cat-o'-nine-tails

[Cap'n Black Jack]

I have been researching traditional cat-o'-nine-tails. I know what the look like and I know where to get a modern version, but I would like to make something a bit more period. I nave this information "...weighed about 13 ounces (370 gram) and was composed of a baton (handle) and nine cords.". These cords are up for dispute. I have heard rope, leather, metal chain, and few other materials. My thought are rope. Does anyone know the truth of the matter? What were these cords made of?

[Captain Robert Darksoul]

I would say rope prolly knotted with or WO/ bits and nasty pieces of scrap material knotted in

[captscurvy_nc]

What I have always been told is the one to be punished had to cut the rope himself, unthread it into the nine strands and tie knots in the end. It would then be given to the quartermaster and the remaining thick part of the rope was wrapped in cloth or leather. I have made them this way and I've always been pleased with the look

[RIPP Tar]

What I have always been told is the one to be punished had to cut the rope himself, unthread it into the nine strands and tie knots in the end. It would then be given to the quartermaster and the remaining thick part of the rope was wrapped in cloth or leather. I have made them this way and I've always been pleased with the look

I'ld like to see pictures if possible

[captscurvy_nc]

I'll post a pic later today

[LadyBrower]

What kind of rope would one use?

[Bright]

I belive it would be made of hemp.

Edited September 26, 2009 by Bright

[Littleneckhalfshell]

What kind of rope would one use?

Lady Brower, with your tag line "Hell Hath No Fury like the Wrath of a Woman... No that's it. She doesn't need a reason."

It does not settle well, that you are taking such a keen interest in this topic. 'What kind of rope would one use?" sounds

like the beginning of a plan. I shudder to think about it.

[Littleneckhalfshell]

I belive it would be made of hemp.

http://i25.tinypic.com/2nsnuab.jpg

Try this link for an image of all rope cat

Technically that is a braided cat not one made from a ropes end.

To make one the way it was described, you have to unlay the three strands that make up the rope and

whip the rope with twine at the point of the beginning of the full rope handle, so it does not unravel.

and then divide each strand into three groups of yarns, thus yielding the 9 tails, knotting the divided

yarns at their end. The bigger the rope, the thicker the tails can be made.

[Littleneckhalfshell]

As to size and length, I found the following online for the Napoleonic war period

"During the period of the Napoleonic wars, the naval cat's handle was made of rope about two feet (60 cm) long and about an inch (25 mm) in diameter, and was traditionally covered with red baize cloth. The "tails" were made of cord about a quarter inch (6 mm) in diameter and typically two feet long. A new cat was made for each flogging by a bosun's mate and kept in a red baize bag until use. In Trafalgar time, it was made by the condemned sailor during 24 hours in leg irons"

So the whole of it would be four feet long, if my math is correct.

[LadyBrower]

What kind of rope would one use?

Lady Brower, with your tag line "Hell Hath No Fury like the Wrath of a Woman... No that's it. She doesn't need a reason."

It does not settle well, that you are taking such a keen interest in this topic. 'What kind of rope would one use?" sounds

like the beginning of a plan. I shudder to think about it.

tehehe... I have no idea what you are talking about.

Bright, I like that rope one. it's purdy.... but it does look like it is separate ropes then knotted together. Do you happen to know how that handle was fashioned?

[Cap'n Black Jack]

I belive it would be made of hemp.

http://i25.tinypic.com/2nsnuab.jpg

Try this link for an image of all rope cat

That is exactly what I have been looking for! Thank you.

[Calico Jack]

"During the period of the Napoleonic wars, the naval cat's handle was made of rope about two feet (60 cm) long and about an inch (25 mm) in diameter, and was traditionally covered with red baize cloth. The "tails" were made of cord about a quarter inch (6 mm) in diameter and typically two feet long. A new cat was made for each flogging by a bosun's mate and kept in a red baize bag until use. In Trafalgar time, it was made by the condemned sailor during 24 hours in leg irons"

Hmm... Any source? The implication here is that the earlier cat was made of separate cords bound with a rope handle, and that the "make your own punishment out of a rope" cat was later in the wars. A quick glance at French & Indian war cats seem to imply [for example, in the Encyclopedia of the French & Indian War in North America, 1754-1763 by Donald I. Stoetzel] that during F&I, the cat may even have been made of leather strips by those ashore. Crime and punishment in the Royal Navy of the Seven Years' War, 1755-1763 by Markus Eder repeatedly discusses the number of lashes under the cat, but does not seem to give any indication of its construction - seemingly assuming that the reader already knows everything necessary. The Anatomy Department of the Edinburgh University Medical School owns one cat that is supposedly from the late eighteenth century, and is described by them as follows:

It is a round wooden baton 18 inches long, 1½ inches wide, and clad in a light green baize/woollen cloth. Each end has ¼ inch strips of the green cloth stitched around as a sort of decoration. There are, of course, the nine tails of a stoutish cord (not leather) each 24 inches long. The tails are knotted 3 times each at approximately ½ to 2 inches intervals, and the tips are bound with thread to prevent fraying (the "thieves cat" apparently had more knots). The first knot is 2 inches from the end of each strand. A faintly discernible strand of red cotton runs through each tail, occasionally visible, an example of the Admiralty's marking of rope to prevent theft.

http://www.hms.org.uk/nelsonsnavycat.htm

The NMM also have one, which they date to the early nineteenth century, but that gets WELL past the GAoP era desired. Their server also appears to be off-line at the moment.

The only reference to the cat in the 1757 Regulations and instructions relating to His Majesty's service at sea By Great Britain's Privy Council, Admiralty, simply mentions restricting the number of lashes with the cat to 12, "according to the ancient Practice of the sea," unless you get a proper Court-Martial for a greater number of lashes. No description of the cat itself, or how to make one.

[capn'rob]

As Boatswain of the Privateer Brig "Meka"II, I was ordered to prepare a proper Cat-o-Nine Tails in order to dole out needed floggings. The normal number being a dozen for run of the mill offences to "Moses' Law", being 40 less one.

I made the device using 1/8th inch, hard laid cotton twine. I used ten lengths of two fathom each, seized them about two feet in and worked them into a continuous crown sennit around a 1/2" dowell of about 6". At the short end I fixed a Star Knot. At the other I used a Wall and Crown. Once drawn tight, I cut one strand or "Tail". With the remaining ends I tied a few nasties. At the tip of each strand and at a few inches in there was either a figure eight or 2,3 or 4 turn Blood knot. With a liberal dose of Stokholm Tar she's quite the charmer! Unless at the wrong end, I suppose.