Capt. Flint

Does anyone here have any interest in the war of 1812. If so, then speak up and lets get a discussion about it going. For all the pirates only diehards, don't forget about Lafitte at the battle of New Orleans. It was this pirate and a great many of his sailors that helped in the battle and were very effective in bringing about its victory for the states. Let me know what you think...... The Capt.

Now I know this isn't exactly piratical, but, it is nautical.... Has anyone ever heard of any information on the lost ship The Wasp. It was a Ship used very effectively during the war, taking over 15 prizes. One day she set out and simply dissappeard. There are various theories on what happen to her, but, I never heard anything difinitive. Has anyone ever heard of any research or wreckage etc..... Let me know.... The Capt.

Dearest Rose.... if one survives those drills, then they can handle anything. Wait a minute..... that was handling everything; wasn't it? By the way; what happen to the drill of deciding weather to fish or have your bait for supper........ and this was the fun part of sailing.... The Capt.

Ahoy all ye scalliwags..... Where has everyone gone to. It seems that a lot of ye all have gone in to port and haven't posted anything for a while. A good many of you that are regular have been missed. Stop in and say hi. I'll be scanning the seas for you....... The Capt.

Ahoy all.... I checked out the web site for NeNe Thomas. It was okay. I mean the work was very well done. It was just that it didn't seem very original. The picture of Corsair was good, but, just not what I had hoped for. Her work is nicely done and I'm certain that she has a lot of fans. It just isn't what I'm into anymore. It seems to have the same look as the stuff you find in Heavy Metal magazine. I sort of out grew that stuff a while ago. For those who are into that look, you will really like her work and should definelty check it out..... Enjoy... The Capt.

Jocko.... What you ask is not easy to answer. The owner i met at the local ren fair. I found out about his work reputation by others who used him. Also, the medievel group i belong to do live steel fighting. So I sasked them who they used. Then I did a lot of comaprison shopping. I fight with people who LOVE starfire blades. They are good blades and run in the $200 average range. There are some who I have fought against and my blade snapped their starfire blade. There was a dealer at the local ren fair at one time named Angel Sword. Their swords sold in the average of $3000 to $10,000. No I am not exagerating. If you wanted a blade built, you were told that it would take up to a year to get your sword. It turns out, that Angel Sword was really ripping prople off big time. They were discovered to be frauds and cheats by a museum curator who dealt with ancient weapons. My swords cost on the average of $200 each. These were built for heavy steel combat aginst steel suits of armor. The swords are not padded and they get the stuff beat out og them. So far, not one has failed me. My rapiers cost similar prices and were made by a different armorer. They are schlager blades ( except for three of them ) and they have held up fairly well. My oldest schlager blade is dying hard. It will no longer return true, is bent and I am sure that it will break if I keep using it. But, I love schlager blades and will continue to support them. I also have a Scottish Basket hilt sword from smoky mountain knifeworks that cost me $30 with shipping. I wouldn't use it to cut cheese. But, it is a great looking sword for re-enactments without a lot of expense for something I will very rarely use.... In other words.. talk to others who are also invoved... check out all the vendors at any fairs you go to....ask other re-enactors..... always ask questions. no matter what the yare, ask them. this is your hard earned money. And above all BE PATIENT shop around and find out what you can. The wait is worth it when you finally getthe prize piece you want... The Capt.

To follow in your line of thinking Coastie; i think Wyatt Earp would have been one heck of a pirate. But, in reality, I think the perfect pirates have allready lived. They were hard drinking, hard living, ruthless and dangerous. They lived a short reckless life and are now the cast of songs and stories that have been turned into legends. These true pirates of history lived a very short time as pirates, and yet, to this day their names are better known than many others who went on to do greater and more prominent things in history. Simply ask people you know who is Blackbeard thenask them who is Mary Pickersgill.; or how about Calico Jack, then ask who was General Lincoln of the Revolutinary war. I love the role playing, but, I find the loss of true history sad. Just a thought...... The Capt.

Just wanted to share my thoughts on those of you looking to purchase swords. First of all' I have fought against starfire weapons. They are light, well balanced ( for the most part ) and rather well made. I have also broken two of them with the swords I own. Smoky mountain knifeworks is still in buisness and can be found on line under eknifeworks.com. I prefer to use thier catalog to make purchases myself. They have a large amount of inexpensive wall hangers that look realy nice on your hip too. I strongly reccomend that you do NOT use them in any type of combat. I agree with capt. E. W. Roberts. If you want a sword to use in hard combat, get it custom made. I had my sword made by the owner of Baltimore Knife and Sword. I talked to him and told him what I need them for. The type of comabt I would be using them in and together we worked out the deigns. So far to date, I haven't broken a single one. They are great blades and I love using them.... just a thought... The Capt.

Coastie... is it true? your another year older. Well Well Well...... I know. I'll drink a bottle of rum in your honor. I figure that by half way through ir, I'll forget why I am drinking, but, by then who cares...... The Capt.

Better words were never spoken Pirate Queen...... Many of you post about how much you dislike a film because they lack historical accuracy. Do not forget, most films are made for entertainment, not history lessons. Also, in defense of the musketeers; Pirate Queen said it best. They were a very special grouop of soldiers and in history, they used thier muskets extremely well. ////////remember, it's a movie not a history class. just a thought.... The Capt.

Better words could not have been spoken, Mad Dog. I agree with almost everything you have said about the sport. I particularly agree with the comment you make about various medievel groups and thier idea of swordsmanship. I say this being one who belongs to a particular medievel group. Just for the record, we do NOT use pvc or padded weapons. I also agree with what you say about learning from books. Books are a very helpful tool, but, they can never replace hands on lessons. As far as who is qualified to teach,; well, that is a debate that will continue forever. I have met many people who call themselves teachers. I have also met many who claim to have been taught by "MASTERS" I personally believe that a true fan of the sport is always a student. While there are most assuredly those who can teach, they themselves continue to be a student. For in this sport, I have come to know that there is always something new to learn. I have been active in sword fighting for well over ten years now, and I am very certain that there is a great deal for me to still learn. Just wanted to add my thoughts....... The Capt.

Capt. William.... I meant to respond to your query also, just forgot to . I can't say as I know when the actual timeframe of when percussion caps were in the common market, but, I thought that there was a percussion rifle prior to the year you list. I was under the impression that a man named Fergison invented a rifle that was fired without the aid of a flint. He was given his own company of men who carried these rifles in the revolutionary war. There were only one hundred of them made and they are very very hard to come by now. Fergison himself was killed in battle and his company dispersed elsewhere. His rifle was then also lost with time and for a while, forgotton about. I know the History channel does a continuing story called tales of the gun. This is where I first heard about this rifle. Perhaps you might want to check out thier web site and look up that episode to see whats what. If I am getting the name of this individual wrong; sorry. It's just that I saw this a long time ago and cannot remember it very acurately...... The Capt.

First to Pirate Petee... I recommend you give Dixie Gun Works a call. I know there are mailing restrictions in Cal., but, I'm sure they can help you with what you want. With them, you do not have to order on line. They have a catalog you can purchase and then you can order over the phone or by mail. There is also a company called Deer Creek Products. I ordereed a catalog from them and then ordered a Flintlock pistol kit. Thier selections are limited,but thier prices are pretty good. You might want to try there. Dixie ,you can contact for a catalog via e-mail or at 800-238-6785..... Deer Creek is available at 765-525-6181.... Hope this helps..... The Capt.

Heres a few more suggestions Capt. Luigi.... A free floging at flogs-r-us dinner for two in the crows nest and next time we'll let you stand behind the cannon during firing aaarrrrggghhhhhh...... The Capt.

Capt. Luigi.... you'll have to ask Angus about if they squeel the same. He's the one who said he would take astroglide back with him..... The Capt. Never shoot your cannon straight in the air..... for when the shot lands, you may no longer be there..........

Jocko.... I'm afraid that I cannot give you much help on experience here on the internet. As far as research and saftey goes.... Research is something you will want hands on. You need to find others who have done this in your area. This is important so that you can actually see and get a hands on idea of what you are getting involved in. Believe it or not, a lot of the good sword vendors at many fairs can help you with this. For example.... The one craftsman who built most of my fighting swords, also builds his own guns. What he did was build his stocks and barrels and bought the action from another distributor. This is just one example. Not all vendors build guns also. But, many of them can point you in the right direction. Also, talk ot some of your more serious gun dealers in your area. Many of them might also be able to point you in the direction of others who are involved in this activity. As far as saftey goes. I'm not sure of what you want to know. With firearms, saftey is paramount. Again, when it comes to building cannons, I would think that those who have more experience with this, would be able to give you much more detail on what you will need in this line also. I found out that if you inquire into who makes the cannons for sale from different dealers, ie. dixie gun works, they can lead you to the various manufacturors and mabye they could give you more insight into this field..... Hope this helps.... The Capt.

To Scarlett and Fletcher.. welcome aboard. It's always good to se new folks here. arrghhhhhhhh The Capt.

Jocko...What do you mean when you say building black powder guns. There are various B.P. kits for sale out there and those kits come in different levels of difficulty. There are easy kits where you simply do a little sanding and fine fitting ,stain and finish and put it together. There are other kits where it is spelled out that you will need gun smithing skills to actuallly build the weapon. Dixie gun works sells blank stocks. Some are just shape cut outs that you still have to really finish cuttting and fitting all the components together. Then you can buy barrell, trigger, lock.etc.... and fit those to the gun. B.P. building can be a lot of fun. I built my own guns from kits that I purchased. These were level one kits and did not need a lot of work. But, even these required a good deal of patience to get a fine finished product. Think about what you want to do. Building and boring a barrell and building all the other components of a B.P. gun is serious work. Also, talk to others who own such weapons and get thier input on how they did thier guns.ie... built them or bought ready made. Just be PATIENT. Take your time ,find what you want , and build it step by step. If you do not rush it, you will be much happier with the finished product..... The Capt.

Capt. William. On the first part of your comments....If you want to try some real life cutlass fighting without ALL the real life stuff that went with it; I think Capt. Davies said it best. Get yourself a good pair of gloves and work at it ( I know those were not your exact words capt.) I found it smart to still protect your hands. Building yourself a light pair of fighting gloves is very easy. Start with a good fitting welders glove and then get some strong but flexible leather. You will need to build yourself a plate to go across the back of the hand and then you build leather plates pyramid style down the arm of the glove. rivet your leather together, but, use chicago screws to fasten it to the gloves so that repairs can be done easily without destroying the glove. This is the style I built mine in and i asure you, they are light flexible, do not get in the way of anything, and protect my hands against everything from shanai to heavy rapier blades. As far as sabre fencing, sorry, I haven't ever fenced before. I have a huge amount of experience with sword fighting with a vast array of weapons, but, no fencing experience. Have fun... The Capt.

There goes Capt. Luigi again.... trying to get rid of evil tiny any way he can

Capt. William.... light ren is a light rapier blade. I personally use a schlager blade for this fighting. Heavy ren is a much wider rapier blade, but, still under one inch. This blade I had made for just that purpose. Both blades must be able to flex well and be blunted as they are allowed to be thrusted. I do not know what single stick fighting is, and yes I have done some ( a little) fighting with a cutlass style weapon. I found it to be a lot of fun, but, extremely different to the heavy steel fighting that I am used to. The Capt....

Capt...protective gear is dependent on a few factors. What type of fighting are you doing? ( please explain what is single stick) What are the limits set to the fight? and how well is everyone trained at it. A helmet is a must. personally' I absotlutely hate three weapon helms. If you are doing realistic combat with any style weapon, these helms leave way to much chance for an unprotected hit to the back of the head. Elbows guards and gloves are pretty essential in my opinion. As far as body gear goes, well, again you have to decide what is right for all. Everyone has different opinions on this. Personally, I have fought with light rens and shanai without any body gear. However, for really good body protection on most light style fighting, a haul blanket cut and patterned into a padded fighting shirt, works exceptionally well. The groups I have fought with demand this minimum protection and my wife... Katey O'Tierney... made me one. It has lasted me countless fight and I have had it now for well over nine years. These blankets can hold up really well. Once you start going into the heavier weapon styles, then you will of course need more protection. Are you looking at fighting with cutlasses in a realistic fight or is it going to be staged? For steel armor... For me , my light fighting helm is 18 guage.. and my heavy steel helm is a combimation of 14 and 12 steel guage. My legs, knees , elbows, vambraces, spaulders, rearbraces, and chain male are 16 guage. My gauntletes are 14 guage. I have used a variety of swords and with them the armor changes. But, with all my heavy steel weapons, I use a full heavy steel suit of armor. I have also found a easy way to build a pair of leather armored gauntlets for all of my light fighting. I would be happy to share the pattern if you are interested..... Anyway... hope this helps..... The Capt.

Based on my reading ,I have to agree that fighting it out was not the way of choice for most pirates. However, that does not mean to say, that pirates would not fight it out. Just the opposite; if they felt they had to, they would fight as hard as possible. According to history, Blackbeard even went so far as to duke it out with a british man-o-war. As far as other fighting goes;what do you want to discuss? I myself have done a large variety of sword fighting. I have fought with shanai, light ren blades, heavy ren blades, and even full steel combat. I have also fought with mace, pike, pole arm, sword and shield ,as well as florentine style fighting. All of this was done as true as possible. That is to say, there was no stageing about it. So......... pick a subject and lets hear your thoughts. I am only to happy to discuss the subject more. ....... The Capt.

Capt Davies... Although museum replica does not always have that sword, it is available on thier internet catalog. Also, there are several web sites that include the same as well as other types of sword. The one site below is just an example. They have a constantlyy changing sword stock. Sometimes you can find really nice swords and other time all there is , is wall hangers. Enjoy the site below ye fellow sea rovers. aarrghhhhh The Capt. http://thepiratestreasure.com/swords.html

I'm not into many of the comics, but, I am always on the lookout for various art work. I have found several pieces of art from local ren fairs and have seen a number of reproduction pieces of Howard Pyle and the Delaware pirate festival. Because of the large number of works we already have, I have now taken to looking for as much as possible in smaller form and have even found various books that are simply filled with great art. I do like the art of Howard Pyle a lot. I know that some of it is not "historically Acurate", but, who cares? Iyt's what I like. Arghhhhh The Capt.