PoD

I commissioned a guy who specialises in historical pottery to make me a couple of these bottles and I pick them up next month. I'll post pictures when i get them

Wychwood Breweries Hobgoblin beer

Got my boarding axe from Kings Forge last month and I have to say it is awesome. The detail and quality is amazing. I would recommend them to anyone who wants a serious period accurate piece of kit.

ha ha you are not wrong. at least his moustache stayed the same size.

theres another example here (this time german) from 1645-1700 I am wondering that that little sheath thing is that he has on his belt

I just found this period portrait of a Dutch pirate named Capiteyn Jan Bart (or Jean Bart / Baert) from 1675-1724 check out his neck scarf thing. I havent seen one worn like that before. He is wearing the higher heel shoes too.

just came across this image at the british museum from 1688 The Cryes of the City of London Drawne after the Life / Knives or cisers to Grinde

theres a picture of one here: http://www.crossmancrafts.co.uk/knife%20and%20sheath.html

have you got any of the English buckles without the Verdigris effect on them? I'd prefer the same finish as the french one.

Interestingly the Dutch Trade knife coleman do is almost identical to the fishermans knife I found reference too only the original blade has a rounded tip rather than a point

they are selling this over at the St Augustine Pirate and Treasure Museum: French Sailor's Knife This early 18th century, museum-quality sailor's knife has a fine ivory handle with silver pique dots and a fine mellow patina. The blade is 6 1/2" and is engraved on one side with a fine Makers Mark present. Comes with original wooden, vellum-covered sheath. https://www.thepiratemuseumshop.com/productdetails.aspx?ProdID=20 What do people think? Is this what it says it is?

yeah I keep hoping they will put one out of the La Belle, Whydah or Queen Annes Revenge but I havent seen them mention one yet.

One of the things I am always after is a good period reference to a sailors knife. Has anyone got any pictures of any? Not a modern reproduction of one, I am talking about an actual period example or drawing? I have managed to find a picture of a dutch sailors/fishermans knife that looks like it fits the image of the one worn in the picture I posted last year (in the earring thread as i remember). It was recovered from an early 18th century fishing vessel that sank off the dutch coast. Hopefully the next time i am in my fathers workshop I can replicate it as it bugs me too not having a working knife (although here in the UK our knife laws are as strict as our gun laws so it'd have to be blunt).

cool could you send me the link

yes thats the conclusion I would come to as well. I think i may buy Woodards book as it seems to have the most information in it.

I'm after a rum horn. Anyone got one they want to trade or sell?

The mariner's magazine: or, Sturmy's mathematical and practical arts. Containing, the description and use of the scale of scales; it being a mathematical ruler, that resolves most mathematical conclusions: and likewise the making and use of the crostaff, quadrant, and the quadrat, nocturnals, and other most useful instruments for all artists and navigators by Samuel Sturmy 1669 http://books.google....epage&q&f=false Great reference book. The Art of Gunnery section is extremely interesting having among other things instructions on the construction of paper and canvas grenadoes and how they are shot from mortars and grenadoe launchers.

Thats quite interesting as it seems to account for the 61 slaves that I mentioned were lost during the voyage. Does anyone have a date for when the concorde was actually taken? It would be interesting to see if this ties in with the information we have from the slave trade. I am wondering if the ship had made 2 deliveries already or if the deliveries were made from a different ship which would tie in to Woodards version of events. It does then seem odd that the figures would suggest that no slaves whatsoever had died on the trip from africa. I am now wondering if Woodard had seen the figures listed in the slave trading documentation and jumped to the conclusion that Blackbeard had taken the unaccounted for 61 slaves. The only reason I would question it is that 374 of the slaves can be accounted for and reached their original destination but the records say that 455 slaves disembarked the ship. This now leaves 81 slaves unaccounted for that actually disembarked the ship and 61 slaves that were lost between picking them up in africa and arriving in the americas (this is getting confusing ha ha). So the total number of unaccounted for slaves is 142 (81 that apparently disembarked and 61 lost on the voyage). From a purely speculative point of view, I recall one version saying that Blackbeard gave the crew of the concorde his old ship but not sure if this is true or not. If the concorde was a lot bigger ship that the one blackbeard attacked it from then maybe there wasnt room for all the slaves on that ship.

yeah i had considered that option too but thought that the loss of a pistol by putting it actually inside the chest wouldnt really be an option on a ship where it wouldnt have been easily replacable. If they had needed to ignite the chest by using the flintlock itself then I would have imagined they could have just put the mechanism into the chest rather than a whole pistol. We could definately do with a better reference.

I always took it as meaning that once the chest was nailed onto the deck then a hole was cut through the underside of the deck and the bottom of the box using something like a brace (if they had them then). A pistol barrel was then poked into the hole and fired to ignite the powder. Althought the person holding the pistol would have to have a lot of faith that the chest would explode outwards and not blow up the deck above him. The ignition techniques and the placement of the chest may have evolved over time so you'd maybe have to check the dates of the references as I believe the John Seller book was 1691 and John Smith's "Seaman Grammer & Dictionary" was 1653.

I am sure in The Sea-Gunner by John Seller he describes the construction of a powder chest too. I cant find my copy at the moment though Ok found an online reference. It's not very descriptive though How to make Powder-Chests. You must nail two Boards together like the ridge of a House, and prepare one Board longer and broader for the bottom: Between these three Boards put a Cartridge of Powder, then make it up like a Sea-Chest and fill it with pibble Stones, Nails, Stubbs of old Iron ; then nail on the Cover and the ends to the Deck, in such a place as you may fire the Powder underneath through a hole made to put a Pistol in : These are very useful to anoy an Enemy if they board you. http://www.shipbrook...hapter19.html#2

ha ha I should have known not to trust anything by made by microsoft

They are knives that were used for surgery rather than kitchen knives according to Bing translation sortware (how good this is I have no idea)

I found this on the trans atlantic slave trade database. Could this be Blackbeards Queen Annes Revenge? http://slavevoyages....&voyageid=30090 If so it may also answer the fact of what happens to the slaves aboard. It mentions that they were sold from another ship which may of meant that Blackbeard didnt keep all/any of them after all. It would surely have been logged as the pirates had taken them rather than sold from another ship if that is what had happened. They had already unloaded the majority of the slaves anyway by the looks of it. Out of the original 516 slaves purchased, only 455 are recorded as disembarking the ship. 313 disembarked at Martinique and 61 disembarked at Grenada. This comes to 374 so leaves 81 slaves unaccounted for which must have been sold from the other ship. This possibly means that 61 slaves died before reaching Martinique. I originally thought that 61 slaves dying was a high number but it seems around average unfortunately.Although it does say the original goal was thwarted so it may be that the pirates took the other 81 slaves that were sold from another ship.

I'm not sure to tell you the truth. I thinks its horn as its transparent with an orange/brown tint. Theres a small metal sparrow.bird design inlaid into the one on the reverse of the knife