What types of swords did pirates use?
Today we take a look at some antique swords from the Oakeshott Institute collection that all date from the period of the Golden Age of Piracy. These include a rapier from the early 17th century, a transitional rapier, a smallsword, a hanger, and a naval dirk. All of these swords were collected either by Ewart Oakeshott himself, or by the our sister organization, the Oakeshott Institute, following his death.
Пікірлер: 60
The spadroon and the hanger were my two faves. Thanks for sharing these beautiful antique pieces!
I think he's overlooked one thing about swords: these men would choose the appropriate weapon for the task at hand. Many pirates also attacked settlements all over the world. The best sword for land warfare wouldn't necessarily be the best sword for shipboard fighting. I would guess that the average sailor or pirate only had access to a cutlass and boarding axe, but others, especially the leaders, would have different weapons for either land or sea battle.
@armsarmorinc.4153
Жыл бұрын
good point, there is little info on this though some and a group with mixed weapons seems to have been favored.
@activelyrandom7652
10 ай бұрын
And the one thing pirates loved best was their flintlocks
@patrickkelly1070
18 күн бұрын
Those are some really beautiful examples.
Very cool. I would also go with the cutlass for sure, beast. I personally think that the chains on the guards were to help keep the weapon in hand rather than just being decorative or a guard. We can only speculate but it was probably a little bit of A little B. It looks fancy, helps you hold on and might keep your fingers on your hand. Lol. Love these videos more please
hangers and cutlasses also differed a lot in sizes
...if they could choose...I'm guessing the cutlass for hand protection & boarding actions/close quarter fighting, yes?
Watching the first part of this with the 46" rapier I couldn't help but visualize a comical scene wherein the captain bows to the fancy lady in front of him while the end of his sword suddenly lifts up the many skirts of the fancy lady behind him.
@armsarmorinc.4153
9 күн бұрын
thats called good blade control
I'd add hunting swords/cuttoes to this list for the regular sailors. Although some were fancy, most in the Americas by that time were tools first and weapons second. Kind of like a bowie knife in the centuries afterwards. I have an original, and it would be devastating in close quarters grappling distance especially.
people don't often use the best swords for the context they are in they just use any type of swords that are available to them
I always love seeing original pieces. What an incredible resource!
@armsarmorinc.4153
Жыл бұрын
We agree!
@killerkraut9179
Жыл бұрын
@@armsarmorinc.4153 Maybe i could be Wrong but the transitional rapier looks a bit like the sword from the Rob Roy movie what the Villian Archibald uses !
@armsarmorinc.4153
Жыл бұрын
@@killerkraut9179 it does
@killerkraut9179
Жыл бұрын
@@armsarmorinc.4153 I think Matt easton made a Video about that sword of Rob Roy i think he didnt find a answer maybe inform him we have a similar sword found !
Automatically & automagically, the word that instantly comes to mind, is : 【 *The CUTLASS !¡!* 】
SPADROOON!!
The chain on this midshipman's dress sword is copying the original middle feature often seen on sabers. The chain was added, so the rider could use a sword-knot. Useful thing, if your primary weapon is not a sword, but you want a very quick transition to your sidearm.
Excellent and very informative video. Thank you.
The cutlass was the perfect maritime sword and it just did the job. It was called the sword of the seas for good reason.
You guy's have a lot of toy's to play with!!! Awesome collection, enjoying these videos!
Baskethilt Backsword/Broadsword.
You’ve got some amazing rapiers in the Oakshott Institute, you guys have any plans to recreate them for purchase? The transitional one in particular. If not, would it be possible to commission it as a custom piece?
@armsarmorinc.4153
Жыл бұрын
It might be possible. We do want to do some of them in future but need to get our queue down to a reasonable turnaround before we can look at that.
@martinbuckley6400
Жыл бұрын
I’ll hopefully look out for them in the future, the two in this video are absolute beauts. Another question for anyone who could help, how common were hollow pommels during the 17th century? Larger pommels certainly have both aesthetic and functional qualities, but some seem very very hefty.
In the artworks of the time there where often depicted with complex hilted Dussack like swords !
Hangers, Hunting, & Half-Basket Swords! 🏴☠️
Great info for budding " Steve The Pirates " . Alonso de Sahagun ( Sahagun a beautiful town in Leon Northern Pain ) is the Gucci of the late 16th C , much admired copied and Sahagum or Sahagun mark often used as a quality mark as well as a cover for cheap blades , so buyer beware . The hanger was primarily a hunting weapon often hung from the saddle to deliver the coup fairly safely to large game like stags , wolves ( hunted to extinction in England )that could cause injury when shot by bow or musket . A handy length with a broad blade designed to fatally damage organs in large animals when thrust and generally curved for slashing and clearing undergrowth to recover the kill , the finest pieces owned by the gentry for hunting . Hounslow produced many thousand munition quality for use in the Civil Wars and no doubt many of these would have accompanied their users after this conflict into a career of piracy in the second half of the 17th C . Birmingham also produced swords of lower quality in steel and finish and gave rise to the phrase " Brumigham Blade " describing anything of poor quality . Probably the most practical sword of any devised it still found use in England as the sword used by constables in the 19th C . Perhaps the most useful single source for describing swords in use in this period is Randall Holmes " Academie of Armourie " c. 1680 which refers to and pictures the Cutlash , Cuttoo etc of the period . Easy and cheap to replicate and first choice for any " Steve ".
Perhaps it would be better to say that a hangar is a group of swords. In other words it could be said all cutlasses are hangars, but not all hangars are cutlasses. Cutlasses might be similar to other hangers, but sabers would also be included in what hangars are.
@armsarmorinc.4153
6 ай бұрын
Yes there are often gray areas in terminology of swords as the original users could often use different terms for them and these adjusted over time due to fashion and dictate as humans do with their tools. :-)
Havent watched the video yet, but love the topic already... lol
BEAUTIFUL!
@armsarmorinc.4153
Жыл бұрын
Thank you! Cheers!
God one but i miss the Cutlass !
At 6:25 you claim that all the fighting during the golden age of piracy occurred shipboard. However, a significant degree of armed combat during the time occurred on land eg.,. Henry Morgan's infamous sacking of Panama where the majority of fighting took place on land.
imagine if devil fruits existed back then😂
my better question is when cutlass BECOMES a word for a sword used on a ship in parlance
I got 3 rare swords for your collection
They basically used what they liked and could steal.
Are images of these pieces on your site?
@armsarmorinc.4153
Жыл бұрын
The originals we have 3D interactive models here www.patreon.com/oakeshott some of the custom ones maybe in our custom section on the website, hoping to get more up soon.
@Jim58223
Жыл бұрын
@@armsarmorinc.4153 thank you
We have a sword that was found in florida we think is the last or second to last sword pictured here. It still has a maker's mark on it! I even posted a short about it recently. Any way you could help my dad figure out anything about the sword?
@sailingwithyoshi
5 ай бұрын
kzread.infoP7j-8xONNKM?si=iDahfJTQknECT34I
@sailingwithyoshi
5 ай бұрын
That's the sword/\/\/\
@armsarmorinc.4153
5 ай бұрын
hmmm link below did not work
@sailingwithyoshi
5 ай бұрын
@@armsarmorinc.4153 kzread.infoP7j-8xONNKM?si=YhllQR4UGg_wp1Cr
@sailingwithyoshi
5 ай бұрын
@armsarmorinc.4153 you got an email address?? I can send some pictures to you!
That long sword, would we call that a war rapier? Ala Saviolo
@armsarmorinc.4153
Жыл бұрын
Hmm not sure I think they called them all rapiers or swords to their preference and they would choose something appropriate per the situation. We come up with lots of names like that but they seldom created such categories.
🤠👍
Espada ropera: translates more to dressing sword...
cutlass they use
海賊🏴☠️の剣🗡️ですか…俺も工作で作ろうかな？
@armsarmorinc.4153
3 ай бұрын
ok, cool if you have the means.
Why couldn't the 11 year old get into the pirate movie? It was rated ARRR(R)🏴☠️🦜