Pirate Swords

[capnwilliam]

Aye, Zorq; any info re dimensions, or price?

Capt. William

[El Pirata]

Here

This sword was the swashbuckler's favorite

The blade of this sword is forged of carbon steel and is 26 1/2 inches long, the perfect length for quick swordplay.

The overal length of this pirate sword is 32 inches. A blood groove runs 3/4 of the sword's length. This sword os very authentic, perfect for reenactments and stage costumes.

The handguard of this sword is made out of a single piece of steel that flares out to over 4 inches. This sword is fun to hold.

You must be 18 years of age or older to purchase this pirate sword.

Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days.

Pirate Cutlass Sword MedWe447Retail Price: $69.00Our Price: $57.00

[Hawkyns]

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

Hawkyns

[Dorian Lasseter]

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

Hawkyns

Aye Master Hawkyns,

That looks ta be th' same as I carry, on'y problem I had with it... The guard at the back edge o' th' blade, it comes to a wicked point, so I did some smithy work and bent it forwards, towards th' tip o' th' blade, so now it dunna jab or slice inta yer wrist durin' swordplay.

Also tha's a great price, even with shipping it's great!

Hell, I may just pick up another, or two....

[Zorg]

The "Swashbuckler's Favorite" really is a nice piece. Ive seen it on some sites for as little as $49. The blade is well made, obviously hammered, and end heavy like some of the grossemesser or falshion type swords. Its a vicious piece, not as fast as some of the later cuttoes, but it would make short work of a rapier or one o them nancy boy court swords.

The hilt is apparently teak or rosewood, and it has a nice, workmanlike feel to it. The only drawbacks are the guard, which as our shipmate stated afore, comes to a right vicious point above the thumb. I also did some creative metalbending, working th' point inta a spiral ta keeps from gouging meself. During a recent faire, I had a leathersmith craft me a monsterous sheath fer the thing, and am werking on a baldrick.

Serious piece o metal this, and grand for the price. Unlike a lot of the cutlass Ive seen in the price range, it WILL take an edge, and one you can shave with.

['Salem Bob']

Hey All-

Have any of you bought one of Loyalist armes cutlass'

and used it for stage fighting? I'm interested in their

Dutch cutlass and was wondering how well they held

up to stage use. They offer their cutlass' for around

$80 to $125 scabbards included.

Thanks

Redhand

Ahoy Redhand,

I haven't read all 12 pages of the topic, but 'fairly be ye warned sez I', the Loyalist "Dutch 17th century" cutlass is a model 1801 French cutlass - it is identical to the "French cutlass" they offer. It is a very good cutlass and an excelent bargain.

So if it is an early 19th century cutlass you are after, then that is for you. A Dutch cutlass of the 17th century would either have a shell guard (or double shell), or be a brass heavy cast hilt with a 'dog headed' monster with scales on the grip. See Gilkersons "Boarders Away -with Steel" for an easily obtainable overview of the subject.

[Isabella]

I got a nice cutlass out at the indoor flea market for 50.00. It's a good "costume" sword. We needed to remake the sheath, but it was a good buy. Nice face cracker of a hilt, neat blade, heavy for it's cost. I'm going to rewarp the hilt with good leather, and good brass wire, but for the 50.00 it was a good buy.

Izzy

P.S. I've got photos, but my camera isn't wanting to give them up. I'll post later.

[Firethorn]

Well I did a search and came across this thread, and after reading the whole thing along with months of shopping around for a sword, I finally came across a deal on ebay I couldn't pass up.

56 bucks with shipping, I'll let you know how it is when it arrives, but I just wanted to share my good news!

[Capt Grey]

Arrrrr, Firethorn! That be a mighty fine piece o'swag ye got there.

Let us knows how it be in person.

I've bought several costume knives off e-Bay; very cheap but they served their purpose.

[the Royaliste]

Hey All-

Have any of you bought one of Loyalist armes cutlass'

and used it for stage fighting? I'm interested in their

Dutch cutlass and was wondering how well they held

up to stage use. They offer their cutlass' for around

$80 to $125 scabbards included.

Thanks

Redhand

Ahoy Redhand,

I haven't read all 12 pages of the topic, but 'fairly be ye warned sez I', the Loyalist "Dutch 17th century" cutlass is a model 1801 French cutlass - it is identical to the "French cutlass" they offer. It is a very good cutlass and an excelent bargain.

So if it is an early 19th century cutlass you are after, then that is for you. A Dutch cutlass of the 17th century would either have a shell guard (or double shell), or be a brass heavy cast hilt with a 'dog headed' monster with scales on the grip. See Gilkersons "Boarders Away -with Steel" for an easily obtainable overview of the subject.

Many 'Dutch' cutlass' were walloons, disimilar to the French cutlass. Loyalist stuff looks as though it will hold up to light duty stage combat, but they are 'light' compared to those we swing around. I've seen their 'colonial' style figure eight, and it's a nice piece, dunno 'bout the French model 1832, as my French one be original, not repro, and it's super heavy....I've switched to a variation of a u.s. model 1917 for general 'bangin' around...my thoughts, just passin' 'em on....

[Firethorn]

My sword arrived today and I would say, with my limited knowledge of swords, that this seems to be a very well built replica. It is much heavier than I expected and the basket is pretty hefty, my hand easily fits inside.

I also picked up one of those flintlocks.

[Hawkyns]

My sword arrived today and I would say, with my limited knowledge of swords, that this seems to be a very well built replica. It is much heavier than I expected and the basket is pretty hefty, my hand easily fits inside.

I also picked up one of those flintlocks.

Looking over the catalogues (Wallace Collection, Tower Armouries, York Castle Museum among others) the average weight of the blades seems to be in the 31b 12oz range. However, many of those hilts are a bit on the small size for the average 21st C hand. I've held a bunch of originals and that bears me out. I can barely get my hand into most of these and I take a medium to large men's glove, Many repros have been sized up even up to 25% above original. That would bring weight up to around 4lb 8oz if we assume an even weight to size ratio.

So yeah, they are heavy. My Irish hilt (16th c version of the 18th c Scots broadsword) weighs just under 5 pounds but that has a heavier than normal blade since it is not sharpened and has a flat profile involving extra steel. After about 20 minutes fighting with it my arm is pretty much done. I frequently have to wear a leather wrist brace to stop the wrist straining.

Good luck with it! It's a pretty piece.

Hawkyns

[Firethorn]

Thanks Mister Hawkyns, perhaps you can recommend to me what products would be best for sword maintenance.

[Hawkyns]

For the leather, I prefer liquid mink oil or good harness oil. I recently acquired some bear oil and I'm evaluating that now.

For the metal, I've used Break Free for years on both swords and firearms. Got turned on to the stuff by a Spec Forces firearms instructor years ago and never found anything better.

To remove specs of surface rust (all too common when living outside or in salt air) I use 3M green polishing cloth.

Hawkyns

[Cap'n Pete Straw]

WD40 is some of the greatest stuff ever invented when it comes to metal care. However, it can remove surface printing (also the mystical runes spelling "PAKISTAN" on some of the less expensive models!).

Picked myself up a Civil War naval sword ($50) which, to the unititiated, appears rather pirate-y.

Regarding other blades on eBay, I have made a decent haul picking up replica (not United Cutlery) versions of virtually all the Lord of the Rings swords. Got some pretty good deals -- but they are NOT meant for rough blade-to-blade play... Be Warned Ye Wielders of Low (=No) Carbon Steel Blades!

[Patrick Hand]

hummmm.... wondering about the inexpensive Claymore .........

is the blade stainless steel? and what is the tang like?

I'm pondering the idea of grinding a bar of stainless into the blade that I want ( I don't have the facilitys to temper a blade, so stainless will have to do......) I'm only interested in the blade.... I will make my own "fittings"

will have to think about this a bit more.......

[Cascabel]

hummmm.... wondering about the inexpensive Claymore .........

is the blade stainless steel? and what is the tang like?

I'm pondering the idea of grinding a bar of stainless into the blade that I want ( I don't have the facilitys to temper a blade, so stainless will have to do......) I'm only interested in the blade.... I will make my own "fittings"

will have to think about this a bit more.......

Be aware when you examine material especially in scrapyards (an excellent source, by the way), that there are many different stainless steel alloys. Some are very springy and useful for sword blades, and some are very soft, and have no "springyness" at all and when bent will stay that way until you straighten them. It would be a shame to do a lot of work making a good looking blade only to find that it bends easily.

Give any prospective pieces a "flex" to see if they are springy enough before you purchase. Also keep in mind that some alloys are more "stainless" than others, although rust is not a problem under most conditions. If you know someone that works on aircraft, the "1/2 hard" temper is a good choice if they can get you a piece. It will be quite springy and strong.

>>>> Cascabel

[the Royaliste]

I really don't 'get' the affinity for stainless blades...tempered steel seems to have worked for centuries, and it be easier to work if you are truely 'makin' a sword or dagger.....Just my opinion, no debate 'ere......

[Hawkyns]

I'll agree with Gary here. Stainless is way too hard to sharpen, and if you are working on grinding or draw filing from stock, be prepared for a LOT of work.

What's the point? A properly cared for blade won't rust and preventing rust is the only reason I can think of to choose stainless. Good tool steel is best for blades. My best knives are forged and ground from old files. For longer blades, check out old truck springs.

Hawkyns

[Animal]

Greetings all. Just a note to say that I am going to be making inexpensive cutlasses and offering them for sail at PIP next year. They are based of my sword that I've had for over 20 years now. They are bangers that your can fight with and won't have to worry avout messing up. They can be left sharp or the edge filed down. The first 6 I already have spoken for are for training purposes in live steel fighting. I'll post a pic of my sword when I get it back from PIP via UPS.

Animal

Master At Arms - Pirates Of The Coast

[Patrick Hand]

Yah... I know that stainless is a bugger to file into shape...... but I don't know how to temper a blade....

There is a chapter in one of the "books of Buckskinning" on tempering a file ground knife...... but without looking it up, it required placing the finished blade on a chunk of red hot iron, and quenching it when it got the right color......

Capt. Gary.,... is there a better or eaiser way to do it.....?

[the Royaliste]

Yah... I know that stainless is a bugger to file into shape...... but I don't know how to temper a blade....

There is a chapter in one of the "books of Buckskinning" on tempering a file ground knife...... but without looking it up, it required placing the finished blade on a chunk of red hot iron, and quenching it when it got the right color......

Capt. Gary.,... is there a better or eaiser way to do it.....?

There are lotsa 'favorite' techniques, but without commentary on particular application, you first need to heat material to cherry red, then quench, then reheat; immerse in something very high in carbon, and quench again. This path leads to very hardened steel, needing another heating to bring to temper...I do frizzens 4 times or more for example...

(just ordered up a new rifle kit from 'Track'..)

[Capt.mino]

Estimado Capitan Flint;

If you are looking for a nice, real feeling cutlass at a very good price, please head your ship to the web site of:

Atlanta cutlery .com

There you will find in swords - european ..a nice companion for your adventures.

[Patrick Hand]

I finaly got around to looking up the chapter in "The Book Of Buckskinning IV " on tempering a knife blade....

After rough forging and "packing" the edge... then annealing... to temper the blade they used a heavy red hot iron block to transfer the heat to the blade...

I would be a big production.... to heat a block long enough for a cutlass.... but it might be worth the effort..... I will have to do some more research....

I'm not quite satisfied with the blade I have now, and want to get/make something better..... if I do buy something, I will get it just for the blade.... make my own handguard and fittings....

[Charity]

YOOHOO i'm allowed to have one!!!

OK, I know you guys don't speak Dutch but THIS bit of justice info about weapons:

Bajonetten, degens, sabels, enz. zijn wapens die vallen onder categorie IV van de wet. Ze mogen vrij voorhanden worden gehouden, maar niet gedragen worden op de openbare weg (zie ook ‘opbergen van wapens’).

says wapens such as bajonettes, swords etc may be kept freely but nót worn on public roads, so we'd not be able to take them to the POTC premiere or something, but atleast the having of it is allowed.

NOT allowed is still, old fire wapons, so no flintlock pistols etc, not even old ones.

A few years back they made a big show of it on tv, showing everyone had to hand in any kind of cutting or shooting wapon because of a new law, thank god i've searched into it...

Me's happy! :)