Hawkyns

Happy Birthday, mate!!!!!! I'll hoist a few tankards to ye between blowin' the hell out o' papist imperials wi' a couple o' cannon. (Thirty Years War siege muster at Ft. Mifflin in Philly this weekend) Hawkyns

Can't speak to specific use in that time period, but it's a pretty common peasant weapon dating way back. Fleaux brisee translates as broken flail and an agricultural weapon is exactly what it is, a grain flail. They were a preferred weapon of the Hussite armies of the 15th C and showed up in various countries and times both before and after that. Frequently shown in movies as being used by the 'angry peasant mob'. Don't know about Chinese weapons but I've seen flails in Japanese martial arts, both 2 section and 3 section. Hawkyns

Sorry for the late reply on this. It was a crock. Even PBS, when they were setting up for this went out of their way to rig the game. I know some 17th/18th century re-enactors who applied to be on the show. They were rejected because they were too competant. They didn't want to see how life was lived, they wanted people who could not handle it and would whine and breakdown over the things required. I guess history is not as interesting as some yuppy crying because she didn't have the right shampoo. Garbage, all of it. Hawkyns

Gary- could you give a little more detail on the boat sauce, please? Proportions, working temp, how long does it stay liquid, storage, etc. Does it dry to non sticky? I've got tarred marline, but it's just way too sticky to use anywhere it will contact something else. Will the sauce coat it so that it doesn't stick to everything in sight? Thank You Hawkyns

Well.....just......oh damn!!!! Hawkyns

So, me lady and I are getting ready for the raid on Key West. Since I've never been, let me just ask a couple of final questions. Is there any time or place that I'd need to pack regular clothes? Any places that restrict pirate kit or weapons? Is there a planned meeting place and time for all members of the Pub that are going? Also, asked this in another thread but got no answer. Is PiP as wild, crazy, and adult oriented as Fantasy Fest? Lookin' forward ta meetin' ya all. Hawkyns

I've got the Loyalist blunderbuss, 16" brass barrel. Beautiful piece. Well made, good springs, sparks great. Got some nice touches, too, like a tow worm attacjed to the tip of the scouring stick. Round faced heavy lock, crown and GR marked. Got to reccomend this piece, best value for a blunderbuss i've seen , and I've been collecting blunderbusses and carbines for a long time. Hawkyns

Well, the classic is 'The Sea Gunner" by John Seller, published 1691. It's hard to find and it ain't cheap, but here is a link to a couple I found: http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?q...tches=2&qsort=r After that, there's 'The Gunner's Glasse' William Eldred, 1646 and "the Art of Gunnery" John Smith 1643 Both of these have been reprinted by Stuart Press and are available through Sykes Sutlering www.sykesutler.com The other standard that's relatively available is 'A Treatise of Artillery' John Muller 1780 reprinted by Museum Restoration Service in 1977. Alibris or Amazon should be able to find this one. These are on the earlier side, but that's what I do, artillery 1470 to 1770. There are later manuals, from Reve War period, lots of them. I've got a couple from 1740'a and some Elizabethan. Also, check out 'The Pirotechnia of Vannoccio Biringuccio' published in 1540. General text on metallurgy and casting techniques, but it also has a few chapters on fireworks, Greek Fire, and how to pack a fire ship. Currently available in cheap reprint from Dover. Hawkyns

Here is a link to the closest thing there is to a 'national standard'. http://www2.control.com/~emoore/marty.html Every group has a few differences, but they are mostly minor. We, for instance use wads on blanks and do not use crooked rammers. Some groups use plastic baggies inside their aluminum cartridges, we do not. Also, different sites have specific regulations. National Park Service regs are so cumbersome that few groups will actually fire on NPS sites. Powder regs vary depending on where you live. No federal licence is needed to buy less than 25 pounds. Some states limit you to 5 pounds. Some require ID, some don't. I generally buy mine in PA, where there is no state limit or ID required. Not that that's a problem, it just happens that Dixon's Gun Shop is one of the best BP gunshops in the country and is just outside Allentown. Cannon powder, or F grade BP are frequently difficult to get, not all stores stock them due to the low demand. State regs vary concerning actual firing of cannon, check where you live. New Jersey has some strange regs, and Mass. requires that you have a licence issued by the Fire Department. Texas used to have some restrictions, but I don't know if that still applies. You don't say whether you have any BP experience at all. If not, i say Deacon is right, start with a musket, unless you can join an established crew and get training there. Buying a cannon without any BP knowledge or experience is not generally a good idea. Hawkyns

My lady and I will be there for the first weekend, Friday through Monday. Staying at the Atlantic Shores resort. I guess we'll miss a bunch of things, but we both shot our vacation already and this is all the time we could scam. On a related note- For those who have been before, is PiP as wild and crazy as Fantasy Fest? As adult oriented? Inquiring minds want to know!! Hawkyns

My crew drill is search, swab, search, swab with a three minute downtime between rounds. Yes, that is *probably* enough to kill any sparks. I just don't trust BP to operate the same all the time. So I use the foil as a double back up. This is also the recommended drill of the National Muzzloading Artillery Association and the National Civil War Artillery Association. The pantyhose would make me twitch quite a bit. First, If it's that flexible, I'd be concerned about powder dust bleeding out. Second, any imperfections in the bore could catch and cause a tear and subsequent round failure. Third, it would not stop any leftover spark. I'm not just worried about sparks in the bore. On any given battlefield, there are sparks all over. The other guns, the muskets, and the linstocks are all shedding sparks and you can never be just sure which way the wind will blow them. So the foil is as much for safety between the powder box and pass bag and between pass bag and muzzle as anything else. Like I said, with cannon, you can't be TOO safe. BTW, on the Constitution's guns. Depends which one they were firing. A couple of her 24pdrs have had the breech half cut and pivoted, and the bore sleeved. They now fire 20mm blank rounds with a lanyard attached to the breech rear. I was amazed and disgusted when I attended the gunnery class on her. Their excuse was that since it had to fire on time everyday, this was the best way to ensure that. They also don't always have muzzleloader qualified crew about. It's a bloody shame, if you ask me...... Hawkyns

Never tried spanish moss, it doesn't grow up up here in New England. Most of my work is with historic sites and opposing forces re-enactments. They get waaaaaay upset if we leave paper shreds around the battlefields. We even go out after the battle to gather up foil shreds and the infantry has to police their cartridge papers. And, as I said, I've seen paper wads ball up. So up here, it's verboten. I've always used foil cartridges without the sandwich bag liners. Paranoid about safety, that's me. One of the first major schools I went to back in the 80's, I met the one armed gunner from the infamous LaPanne's incident. Couple of years later, I met another one armed gunner. Kind of makes you think real hard about what we do, y'know? I've been a cannoneer on a crew in England, too. Stuff they do will turn your hair white! Cartridges made out of paper bags, quick firing the piece, moving a loaded piece across the battlefield at a run. And not to mention wadding with 'processed grass'- horse apples! Used against Newcastle's white coats and the puritan preacher, it made quite an impression!! Hawkyns

How long ya got? Seriously, there's about 2 feet of shelf space in my library just filled with period gunnery manuals. It goes into the dispart, being the difference between the bore centerline and the taper of the the cannon ; the angles of fire which requires a fair amount of math and geometry; and numerous other items that were spun out into long technical manuals. Most of it came down to experience. Every gun shoots differently. The bores were all a bit different in angle due to the casting and the bore pillar. Guns shoot differently as they warm up, shooting further the warmer they get. Then it's the experience of knowing the exact moment to fire on the top of the roll. Lots of this applies mostly in a stern chase. Broadsides were mostly fired at point blank range. Pirates in particular were aiming for decks and rigging. Hulling your prize and sending him to the bottom was counterproductive. Take his rigging, stop him in the water, and then clear his decks. Those were the jobs of the pirate gunner. Then its up to the crew to board and finish the job. Hawkyns Master Gunner

Black Deacon and Coastie Sorry, an all that, but I'll take issue wi ye both on yer choices o' wadding. Wet newspaper can wad up and form projectile, I've seen it happen. Even when it doesn't, it makes a bloody mess. Bisquick, flour, or any sort of organic powder is dangerous. They can create dust explosions outside the bore, like right in front of the muzzle. Because the burn curve of BP is relatively slow, the forward end of the charge or the wad can already be outside the muzzle by the time the flame hits it. So the organic powder wad will explode just after exiting the bore and breaking up in the air. Same thing that makes grain elevators explode. If I'm firing tactical, against opposing forces, I use no wad at all. If I'm firing salutes, I use twisted green grass wads. Cut the grass, don't pull it, then you don't get roots and dirt/gravel. The grass should be fresh and green, but not wet, so it won't clump. Breaks up, doesn't explode, and leaves no mess. Hawkyns Master Gunner

Earlier guns (16th-17th c) frequently have a small pan cast about the touchhole, often in the form of a shell. That's because priming was done with loose powder from the horn. By mid 18th c, quills were used which removed the need for a pan. There were flintlocks that could be used on larger cannon, particularly on shipboard pieces in the 18th c. Caplocks? PTuiiii! If'n ye have to use a late period ignition, at least use friction primers on a pull cord. Hawkyns

Hey Scupper be ye makin' it to the school this Saturday? I'll have my 1pdr swivel with me. Just made a new carriage for it (got tired of not being able to use it, pictures to the list next week). Anyway, I've been runnin' cannon for the last 20 years. Bein' that yer in Connecticut Colony and all, I'll be glad t' teach ye the right of it. I'm always lookin' for gunners mates. Just remember what I tell all my crews- If you're in control it's a cannon. If the gun's in control, it's a pipe bomb. Hawkyns Master Gunner

Another good reference is 'The Illustrated Companion to Nelson's Navy' by Nicholas Blake and Richard Lawrence. Stackpole Books, 2000, isbn 0-8117-0864-0 This is an excellent book about the ships, the men, and the navy. References the O'Brian books, CS Forrester, Dudley Pope and some others. Puts them in perspective and give a good command of the lingo. Hawkyns

OOPS!! Here's the URL http://www.io.com/~sj/PirateGame.html Hawkyns

Check out this game based on Lego ships. The links are gretty good, too. Hawkyns

Check out these people. Great patterns, well documented and they have sailors slops and gunners jackets. http://www.kannikskorner.com/home.htm Also, for the lasses, check out this bodice generator http://costume.dm.net/custompat/index.html Hawkyns

Converting depends on the piece. Needs a lock and breech changeover. Lock is no problem, just loosen the sidenails. Changing the breech can be a stone b***h! If a weapon is specifically designed for it, it's OK. If it's a conversion, without the neccesary parts, then it's a gunsmith job unless you know your way around an armourer's bench. Earliest caplocks show up around 1810 or so. At that point though, they were extremely finicky and bloody expensive. It's 1830 before they become widely available and useable by the masses. Even then they were very expensive. Flintlocks remained in common use until the ACW and even beyond. Unless you are doing a mid 19th C impression the caplock is a questionable purchase. Hawkyns

It's out of the re-enactment community here in Southern New England This was the announcement I got: Just got word that the seminar that was cancelled a few months ago dealing with "Using the Water Highways ~ Vessels, Economics, Seafaring Details" is back on and Scheduled for Saturday November the 15th. Once again to be held at the Benton Homestead in Tolland. Instead of a 2 day affair, it will be one day form 8:30 A.M. (reg) to 6 P.M. It will be the same format as the last time with topics of Sailors Clothing of the new England Seaboard 18th Cent. Putting on the Tar (Frank Rodriques) Marlin spike seamanship Women as sailors Tools for navigation Famous Privateers of New England, and lastly Naval Small Arms of the American Revolution. A table will be set up for book sales and other materials. Price for the full day event is $50, (plus 5 if you get lunch from them) Reg can be sent to the Pine Tree Shilling, PO Box 1005, Charlestown, NH. 03603. Cancellations after Nov 1st will be assessed a $20 fee. Just let me know if you plan on attending. There's a growing naval re-enactment group growing up here. Some members of the crew of the HMS Richmond have set up thier own group, the crew of the Speedwell. Some of us also volounteer on the Providence and also on the Half Moon. There is a definite disconnect between naval re-enactors and pyrate re-enactors. I'm one of the few I know that crosses the line and does both. I also do 18th c trekking and F&I artillery, so the hard-core authenticity is normal to me. Not all pyrate groups or people take to it. Hawkyns

Hmmmm, don't know. I sent my money in last week. Here's the contact info with a phone number: The Pine Tree Shilling / Advertising PO Box 1005 Charlestown, NH 03603-1005 phone/fax (603) 826-3327 Hawkyns

Scupper, If'n ye can get to the School of the Sailor next Sat in Tolland, I'll be pleased ta show ya in person. I sent details t' ye in private mail. Hawkyns

Hey! No such thing as stupid questions. How else do we learn to be pirates? Not like there's much OJT going about these days. I carry a flint and steel kit in my pouch. 'Bout the size of a playing card and 3/4 inch thick. Has steel striker, sharp chunk of flint, wad of oakum or tow, charcloth, small beeswax candle, and a short lenth of slowmatch. My preference is to light the slowmatch first, and then use that to light the tinder and then the fire. A bit slow, but it works for me. 'Course, if it's just the pipe I'm lighting, then the slowmatch alone is enough. Don't know if ships kept a watch lantern burning at all times. In garrisons, they did, so they could always light match instantly. And there was always the kitchen fires as well. From what I've read, clearing for battle involved getting rid of all fires, just in case. I would guess that included any lit candles, but I don't have documentation to that effect. And people who are really good with flint and steel can have a fire going in aout 8-10 seconds, anyway. My pipe stays in a brass case in the seachest for 18th c. Standard pipe, shortened a bit in the stem to fit the case. My 16th c pipe is smaller than a thimble and has a 3 inch stem. I've got a cuirbolli (hard leather) case for it patterned after Sir Walter Raleigh's, which is in the Wallace Collection in London. Both protect well in the seachest. Hawkyns