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Julian Reynolds
Location: United Kingdom Joined: 30 Mar 2008
Posts: 271
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 Posted: Sun 29 Apr, 2012 5:14 am Post subject: Boarding Pike |
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The WMA Chapter I run does a regular demonstration event here in the UK of boarding actions in partnership with HMS Trincomalee/Hartlepool Historic Quays. For the next event, I have spent my weekend making up a boarding pike (one of 3 I'm working on), obviously with a blunted tip.
It's a little over 7' long, with an ash haft, GDFB spear head and with 2mm mild steel langets I made & riveted myself. It's very solid and has a lot of presence, and just makes you want to poke it into a pesky pirate.....!
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Jon Wolfe
Location: Orlando, FL Joined: 01 Aug 2007
Posts: 56
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| Posted: Sun 29 Apr, 2012 2:06 pm Post subject: |
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Very nice! Did you close the socket on the GDFB spearhead? I can tell from you pics. Nice work nonetheless.
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Timo Nieminen
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| Posted: Sun 29 Apr, 2012 2:31 pm Post subject: Re: Boarding Pike |
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| Julian Reynolds wrote: | | The WMA Chapter I run does a regular demonstration event here in the UK of boarding actions in partnership with HMS Trincomalee/Hartlepool Historic Quays. |
Do you use boarding nets?
What did you do for the pike butt?
"In addition to being efficient, all pole arms were quite nice to look at." - Cherney Berg, A hideous history of weapons, Collier 1963.
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Julian Reynolds
Location: United Kingdom Joined: 30 Mar 2008
Posts: 271
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| Posted: Mon 30 Apr, 2012 12:17 pm Post subject: |
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Jon, the GDFB head was not 'open' - it has a butted 'seam' along the back of the socket, but it is closed up nice and tight and no wood is visible.
Timo, the butt is just plain and rounded like the tip of a baseball bat. I considered a steel cap or even a butt spike, but there is no great evidence for these, and the original pikes I have seen 'in the flesh' just had nothing on the end, like mine.
We are not permitted to clamber all over the HMS Trincomalee, as it's the oldest warship still afloat (1817) and they don't like us to mess it up, understandably. I was surprised to read that, having missed active service in the Napoleonic war, the Trinc spend most of its service life pestering the Americans (both natives and colonials). How times have changed....
Julian
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Timo Nieminen
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| Posted: Mon 30 Apr, 2012 1:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Julian Reynolds wrote: |
Timo, the butt is just plain and rounded like the tip of a baseball bat. I considered a steel cap or even a butt spike, but there is no great evidence for these, and the original pikes I have seen 'in the flesh' just had nothing on the end, like mine.
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Cap or spike would be no-go. A plain band about the bottom of the haft, with some butt sticking through would be OK. Wood at the very end, so as to not scratch the decks, but something around the haft to stop splitting. I don'
t know how common no butt mount was versus a butt mount.
Harvey Withers just sold a boarding pike with a butt piece, the fanciest butt piece I've ever seen on a boarding pike. It isn't very fancy.
"In addition to being efficient, all pole arms were quite nice to look at." - Cherney Berg, A hideous history of weapons, Collier 1963.
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Julian Reynolds
Location: United Kingdom Joined: 30 Mar 2008
Posts: 271
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| Posted: Mon 30 Apr, 2012 2:50 pm Post subject: |
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Timo, I was aiming more for 150+ years earlier than that one you linked to (1888 is almost 20thC!!!). The short, square (or even triangular) section head just doesn't do it for me. I prefer something more spear-like. I've seen (and handled) a few of these later 19thC pikes and they always feel short, skinny and insubstantial. They don't have much 'presence'.
Julian
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