Ship's log

[Cap'n Pete Straw]

I presume someone else has thought of this before, but I have been mulling this idea around for a while and am going to give it a try.

I am making a personal ship's log. I picked up some VERY discounted leather-bound journals at the local book store (during an unsuccessful attempt to locate an issue of Pirates magazine). While a ledger-sized journal would be more authentic, it would be impractical to carry around.

Big deal, right? Wait... hear me out...

I am not making a fictionalized authentic looking artifact with coordinates, wind conditions, soundings, etc. Maybe, someday...

Instead, my Log will consist of chronological entries entailing every pirate-related event in which I have been actually physically involved over the past three years (and continue forward from here), only in Ship's Log form.

When I purchased those three flintlocks at a flea market? That's a log entry. I picked up an astrolabe on eBay? Log entry. Of course, it will be worded that I acquired the much-needed navigational device as plunder in a raid of some sort... not that I got it off the internet. Pirate Festival in Port Washington? That's three days stretched over several pages.

I am most interested in chronicling (through this fictionalized diary of sorts) the acquisition of major pirate gear and which pirate characters I have met. Have I met you? Then you're going to be in there... somehow. Sure, most all of this has been noted somewhere in the Pub, but I thought I would try to collect all of this personal information in one place. And make it fun to read.

I have more thoughts on the process involved (inventorying which "events" to chronicle, then writing drafts to make them sound "salty," etcetera), but I'll save that for later.

Anyway... thought I'd share.

[William Brand]

It isn't crazy or odd. Unless I too am odd.

I keep a Ship's log for the Watch Dog in longhand.

[Rumba Rue]

Hmmm, I should do that too. But keep it to things that are interesting and amusing to me here at the Pub (and there sure is a whole lot).

Yup I tried to find that Pirates magazine last night at Barnes and Noble, they've never heard of it, nor did they have in their computers.

[Dorian Lasseter]

We're all an odd lot, then...

I carry a small ledger, inkpot and brass nib wooden pen with me when I travel for work and go to events. I don't write in it as often as I should, and I try to write in period style.

It adds depth to the enjoyment of this hobby, in my opinion.

[Kidd Dread]

aye mate, not a new idea, but a common one amoung pyrates!

i like your log idea better than mine... me journal is in a 3-ring binder.

it has important dates like: when i became a pyrate, joined the pub, when i came upon my cutlass (and yes, the story is more exciting than the real event, when i came upon me repro-flintlock (eventually i will buy the real thing, can ye hear me gunner?),

and even how i came about me clothes, other weapons, and faires i've been to..... and dont say this too loud, but ye may be spendin' lots of time in that log, its more fun than most people!

[JohnnyTarr]

Weird no, just part of a select group. I was looking into doing a nice log book when I launch my boat.

[Cap'n Pete Straw]

aye mate, not a new idea, but a common one amoung pyrates!

i like your log idea better than mine... me journal is in a 3-ring binder.

it has important dates like: when i became a pyrate, joined the pub, when i came upon my cutlass (and yes, the story is more exciting than the real event, when i came upon me repro-flintlock (eventually i will buy the real thing, can ye hear me gunner?),

and even how i came about me clothes, other weapons, and faires i've been to..... and dont say this too loud, but ye may be spendin' lots of time in that log, its more fun than most people!

This was my intent as well. All the facts are essentially accurate, I simply skew them to not sound like they occured in landlocked Southern Wsiconsin, for example.

A suggestion for you: pick up a leather-bound journal and re-write your entries into it using pen and ink. From what you are saying, you have established what could be a First Draft of sorts.

I have actually not written a single entry into the journal yet -- I have jotted down pages and pages of notes regarding the various events, arranged them chronologically, then written (and revised twice) drafts of how I want it all worded. I also gathered photographs and images I intend on copying into the journal (sketches to accompany and illustrate some of the text).

[Kidd Dread]

...suggestion taken!

any ideas where i can pick up a "leather bound journal"?

now look what you started.... another hobby of sorts...

with dates, times, drawings.... a bit of stretched truth...

[work boots start changing into pyrate boots...]

i just took out the binder. yes, needs to be leather, done in ink,

maybe a fountain ink type pen...

[jeans, shirts changing to dark pyrate garb...]

what a cool idea... this is why i love the pub...

[grabs his baldric, cutlass, dagger, flintlock...]

lets keep in touch on this project, share ideas...

[then......]

..aye, capt straw! i see a new adventure in port.

ye be a man of ideas and that be good amoung pyrates at times.

i gots yer back if ye need a good quartermaster.

now to plunder a leather journal and ink pen....

[Cap'n Pete Straw]

I originally thought it would be stupid to even post this project in the Pub.... The fact that I have in any way inspired you to do it makes it all worth while.

The local Borders book store had an assortment of leather (and realistic-looking leather) bound lined journals on clearance sale. This was only a few days ago, so I recommend you look in your local store in case the product discontinuation is chain-wide. I opted (as mentioned) for the book-sized journal, instead of the more authentic ledger size because (1) it was on clearance sale and (2) I can actually carry this size around with me with minimal headache.

I would not recommend waiting for a sale -- at least see what is readily available at your local bookstore (most have a "Journal" section), and see what fits into your budget. If there is modern unwanted printing inside the front cover (i.e. an ISBN number and publisher information), this can be easily covered up. Let me know if you don't have your own ideas for this cosmetic treatment.

Of course, you could also create a ledger-sized book from scratch (I have done this before) but it is a most daunting task...

[Cap'n Pete Straw]

Posted too fast...

Most large chain bookstores (Borders, Barnes & Noble) also carry ink pens and jars of ink. These can be had cheaper at arts & crafts stores (Hobby Lobby, Michaels... sometimes the larger JoAnn Fabrics stores).

If you are inexperienced in using a pen, it might be wise to write each entry first on a separate sheet of paper, be happy with your lettering and technique, then copy meticulously into your journal. Also -- check the "bleed through" of your ink before deciding to write on BOTH sides of each page.

I had a big pirate event yesterday, and I just decided to include my pirate tattoo, and Mediterranean boat cruise (aboard a 100-foot wooden gullet) as pirate events.... must compose my newest notes.

[Kidd Dread]

I originally thought it would be stupid to even post this project in the Pub.... The fact that I have in any way inspired you to do it makes it all worth while.

very cool indeed!

as i mentioned, i had the idea of saving all my pyratical purchases

and adventures in a 3-ring binder, but your idea took it beyond

all that... ever see a pyrate with a 3-ring binder? not!

i am on vay-kay (vacation) this whole week...

didnt have enough cash to travel as originally planned.

however, i do have enough to go shopping and spend on some

supplies such as a journal, pen, ink and who knows what else

will become of piratical use...

i have been into graphics (i was a cartographer in the late 1970's

and used to illustrate professionally: black ink my specialty.

yes, i've designed tattoos and did my own blackjack flag, see avatar).

i've also worked in printing and have done various arts and crafts...

all these things should help me along,

although sharing ideas will be of benefit i'm sure.

very good point about "bleed through" as well !!!

you have given this more thought than i!

so next time you have another stupid idea, post it!

after note:

did you know that there is even a thread on the pub about

antiqueing paper (in order to make aged articles like ships articles, letters of marque, etc)?

[...drawing his cutlass and slicing the air upward...]

aye capt straw, this is why we call it the sweet life !!!

[CrazyCholeBlack]

Tis a fabulous idea Sirs. Might it be possible to share images of these logs whilst they are in progress? 'Tould be a fine inspiration for others to follow.

Chole

[Cap'n Pete Straw]

did you know that there is even a thread on the pub about

antiqueing paper (in order to make aged articles like ships articles, letters of marque, etc)?

Yes... did you read my posts in that thread?

As a matter of fact, that is what brings me here now. This is either a good idea or a bad idea...

Following my tried-and-true method of staining paper, I am actually treating every single page of the journal before writing in it. It is stitch-bound, and not glued (water soluble!), but the tea none-the-less settles into the binding and greatly weakens the paper there. If you try this, use great caution, as the wet paper will tear very easily until it dries out. Of course, the pages will all have to be thoroughly dried before I can start inking (applying ink on wet paper is a beautiful Japanese artform, but not at all conducive to writing legible log entries).

The pages, when dried, are uniquely stained and wrinkled (!!) which gives the journal a very, very used look, and greatly enhances it visual appeal, IMHO.

Again, I have yet to ink a single entry into my log. But my worked and re-worked (and re-worked!) draft text now has 39 separate log entries waiting for me to enter. Lots of work to be done.

And... YES. When this starts coming together, I will absolutely post some pictures of the more favorable pages.

[Capt. Sterling]

I really want to do this as well, but where to find the books?? Everything by me has lines printed in it already....

[Cap'n Pete Straw]

I am using a journal with lines... just very faint ones. That was what I was looking for, and that is what I purchased.

If you want one without lines, you might want to look for a professional artist's sketchbook, which is usually much more expensive, and would be found in a finer arts supply store.

I have seen hardcover (black fabric covered) blank books sold in Wicca supply stores (don't ask me what I was doing in these stores)... these are sold as "Book of Shadows" (also: look on eBay under this name). You cannot buy them sight unseen, as some have a possibly unwanted pentagram or other symbol on the cover (or perhaps you are piloting a Pirate ship through the Underworld, then this may be a bonus...).

[Kidd Dread]

capt. straw... what ye has started ladd (i like double-d's)!

okay, where to begin...

first, the journal...

i have looked: barnes and noble, borders (their sale was not nationwide),

pearl's arts and crafts (a super store, some pens and journals included),

ragshop and michael's (craft stores), even walmart! no jornals to my liking! okay, so it gets better... i get the idea that i can make one! still researching this one! lines on paper: i downloaded a writing page that has light grey lines (a pdf file from a pen site to be discussed further down). now you mention the antiqueing of the pages.... okay, i dont need a girlfriend anytime soon! i may end up staying home, becoming a hermit pyrate and making my own journal!!!

now, the pens....

i have lots of art equipment. went looking for my old dip-in-ink style speedball pen nibs. then i find this little box (treasure says i?).

yes indeed. i found my sister's (may she rest in peace) "esterbrook" fountain pens! the type you dip into an ink bottle and fill up using the little lever on the side! one works, the other needs a sac (what holds the ink) which is cracked due to age. so now i've researched and tracked down the pen-sacs. i'm ordering them and repairing pens that are collector's items from what i see (esterbrook.net)!

that's right, my sisters writing pens from the 1950's!

she would be all for this i'm sure and

her memory is something i treasure my friend...

so, it may be a while before i get one page done, but the adventure

will be worth traveling with you and all who want to come along!

as i mentioned before, i've been on vacation this week...

no money to travel kept me home and it has been well worth it!

thank you capt. straw !!!

ye be a fine pyrate surely worth ye weight in gold or at least rum!

[Cap'n Pete Straw]

Oh, Dear... I fear I have created a monster...

Update: I am unhappy with my progress in staining every page of the journal... It has loosened the binding far too much for my taste. The paper fibers expand upon absorption of the moisture and do not return to their original flatness when dried -- a desired effect -- but some of the pages have ripped themselves from the stitched binding in the absorption/expansion process -- quite undesired).

So on my way home yesterday, I went back to the same Border's and picked up another journal like the first one. I am not scrapping the stained one, however. It will be used somehow.

(By the way -- I can get these blank journals here, and can price them out for you ... but then you still need to get them from me, and the neccessary postage may render the sale price moot. Just tell me if you want to explore this possibility. And I do not know how long the sale will last.)

Capt. Sterling: Last night I learned Borders also sells unlined cloth-bound hardcover sketch books (like the "Book of Shadows" I previously mentioned). They have a variety of color covers and sizes. I picked up TWO of the larger size for myself. (Now I am expanding my vision... this may turn into multiple logs. I still want to create a book of sea maps and charts -- I cannot recall offhand the proper name for these.) These sketch journals are 8" x 11.25" (European "A4" size?). I did not take notes (so don't hold me to these colors), but colors included burgundy, dark blue, dark green.... I purchased both a black-bound and a goldenrod one. Once at home, I noticed that the black one has white pages, while the goldenrod one has ivory pages (sweet! ivory!).

I, too, have many years experience in using pen & ink. I plan to do most of my lettering with a C-5 nib; and the illustrations with crowquill and other fine drawing nibs. As far as ink is concerned, I will probably use Sable, not Black, which imparts a very old ("faded") look.

Kidd Ddreadd (rather a fan of Double-D's myself): I think using your late sister's pens can only add to the value of the project for yourself. In that light, I have a collection of my father's nibs (from the 50s & 60s) and will pull some appropriate ones out for this project.

Yesterday I gathered some of the photos on which I will base my illustrations, and have made multiple photocopies of them for ease of transfer (oh dear, this is another technique someone will want to learn... later.)

With the "new" journal in hand, I am really ready to begin...

[Cap'n Pete Straw]

Five pages done. Two illustrations thus far. The illustrations are slowing me down, as I have to completely stop the writing to do each one before continuing.

I second-guessed myself and thought that the illustrations were a bad idea (because they take so long), but then I took a break and came back to it a few hours later, and am really pleased with how it looks. I will continue as planned.

I am experiencing a slight amount of bleed-through of the ink from one page to the next, but I am still writing on both sides of each page; I feelit appears more authentic. I really think it is going well.

While I abandoned the idea of tea-staining every single page, I still did not like the starkness of unblemished paper. Instead, I tea-soaked just the edges of the pages, and also stressed the paper edges while still wet. This resulted in warped, foxed edges. The book no longer lies flat -- rather the entire book wants to warp (buckle) either foward or backward. And I am very happy with this "extrmely used" effect.

Press on... I have another instrument to sketch...

[Kidd Dread]

capt. straw,

i am thinking of scrapping the idea of making a journal!

instead i will try to find a journal type book with ivory pages.

i like the idea of edge-aging! an ingenious idea!

yes. you are the capt!

okay so i will re-read this thread for ideas...

does the book of shadows have lines?

(no, i didnt ask what you were doing in that store)

were the pages ivory?

ivory colored pages... yes, that is the way to go.

will you be posting any pics for the fans to see?

[Patrick Hand]

The book no longer lies flat -- rather the entire book wants to warp (buckle) either foward or backward.

If you like the warp cool... if not, couldn't you put the book under some other books to press it flat again?

I was going to sugest the other night, why not just tea stain the edges, sence that is where books get the most aged, but I think you already figured that out.....

[Cap'n Pete Straw]

Yes -- I was starting to only stain the edges, but got carried away. Thus I started over.

Pressing the book might flatten it out somewhat, but the warping is a desired effect. It is not extreme, and imparts the feel of a very used book -- which is what I want. You would be best ironing each and every page, and I don't want to bother trying to do that. Also, my "journal" has a soft leather cover, so the warp works out well.

The various "Book(s) of Shadows" I have seen were all stark white unlined pages, but you literally cannot judge a book by its cover. You are best shopping for a leather-bound or hard-cover "sketchbook." Borders carries them as a regular item in their stock (cloth-covered hardcover), with a large easily removeable "S" sticker on the cover (in the rack next to the "J" for Journal). As mentioned, one of the Borders sketchbooks had ivory pages; I did not look in the others.

Yes -- pictures to be posted, as soon as I get some better-looking pages under my belt.

[Cap'n Pete Straw]

Thought I would post additional information...

The journals I have purchased and cited are all in the $5.99 to $7.99 range. Just today I stopped in an artists supply store (shopping for nibs), and found a nice black (A4 size?) sketchbook with stark white pages priced at $18.99, on sale for $8.99. The hardcover has the appearance of leather (probably vinyl), not cloth.

I have finished sixteen pages (I honestly thought my material would fill more pages...) and am up to my 2006 events. I have to go back and ink in three "skipped" illustrations.

Anecdote: I was very unhappy with the first two pages, so here's what I did. I had left a previous page blank, so I copied my entries over onto this earlier page. Then I wrote some tantalizing words along the inside margin of the undesired page ("treasure," "gold doubloons," "thirty chests", etc.), then carefully ripped out the unwanted page while leaving some critical words behind. Now it looks like a crucial page has been removed ... but some of the vital information remains! Where is the missing information? Will someone come back for these bits? Oohh! Intriguing!

[Kidd Dread]

very good says i capt. straw!

i will be looking for journals again this weekend.

to another borders i go, i have a 25% coupon that my niece

gave me and i will see what they have. i am also looking for a

wicca (what were you doing there again?) store to see what types of books (of shadows) they have.

imagine if they ask: are you a warlock (is there such a thing in wicca) and i say: no me sweets, i be a pyrate, but not to worry, not looking to plunder here, just needs me a good journal!

anyways, sable ink? does it write in a sepia type color,

i'm not familiar with it.

..and keep up the info! ...and get out the digital camera!

[Cap'n Pete Straw]

Sable = Sepia = Brown

With a 25% coupon, you should find a good deal.

But be sure to ask about unlined sketchbooks if all you find in the bookstore are lined journals. You should find a wide selection.

For the record, you would not believe the great stuff you can find in a wicca store! If you are assembling, say, a collection of medicines from the GAoP, you can often obtain a hard-to-find herb or two in these stores. And crystal balls, and tarot cards, and phallus-shaped fertility candles, and incense, and crystals, and amulets....

[Rats]

Can't believe I missed this post!

I've been wanting to do this for my medical notes and such, for prop usage as well as notes for living history demos and such!

Great advice!

Rats