Hawkyns

Wonderful site. Didn't get to see the weapons collection in May, just got to the Elizabeth exhibit due to limited time.

Interesting that just about everything they list as a cutlass is 19th C. That could explain the diference in terminology.

BTW, if anyone is looking to get me a solstice present

try this

http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/Collectio....cfm?ID=WPN1430

That is one serious piece of drool steel.

Hawkyns

Try this- got to http://www.fabrics-store.com/first.php and type linen in the search window. Will give you lots of types, weights, and options. Mostly, if I need a specific colour, I buy neutral fabric and dye it myself.

For the weight you want though, you may want to try hemp canvas. Wears like iron, has the weight and fall you need, and is probably more period for sailor's garments. Try this http://www.hempsupply.com/fabric/3017.asp

Hawkyns

Just bought one of these me'sen. Got it in a dark brown canvas. When it arrived, I took a couple o' cans of the wax for drover's coats and soaked the whole coat, then ironed it in. Made the coat a might stiff, but now it's ready for a foul day on the Providence or an evil night in camp.

Hawkyns

Lady Elaina

I'm hoping to be at Drake's Raid. If I do go, I shall definitely be with the combatants and camped at the Fountain of Youth park. Nice thing about southern events is I don't need to take a tent. Small square of silcloth packs much better for airline travel.

Cascabel

Great to meet you at PiP. Sorry we couldn't stay longer. Not sure if we'll go next year, may go to Fantasy Fest instead.

Hawkyns

Crimpers, they were known as, mostly preceeded by a string of invective. Both the navy and the army used them, although officially it was not permitted. They bought convicts from local parishes, debtors prisons, and tricked unsuspecting people into signing enlistment papers without regiments or ships designated. They would then be sold, frequently to regiments or ships that had such bad reps that they could not get recruits any other way. Lots of shady deals and unscrupulous practices were used to get the quotas made up.

Not sure which is worse, bein' hit over the head with a belayin' pin and wakin' up board ship, or being conned into it and not bein' able to do anythin'. Either way, there was damn little choice involved.

Y'know, there is just so little about the Georgian military that is appealing..........

Hawkyns

Best period oil/preservative I've found is bear oil. A close second is a paste made from lamb or deer fat mixed with beeswax. Both are documentably period. For scouring rust off, take a piece of thin (3-4 oz) leather, oil one side of it, then put powdered brick dust on the oil. Works real well.

Bear oil is tough to find, but is generally available at rendezvous or trade fairs. I'm hoping that after the hunt in New Jersey, it will be more available in the East.

Hawkyns

Generally composed of a bunch of large sailors with attitude and the bosun, under the command of a junior officer- senior middie or a leftenant.

Hawkyns

Talked to an old associate and got directed to the following web site

http://home.cfl.rr.com/rupertsdrakes/index.html

It has the rules, standards, and warning orders for Searle's Raid, and a date for Drake's Raid.

Hawkyns

Ahoy Sam

What is Searle's raid? That be a new one t' me. Have ye heard aught of Drake's Raid?

Not from that area, but been there a few times. I know a number of folks in that area, though- Rich Lanni, Brad Spear (he moved, I know) and some of the Men of Menedez.

Hawkyns

OK, fresh from a foray through the library, as promised. It's a bit long and doesn't prove or disprove all statements, but it may give enough further information for people to make a choice.

Neumann doesn't mention sharpening at all, either in 'Swords and Blades of the American Revolution' or in 'Battle Weapons of the American Revolution'. He does give some interesting info, though. Swords were general issue to the British Army until 1768 when a Royal Warrant removed them from all but serjeants, grenadiers and highlanders. France did the same in 1764. While weapons were controlled by Royal Warrant, they were not issued by the army, but purchased by regimental commanders. Most blades were purchased from Germany and hilted and scabbarded locally. England got a homegrown sword cutler industry in Birmingham in the 1730's. France did the same with Kliganthal in the 1720's. Swords carried by militia were either private purchase or family heirlooms.

Goldstein, in 'Socket Bayonets in the British Army, 1687-1783' refers to a couple of sword cutlers, but again states that blades were purchased unfurnished and finished by local craftsmen.

The Royal Warrant of 1768 and the Warrant of 1742 both refer to swords, but neither one says a word about sharpening or lack thereof.

The most information I have found was in'18th Century Weapons of the Royal Welsh Fuziliers from Flixton Hall', also by Erik Goldstein. It details a weapons cache from the period just prior to the 68 Warrant. The swords are of general infantry pattern. Goldstein states "Many specimens have heavily nicked blades.........Others show the old sharpening and repointing mentioned by Neal in 1953". Also of interest are the scabbards. They are of leather over thin wood. Some have hooks, most have brass tips, but none have metal throats.

Finally, I ran across a few mentions of naval cutlasses. There is no corresponding Royal Warrant. Ships were armed with cutlasses at the pleasure of the captain, or in civilian ships, the owner. These would be subject to all the same caveats as infantry swords. So it would seem that cutlasses were likely to have edges well into the 18th century.

Hawkyns

Not exactly a Jack Sparrow coat, but an excellent piece is the Billy Bones coat, from Bradley Company of the Fox. (tried to post a link but it didn't work. do a google search)

The coat is modeled on the one worn by Billy Bones in the TNT version of Treasure Island from the early 90's. Oliver Reed (wonderful actor) made the character and the coat worn in the opening scenes is the ultimate pirate's coat.

Hawkyns

Matchlocks had essentially been dropped from use by mid-17th century, capnwilliam. They were abandoned here even earlier than in Europe. Peterson gives the figures and dates in his Arms and Armor in Colonial America, I believe.

Well, again, yes and no. The last matchlocks were withdrawn from regimental use in the British Army in 1711. Armies being what they are, between the conservative attitude and the increased cost of the firelocks, it took 60 years from the first issues to total replacement. The Royalist armies relied almost entirely on matchlocks, not having access to any of the government armouries. The New Model Army issued firelocks only to dragoons, artillery train guards, and some specialist troops for service in England. The change over was relatively slow, but not a noticeable problem, since armies still lined up and fired at each other, a job for which the matchlock was ideally suited.

The colonies were a completely different story. Firelocks were preferred weapons by all who could afford them. They were the recommended weapon for all the companies bringing colonists over. Some militias were equipped with matchlocks, again due to being issued old stocks and governmental parsimony, but they were relatively useless against fast moving natives and deer.

Colonial militias required a blade of some sort, in addition to the firearm. Swords were common in the early years, and that did last until the War of Rebellion . See Neuman's 'Swords and Blades of the American Revolution'. Frontier militias found the belt axe much more useful, since it was a tool as well as a weapon.

I will check Neuman tonight, and see what he has to say on the subject of sharpening.

Hawkyns

Ahoy, Mates. Sorry to be out of the discussion, I was out of town for the weekend and spent today flying back through the latest storm.

I don't think there's a huge disagreement about sharp or not. I think we are all dealing with different items and areas of expertise. My knowledge is 16th/17th century, for the most part, when the sword was a much greater part of a fighting man's armament. I would not dispute the knowledge of the 18th/19th century people who say they weren't sharpened, it's not my field. Hangers were certainly sharpened in the mid 17th century. They were withdrawn from general issue to English Civil War armies since they were being used for menacing civilians and chopping wood, far more than they were used on the battlefield. That indicates sharp, at least in some form.

Taking all that's been said so far, I would deduce that as the sword became less relied upon, and soldiers and sailors became less trained with the weapons, then the blades were less likely to be sharpened. It is always difficult to find a rule that holds true for 3 centuries when it comes to weapons.

Hawkyns

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.....

Haven't handled enough original cutlasses to say. Other blades, though, were pretty sharp. Rapiers, cut-and-thrust blades, hangars and similar blades were plenty sharp. Not razor sharp, that's the wrong way to sharpen a sword, but enough to cut yourself running your thumb along.

I suppose there's a difference between a swordsman and a grunt or deckhand, too. Someone who isn't trained and gets a blade stuck in their hand has a different attitude from a trained swordsman. That brings up the difference between pirate and sailor. Sailors fought when needed and avoided it when possible. The sword was the pirate's tool and the articles I've seen stipulate punishment for not taking appropriate care of weapons. Wouldn't that mean sharp, too?

Either way, the idea of an unsharpened blade, other than a purpose made competition or stage blade, just makes me twitch. Someday, when I have time, money, and access, I'd like to get a properly made, thousand fold katana blade cut down and mounted to a hangar or cutlass hilt. The curve is right and that would be truly sharp.

Hawkyns

But generally speaking, we're not in a swords-for-self-defense era. Seems like sharpening the blade would just make it unwantedly dangerous for demonstration purposes.

Speak f y'self mate, I keep a short hanger near the head of the bed, and a cutlass over the door frame. In fact, thinkin' on it, I have blade or staff weapons in every room. Hmmmmm......

Seriously, I have three levels of weapons that I use, depending on the muster. My Del Tin rapiers are for competition, blunted, tipped, and used with masks. I have a couple of Armour Class blunts, full size and weight blades with rounded edges and tips, that I can use for competition or re-enactment when masks would be out of place. And I have my sharps, regular blades with sharp edges and points. These I use for living history, so I don't have to deal with the 'How can you kill anybody with a blunt sword?' questions. These are also the blades that I carry as a my regular carry pieces. Been in enough dodgy areas that I've been glad to have a useable live steel weapon with me.

So if it will sharpen up nicely, go ahead.

Hawkyns

:angry:

Got a good friend of mine with a beer mug breech loader. What are your terms on that banded breech loading murderer?

That would depend on size, age, construction, and number of chambers. Send me some specs, and a picture or two and we'll talk!!

Hawkyns

Pretty!! pity you guys are in the wrong colour

Seriously, is that school an army sponsored one? I know they still have a flintlock cert for The Old Guard. Do they have a BP cannon cert too, or is it through NPS?

Schools and certs are important to keep up on. I attend school every year, just to keep on top of things. There are so many though, and most of them don't talk to each other. Different periods, different organisations, different states. Makes it hard to keep track.

Hawkyns

(New invention, fireworks mortar balls in the swivel gun!!...Waaaaay kewl!!)

Try wadding with 4 ought steel wool. Makes wicked tracer.......

Hawkyns

Yeah, oak and maple are the most common. Personal preference is red oak, it works nicely and looks good. The most critical fittings are the trunnion caps and capsquares (pins that hold the trunnion caps in place). You do NOT want your tube loose in the carriage. Even a blank load puts a fair amount of pressure on the caps. There are generally two kinds, one that has the trunnion completely recessed in the carriage and a flat cap over it, and a half recessed truniion with a semi-circular cap over it. Either way, they have to fit nice and tight and not let the tube slop around.

Biggest difference between field and naval carriages is the wheels. Field carriages have larger wagon type wheels, naval or garrison carriages have small solid wheels, or trucks. Once you get into the Vicky period, you see a whole bunch of ghastly cast iron garrison carriages. Field carriages will also have a longer trail that can be attached to some sort of limber for towing.

Carriages will last a long time if properly cared for. There are still 19th century guns being fired on their original carriages, when properly cared for and stored indoors. Voice's carriage was my first and I've learned a lot since then. She's had some upgrades along the way, but I think it's time for a ground up refit.

I use my guns as often as I can. It really depends on the musters and if there is call for cannon. Some years they go out once or twice, sometimes a dozen times in a season. That's kind of why I want duel carriages for them. Makes it easier to fit them into any given scenario.

Nigtingale is a 1/2 pdr swivel, on a pintle mount with a monkey tail. Voice is a 2 pdr field gun on a field carriage, 1640's vintage. Cricket is a 3pdr, currently on a 1450's veuglair carriage. She's different, in that the chap who made her cast the barrel around 3 feet of 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft barrel. Can you say rifled? Morning Glory is a 24 pd coehorn mortar. All guns are sleeved and subcalibred for safety. Smaller guns are generally easier to move and deal with smaller crews, but I've got my eye on an iron 6pdr. And if anyone knows of a banded breech loading murderer looking for a home..........

Hawkyns

Just the 4 tubes, Voice, Cricket, Morning Glory, and the new one, Nightingale. The project is to make sure each has both a field and a naval/garrison carriage. That way I can use them whatever the event scenario is.

Voice's carriages will be the major project. The carriage she is on is 20 years old this year. I want to do a complete rebuild on that as well as building a naval truck carriage. Biggest problem with all this coming up with enough square head lag screws in mutlple sizes. The blacksmith work I can do myself, and I've got a place can do any small bronze casting I need.

Hawkyns

Ask away, Mate. I'll help ye where I can.

RS&R was one of the first books I picked up back in 83 or so. Good overview, and Peterson is one of the big names in weaponry. Some of his stuff is a bit dated now, with new research, but nothing major.

If I can figure out how to use one of the new dgital cameras, I'll post a couple of pics of the new small carriage I made to mount my swivel. Got tired of being in a fixed postion with it, and found an example of a pintle mount piece on a wheeled carriage.

Started the drawing phase for the Dutch 3 truck carriage this morning. Scaling it to fit the barrel that I have. Now comes the process of locating the appropriate hardware, and assembling the iron work. I've found it's best to do that, because it's always easier to make the wood fit the iron, rather than vice versa.

Hawkyns

OK, as promised, here is more info on matchlock pistols. A number of online searches came up dry. Plenty of stuff on D&D pistols, and Indian and Japanese pieces, but no solid evidence of a european matchlock pistol. In the library, neither Blackmore or Peterson mentions them. Wilkinson only mentions them to say that they were impractical and extremely rare.

You mentioned the Pistol Shield of Henry VIII's Royal Guard. Yes, they exist, I've seen one at the Tower Armouries. Remember 2 things, though. First, they were for a Royal Guard, and supposed to be special. Second, Henry VIII was fascinated with firearms and had a number of one of a kind pieces. He even had a six shot revolving carbine, but it would be 3 centuries before the technology caught up with the concept to make one practical.

I've also seen pictures of the battle axe with an attached matchlock pistol on the steel helve. Some people think this may be a Victorian item from the medieval revival period, and therefore not a real piece. There is also a boarding axe with attached pistol attributed to Sweden, but I don't have much info on that. Even so, the existence of two specialty pieces does not make them common or useable.

Now, on to practical concerns. A matchlock pistol would be a questionably useful item. You can't load it, set the match and put it in your belt or baldric. The match will either set you on fire, go out when it hits the serpent, or blow you up when the burning end hits your powder supply. For a musket, cocking the match is the last step prior to aiming. Otherwise, you keep the match in your left hand. Doing that and setting the match prior to firing a pistol would sort of negate the concept of having a ready use firearm. They are also susceptible to damp, and the nautical environment is nothing if not damp. Stealth is not a reason either. At night you can see the match, during the day you can see the smoke, and you can smell it at all times.

In the final analysis, there are 2 questions. Did they exist? More than likely, but in what quantity? They are cheap and relatively easy to make, so in backward or poor areas, they could be locally made. Were they useful? When you consider that there are few if any surviving examples, and little or no primary documentation, it would seem unlikely.

Hope this helps. If you do make one, I'd love to see pics. If you've got other questions, I'll be happy to try to answer them.

Hawkyns

Hoo boy, ambitious, aint'cha?

First, matchlock pistols are surpassing rare in Europe. I've seen more Japanese pistols than ever I've seen western ones. Most 16th c pistols are wheelocks, damn tricky, and of questionable value. Gets better at the end of the century when the snaphaunce shows up and when the metallurgy for making springs starts to catch up with the designs. There are some matchlock petronels that are a sort of long pistol/carbine. Everything I've seen at museums around Europe that could be construed as a pistol, i.e barrel length less than 14 inches, has been a wheelock. I'll check my references tonight when i can get to my library and see if there are any specific examples I can point you to.

If you are of a mind to do it though, there are a couple of things. The pan on a matchlock is attached to the barrel, on a flintlock its part of the lock. Dixie used to have a matchlock pan in their catalogue, just a rough casting that takes a fair amount of finishing and then needs to be soldered to the barrel. Due to the mechanism on a matchlock, the early pieces lend themselves to a sear bar rather than a trigger. That would also be a bit difficult in a belt/baldric mount. There are only a couple of moving parts, sear bar, sear, serpent and spring, so a compentant machinist or even a good blacksmith should be able to make the lock. Soldering the pan to the barrel would be tricky as to get the pan attached without destroying the temper. (apologies if you are a gunsmith and already know this).

All that said, a matchlock is going to be considerably cheaper than a wheelock. Wheelock kits, if you can still get them, run about $500, but I think I got one of the last of those. Snaphaunce pistols run about a grand, and the only person I currently know making them is Dale Shinn out of CA. Parts for a matchlock pistol should be less than $100.

Hawkyns

Happy Birthday t' the both of ye!!!!

Raise all the hell ye deserve.

Hawkyns

Dorian, isna' this the blade you carry? It looks mighty similar.

Hawkyns