the Royaliste

"Hmmm....'brings to mind somethin' I been wonderin' fer a while..How's come we ain't got a cell-full 'o them body doubles? I all the time figured it would be hell lookin' like Saddam, but, Jeesh!..Where are THOSE guys now???"

"WHOOOOOOOOO-RAAAAAAAAAH!"...........

*Loads triple charges in all cannons, touches powder, and watches extermely startled marina residents wondering if'n the 'ole Pyrate 'as gone completely mad.......*

..."GLASS?"...Folds once, tucks, and zips up rather quickly.....

"Talk about shrinkage!..Just mention 'glass' in the same sentence!!"

The biggest fact missing here is the men. Prisoners were 'treasure', whether pirate, privateer, or naval. Exchanges during wartime were much more important than money, as referenced by Benjamin Franklin on comissioning privateers in the late 1700's. Thus, Navies only wanted dull weapons to cripple, not kill or bleed the opponent. All cutlass blades were heavy to do just that; break arms, shoulders, or just incapacitate. And, for redundancy, it takes extra manpower to help crippled, not dead, opponents..Just as splinters were the main objective of cannon fire, causing men to help victims and thus be removed from the fight, boarding weapons were made to sieze, and take hostage, the enemy. Pirates didn't manufacture blades, nations at war did. Recycled naval weapons were highly sought by all for their quality for the time period.

My working crew agree entirely on the .45 ACP...*However, on a 'I need one shot' basis, I'm really impressed with the ballistics of my .58 cal minnie ball-firin' 'Harper's Ferry' 'lock!..Big-arsed hole it makes, eh?

BUT...in foreign waters, I'll stick to the 'unregistered' swivel gun!...Now wot' 'appened to the cutlass'?..Aye've another French Styled British Naval overdue UPS as we speak!

"Hmm, without takin' a stand here, might this be better placed in 'Beyond Piracy'?.. Although worth a heated debate to some, where is the 'piratical interest' quotient?...Just wonderin'".............

BARBOSSA'S PISTOL WAS OF MIDDLE-EASTERN MANUFACTURE, JUDGING FROM THE INLAY WORK AND STYLE-PROBABLY AFGHANI OR ARABIAN. IT'S A HIGH QUALITY PISTOL FOR USE, AS OPPOSED TO A WALL-HANGER. I'M SURE EVERY PISTOL WAS REAL IN THE FILM, IF YOU MEAN THAT THEY COULD FIRE A ROUNDBALL IF IT WAS LOADED. I HAVE BEEN A PROPERTY MASTER IN FILMS FOR 25 YEARS, AND EVERY GUN I'VE EVER USED IN A FILM WAS A FULLY FUNCTIONAL WEAPON. IT APPEARS TO ME THAT EVERY PISTOL USED IN POTC WAS AN ORIGINAL, OR AT LEAST THOSE USED BY FEATURED PERFORMERS.

Hmm, mebbee that's why you are always yelling.

Not sure wot' that apparition is on the yardarm. The fighting top is part of the mast, not somethin' wot sits on the yards.

Stopped in my company rigging truck, to use a payphone , as my cell was dead..A bunch 'o homies surround me, wantin' the phone change!..I lets the top 'o me leather jacket fall open, revealin' the inside pocket, complete with .380 auto, and says, " all this for a fuckin' quarter?"..As Leon Russel once said, "It's such a strange world that we are livin' in"

Puts razor away, pours rum in the mug, and throw's it back..."Okee, Dokee, wot' we be a doin', siren????..

*looks around for fish scaler*

*Grins, lickin' rum offa me own nose*..Yep, wuz a different time, back there in the 1760's!!

'Aw, 'eck!..That be from me yearbook!!

Aye, 'tis why I now live aboard, not on land...

The ghetto rats are always in swivel gun range!

Mine were all used in battle. I'll not argue facts, nor suppositions. All of mine are authenticated, edge-nicked heavily, and rack-numbered..I have the provenance on several, including battle and service records.

I generally stay out of discussions I don't have factual knowledge of...I just sold one of my officer's saber's for thousands on e-bay.

An addendum to my weapons collections. I collect sidearms for several reasons.

1. I have since my youth, and I'm now 54

2. They work well in the theme of my vessel and it's reenactments

3. They travel overseas better than guns, and with all of them having great value for originality, I can sell them for necessary ship repairs worldwide. I do know my weapons.

Donna flatter ye'reself, mate!..I wuz speakin' on me own behalf!!.. :)

Hmm, got meself a wonderin' now...Is six hands on the deck guns at the same time, wif a linstock each...zat make me ship an 'automatic weapon'???

"Hmm, I write Pirate novels, but that aside, alla my pistols, new or 'old' are within arms reach..NRA for ovr 40 years, no good where you can't reach 'em , mate!..might as well collect china figurines!!!.." :)

And besides, I live in California, so I'll not be tellin' ye wot's all within reach!..Back to the swivel gun, and the sword topic..

You make ye're own minds up http://www.saveDisney.com

"Slippers?..........................PIRATE!"

:) :) :) :) :) :) :)

And as a post-script, all nations used leather, not steel, scabbards shipboard, and, they wouldnt stand up too well to a sharpened edge entering and exiting...There are a few rare officer's examples out there in brass, but they are one in ten thousand..Check the 'Old Swords' forum for any exceptions, you'll surf forever beforte you have any luck. Sea rules were rather unwaivering for a few centuries, fairly immune to the 'fashions' of the lubbers and politico's.

One can make all of the assumptions one cares for, but the blades tell their own stories, every one of them!

I have no reenactment, or 'replica' swords, all of mine are period, antique, and generally valuable. That said, twelve rest at each end of my bunk, and yes, I have them stratigically located on purpose. All of my Naval edged weapons, regardless of country, have only a point, no sharp edges. There was no gain in slicicng off arms, only breaking things, or as a last resort, stabbing. All edges are factory-contract rounded off, that isn't to say one wouldn't take off a limb, they just weren't made for that. Naval cutlass combat training weasn't ever to slice, but wound, disable, and take hostage...Those I have that are sharpened, most all not naval, are hell to maintain aboard my ship, the sharpened edges rust rapidly. An exception to the rule is a French model Naval artillery officer's sword that I own that is sharp on both edges, primarily to clear rigging, as this man would not be in a boarding party, therefore he would not have a boarding axe nearby, traditionally...Also, what little combat you do encounter with sharpened blades from the period, you stand a good chance of breaking said blade on impact.

Hmmm, Respect???..The few writers I know love to talk about their current work...Methinks I smell respect for Eisner dubloons, hell, it's about pirates, ain't it?

My own opinion, it's just a forum, afterall....

My curiousity also!!..Few swords were ever sharp in the days of sidearms, excluding dragoons and horsmen, and mebbee an errant field officer, most never on Naval weapons.....On ship, the sharpened edge will encourage rust quicker than a chicken on a june-bug!..A model 1911 is hard to beat for home defense, 'cept mebbee by a Glock, but they are to 'light', in my estimation..Cutlass' were never a sharp instrument....Hollywood misconceptions, methinks...

:angry:

Same link as the 'blunderbuss' post, Mate!

An' check the cutlass' at th door!

Otherwise, alla them point-pricks from leanin' on 'em'll ruin the 'white floors'?