michaelsbagley

Hi there,

Being the day before the X-mas break, and me having an incredibly slow day at work, I got sniffing around eBay...

I found that Paul Chen (distributed by Cas Iberia) makes both a practical mortuary swords and basket hilt swords...

Here is a link for the mortuary sword...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Paul-Chen-PRACTICAL-MO...1QQcmdZViewItem

And a lin for the Basket Hilt one...

http://cgi.ebay.com/PRACTICAL-BASKET-HILT-...1QQcmdZViewItem

How would these fit appearance wise for GAoP?

I have used a Paul Chen practical Viking sword, it was okay (you get what you pay for and they are cheap averaging around $100 to $150 US each), but I did snap my blade in half after about a year and a half of heavy regular use. To expand on the snapping on the blade so as to NOT appear to be knocking the quality of the swords, it was kind of my fault the blade snapped as myself and my opponent were hitting a little heavier than normal on each others shields, and my wrist twisted slightly and I hit his shield boss almost full force ion the flat of the blade rather than the edge of the blade as I should have been doing.

Anyway, just wanted to point out a few possible options on a cheap to reasonably priced dulled and safe combat blade that may fit for GAoP.

Any feedback or comments on these blades from someone in the know on how period accurate they are/look would be great. Also any ffedback from anyone that has used these particular Paul Chen blades would be most welcome.

Thanks! And have a very happy holiday season!

I'm planning on coming...I really can't think of a better excuse for skipping classes on Friday! (Possibly Thursday too...that's a long drive.) I won't be piratically attired, but will be my usual Anglo-Saxon Aethelflaed-self. And I'm really glad I've got an entire month's Christmas break to make some new garb!

What part of the mid-west are you from Jessie?

I have dabbled in Anglo-Saxon re-enactoing as well... and as the Saxon and Norse re-enactors tend to flock together more often than not, there is a decent chance we know some of the same people.

to be a teetoller

I will be looking into buying some of the Reconstructing History patterns in the near future (probably after X-mas), so I'm guessing I won't have the time to complete new pirate garb before the event

Well unless you are brand new to sewing, if you wanted new clothes for RF2, I would recomment the Sailor's Jacket and the Trousers... both go together very easily... and quickly unless you chose to hand sew everything.. then the month of Jan. may not be enough...

As sad as this sounds, I am pretty damn good at hand sewing... So good, that mon cheri asks me to construct her garb for her as well as doing my own. I do also have a horrible habit of hand sewing things entirely whether they need to be or not. I made a superhero costume for halloween (Green Lantern), I hand sewed the whole thing just because I was too lazy to pull out the sewing machine.

I do really appreciate the advice on the easier items to make though, knowing that I can pull off somethign that is both authentic and easier to make (all things being relative), I may aspire to aim to have something basic put together for Re-enactor Fest. I guess it will mostly depend on what my work schedule is like over January....

Maybe I will make sure I bring a bottle of my best reserve with me to toast new acquantances with... (It's a 5 year old dry raspberry mead I made)... I think I have a case left...

Well Captian Sterling,

I tend to prefer a good red wine or a nice dry mead to chocolate milk...

It will be nice to meet some fellow Norsemen who also do the whole Pirate thing... The more I think of it, the more I am considering doing one day as a Norseman, and the other day as a Pirate (unfortunately my pirate garb is Hollywood at the moment), but I am very interested in meeting some pirate, and I would love the opportunity to pick brains over authentic piratical stuff...

I will be looking into buying some of the Reconstructing History patterns in the near future (probably after X-mas), so I'm guessing I won't have the time to complete new pirate garb before the event.

As for the name... I've decided to go with a "French" pirate theme, I will have to bruch up my French Speaking abilities some, but, oui madame (ou et tu une Madamoiselle?), je m'appelle Monsieur Michel Vachon, maitre des armes. It will be nice to make your acquaintance as well, as ewll as many of the others that will be present.

I've been wanting to go to the Re-enactor fest as well.... And until today, I have had serious doubts about my ability to attend... But fortunately as of today my odds of being able to attend have increased dramatically. The fact that it happens over the weekend closest to my birthday is also working in my favour.

I hope to meet some of you there, although I beg your forgiveness as I will likely be attending as a representative of another time frame than GAoP... It looks like the Viking me will be the one that attends...

Thanks Kass...

I was able to glean most of those answers from your previous post... I just inconveniently happenned to be posting my questions just as you were anwering them the first time.

Looks like a great group, but probably a bit far away for me to commute, if you even take on beginners like me. Although if your PA area members are anywhere in the vacinity of Pittsburgh... I may be interested in meeting them... But I am going to go out on a limb and guess that if the group is centered in DC, that your PA area members are more from the Philly area....

Thanks for answering all my questions though!

Cant speak for any other but I know we (pirate brethren) do heavy sword fighting. I just broke a cutlass at the last event. I'm an old steel fighter from medieval reenactment. I prefer the sword fighting over the firing of boom sticks.

I just took a quick gander at the Brethren's web site... Nice stuff... and some good pictures of sword fighting too...

But the million dollar question still lies as "where are you guys located?"

The only group I have found that is any where near where I am (Central Ohio) is a group that is centered in Michigan and Indiana...

(anyone)Feel free to IM or email me if you may be able to help steer me to some like minded folks if you can assist.

Again, I beg the pardon of all here for this post divirging from the posted topic...

But to bring things back on topic, what swords (makes, model etc.) do you and the other members of the Brethren use?

While I basicly feel that the steel used by Armour Class is a little too high in carbon content for extreme abuse, I do not know of anyone who is unhappy with AC's product.

I suspect this is a technical objection rather than a practical one. For those less knowledgeable on the chemical make-up of steels (me included) the important thing is that AC blades get fewer (if any) dings in them than any other sword I've ever seen in 15 years of reenactment. And trust me, I've put my AC blades through some serious abuse!

I'm actually curious as to how many different Pirate groups/re-enactors actually do the whole steel sword fighting stuff. I've not seen anything but the staged (and obviously so) fighting at the Renn-Faires that I have been to (mostly in the form of battle chess). Having experience with live steel combat, I would be incredibly curious as to how common it is in GAoP re-enacting.... And if it is reasonably common, what groups are doing it and where they are located...

Sorry if this line of questioning is starting to veer off into something that may be better suited to another thread.....

More on topic, besides the Armour Class sword mentioned earlier in this thread, are there other good dulled steel combat GAoP swords out there that would hold up?

Basically to me an ideal sword would have a dulled edge, rounded point, and a blade that can handle some real abuse, but is also historically accurate to the GAoP.

just for the record....

MRL is OWNED by Windlass Steel of India. This should speak for itself.

enough on that.....

While I basicly feel that the steel used by Armour Class is a little too high in carbon content for extreme abuse, I do not know of anyone who is unhappy with AC's product. From what I have seen here in the states, I would have to say they are very well constructed and nicely finished. Most of the people I know who own their product do beat it about and are quite happy.

There is no reason for stage blades to be poorly made, the only real issue on shape is whether you can live with a point or not. Personally I make everything with a point so the profile is correct. I hate seeing a rounded "point" but some groups banging steel around require it for safety, certainly understandable.

That's interesting, this is the first comment I've heard about an Armour Class swords being too high in the carbon department...

Having done the whole Viking Age rebated steel thing for about five years, and having worked with a few people that used Armour class swords on a very regular basis, I would have thought this would have been something I would have heard of before... And with the Viking age combat, it's not only blade on blade contact, but there is also shields and metal shield bosses to take into account... That and the fact that many of the Vking age rebated steel combatants play pretty rough.

Either way, I've heard that the Armour Class swords (the blades anyway) are guaranteed for life, and know someone whose AC sword broke, and was replaced. The guy sent his handle fitting back, and was shipped back his fitting on a brand new blade. I also had the chance to use an 9 year old AC sword as a loaner when I broker my Paul Chen practical blade.

The rounded point isn't very visually appealing, but having been on the receiving end on many hundreds of thrusts, it is a VERY neccessary evil... I'm guessing a rounded point on a cutlass or similarly styled blade would look even goofier than a rounded point on a Dark Age style sword does.

I was wondering if anyone had any good suggestions about good novels to read, historical, historically influed (historic fiction), or even just good works of entertaining pure fiction.

I've recently read Dudly Pope's "Buccanner", and found it to be pretty decent, and I have discovered that there are two more books that foolow it, and was wondering if they are worth tracking down.

Today I bought "The Pirate's Round" by James L. Nelson, and when I opened the front cover after getting it home, I found that it is the third in a series. I got it at a used book store, so I am not terribly crushed about it, but I would like to know if the first two books are worth getting so I can read the whole series.

I know this is a fairly subjective line of questioning, but if enough people drop their own opinions, I might be able to better guess as to whether it is worth reading more from these authors, or if there are other really good reads out there that I should persue.

Thanks for any and all input!

Hi all,

I'm still a little new to this forum, but I am an old hat at stage combat, someone in this string of posts recomended Armour Class swords as a great stage combat sword... An I have to give a great big "hell yeah" to Armour Class swords, they do custom work, but it takes forever to order from them, some former acquaintences of mine had to wait almost 9 months for their orders.

Ultimately for stage combat with lots of blade on blade contact, a dulled blade and a rounded tip are ideal for safety reasons, also spring steel is best, as it offers the strength to hold up to blade on blade contact, and yet the flexibility and spring needed to look and act in a realistic manner. A good temper is paramount to this! But a proper metal worker or swords smith could explain that a ton better than I could. Stainless steel should be avoided like the plague, as it is generally brittle for steel, and does not hold up well... High carbon steels (most of them anyway), also tend to be (but not always) more brittel as well, and should be avoided.

Someone mentioned earlier in this chain of posts

"How come"fighting" swords all look so crude? Soft steel thats bulky and have no cling sound when they hit? Did pirates carry mushy swords so they would't get a ding in em'?"

My answer to this would be (and this is my opinion only), fighting swords tend to be crude and basic to help keep them strong... fancy tends to equate to delicate, and delicate tends to lead to fragile.... And from what I have seen, most historic swords (which the functional blades tend to be based more on) tended to be more plain than your fancy LoTR or other more fantasy based leaf shaped blades etc. As for dings in the blade, notches in the blade are a safety hazzard for theatrical combatants, as notches turn a relatively safe dull blade into a semi sharp saw blade... Not cool when you are just trying to look like you are killing each other rather than actually trying to kill each other. This is also why most theatrical combatants avoid using alluminum swords, as alluminum notches too easily, and becomes a safety hazzard in a real rush. For those that do medieval stuff that wear armour, alluminum is less of a problem, but I would not want either my skin or my clothes/garb to fall prey to the ravages of a nicked alluminum blade, and pirates don't look roght in too much armour.

Hope this information/opinions comes as useful to someone...

Bonjour mes ami et amie,

I've recently moved from Toronto, Ontario (oui, that is in Canada, eh) ... I have moved to Columbus, Ohio, and would like to sign on with a crew. I would prefer one based in central Ohio, but I am not adverse to travelling to neighboring states (PA, MI are the states I am most famliar with).

Currently my Pirate accoutrements are more of the "theatrical" variety, but I have more experience with Historic re-enactment, and tend to gravitate more to "authenticity minded" peoples. I am not adverse to the notion of joining a more "fun oriented" crew though.

To see a few pictures of my as a pirate (although I prefer to refer to myself as privateer), you can view my pics at mySpace...

mySpace

Merci beaucoup, in advance.