Hawkyns

Most of my sashes are broadcloth, 12 inches wide and about 15 feet long. I have one cut from antique satin. All have gold fringe on the ends, about 3 inches long. Mine were home made, just 13 inch strips of fabric sewn end to end 'till the right length was reached, then a rolled hem sewn all round. I wear them when doing an officer's impression, red for Brit, orange for Dutch, blue for Swedish. I also have a black one, just because. They are good for keeping doublet and breeches from coming apart, and giving back support (wound 2 or 3 times tightly) when on parade. Hawkyns

Yez. Sounds about right t'me. It's part o' the balancin' act. How much of yer modern ideas are ye ready to ignore to look period? Personally, I like the baggy seat. Makes fightin' easier, almost like a kicking crotch in a gi or martial arts jeans. Now, me, I'm a lot more particular about how I look in kit than how I look the rest of the time. Since the job is to support the lifestyle/hobby, I'm more interested in looking correct for musters and events than I am in the office. No corporate geek clothing f' me, thank ye very much. Hawkyns

Hey-I'm back. Was off at an 18th C formal party. Good food, live music, period dancing and rum. I'll teach anybody what I can. Knowledge is to be shared, not hoarded. Where be ye? I'm workin' on my schedule for the year. Soon as it's done, I'll let ye know where I'll be. Mybe ye can get to some of the events. Hawkyns

Depends on the date. 16th and early 17th C breeches are amazingly baggy. Restoration can be tight or baggy, depends on the style. As you get into the 18th C, they tend to get tighter as the century progresses, but the legs tighten up first and then the butt. Of course, you can always go with late 18th C cavalry breeches. They were made of deerskin and so tight that they had to be put on wet and then left to dry and shrink around the legs. But yeah, baggy is correct for most of the period. Too baggy depends on the cut and how they fit you. I tend to deal a lot with silhouettes to determine if my patterns are right. Look at your shadow and see if it looks like the paintings. Hawkyns

I don't know about that Hawkyns, The screw barrel is a mid 17th century invention, and the true flintlock dates to 1615 at the latest (possibly as early as 1597). What makes that particular piece early 18th century rather than Restoration era is the comb of the butt - were it shaped more like a holter pistol of the late 17th century, it would work as early as the 1660's (I'd add a third side-screw for good measure) Regarding the holster pistol, it isn't as hefty as it sounds, and the design balances well. For naval use add a belt hook, which Loyalist offers to do for a very minimal charge (something like $15 US) I'm not sure we're talking about the same pieces. I'm referring to the English doglock cav pistol, and the Early English Sea Service. Neither one of those is a screw barrel. The doglock is definitely dateable to the period of the ECW and the SS has a first pattern date of 1718, with the next major pattern difference occuring in 1756. For the belt hook idea, I have a dog lock pistol with a 14" barrel. Lovely piece, well balanced, shoots nicely. Hang it on a belt hook and it becomes a bloody great ball buster. I have damn near unmanned myself running with that thing swinging from my belt. I hate to think what a larger, heavier piece would do. Hawkyns

I think it's a good idea, but there doeesn't seem to be huge amount of interest. And those few being scattered all over the country doesn't help. Anyone else? Any ideas on how to make a go of this? Hawkyns

A long and well thought out post, Gluebeard. For the most part , I agree with you. As I've said at many point through this, there's room for all on this voyage. I have my preferences, everyone else has theirs. It's never been my idea to tell anyone else what to do here. I will answer any question that I can. What people do with those answers is entirely up to them. On the children question. I am not a parent. My wife and I, when we got married nearly 28 years ago, decided children weren't in our game plan. That decision has enabled us to travel, enjoy ourselves and enjoy a childfree lifestyle, accumulating a good number of toys along the way. So my experience with children has always been with other people's. Never having been forced to do so, I have never learned the art of communicating with children, and my patience is not long. I have, of course, at re-enactments, dealt with many thousands of children, some for a few seconds, some for long conversations. Those are generally those regarded as geeks or nerds by their compatriots, in other words, being able to hold an intelligent conversation. Those are the kids I like and prefer to deal with, not the least reason being that it pretty much described me as a kid. There is, however, another reason that I prefer childfree events whenever possible. Growing up in the 60' and 70's, it was pretty much a free society, kids saw waht they saw, and while attempts were made to shield them from particularly adult behavior, nobody freaked when a kid got where he wasn't supposed to be, not much anyway. Now, we have the 'children first no matter what' police around. Anything said or done that some uptight git can twist into child abuse or something similar is fair game for the thought police. Stuff that was common and ignored among kids my age is now a ticket to jail. People want me to teach fencing classes to kids. In my state, that now requires police background checks, possible bonding, and, if I'm smart, one hell of a liability policy. Why should I? When I'm being a pirate, I don't want to have to watch what I say, or who's around to hear it. If I want to flirt with a wench, or trade barbs and blades with a swordswoman, I don't want little Johnny's mother complaining that I'm being too raunchy. If my wife is wearing her fantasy pirate kit (yes, we do fantasy too, think Clive Caldwell), she doesn't want to be constantly tugging it into place so the naughty bits don't show. I don't want to deal with the local gendsdarmes, which any one of these activities could cause it this ridiculously uptight and litigious society. Yes, pirates could deal with children quite well. They didn't have the thought police hanging over their shoulders. I get my pirate jollies from other things. Spending a night in a real Port Royal environment is my idea of a good time. My adrenaline rush comes from the smell of blackpowder smoke and the sight of a blade swinging towards me. We all talk on thsi board in the Hot tub, the Tiburon, and other places of how we'd like to act. I prefer to do that at events, too. So, I deal with children when I have to, but for my own enjoyment, I prefer that they are elsewhere. Hawkyns

How long ya goin' for? That's the question. London- don't forget the Tower and I'd go out to the Museum of London at the Barbican. Depending on how long you spend in Greenwich, you could stop at the Artillery Museum on the way. Cannons from the begining up to now. Get yourself a travel card for the Tube. Depending on where you're staying, it'll take you a couple of changes to get out to the NMM. While your visiting HMS Victory, don't forget HMS Warrior and the Mary Rose. They're all in the same place. In Portsmouth, don't forget Fort Nelson. That's where the Royal Armouries historic cannon collection is. If you have time, go up to Leeds, in Yorkshire and see the Royal Armouries museum. 5 floors of weapons, working weapons shops, and jousting, swordplay, and falconry displays. Just doing that lot should take you a week. Forget restaraunts, eat in the pubs. Better food, and cheaper. If you can, go to the traditional pubs and the CAMRA pubs. (Campaign for Real Ale) sort of like microbrews but aged in the wood and much better. Don't drive in London, unless you are suicidal, or have driven in England before. And if you do drive, DON'T SPEED. they now have an ugly little habit of installing automatic speed cameras that just send you the ticket. True, it will go to the car rental company, but most of them will pass it on to you. It's becoming quite a war, with the cameras being blown up. burned, spray painted and all. Hope this helps. If you have more questions, ask. Hawkyns

CVA makes a practical piece. My first blunderbuss is a CVA, and I have one of their .50cal longrifles, too. Decent pieces, solid workmanship, good shooters. I've won some competitions with the longrifle, against people with much more expensive pieces. They look 'sorta' right, basic lines and all, but my big complaint is they're *small*. Their standard lock is a small pistol size, even on the long rifle and blunderbuss. The longrifle itself, seems to be sized for the average 12 year old. If you're a person of any size at all, they tend to look like a toy in your hands. For anyone one with long arms, the pull on the longrifle is damned uncomfortable. If you can deal with that, then go for it. Another one you might want to check out is Classic Arms. They have a series of kits in the Dixie catalogue. They're all percussion, and all less than $100.00. If you know how to put a gun together, or can do reasonable woodworking and basic filing/fitting, that migh be an avenue for you. Hawkyns

That is a tough question. On the one hand, the Jacobean is a pretty piece, and certainly not commonly seen. It'll do ye from 1640 on, and it's always easier to justify an old piece than one that hasn't been invented yet. On the other hand, 25 inches is awfull large for a hand gun and that'll have a lot of weight to go with it. It was designed as a saddle holster piece for cavalry. So in terms of ease of carry and not getting in the way, the Early English Sea Service may be more to your taste. Me, I don't know which I'd choose, I want 'em both. And as I've said before, I've got a Loyalist brass barrelled blunderbuss. Great piece, works well, parts fit nicely, I'm exceeding happy with it. Hawkyns

Elaina and all- going to chuck out an idea here that some may think heresy. First, I've been practising swordplay on a bunch of levels since 1978, in various re-enactment groups and societies. I am NOT in favour of learning foil unless you are actually going to use the form for competition on a club level. As I've taken students to learn other forms, I spend the first couple of weeks removing the bad habits they've learned from thier foil instructors. Foil, as currently taught, has a lot of artificial conventions that have nothing to do with real swordplay. Add to that, I've been injured more with foils than with any other sword form, and that includes live steel. The extreme whippiness lends itself to leaving long welts, especially in the hands of a novice trying to bring a blade back on line. The quarter sized bruises from an epee are far less painful. In actual fact, a number of us around the sword community are working with starting our students with heavy blades: Del Tins, double canelures, Armour Class blades, right from the start. Teach people with a full weight weapon righ from the start. Of course, that means that it will be some time before they get to cross blades with anyone, since they need to learn blade control first. Just an idea, but something to think about. Hawkyns

Another issue here, stylistic. I've been looking at, handling, and firing blackpowder wepons for 25 years. The fancy ones- silver mounted, carved buts, wire and ivory inlay, whatever, look great to the non-shooter. Most of those fancy bits will hurt when the piece fires and is driven into your hand. Many of the weapons in the Met's collection of 18th century firearms fall into this category. Beautiful workmanship, but were they ever designed to be actually fired? Some of them you couldn't hold at all. Obviously, this doesn't hold for every fancy piece, but it is a very common problem. My take on the pirate is that he was a workman and a weapons specialist. Such people generally choose function over form. Same thing with today's professional soldiers. Not to say that some didn't carry an ostentatious piece, but I can't see that as being the common route. Most of the repro manufacturers are working for the largest market, and outside the pirate community, function is paramount. There are some absolutely gorgeous pieces out there, but they are custom designed, one of a kind pieces. And that's where the dollars re-enter the picture.... As I said, stylistic difference, and personal philosophy. Your mileage may vary. Hawkyns

Not sure what you mean here. There are lots of good repro pistols in the 3-5 hundred dollar range. Originals in good shape are in the 1-5 thousand range. The fancier the piece, the more $$$$$$ If you've got a source of good originals for less than $750, please do let me know. I have some original blades, 2 of which I carry routinely. But I look carefully at the event. Bad weather, or security problems and they stay home. Lots of people with dirty fingers, and they don't leave the scabbard (can we EVER get people to respect steel and not keep their damn fingers off the blades?). I think my problem with carrying period pistols is that there is no protected way to carry it. Holsters aren't correct, so it gets stuffed in the belt or hung around the neck on cords. They get bashed and scuffed far beyond an acceptable level. Wood chips, steel breaks, and small parts get lost. Either way, it's no longer worth what I paid for it, and it just doesn't look as good anymore. Hawkyns

Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday Gloom, Destruction and Despair People dying everywhere Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! May the cities in your wake Burn like candles on your cake Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! Now that you're the age you are Your demise cannot be far Happy Birthday! Hawkyns

The Gunner's Mistress Dame 'And-Cannon's an 'airy 'hore, who cross the rampart lays Huge breech, thin neck, and fulgent vent, she vulgarly displays Black Jack cares not, he's loaded her and primed her parts full well- 'Tis thoughts of buxom Barbara 'pon which his mind doth dwell. His smouldering stick is well in hand, all ready for his need. He firmly grips the homely dame... prepares her for the deed. Uncouth he is, an earthy type...he pulls her to his hip Then stick aglow he futters her and rams her with the tip. She shouts and roars and jerks about... her bowels all aquiver. Then Jack stands up and lets her lie... she's had all he can give 'er. Our Matchlock madam, coarse and strong, inspires much more devotion. Needs finer care and many tricks before she's put in motion. She isn't very comely but at least her hole has covers. When charged to go she'll lie demure while gunner o'er her hovers. That youthful fellow's pliant wick is long and brightly glowing And does he well to place it right - privily, with knowing. He cuddles her and holds her tight while fondling with her tricker He bares her vent and plunges down: his glowing point doth 'wick' her Just like her aunt she puts out much, her climax is explosion She kicks with joy and shoots with glee and yearns for more devotion. Miss Wheelock is a wanton wench and spurns our peasant gunner: She'll only let her spring be wound by tool of wealthy spanner. Her shape is often delicate - adornment is not spared. She's finely tuned and comes of quick when properly prepared. From common stares she hides her vent with a pretty little cover, Which very promptly opens wide when nosed by 'doghead' lover. Her wheel and vent get stiff and clogged from several acts of using, So give her preparation- before the shot you're losing. But at the final moment she's the same as all the rest, A whirr, a shout, the flame shoots out... our girl has done her best. The Fintlock filly's full of fun, she has no class pretension. From loving Richard's point of view she is a great invention. She's tall and slim and may be plain, but always full of grace And she's gained a most important part to share her secret place. Her vital vent is as before but now she has a frizzen. If gunners cocky flint kiss this then sparks begin to sizzle. You'll her her hiss as burning fire drives deep into her chamber She'll kick and roar as those of yore, but Dick does love to tame her. She'll go again full many a time but he must wash her frizzen. He'll lick it clean and all is well as oft as he is risen. Plani-Jane Perc's a promiscuous queen, she'll come with any person Sired by 'Bible-preaching Scot, called something like MacPherson. Austerely hidden are her fires, she looks so prim and neat. Her venus parts the Scot abhorred,,, he left her just one teat. Vent and frizzen he deemed sin so she must use that nipple Just cap the tip with fulminate...it's not much fun... but simple, No wick or cock, no flint or fire, tho' loading still needs rammer Anyone can set her off... just hit her with a hammer! Godliness and cleanliness were in that dour Scot's mind... So if you use her, clean her well, or spoil her bore - you'll find. If you could get a crystal ball and see into the future You'll find your erstwhile loving mate is now the dominant partner. Gone are the skills that made guns fun, it's purely now mechanical. Two Yankee doctors showed the girls that love is almost clinical. The 'Cordite Cat' has many names- Machine-Gun is a good one. The males are golden phallus shaped, but don't have any fun. She keeps them boxed up, row and row, waiting at her leisure. Then draws them deep in to her breech- they scarcely feel the pleasure She'll have them singly, shot by shot, or eat a dozen running It seems that tech. and Women's Lib have spoiled the art of gunning. Written by one of the truly great gunsmiths, Kit Ravenshear. This Brit was true genius with steel and wood. He die a couple of years ago, in one of the best possible ways- on a beach in the South of France with a drink is his hand. I raise my tankard to ye, Kit. Hawkyns

They did exist, but they are generally refrred to as knitted shirts and were worn under, rather than over your other shirt. Knitting history is one of those subjects that the needleworkers will argue about more than religion and politics, but there are examples dating from the late 16th C. Not many examples, both because they are are not as stable and don't last as long as woven material, and because woven material was more common. I have both a knitted wool undershirt and a woven wool undershirt, that I can wear under my linen shirt. Over that I have either one of Townsend's blanket wool shirts or one of Barkertown's short workman's jackets. And before you ask, yes that means wool against the skin. I grew up with it, not a problem. Most people's wool allergies are not to the wool, but to the chemicals it is processed in. If you can get raw unprocessed wool or yarn, and get someone to spin it and knit it for you that will work pretty well. Otherwise check for the most natural yarn you can get. Go to natural fiber merchants or places that specialise in spinning and knitting supplies, NOT Joanne's. Hawkyns

My tubes have 1/8" vents. I prime with FFFF and don't have any problems getting it down the vent. I prime from a small (50gr) open container, and just make sure I pour carefully. You could probably open the vent up to 5/32", maybe even 3/16" although I wouldn't start by going that large. 3 of my tubes are smooth around the vent area and I don't have a problem piling enough powder there. Of course, I'm firing within 15 degrees of flat trajectory, not the way yours is in the pic. I have one piece, my mortar, that has a small cup around the vent. The barrel wall is 2 1/2" thick at that point. Whether you could countersink something would depend on how thick your breech wall is. Now, I would not just countersink a straight walled hole. I'd use a small reaming mill and just put a bit of a shallow cone there, if you have enough steel. In the Service of St. Barbara!! Hawkyns

Interesting concept. A pirate based society with our own events. I like it. I am primarily a re-enactor, yes, but I like to have fun too. What makes me twitch about the whole authenticity question is people who are 'out of place'. Tricorns in the 16th C, caplocks in the 18th C, fantasy clothing at a re-enactment, things like that. So history is important to me, because that's the kind of event I prefer. If a series of events were set up, though, that the only criteria is 'pirate', then it opens it up to historic and fantasy people. Question is, if we did do something like that, what would we do? Sitting around drinking rum only lasts so long-get bored or pass out. One of the reasons I do the historic stuff is that there's something to do. Battles, swordfighting, cannon demos, shooting competitions, and just plain living-cooking washing, repairing kit, chopping wood, etc. That's one of the reasons I've pretty much dropped out of the SCA, if you're not interested in their tournament fighting style, there's not much to do. I've looked into some of the LARPs, too. Problem with them is that it's mostly teenagers, combat is with boffer swords, and there's too much magic and not enough action. I like the concept, but they are just not done right. I have a huge collection of sword and sorcery books and movies (some directly attributable to one of our pirate brethren of the pub ). If someone were to come up with a decent version I'd be interested, but they are so dummed down to allow the young'uns to play. Renfaires you get to shop and listen to the music, and occasionally drink a bit. Too much emphasis on children for my taste. I know some of you have said some faires have adult only days, but none of the faires near me do. An adult pirate LARP with reasonable combat rules, decent taverns and a small village could be the way to go. A few merchants of quality stuff would be good. Just a place where we could go and actually live the pirate life for a day or two or more. No 20th c crap, just PIRATES!! Hawkyns (stepping down from the soapbox)

The cavalier hat is a regular broadbrimmed hat turned up on one side. The origin seems to be from the musketeers who turned up one side of the brim so it wouldn't get knocked of when you do musket drill. Most drills that was the left side turned up, but there are a few drills that reverse that. the brim left down shielded your eye from the pan flash. They tend to be 1600 to 1650 or so, which is where they get their connection with the Cavaliers, or Royalist Soldiers of the English Civil War. By later in the century, the brim has narrowed enough so that it no longer needs to be turned up on the side, but the fashion became to turn up the front brim. (Remember Trotter in CutThroat Island?) For some period illustrations of the cavalier hat, see if you can find the illustrations for Jacob de Gheyn's 'The Excersize of Armes', published 1607. Hawkyns

The concept is correct, it's the execution that I have problems with. Nobility did indeed take their eating equipment with them. Lowerclasses would at least carry a knife, spoon, and cup. But they would be carried in a haversack or some such for a man, or in a basket for a lady. The double loop tankard hanger is what I was referring to in terms of being from Faire only. Forks, of course, are an evil affectation used only by Italians and other effete types who are scared to get their hands dirty Hawkyns

Thanks for the reference It's not my primary period, so my research there is not as deep as in other areas. I do believe you are correct. I get up there often enough and I have spoken to you guys. Don't remember if I was up there on a research trip or if I was up for one of Keith Ducklin's sword seminars. So you've joined the dark world of Pyracy. Welcome aboard, and I'll look forward to meeting on the New England pirate circuit. My gun crew is putting together a calendar and I'll let you know as soon as it's set. Hawkyns

Salem Bob is right, the tin cup is generally in or attached to the ditty bag, or slung from the haversack strap for re-enactors. The tankard on some kind of a belt loop is a faire-folk thing. Hawkyns

Nay mate- down t' Pickering Wharf along of the Friendship, that would be the place. But nae matter where, m' gunners 'n me'll be there. Hawkyns

Formal suits are indeed pointed togther. Belts vary from sword girdles to working belts. Sailor's slops weren't pointed, and the belt was needed. Workers- sailors, farmers, craftsmen, etc.- didn't always wear a doublet. Cassacks, a sort of pullover garment, jerkins, and smocks were all worn by working men, most with a belt to hold a utility knife and some sort of belt pouch. Button flies are indeed correct on breeches. They had a v-shaped gusset in the back of the waistband to adjust the waist measurement and even pockets were starting to appear set in the seams of the breeches. Hawkyns

Habourmaster- this is not directed at you, or at anyone else who wears the buckettop boots, it is offered merely for information. I went back to the woodcuts from Johnson's 'General History'. In the copy that I have, not one of the pirates shown is wearing boots. I went through as many other primary sources as I have. To this point, I have not found a contemporary illustration of such attire on a sailor or captain in the 'Golden Age'. Drake and Raleigh wear the early style boots, but Frobisher does not. And I've found no maritime illus of the boot after 1600. I sometimes wear the earlier pattern high boot when I'm doing Elizabethan. Mine are modified engineer boots (no, I haven't forgotten the photos, Cap'n William, I haven't started the new boots yet) . For 1700's, I wear straight lasted shoes with buckles from Fugawee, purchased from Smoke and Fire. This is far from definitive, just on an hour's quick and dirty research. But it is certainly a good indicator. As has been said many times, there is room for all on this voyage. But we should know whether what we do is historic or fantasy. Hawkyns