darkthing

Gilded brass is probably best cleaned as little as possible, 'cause the gilding will rub off if it's polished too much. I'm guessin' from the fine pictures that much of the gilding is already gone, and mostly remains in the crevices. I think it looks rather nice as it is, with an age patina on the brass.

Floor show indeed! This fight's been goin' on fer a week now... see, it's Friday night again! Really the best thing about bar fights is the watchin'. Throwin' punches is liable to get ye a bloody nose in return, and that makes tastin' the rum a wee bit hard. Worse yet, fightin' can get you banned from yer favorite drinkin' establishment (if the proprieter takes a dim eye to such rabblerousin').

Piracy attractin' artists? Piracy attracts everyone! Who wouldn't love a life of ease sittin' shipboard in the Caribbean breezes, waitin' for a plump merchantman full o' gold to float by? As for why ye see a lot of artsy types in this fine pub, I think people in general are a pretty creative bunch, and that comes out th'most when they're doin' what they love. The perception that lots o' people are dull grunts comes about from seein' em at their worst, at their 9-to-5 jobs.

Now I know that a fine period-piece flintlock would be the ideal thing for a true-to-time reenactor, I've got a question for those of us who are a little less motivated to shell out the dubloons for one of the fine arms noted above. What might your experiences be with the not-so-period flint and percussion lock pistols from less esteemed manufacturers, like CVA and Traditions? I'm looking for an "old-looking" muzzleloader that will go bang with a little charge o' powder, but as a "fantasy" pirate re-enactor I have no need of anything from a particular period. In particular the low price tags of some of the cheaper percussion pistols caught my eye. However, as a newbie to black powder shooting I don't want some dangerous piece o' junk that'll blow up in me face! I am looking for a good strong pistol that I can "learn the ropes" with, and that I won't feel bad about getting dirty or knocked around. I am a gun owner and familiar with the inherent danger of firearms and the safety procedures for modern weapons, but the black powder thing seems a bit more complex. For my piratin' purposes, I'd be perfectly happy with some kind of blank-firin' gun that would give me a bang and a puff of smoke, but I've never seen anything like that in a muzzleloading pistol. So, I'm figurin' a smaller-caliber black powder shooter will do. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Aye, it's been a mite quiet around this pub a long time. Hav'n't seen a good brawl in many a moon. Fact of it is, I don' spar so much as I did in my younger days. This settlin' down to home port doesn't leave much time for knockin' heads. Aye, tonight me mate's workin' a night shift, and I could use a bit a' rowdiness. Jus' fer old time's sake, ye understand. With four drinks under me belt, I'm feelin' no pain!

Since ye brought up the POTC swag, I've got a question fer ya... recently I made a visit to that port o' plunder known as eBay, and picked up a cheap cutlass fer waving at the landlubbers on the next Royaliste raid. Now mostly it was just a common sword from the Frost Cutlery company: Officer's Short Sword However, this particular blade has the words "Pirates of the Caribbean" painted on the blade between two "Jolly Roger" flags. It looks like it was done by the manufacturer, so I figure it was maybe a promo of some sort. I can't really imagine Disney puttin' out real steel swords for the tourists, though, so I'm a little stumped. Maybe an unauthorized souvenir? Anyone ever see such a thing?

And what would the date be that we'd be tryin' to keep open? It wasn't too clear to me rum-addled brain. Are they saying Sept. 19, 2004, in Salem, MA? I voyage back to Massachusetts every year to visit me ol' home port, but I usually go in August.

Aye, that's a beautiful ship indeed. Sad that she's chained to the dock for tourists to gawk at; I can see she yearns for the open sea! Hmmm, I wonder how far we'd get if we "liberated" her? I'll bet if we showed up in pirate gear with cutlass and flintlocks in every hand, we could storm the ship and have 'er away before the constables could be summoned!

Magnification is a bit of a tradeoff in any case. The higher the mag, the more detail you see, but it gets harder to hold the image steady. For a hand-held instrument on a rolling deck, 10x seems like a fair compromise.

Those of you in need of a good spyglass should check out the seller "bargainresource" on eBay. I just got a fine one from them: Leather and Brass Spyglass on eBay They seem to have this spyglass available in constant rotation, though it ain't up right now. This item fits my needs exactly: 1) A BIG spyglass at a full 33" when open, not one of those froofy 15 inch numbers. 2) A new item, not an antique, so the lenses aren't foggy. Also, if I bash it up in a drunken stupor I won't feel it's a crime against humanity. 3) (There is no item 3) 4) Nicely darkened patina on the brass makes it look vintage, not like those shiny brass desk models. The optics are fine for what it is, though not as sharp as modern binoculars, and I look forward to hauling it along on the next sail of the Royaliste (Cap'n Gary willin') to spy out the Aldebaron before she gets too close. Now all I gotta do is figger a way to tie it to me belt.

If'n I recall, some of those Pirates o' Penzance songs are a mite tricky! Ain't that where the "Modern Major General" tongue-twister is from? I fear my singin' voice wouldna be up to it! What level o' singin proficiency do they recommend for this?

I wasn'a sure from your posts, but if this is being done in the SF Bay area I'd be up for it. Any excuse to dress up and act pyratical is OK with me, and did I hear ya say free DRINK? My comely lass AkashaZuul will probly tail along, as wench or pirate as the mood hits her.