I would add is The Age Of Fighting Sail by CS Forester (yes, of Hornblower fame). It's a detailed historical study of the naval battles during the war of 1812. A really good read. Wartooth

Ooooookay .... Makes ye wonder. Wartooth

Lloyd's right. A brand wouldn't do much to mark you. Plus, who's to say a typical pirate would give a damn? Hanging was much more effective. Most tattoos would probably be more generally nautical in nature, found on sailors of all cultures and ship-classes. Miss Adventure - not to steal your thread, but ..... I have been looking for flash art of octopuses (yes, octopuses not octopi ... don't mix your Latin and Greek ). Have been unable to find anything printable in black & white. Am wanting one on my left arm and my local artist only has 2 in his books ... both are okay but not exactly what I want. Any ideas where I can look? Thanks, Wartooth

From what I had heard ... Davy Jones was a ruthlessly nasal British captain on the American merchant ship The Monkees. Not to be confused with The Sea Monkeys. First mate Michael Nesmith actually knew the ways of the sea, but had to defer all orders to Mr. Jones and his leftenant Mickey Dolenz. Neither one of the officers had nearly the experience that Mr Nesmith or even his pal Peter "Bowl-Cut" Tork had. After a failed mutiny, Mr Nesmith gave up on his career of fame and fortune to resign himself to the comforts of his tavern in town called "The White-Out". Some say it was named after a horrible snowy storm at sea ... others make reference to some sort of office supply product. Davy Jones has not been heard from since ... except for a possible sighting on the SS Brady Bunch. The crew of The Monkees made much money in the short time they sailed together. But overall their ventures failed. If only the lads could sail ... It is said that lone sailors can still hear The Monkees sailing by at night. Some have reported mysterious sounds with nonsensical words floating in the air. "Here we come Sailing on the seas Getting the funniest looks from All the early 1970's teens. Hey hey, we're on The Monkees. Everybody thinks we've run aground. But its just our careers sinking. Now we flip burgers in town." Wartooth

Hah! You know ..... I had never made that connection before. I have an entire bookshelf dedicated to Lovecraftian stories and such. As we are soon moving into a larger house, I was planning on setting up a 50-100 gallon saltwater tank for an bimac octopus. Perhaps an appropriate name would be Cthulhu or Dagon? Wartooth (who's getting the willies just thinking about it )

Mr Bones, sir! May I ask where? My family and I just moved from wet and wonderful Sherwood, Oregon to this desolate wretchedness of a hell-hole called Reno. Gods, I miss it up there! Wartooth

Impressive Claire. Thank you. Mali, huh? Wonder if I can find one ...... hmmmmm. Wartooth

I came across this pic of an old coin. Being a fanatic of octopi (as well as treasure treasure treasure ), I'd like to know its origins. Can't seem to find anything about it. My first guess was Greek. Any other ideas? Wartooth (who coincidentally enough is in the midst of designing an evil-looking octopus tattoo for his left arm)

Sorry lass ... can't help ye. They don't make corsets in my size. Shucks. Wartooth

Right on the money, lass! :) That was a brilliant show and so much better produced than any program that the main networks could even think of doing. They were more concerned with the historical realism. CBS, ABC, etc. will do anything for ratings, including replacing realism with sexual sensationalism. I can see it now ... "Average Joe 3 - Which Lubber Will She Pick?" Blech. Wartooth

I have smoked meerschaum pipes for years and have yet to come across one that gives off any aroma when smoked. In fact, there is nothing at all in the make-up of that clay-like deposit that will do so. Perhaps what you may be experiencing is just a more pure aroma from the tobacco being smoked? Was it an aromatic, virginia, balkan, or english? Wartooth

Good point, Izzy. I hadn't thought about framing the ring to protect it. I'll do some more research and give it a bit more thinking. Thanks all! Wartooth

Royaliste is probably right. However, my instincts are telling me it's Prussian or Polish. Nearly impossible to tell without actually handling it and examining the marks, though. Wartooth

Thanks for the link, Tori. Unfortunately, none of those mounts look as if they'll fit a coin this size comfortably. I may have to break down and pay a jeweler to do this. Wartooth

I have an old (1730s) Dutch East Indies coin that I would like to display as jewelry. They're not too terribly uncommon and can be bought for well under $10 for mediocre quality, so I'm not worried about damaging it. I won't have it made into a pendant, as I already wear a 6" silver-capped boar's tusk on a necklace. Have any of you had coins made into rings? This one is about the size of a US penny or maybe just a tad larger. I wouldn't know where to begin with it or what it would even cost. Or even a "manly man" bracelet? Wartooth

Izzy - I will find out if they have what I'm looking for. Thanks for the info about the place. As for me needing a project ... how much spare time do ye think I have? A nose can't pick itself, ya know. Wartooth

Now that I think about it ... a good small rigging knife would make a wonderful pipe tool and all-round utility blade. The marlinspike alone is just a thicker version of a pipe pick. I know I can find a nice scrimshaw rigging knife somewhere. Wartooth

You are a cruel, cruel woman. Remind me to never cross ye. Wartooth

Looking for the whole combo, Izzy. Thanks for the info and the help in my search. I will look through some Zippo catalogs and see if I can find one. I know they do faux-scrimshaw lighters, so why not pipe tools? Wartooth

As long as we're on the topic of scrimshaw ... anyone recall seeing scrimshaw pipeknives anywhere? I've been looking for one for ages. For those of you who don't know what a pipeknife is ... its got at least one blade usually rounded off for scraping the cake from the interior of the pipe bowl, one long thin pick for digging around in the charred tobacco, and a tamper on the end for pushing the fresh tobacco down. Yes, I've been smoking pipes for many years now. So what? :) That's right, gimme a good stoved virginia flake doused in a splash of Jamaican rum. Hell, for that matter, why not a stout honduran maduro with a glass of rum to sip with it? Great! Now I've got a craving for a smoke! Wartooth

Ye ask and ye shall receive !!! Here ye go sweetie. Wartooth

Or maybe Claustromegalothalassophobia? (fear of big enclosed things in the sea) Or perhaps Megalopyrosubhydroclaustrophobia? (fear of large fires underwater in enclosed spaces) Or maybe Cootiephobia? (fear of catching whatever that tavern girl has) Wartooth

This whole subject is givin' me the shivers! I'll need another few shots o' rum afore I let any o' you ghouls cut into me. YIKE!!! Wartooth

Nice purchase. And at a good price too. I agree with Point #1: these small repros lately are completely useless and have no traditional feel to them. Although Point #3 is a bit disturbing: sellers nowadays often get into the bad habit of skipping this important aspect. Not sure I care about it being only a 10x. Seems kinda weak, but then again ... probably more realistic for the era. Richard

Haven't read it, but appreciate you posting the info and the link. Something to look into. Wartooth