Captain Jim

I was thinking the same thing. And, given a choice, I choose black powder every time.

I have to go with Coastie on this one. Aside from the historical significances of the discussion, this thread serves one other purpose: to show the uninitiated what the consequences of screwing around with these pistols could be.

And how many poor misguided souls would want one.

*Drool*

Don't get any of that on you Silkie. And don't slip in it either.

Patrick, yer lookin' magnificent.

Absolutely. All of the pyrate hunters and King's men I haven't killed by five o'clock are always welcome by for a bit o' rum or ale.

Do they all come with a fishook installed in them? (Look closely under the adult fly in the first picture.)

See? Now that's what I mean by flexible.

This event is one that has evolved into the most welcoming of events out there. Come and be welcome. Come as a group or by yourself. Come prepared to have a fun time and be flexible, as a lot of what we have done is unscripted. To a great extent this is because of Harry Smid, the Park major domo. He allows us a great deal of latitude because he trusts us to be safe and he knows that we want to reenact history, not fantasy. So, come and join us happy pyrates and help us develop this into the premiere event in the land. If you get there and find myself, William, Harry, Hurricane or Capt Sterling we will find you something to do. Now go read the recent threads in Pyrates in Paradise, work up a character and come on down to the land of pyrates.

From Hank Reinhardt in an article on the supposed invincabiliy of Japanese blades: "I have been assured, frequently in fact, that Japanese blades are so strong and tough that they never break, nick or bend. Well, they break, they nick, and they bend. They frequently nick quite badly. Damascus steel is a superior steel, or it can be when done by a superb smith. But even a superior steel is still steel and will respond like steel. One sad fact is that the harder the steel, the more likely it is to chip and nick. A softer metal will bend, flatten or otherwise distort. When this happens, it is relatively easy to pound or file a new cutting edge. When a chip leaves a gap, not much can be done. A piece can be reforged into the blade, but this also requires that the blade be retempered." Italics mine. Still looking for a museum photograph. My sensei had a katana that had two such repairs performed over 300 years earlier. Unfortunately that gentleman is long dead and the blade went back to Okinawa. Mind you that I'm not saying that this was a common practice, only that it was done. It would have been more common on "important" or ancestral weapons that had been damaged. The story behind the damage to my sensei's sword was that it had been damaged (twice, on seperate occasions) by one of his ancestors acting as kaishaku in seppuku ceremonies. Apparently the blade had chipped on the neck bones of the deceased.

Pretty harsh, especially considering that you just admitted to using power tools. In the main I agree: hand tools are better and a joy to use. But I still mill out my stock to within a 64th and finish by hand. The result is that I don't have tool marks and rough-out goes faster. And at any rate a tool is a tool, no matter when it was produced. Use where appropriate. The finished product is what differentiates the hack from the artist.

Now, now I said naught about reforging a broken blade: might as well melt it down and start over. But it is possible to forge-weld material into the edge and file/polish back to the original profile. Then of course the whole would have to be retempered in the original fashion. I'll see if I can find a picture of a rapaired edge. If anyone else has one, please post. And I suppose "best" is a subjective term, so I'll give you that one as far as blade design is concerned. A lot of what is useful and "best" for any individual goes to national prejudices, training and philosophy that results in differing styles. Such as preferring that your blade bend rather than break.

I smell the pungent aroma of unmitigated sarcasm in this place. And Patrick keeps shoveling it in. And in spite of what Capt. St. Paul said (all true, by the way) the adaptation of metallurgy in the best katanas made them the best blades in the world. Take that differential hardening, for instance. It creates a blade that is hard and therefore very sharp on the edge side while being softer, shock absorbing, springy and unlikely to break on the back side. True, you have to reforge the edge after a battle but when it gets nicked it becomes, in effect, a serrated edge.

Congratulations on yer new position mate!

"Here, boy! Go fetch me a large ale from tha pub across the way. And be quick!"

You might also want to peruse historical names from old records or gravestones such as these Cape Cod gravestones. Of particular note in this collection is one Captain Jonathan Sparrow. And that one of the nicknames for Jonathan is "Jack?" Aint history funny? HERE LYES BURIED Ye BODY OF CAPT JONATHAN SPRROW AGED 73 YEARS DIED MARCH Ye 21st 1706/7

That looks to be a Sibley horn, if I am not mistaken; and if I am, may I inquire as to the maker?

For those of us who wish to have/create a period style banjo go here to David Hyatt's page. Go especially to his craftsmanship section. Oh, God, no! Not another project! Aaaaggghhh....!

Whooo...Hoooo! Now about playing style...big can o' wormage.

So, does anyone know of an African insrument brought by slaves to this country, a little thing called a Ban-jar (various spellings), later to be called a Banjo. The earliest date that I can find is form 1770's. Anybody earlier? Of course the instrument at that time was a gourd covered with skin, four gut strings. Still, it would be cool if we could include a banjo.

In the aforementioned scene their sword hands were full, hence the left draw. It really falls to how you practice. If you practice left to keep your hand open or to allow you to fight and shoot at the same time then left hand work would give one an advantage. Since these are professional pyrates, I would expect them to practice to their advantage over and above basic fight skills. But that's just the ol' Bushido talkin'.

Thanks. As a retired fighter and weapons man I am trained to spot stuff like that. Notice next time you watch the first movie that they both are right handed but often draw their guns lefty. This is especially noticeable in the final showdown when Barbossa gets killed: he and Sparrow both draw left-handed.

It will probably muddy the waters a bit to point out that Sparrow wears a sort of "palm protector" on his right hand while Barbossa's is on the left. So Barbossa's might be for parrying (but without fingers, risky: perhaps that's how he lost the fingers) but Sparrow's is more of a "batting glove" to improve grip. Purely speculation, of course, and with no real basis in history. Anyway I agree, It's supposed to look cool.

OK, here is what I know. It is illegal to sell toy guns in the US without a permanently attached orange tip. Now for the tricky part...under Fed law antiques or guns designed before 1898 and not using readily available fixed ammunition are not considered guns. Therefore toy replicas of antique weapons are not toy guns under the law. A Glock toy gun needs a tip; a Georgian pistol toy does not. Unfortunately, all of what I just said regarding antique "toys" is not spelled out in the law but is inferred from definitions within two separate laws, one for real guns, and one for toys. The one for toys states that the tip is needed for "toy guns" but the definition of "gun" is in the other law. As a result many manufacturers play it safe and keep the tip. Now for the editorial. The orange tip is one of the most boneheaded bits I have ever heard of, for two reasons. One, children allowed to have realistic-looking guns should be taught the stupidity of displaying the gun in public, especially in a threatening manner, and told to drop it immediately if challenged by anyone in authority. Two, bad guys have painted the tips of their real guns orange in an attempt to buy a split second on the police. As a result the police will shoot anyway if threatened with a realistic-looking toy gun in the hands of that kid who was not taught any better. Off soapbox. As for the age that you can buy or possess a flintlock, consult your local and state laws. The ages for buy/possess may be different. And as I state in all of my posts to/about new gun buyers, get training and learn to shoot safely.