Gentleman of Fortune

Rats if you are doing a doctor impression with proper clothes, why not a smallsword or hunting hanger? Blackjohn has posted a link to a company that puts fencing blades on smallsword hilts that look pretty good. Blackjohn also has a link to a decent Hanger. IMHO, you are kind of at a crossroads with the sword question. In one direction, lies a beautiful copy of a period sword that is really expensive and you probably won't want to smack it around with other swords (safety and sword damaging concerns). The other path is a reasonable facsimile that is intended for sword fighting. You get a safer sword with the trade off of looking less like a period sword. If you want to fight with others, I say get the fencing bladed smallsword. Also, it might be a good idea to ask the guys that you are going to fight against THE MOST, what they are using as they should have a good idea of what will fit and work in their systems. Greg aka GOF

Boarding axes are cool. There is no denying that. And its one of the kit pieces that I would really like to have. Here is my take on them for GAoP use though. There are very few very few honest to goodness verifiable original boarding axes in existence. The boarding axe falls into a space between a hatchet (or tomahawk) and larger tree felling axes. There earliest one we have is a Dutch Entrebil dated 1675. There is a drawing of it in Gilkerson’s Boarders Away with Steel (BAwS). Its overall length is 28”, and from blade tip to point tip its just under 10 inches. Its marked all over the blade, including the 1675 date. By looking at it, I would say it has slim langets that go about 5 inches down the side of the blade. We also have a “blueprint” of a Sweedish boarding axe that dates to around 1704 (again, its in BAwS). It has a large cutting surface and a short slim spike. Its handle length is stated at 38”. About the same time, the Swedish came up with a boarding axe/pistol thing that looks pretty cool, but the axe head is not a normal looking boarding axe head. Here is the Loyalist Boarding Axe http://www.loyalistarms.freeservers.com/axes.jpg My problem with the Loyalist Boarding Axe, is that it looks like the Royal Navy Boarding Tomahawk axe that dates from around 1750. Nothing is “wrong” with that I guess, since there are no earlier pattern British boarding axes to compare them with. But to me its like using the British 1742 pattern sword for Pirate. Yeah, sure, the 1742 sword is a pattern that even Swords and Blades of the American Revolution says dates back to the 1720s. But when you see that sword, you don’t think, “wow, look, that sword is the predecessor to the later 1742 pattern sword,” you say, “wow, look, that guy has a 1742 sword.” For me, I just haven’t found the “right” boarding axe yet. I am sure that there are custom makers that will do a proper one for you… Since this piece of kit is more ornamentation and having something to look at than ‘practical”, I think most re-enactors are better served fleshing out other parts of their kit until a proper solution, at a decent price, is found. I go into a little more detail and have a few more links on my site… check it out at http://www.gentlemenoffortune.com/weapons.htm Just my two cents… Greg

Captain Sterling... I wasn't implying that you said it was a race... I just wanted to let folks that are thinking about taking part that there is no hurry to get done... just go at your own pace. For that matter, even if you can't start on the official date, join in whenever you can. I am sure I will be tail end charlie! Greg

Wow... I am so out of my league then, as it can take me 30 minutes to do a freakin buttonhole! My Guess for a novice, taking their time and asking advice at every turn would be... well, I won't say! But seriously, this isn't a race. There are no prizes at the end, except the oooohing and Ahhhhing that you get from the few people that you will run into that actually know what they are looking at. But to have someone that KNOWS about 17th/18th C clothing compliment your kit is a little high all to itself.... My realistic projection is to have an early Justaucorps to wear for the Spring/Summer season of 07'. That being said, we can start a "group Breeches" project after the new year... so start searching for complimentary fabric and order your patterns now! Greg

Cannon shot accuracy... Yes, I can see that for solid shot. But the exploding shell casing is really a grenadoe stuck in a cannon and shot out instead of thrown. So the hollow casing is going to have the fuse sticking out of it and be shot through the air. Unless I misunderstand how cannon hollow casing were fused... wouldn't that throw off the accuracy as much as the sphere itself not being true? for clarity, assuming that the grenadoe shells in the whydah pic above are all the same size used for a 4lb gun. Lets say the one on the far left is a perfect sphere and the one in the middle is horribly unballanced and is a reject. Isn't the exploding shell fuse similar to the Grenadoe fuse? In the sense that its a fuse "sticking out" of the metal ball, and wouldn't that mess up the ballistics for the perfect sphere as much as the unbalanced sphere on the right? And, I would imagine, like chain shot, the exploding rounds had a limited range anyway so it might not have been too big a deal to worry about. Grenadoe availability I would imagine that it would be harder to buy grenadoes in a land locked town that it would be in a coastal town. Obviously, its all speculation but I would imagine that if you were in a port town, you could probably buy grenadoes and hollow shells as easily without batting an eye. Maybe it was common practice to protect a ship in any way possible, grenadoe, chain shot etc. Its late here, I am rambling... Greg

Been thinking.... Why would a shell be a reject if it wasn't "true". From what I understand, tolerances were slack and there was a lot of windage for muzzle loading guns and cannon of the period. Even if you could manufacture a perfectly round sphere. The fact that there was a hole in it and some sort of fuse sticking out (even if just a little) would certainly screw up its balistics right? Greg

I hear they are cheaper by the dozen.... Greg

Just petition the mods in the Pirate Crews forum to create a sub forum entitled "Crew of the Archangel News" and Viola' Greg

I hear what your saying midnight.... But If you notice the fuses on the Whydah site... Each of those are different types of fuses from the same wreck site. I don't think it would be beyond the skill of a ships carpenter to have made these fuses... Also, I believe in a conversation I had with K Kinkor (via e-mail), he said that there was a range of sizes for the Whydah's grenadoes. I don't think that Peg or myself is saying that we don't believe that grenadoes were not made specifically as grenadoes... I think what we are saying, is that you could make a plausible argument that the folks who were making grenadoes, were probably more interested in making cannon shot casings. And that those shot casings that were not up to standard then became grenadoes. And of course, anyone (army grenadiers for example) who placed a large order got grenadoes made specifically for them. Its interesting that such a large variety of sizes of grenadoes appear. Some that would almost be of inhuman size to throw. I have seen some a shows here in Europe that are almost 5 inch in diameter (with fuses). The only reasonable explanation, besides being made for Conan to throw, would be that it was a hollow shell casing reject put to other purposes. So we are not saying that all were reject shells, but that some found there way into armouries this way. Greg

Thanks to all the participants in this thread... its really caused me to stretch my brain cavity a bit... That being said, wouldn't you think that ship outfitters in the GAoP would have been like farmers in the mid 20th century, in regards to the fact that they have guns on their ships and need to procure powder, shot and shell? The Whydah wreck uncovered some grenadoes as well... so so far it seems that, from the few wrecks we have found, there have been grenadoes present (ok... small sample size I will admit) but they all fall in the 3" range. the 3" range seems to be about the size of a 3-4 pound gun... I think that you hit the nail on the head with field expedient grenadoe manufacturing out of shell casings. At the same time, I can't help to think that grenadoes themselves would have been useful enough in defense and offense to make them worthy of production/sale as well. So, Give me 10 Kegs o' powder, 100 4lbder roundshot, and a score of grenadoes for the road... Greg

Well, i don't know.... According to Antique Spectacles the first side arm temple glasses don't come about till 1726ish GoF

I finally got the game a few weeks back. Its nice. After a few marathon sessions though, I have had my fill. When I ressurect the Signature graphic contest, I will throw it in as a prize. Greg

I live in Germany, but am making the trek to the UK for TORM http://www.reenactorsmarket.co.uk/ 27-29 October Anyone else going? We should try to meet up! Greg aka GOF

I live in Germany, but am making the trek to the UK for TORM http://www.reenactorsmarket.co.uk/ 27-29 October Anyone else going? We should try to meet up! Greg aka GOF

The crew of the Archangle has been very interesting to watch via the web. I applaud your efforts as they seem to be really paying off. I particularly like how the "new guys" ask a lot of questions and are seeking advise before they make purchases or sewing errors. Can't wait to see the Archangle website.... But before that comes up, maybe you can get a crew forum under the pirate crews section here? Keep up the good work guys! Greg

Congrats Billy Bones! Do you have a source for wool bunting? GoF

How about 70 antique marbles in a nice presentation box. At 70, you just may start loosing some and now you would have plenty to spare. Greg

Wow... Thanks for the List Harbormaster. I can only imagine how long you had to wade through the net to gleen those gems. I took a cursory look through them, and will will go back through them at my leisure... It seems that most of the cannon makers target the Civil War market (makes sense really) first, and the Rev War market second. For ships main guns for GAoP period (we will say 1670-1730) I found http://www.cannonltd.com/ordering.htm But which ones I wonder? and http://www.specialtymile.com/southbendrepl...licas/page2.htm This seems right up our alley! Others say they can make anything... just ask. Greg aka GoF

So far, I have resisted the temptation to say "Which Period?" in reply to this thread. Sadly, I cannon hold back any longer. Greg aka GoF

But not only that... Belaying pins are part of the ship's equipment... so to quote the immortal words of Tom Apple. GoF

Hey... if any of you are bidding on these, let us know so others can "back off" Greg aka GoF

This was burried in another post... So I thought I would liberate it and add more as I see em' Capn' Pete Fancy can be tricky... as fancier materials generally would call for fancier buttons and trims, which can be harder to pull of well than a justaucorps made out of plainer materials.. Really nice textiles are tricky as "print" patterns are hard to find in a reasonalbly authentic pattern. That being said, I have found some folks that reproduce our textiles and are quite nice.... Check out some of them on my resources page here http://www.gentlemenoffortune.com/Links.htm Take a look at the E-Luxus site, I drool over that Bizarre pattern (that was only around during the GAoP!), I think it is meager $400 or so a meter. That being said... Here is some interesting wool http://tinyurl.com/hva49 (It sold for $41 or $10 a yard with shipping... good grab!) I bought some of this a while back... same vendor http://tinyurl.com/okvtv Wow... that 100% wool grosgrain! A hard weave to find in silk or wool. I may be using it for this project, but I haven't made up my mind yet... (Sold at $20... with shipping its less than $8 per yard) 4 Yards of a nice royal blue http://tinyurl.com/nt3vh (Sold for $21 including shipping... that is a little more than $4 a yard) 6 1/2 Yards of Navy Blue... That is enough for a justaucorps and breeches... $10! http://tinyurl.com/mt9nk (its 22.50... that is just a little more than $3 a yard... + shipping)

Capn' Pete Fancy can be tricky... as fancier materials generally would call for fancier buttons and trims, which can be harder to pull of well than a justaucorps made out of plainer materials.. Really nice textiles are tricky as "print" patterns are hard to find in a reasonalbly authentic pattern. That being said, I have found some folks that reproduce our textiles and are quite nice.... Check out some of them on my resources page here http://www.gentlemenoffortune.com/Links.htm Take a look at the E-Luxus site, I drool over that Bizarre pattern (that was only around during the GAoP!), I think it is meager $400 or so a meter. That being said... Here is some interesting wool http://tinyurl.com/hva49 I bought some of this a while back... same vendor http://tinyurl.com/okvtv Wow... that 100% wool grosgrain! A hard weave to find in silk or wool. I may be using it for this project, but I haven't made up my mind yet... 4 Yards of a nice royal blue, presently $10 http://tinyurl.com/nt3vh 6 1/2 Yards of Navy Blue... That is enough for a justaucorps and breeches... $10! http://tinyurl.com/mt9nk I hate reposting, but this is such a good photo that I gotta Here are some nice justaucorps in simple wool fabrics that give you several options for trims and buttons. Captain Sterling went for dorset buttons, Kudos to the Captain for that choice, as I had been thinking about some too You could also go with a "simple" metal button, or cover wood moulds with fabric for fabric covered buttons. I have a hard time finding decent trim... Captain Sterling may be able to help you find some period style braid/trim to edge your button holes to give it even a little more pizazz. Greg

I have never been to the "pirate feast" in the DelMarVa area as Kass is talking about... but I have heard of another. There is a "save the boobies" pirate party (also in Maryland?) http://www.teamwench.org/pf/main.shtml Pretty much, they have a charity (Breast Cancer), and have a pirate themed party at a restaurant/hall/hotel or whatever. They gets bands to donate their time and play etc etc. Maybe you could do something like that? Not only will you be scratching the pirate itch, but doing something for the greater good as well. Greg

Great stuff! I agree that it is probable that reject shells were the first to come about.... What was the most common naval cannon shot size during GAoP? 4lb?, 6lb? 8/b? The most common size of grenadoe found for GAoP seems to be "around" 3". greg