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Cutlass

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For other uses, see Cutlass (disambiguation)
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"Pistols and cutlasses, men! Koehler, Twigg, to the powder magazine! And the rest of you, bring me that medallion!"
―Hector Barbossa[src]

A cutlass or short sword was a short, broad, slashing sword or sabre, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket-shaped guard. Its blade was usually 70 to 80 centimetres in length and ca. 5 centimetres in width. Cutlasses were a common naval weapon during the golden age of piracy, often used by sailors and pirates as well as the standard weapon of enlisted personnel, specifically of the British Royal Navy and Royal Marines.

History[]

"This here's a dark place. You'll need more than that cutlass if you're to get out of here with your skin."
―Hector Barbossa to a pirate[src]

Reports indicate that the weapon was used as early as 1667 by French Pirate François l'Ollonais but there is no evidence that it was invented by the pirates. Cutlasses were favoured by sailors due to their small size and ease of use; the weapon was commonly used for cutting ropes, canvas and wood, and in battle for close quarter combat and boarding actions. Another advantage to the cutlass was its simplicity of use: it required less training than the rapier or small sword, and was more effective as a combat weapon than the full-sized sword. The cutlass was used primarily for hacking and slashing, but many had a double-edged point that would allow for both cutting and thrusting. Normally a fighter used only one cutlass and kept the other hand (if he had one) free or held a pistol in it, but it was also possible to fight with two cutlasses as Elizabeth Swann did during the battle of Isla Cruces. Some pirates used hangers or sabres instead of cutlasses, Chinese pirates used the dao.

Notable cutlasses[]

Appearances[]

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Notes and references[]

  1. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom, Chapter One: Fair Winds and Black Ships
  2. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide, pp. 10-11: "Joshamee Gibbs"
  3. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (junior novelization) (Special Edition), p. 149
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