difference between naval and pirate cutlass?

Sailors tend to be gentlemen and take pride in their looks, whereas pirates tend to be short, fat slobs ?

Well I did say tend to be.

As far as I'm aware, there was no such thing as a "pirate cutlass." Pirates didn't really have their equipment custom-made, they used the same weapons as everyone else. There wouldn't be a difference between their swords and the ones used by regular sailors.

Actually, now that I think about it, saying there's such a thing as a specific "pirate sword" is just as incorrect as saying there's a specific "ninja sword." Which is a kinda funny thought.



I'd run her through with my cutlass!

I'd let her hoist my Jolly Roger!

She could commandeer my dinghy any day!

I'd plunder her hidden treasure!

I'd ready my cannon for her broadside!

I'd, er... Yeah, I'm out of pirate innuendo now.

If its of any interest, I did a review of the Windlass 'Pirate companion sword' a while back- /index.cgi?board=swordreviews&action=display&thread=10078&page=1#162778
Its a version of a French naval cutlass, introduced in 1833, which was widely copied (including the US 1861 model). I've actually got two now, since I'm planning on fabricating a new guard for one, to use left handed. They're sweet little swords! Great blades!

Most Windlass names and descriptions are fairly fanciful. As others have noted, real pirates used whatever weapons were to hand, and so weren't distinguishable from military or civilian weaponry of the time. Fictional pirates, of course, can be armed in much more exotic and exciting ways.. This particular sword-style is over a century past the 'golden age'of piracy. But accompanied by a tricorn, eyepatch and puffy shirt, they still look pretty cool! ;D


Cheers

Marc E

Seize her booty?
Plunder her baubles?
Uncover her chest of valuables?
Sail her uncharted waters?

I mean I didn't even have to try hard for those.

As Anders/Swashbuckler said, the distinction between 'Naval' and 'pirate' is much like that between 'Samurai' and 'ninja.'

Naval personnel and Samurai were open and honored members of society while pirates and ninja were dishonorable social outcasts shunned by polite society.

No one in feudal Japan would have openly declared themselves to have been ninja any more than any sane person would have walked up to an officer of the Royal Navy and declared himself a pirate in the eighteenth century.

The cutlasses used by pirates were, by and large, naval cutlasses. They were not emblazoned with skulls and crossbones.

The designation of a "pirate's cutlass" is merely a modern marketing ploy through which sales of weapons of varying degrees of quality may be sold to persons wishing to display motifs that would have been disguised or hidden in the period(s) for which they are supposed to have belonged.

Bear in mind that piracy is as old as any other seafaring activity; there has been piracy as long as there has been ANY type of commerce at sea. The popular notion of piracy in the 'new world' is a small piece of the big picture.

For a working cutlass that would be suitable for nearly any post-renaissance naval or piratical seafaring person, I recommend the U.S. naval or Coastie cutlass @ www.militarysabers.com/navy-nco-cutlass.html

harpoon her kraken?