roytheodd

I made this one yesterday after seeing this thread. It's the first time I've made anything using rope. It took me about an hour: five minutes to make the knot and fill it with weight, fifty minutes to learn to splice rope, and five minutes to actually splice it. In the future it'll be a lot easier to make one. I think I used the wrong rope though. I used 3/8", which is probably too thick, and it has a metal wire running through each of the three cords, so that too probably detracts. Nevertheless it's what I had and I'm really happy with it. Anyone know where to look for lead to fill it with, like what kind of stores would carry lead? I used an aluminum foil ball stuffed with 30 pennies for weight. It's about 16" long.

My vote is for ring the first.

I haven't, but I'm wondering is it fact or fiction?

The Jolly Roger of Solomon Pearce (my pirate name): It was inspired by Capn_Enigma's flag on page 1 of this thread.

After sleeping on it (and having a really cool dream about it too), I have decided to take the quoted advice. I will save my loot and possibly spoil myself with a new sword by year's end. I do have yet another question though: what about a scabbard? Do swords come with them, do I need to have one made, or do I dangle a naked blade from my baldric? If I need to have one made, where do I look?

After much reading on the subject today, and after much reflecting on the sentiments expressed here, and the examination of my personal motives I ask this: what if I sought an 18th century Golden Age sword rather than a 17th century sword, would that make a difference in selection and price? By the way, you all totally rule.

It's not really unbelievable to place pirates in Japanese waters. In the early 1600s Japan was trading with English, Dutch, and Portugeuse traders through ports in southern Japan. Those vessels sailed around the southern tip of Africa, past India, through Indonesia, and into Japanese waters. Spain was running its Manila Galleons out of the Phillipines, but to get from Manila to Acapulco they first sailed up the east coast of Japan looking for a trade wind blowing east. With all of that trade and with all of that loot, it's conceivable that European pirates chased those ships. However, from everything I've read about the Warring States Period and Tokugawa's rule I get the impression that Japanese paranoia kept them from selling arms into European hands. If pirates wielded katanas they would surely be rare treasures indeed.

I'm in North Hollywood/Burbank, California. I work about three blocks from a forge that bangs out swords fot the movie studios too, but they only do custom work and that ain't cheap. Eliminating the $300 price cap, where should I look for a realistic 1660s sword? Also, please note that while my current sword fits my costume style-wise, it's made for a right-handed person, whereas I'm left-handed. I didn't think about it when I bought it. That's my real reason for wanting a different blade. However, as you said, if I'm going to replace it with something I might as well be making proper forward progress.

What manner of sword did you get and where'd you get it, if I may ask?

Here are the shot of my current sword (pardon the poor photos, I had to snap them on my way out the door this morning): My short term goal is really to round out the costume of a Ren Faire/Halloween pirate. My long term goal is to get a really authentic 1660s costume going. However, I can't sew nor make anything else for lack of skill and the finances seem easier to start with some of what I have and work my way up the ladder. I have a Ren Faire peasant shirt and some britches, both of which make relatively good pirate wear. I also bought a pair of Gurkees because custom boots are out of my league (and my calves are mighty). Therefore for now I'm a budget pirate and for that my costume will be rather Hollywood. Once I get a better feel for my pirate side and I'm willing to learn new skills or start saving money for the good goods I'll start switching over. I think, too, that authentic period costumes don't really smack of pirate to most folks. For now I want something I can wear and leave no doubt that I'm a pirate. @ Captain Pogue: that website is overwhelming, but full of great info. Thank you very much for the link.

I'll snap a photo tonight from when I'm home from work and post it up. It's not an especially detailed sword, but I like it.

Ahoy! I'm looking for opinions on a sword. I currently own a sword that was used a prop in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. The thing is it's bothersome because I'm a lefty and it's hilt is a righty, so I want to find something more lefty-friendly. I was seeking opinions on the following two swords as a replacement to my existing one: Classic Pirate Cutlass from Dead Men Tell No Tales and Pirates Captain Hanger fro Museum Replicas My goal is to get a cutlass that looks about right and that I can wield, even though I doubt I'll ever use it for swordplay. I am also hoping to keep it to less than a few hundred dollars in hopes that Santa might forge me one for Christmas later this year. Do these swords fly as relatively period? Does anyone have any experience with either one?

Thanks PirateQueen! The name Cayonne provided me with a major breakthrough. Before your post I had heard of Port Vincent, Colonie, and Basse Terre. Searching with "Cayonne" in my string led me to some seriously good maps. I have positively found the port, and I now know the hillside where the ruins remain. I don't have a specific location, but I have it narrowed pretty finely. I have generated a Wikipedia page about the fort using data that I found in my search. Thank you very much for tossing out the name Cayonne. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_de_Rocher I have plotted what I know on a Google Map. The clues that I amassed in my search are: * the fort overlooks the harbor * cannons of the day have a maximum range of about one mile (meaning the fort was within one mile of the harbor) * the fort was attacked from above (meaning it's not on the hillcrest, but rather on the side) * the natural spring once inside the fort is now used by Basse Terre locals for washing laundry (meaning it's not so high up the hillside that people won't visit it) * in every picture I have seen of the fort it is directly above the port, narrowing the search to a lesser east-west width the Google Map If anyone knows anything else that can get the search to an even more specific location I would be thrilled to know it too!

I have been trying all day to find Fort de Rocher on Google Maps, but I have turned up empty. I've done searches on all sorts of search engines, but the best I've found are illustrations of the fort without any surrounding terrain for context, the phrase "the French built Fort de Rocher in a natural harbour", and the phrase "He built the Fort de Rocher on a rocky outrcrop of a natural harbour." I have found zero photos of it, zero maps of Tortuga that show any real detail, and found zero descriptions of where to find it. Does anyone here know where to look for Fort de Rocher, Tortuga?

I was watching the Mythbusters episode where they took on pirate myths and watching them shoot their cannon made me want to get a pile of cannon balls to display. Does anybody know where to get any cannon balls?

Any idea which of these fabrics are period? I am leaning towards some of the striped cottons for bandanas, but I'd rather stay period than fashionable.

I'll certainly check out the show. Don't know if I'll be a loyal viewer though.

I've found a couple of articles about it, but they both cite MiceAge as their source rather than independently verifying it.

Ahoy! I’m working up a list of pirate trivia (skewing heavily towards pop culture) and I’m running out of ideas. I thought I’d turn to the professional pirate people to see if any of you have anything to offer me. The deal is I want to have the questions be used as entry for a raffle or some other contest in a couple of months and so I’m trying to keep them relatively easy, hence the skewing towards pop culture rather than history. Though I am very open to historical questions as long as they're not too hard core, such as “Who was the captain that defeated Blackbeard?” I thank you all in advance for any help you can offer. The following is a list of the questions I currently have: 1 What is the name of the former pirate and former Governor of Jamaica that now has a brand of rum named after him? 2 According to the novel Peter Pan, who is the only pirate that Long John Silver ever feared? 3 The four year marooning of Scottish pirate Alexander Selkirk and his eventual rescue inspired what Daniel Defoe novel? 4 What is the name of the English-controlled Caribbean port that suffered a mighty earthquake in 1692, sinking two-thirds of the pirate den? 5 What is the name of the turtle-shaped island in the Caribbean that was the original home of the buccaneers? 6 What is the term that in modern times is synonymous with “pirate” but was originally coined to denote noisy and boastful swordsmen who carried small shields in their off-hands? 7 What is the name of Blackbeard’s flagship that he purposely beached at Topsail Inslet, so he could sail off with all his crews’ loot in Adventure? 8 In the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Elizabeth invokes which “right” that according to the “Code of the Brethren” allows her to talk Captain Barbossa? 9 In the 1985 film The Goonies, what is the name of the pirate whose treasure the Goonies are seeking? 10 What is the name of the traditional flag of European and American pirates, traditionally depicted as a skull over crossed bones on a black field? 11 Is it 15, 16, or 18 “men on a dead man’s chest”? 12 Grog is composed of rum and what other liquid? 13 In the 1987 film The Princess Bride, the Dread Pirate Roberts admits he changed his name because no one would surrender to which other Dread Pirate? 14 What is the name of the “Calico” captain that sailed with Mary Read and Anne Bonney? 15 What is the name of the pirate captain who drank his rum mixed with gunpowder, wore burning hemp in his beard, and swam around his vessel after being beheaded? 16 What is the name of the punishment that had sailors hauled under one side of a vessel, pass under its keel, and then emerge on the other side of the vessel? 17 What is the name of the 2007 film shot simultaneously with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest to save on budget costs? 18 What is the name of the annual holiday that was thought up by two men cursing each other in pirate talk while playing racquetball? 19 What object on a pirate ship was counted to denote the level of firepower the vessel had? 20 What is the name of the manga and anime series that follows Captain Monkey D. Luffy and his crew in their quest for Gol D. Roger’s treasure?

Wow, thanks to all of you. The pictures and Wydah info are a big help.

Greetings all. I'm a lurker turned poster and I've got a few questions. The first question I have is what did pirates keep musket balls and powder in? I want to craft a way to hold these items, but I don't actually know what pirates used or what they look like. Are there people who sell these items? My other question is about fabrics available back then. I want to make my own bandana, but I don't know what kind of fabrics were available to pirates. I know of silk and canvas (ugh), but what about cotton and hemp? I thank you all in advance for any help you can provide. I've read much of the information here and I see you all seem to know lots on the matter of pirate wares.

Wow, those minis are awesome. All I've ever seen are the Reaper pirates and they've been on the market for so long that I'm rather tired of them.