Captain McCool

Thanks a million, William! I'm fantastically pleased with the final product! Although as it turns out, I am indeed switching to hemp on my next batch of bottles. I agree that the hairiness of the jute was a little un-aesthetically-pleasing, and I discovered that when it got even a little wet, it tended to smell rather bad. So heavy-duty hemp it is! And hemp cord is very seamanly, so I figure it works. Cheers mate!

Ahoy mates! Long time no see! I've sort of taken a break from pirating for a while, and have instead been focusing on earlier period impressions. However, the Castaway Trading Co. over on Etsy (www.etsy.com/shop/CastawayTradingCo) is still going strong! We were recently asked to vend at a local tropical/voodoo themed ball, and we also recently went through a move, so we've been a little lax on getting new stuff up - however we are now getting back on the proverbial horse (ship? Dinghy?) with a vengeance! So without further ado, I give you the newest item from the Castaway Trading Co. (and in my most humble opinion, one of the best ever): The pirate grenadoe rum bottle! https://www.etsy.com/listing/108810793/pirate-grenade-glass-rum-bottle-flask This 8 oz glass bottle has been covered with a texturized coating and aged to give the appearance of being a real cast-iron grenadoe from the Golden Age of Piracy. The cork has been furnished with a hemp cord which has been burned slightly at the end to simulate a fuse. The neck has been wrapped with jute cord, and is finished with a small loop for easy belt-hanging. Hang one from a mug-strap on a ren-faire belt, or hang TONS of them from a baldric for that terrifying "Blackbeard" look! Just imagine the look on your mates' faces when you grab a grenadoe, pull out the cork, and casually take a swig! Anyway, I certainly hope you like them, as I feel they're right up the alley of many of the excellent buccaneers here on this forum! We'd love to hear feedback about these or any of our other products as well. And as always, stay tuned for more exciting updates as we once again labor to fill our shop back up with fantastic pirate merchandise!

Whew, what a year so far! We've nearly been cleaned out over the last month or two, and we haven't been able to quite keep up, resulting in a somewhat limited stock lately. However, we're finally starting to rebuild our inventory, and we still have a lot of new things planned and on the horizon for the near future, so keep a weather eye out! In the meantime, faire season is well and truly upon us, and the NorCal Pirate Festival is in only a few weeks! So now is a great time to grab those last few necessaries before hitting the festivals in your finest! Right now we've got lots of new pouches, as well as our excellent hats, and probably a few new belts and baldrics on the way! Check out a bunch of our newest listings below: https://www.etsy.com/listing/100290320/dark-brown-leather-coin-purse-hand-sewn https://www.etsy.com/listing/96337632/red-brown-leather-belt-pouch-medium https://www.etsy.com/listing/87576988/piratesteampunk-glass-round-bottle-black https://www.etsy.com/listing/100701066/tan-mini-leather-coin-purse-hand-sewn https://www.etsy.com/listing/89833526/miniature-double-fishing-float-for https://www.etsy.com/listing/100096396/brown-leather-pouchwallet-medium-hand https://www.etsy.com/listing/100291416/brown-leather-pouchwallet-large-hand https://www.etsy.com/listing/91399856/brown-leather-coin-purse-hand-sewn https://www.etsy.com/listing/86258837/piratesteampunk-glass-round-bottle-navy https://www.etsy.com/listing/89030331/nautical-pirate-hat-the-catalina https://www.etsy.com/listing/91200688/plum-purple-leather-wrapped-glass-bottle

Well, I just blew out the transmission on my car, and am also looking at possibly moving sometime in June or July, so once again, looks like NorCal is out for me. I am somewhat less than thrilled

Nice! While it looks like vending is straight out for me, I'm still planning to attend!

Sounds cool! Would you folks consider adding a category for festivals and conventions?

Thanks! yeah, I can see where you're coming from in that regard. I've helped put on a pirate convention called BrethrenCon (www.brethrencon.com) here in CO, for the last several years, and I have definitely learned that I much prefer attending these sorts of events to actually organizing them. Still, the prospect of vending at festivals like that sounds really appealing to me. Eventually I'd like to see if I could make an actual living doing costume sales in one form or another, so I figure it's a good way to get my feet wet.

At which event were you vending?

Just to give an idea of what I'm talking about, here are a couple shots of me in said hat: http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/scyfygy/59299_451346212752_211504327752_5416190_3397215_n.jpg And here's one of Cascabel wearing a very similar style: http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/scyfygy/PirateGuy.jpg And lastly some guy I don't know but lots of other people probably do, wearing a similar style, but with the side actually tacked up: http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/scyfygy/Crazy.jpg

Naw, I totally get it! You want a little "swagger" in your hat! I personally like the "Barbossa" style as well - which, incidentally, is pretty close to the paintings of cavalier hats from the period (though perhaps a bit early for GAoP, but still... they look wicked cool). I like mine sort of swept up at a rakish 3/4 angle - not quite in front, and not quite on the side. If this is a nice, stout blank, you should theoretically be able to simply steam the proverbial snot out of it and then shape it to your liking without having to actually tack it up on the side. Then add a nice aged leather hat band and some epic plumage and you're ready to go!

Indeed! That stuff's downright tasty!

Wow! Now here's some thread necromancy! Haha... Well, I know it's not piratey in the least, but I believe my favorite on-screen duel of all time has to be the climactic fight between Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne in the old Errol Flynn "Adventures of Robin Hood." Talk about an amazing, classic fight! Right down to the shot of the two shadows dueling on the wall! Brilliant! I also love that the killing blow comes as a very well-timed (yet actually very simple) feint and lunge on Flynn's part, and not some huge, overly-dramatic gambit or trick of some sort. No chandeliers falling, no sand in the face (sorry Jack ), etc. Just one nice, clean lunge, and a tumble over the railing. Well played, Mr. Hood, well played Otherwise, pretty much the ENTIRE movie the Duelists is right up there, as well as the final fight in Rob Roy (strangely I haven't seen the movie, but I've seen that fight, and I friggin' love it). And okay, yeah, I do love the blacksmith shop fight from Curse of the Black Pearl. Like others have said above, it's definitely one of the things that hooked me on pirates at the get-go.

I hadn't thought of contacting NQG, but that's definitely a good idea! Thanks!

Love to try some, but at the moment, taking a trip to sell on the East Coast is simply too costly for us, especially with gas prices at an all-time high. And this still doesn't help me with WHICH festivals are good ones for vendors, and which ones are not.

Just bumping the thread. Anyone else want to sound off on this?