[Steve Grisetti]

[Garrett Hazen]

yes, i have noticed that it is a long wait. as a matter of fact i emailed kyle from ODF and he said the waiting list is backed up two years. i couldnt even place an order...but like you said, he looks like he does good products, and makes his products well made....

[Joe Fults]

Late to this, but I recently got to see this one in person. Its nice. Really feels like it would clean a room.

http://www.ironagearmoury.com/pirates_cutlass.htm

[Adam Simmonds]

hi guys,

Shae made a good point as too the natural diversity in pirate weapons and goods acquired due to the nature of their, how should we say, acquisitional techniques?

I think that the image of a pirate as a big brute of a man with a wooden leg, filthy beard and murderous looking cutlass is probably as much a hollywood 'reality' as it is historically accurate.

i read a national geographic recently about an excavation of a pirate ship (forget the name - Captain Bellingham's ship, I believe) found in the atlantic off of the US. the archaeologists were surprised at the number of fancy accoutrements and combs and evidence of fine clothes etc that they found, and there is an image of the pirate notso much as unwashed and dull witted villians but rather as rebellious and freedom seeking men who were eager too escape the tyrranies of monarchical europe and live egalitarian and free lives, albeit wild and dangerous ones, at sea.

at this time, only the upper class and wealthy were able to dress fancy - and the article suggested that these rebels took to dressing in fineries pillaged from the wealthy ships they sacked, as a way of affirming and enjoying their rebellious, exotic and free status.

in the early years of the spanish and english colonialisation of the america's, spanish and english ships supplied their own colonies exclusively, charging high rates for the goods which could only be purchased through themselves.
pirates sacked these ships, and soldthe goods on to the local communities at slashed prices - and were consequently often viewed as local heroes rebelling against the repressive greed of the imperial forces.

in numerous reports from the carribean and Gulf of mexico, when pirates were brought before a civilian jury by the local representatives of the Crown, convictions were rare and difficult to get, precisely because the locals sympathised more with these men then with their persecutors, the Crown forces.

they also sacked numerous slave ships, apparently the slaves were usually given the option of joining the crew as equal members or that of being set ashore. many joined the crews as equals as they had little hope of escape from capture by the british or spanish if set ashore.

in an age of severe repression and selfish greed of Imperial interests, some pirate crews were perhaps examples of a rough democratic and freedom loving spirit which characterised aspects of the early pioneering communities around the world.

basically, my point is that pirates weren't necessarily just the selfish, brutal villians we know from popular culture hacking up victims with rusty blades - I personally find the idea of the 'gentleman pirate' (as captain Bellingham was described in the National geographic i read), a rebellious, freedom loving individual dressed in stolen fineries and fingering a fine hilted blade taken from a spanish captain to be much more appealing then the greedy brutes of popular culture.

no doubt there were all sort, as piracy has been around for thousands of years, and continues to this day. however, the period i have been refereing to is that of your period of interest, 1600 - 1700's

in a vaguely related topic, i read somewhere, and this was the same across a couple sources, that the term 'viking' orginally meant something like 'pirating' - and that young men of scandinavia would get in a ship and go 'a viking' down south, in search of wealth and military honour.

this was also similar in greece, where young men would go off to seek wealth and renown by plundering other ships and societies.

cheers, adam

[Mikko Kuusirati]

Perhaps a bit late, but MRL is now offering this, and I thought it might be of interest. It has antiqued brass parts as default: at the least it gives you a hint of what some of these "too fancy" ones would look like after a bit of a aging.

[Steve Grisetti]

[Matthew Amt]

Huh, from the photo that looks a lot like a British 1742-pattern Infantry Hanger (if it were properly polished, that is!). Not impossible for a pirate to be using, I guess.

Matthew

[Garrett Hazen]

well, i finally decided that this MRL is i good looking sword and is somewhat unexpensive. i bought it and it should be coming in soon. i thought i would go sort of cheap, yet good quality, and from what i see, its good quality enough for me. what do you guys think?
its at: http://www.museumreplicas.com/webstore/eCat/p...anger.aspx

[Allen Andrews]

More important question will be what do YOU think after you've had a chance to check it out Once you get it and have a chance to swing it around a bit, please let me know your impressions!

[Steve Grisetti]

[Garrett Hazen]

well, i am stupid with computers, but it came yesterday, and truly it was all I needed for good pleasure. when i say i am stupid with computers, i mean i dont know how to post the pictures. i guess i will try later.

anyways, the guard and hilt are very strong and durable. the blade is hard and durable, and quite flexible at that, i bent it to see for myself. i came unsharpened, so i will have to find time to sharpen it, (but i am fine right now), but the sword really fits my taste, and as you will notice, it is cheap

[Chad Arnow]

[Garrett Hazen]

alright, its been over a year, but perhaps I will post those pictures of the MRL pirate cutlass i bought anyways. For such a cheap sword, only around 160$, I have been happy with it. Being made by Windlass Steelcrafts, its not of extreme high quality, but for the money it was worth for me, seeing how I dont have money for much better as it is. I have the feeling that if i sparred with it i would probably not be doing myself a favor as it is no martial arts weapon, but it has a mean tip, so if some jerk broke into my house i could easily run him through. Either way, its a nice little cheap weapon that looks relatively authentic, I mean, I doubt any pirate would run around with a sword that had the jolly roger randomly printed in the hilt. Because that would be lame, and it wouldn't have happened. End of story. Here are some pictures:

Sword sheathed in a cheap leather scabbard with a baldric I picked up at a renaissance faire:
[/img]

Sword and scabbard:

[Garrett Hazen]

apparently that didnt work. this is very frustrating.

[Chad Arnow]

[Garrett Hazen]

Here are the pictures. Sometimes one can be relatively incompetent. Sorry Chad, and thanks for your help!

[Kelly Powell]

While I do love a good bronze basket hilt....I have a secret longing for those cool clamshell side gaurds....I wish more places would offer a lefty version.....but sometimes altering them for lefty use yourself gives them a unique look and would not be out of place for a pirate using what he could get and making it work for him.

[Christopher Gregg]

For those still interested, MRL still offers their Dutch Cutlass with a single clamshell guard. It's not too bad, especially if you strip down the shiny finish on the wooden grip and dull it down. I've heard that the guard may also need to be bent outwards a bit to accomodate larger hands.

BTW, for any of you in the Midwest, the Pirates of Paynetown pirate reenactment at Lake Monroe, IN, is coming up in early August. Go to Piratesofpaynetown.org for more info.

Avast, me hearties!

[Shahril Dzulkifli]

You are absolutely right, Garrett.
That pirate sword of yours can also be used to take care of jerks (or even thieves) that break into your house.

[Sjouke de Jong]

Hallo,

I have a question regarding the “Pirate's Companion Sword” you noted as a reasonable Pirate Sword.



You see when a blade is given the title Pirate Sword/Cutlass/Hanger I assume It’s a replica of a Cutlass from the “Golden Age of Piracy” witch was from 1680-1725

The thing is, the Pirate’s Companion Sword looks suspiciously much like an 19th century Hanger, especially looking at the Handle/Guard of the sword.

My question is: is the Pirate’s Companion Sword really a Pirate sword? One that was used in the late 17th and early 18th century?

Yours sincerely,

Sjouke de Jong