19 Weapons for Pirates (from Cutlasses to Cannons)

Learn which weapons made pirates like Blackbeard so infamous

Co-authored by Elaine Heredia, BA

Last Updated: June 4, 2026 Fact Checked

Arrgh and avast, me hearties (did pirates even say things like that?), and get ready for a voyage back in time! We're going all the way back to the Golden Age of Piracy (1650-1726), when swashbuckling thieves roamed the seas and captured our imaginations for eternity. If you're wondering what kind of weapons real-life buccaneers carried, you've come to the right place! Keep reading to discover 19 pirate weapons, from cutlasses and cannons to chain shots and caltrops (yo ho!).

What weapons did pirates use?

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An illustration of 19 weapons used by pirates in the Golden Age of Piracy.

Pirates wielded a variety of weapons, including blades like the cutlass and the dirk, and firearms like the musket and the pistol. They also used whatever was handy, such as belaying pins from the rigging and marlin spikes, which were used in rope-making. They also used cannons and homemade grenades.

1

Cutlass

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A cutlass was a single-edged saber with a half-basket crossguard. If someone were to ask you which weapon speaks "pirate" the most, you would probably think of the cutlass. This saber, with its sharp single edge and its half-basket crossguard, was carried by any pirate who could afford it. It was not an elegant weapon, but it was excellent at hacking and slashing enemies in close quarters. It was also multi-purpose: it could just as easily cut through sails and rigging as it could through human flesh.^{[1]
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- Speaking of "speaking pirate," want to sound like one yourself? Our article "100+ Classic Pirate Sayings to Help You Talk Like a Pirate" is a great place to start!

2

Arquebus

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This long-barreled firearm looks like a pistol and a musket fused together. One of the earliest firearms pirates used in the 16th century was the arquebus. It looked like a cross between a pistol and a musket: the handle was short and curved, like a pistol's, but the barrel was long and skinny. It had a bad recoil, meaning it jumped back when fired. To compensate for this, pirates would often hook the firearm to the wall to help them aim better.^{[2]
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- Needless to say, when the musket became popular in the 17th century, pirates (and everyone else) jumped ship from the arquebus to this more stable weapon.
- Did you know? Arquebuses and blunderbusses were matchlock weapons. They were fired by lighting a slow match attached to a breach, or an opening, in the top of the firearm. The flame would touch off the gunpowder in the barrel, causing the ball or lead shot to explode out.

3

Blunderbuss

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The blunderbuss was an interesting firearm that didn't have much utility at long ranges, like the musket. But up close, it was deadly. The blunderbuss had a wide-mouth barrel that pirates could fill with shot, balls, and other small metal objects. When fired, the metal would disperse and could wound or take down multiple enemies at once. Like the arquebus, though, the recoil on the blunderbuss was brutal. A pirate could walk (or crawl) away from a shipboard confrontation with a couple of broken ribs—not from his enemies, but from his own weapon!^{[3]
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4

Musket

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Muskets replaced arquebuses and were more accurate firearms. The stable and accurate musket was a welcome change from the finicky arquebus. With a few well-placed shots, a pirate could take out the enemy crew's leaders without leaving his ship. The only downside was the reload time. A flintlock system made firing faster by lighting the gunpowder with a flint spark. But the gunpowder still had to be loaded along with the musket ball.^{[4]
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- Pirates, ingenious as they were, found a way to make reloading their muskets more efficient. They wore bandoliers that had enough pockets to hold up to 12 charges. In each charge was a wad with gunpowder and a ball or shot, which they would stuff into the musket before pulling the trigger. This was much faster than pouring the gunpowder and ball into the musket separately.

5

Pistol

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A pistol was a small firearm that pirates could usually only fire once per battle. A pistol was a prized weapon on board a pirate ship. Captain Edward Teach, AKA Blackbeard, was known for carrying up to 6 at a time! The reason for so many pistols? You could only fire it once. In the heat of close battle, it was almost impossible for a pirate to reload his pistol quickly enough before he was stabbed by an enemy. Carrying multiple pistols at once in your belt or sash solved this problem.^{[5]
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- What else did pirates wear besides belts and sashes? Find out in the wikiHow article, "How to Dress Like a Pirate"!

6

Cannon

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Cannons shot solid balls of iron at ships up to 500 ft (150 m) away. To fire a cannon, pirates would fill the bottom of the barrel with gunpowder, then top it with a cannonball. They would then light a match at the back of the cannon. The flame would ignite the gunpowder and blow the cannon out of the barrel. Cannons were great for blowing holes in ships, but that could let in seawater and cause the vessel to sink.^{[6]
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- Most pirates wanted the loot the ship carried, so they used cannons cautiously. However, when they needed them to, cannons could fire metal projectiles, called cannonballs, at distances of up to 500 ft (150 m). It's hard to aim a cannon at a sailing ship bobbing on the ocean waves, however, which is why they weren't often used until the enemy ship was close.

7

Chain shot

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Cannons didn't just fire cannonballs. They could also fire deadly devices called chain shots. These consisted of 2 small cannonballs with a chain attaching them together. When fired, a chain shot could strike some poor unsuspecting enemy soldier. The chain could wrap around his neck or a limb, and the balls could break his bones. The effect was usually maiming or instant death.^{[7]
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8

Scimitar

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If you lived in the Golden Age of Piracy and your ship was boarded by West or South Asian pirates, chances are a scimitar would have been the last thing you saw before you were skewered by it. A scimitar is a sword with a slightly curved blade. It was also heavy, though, which is one of the reasons most pirates wielded cutlasses instead.^{[8]
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9

Grenade

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The introduction of gunpowder to Europe in the 13th century inspired an impressive amount of creativity. Take the pirate grenade, for example. Its design was simple, yet brilliant: a pirate would simply fill a glass bottle with gunpowder and lead shot, tie a slow match around the top, light it, and throw it at their enemies. When the glass smashed, the flame on the match would touch the gunpowder, and poof—a small but impressive explosion that could blow your enemy's brains out.^{[9]
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10

Stinkpot

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In an age when mace and tear gas weren't invented yet, pirates used stinkpots to get similar results. This weapon was a grenade filled with sulphur. When lit on fire, the sulfur produced a noxious smell and toxic fumes that choked whoever inhaled them. With enough stinkpots, pirates could probably have debilitated an entire enemy crew without setting foot on deck.^{[10]
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11

Boarding axe

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Given that a pirate's life involved boarding other people's ships, it was important to have a weapon small enough to be easily carried across the breach between boats. It was also crucial to have something that could hack through wood, rope, and even bodies. The boarding axe, or the tomahawk, served all those purposes! A locked door or an enemy's grappling hook wouldn't stand a chance after it was chopped or severed by a passing pirate's tomahawk, with its sharp blade on one side and hammer on the other.^{[11]
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12

Knife

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Have you ever seen a pirate in a movie who was gritting a small knife between his teeth? Real-life pirates may or may not have carried knives that way, but what is certain is that knives were common on pirate ships. Short throwing knives and long knives were needed for utilitarian purposes, but also for throwing and slicing at enemies and sawing through rigging.^{[12]
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13

Dirk

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Sometimes, a sword was just too long and cumbersome for fighting in such close quarters as the deck and bowels of a ship. The solution to this problem was the dirk. This short, dagger-like weapon originated in Scotland and was small enough to stow on your belt, in your shirt, or between your teeth. It could save a pirate's life in hand-to-hand combat.^{[13]
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14

Boarding pike

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Pirates needed spears now and then to help them reach across the gaps between ships and stab at their opponents. Their boarding pikes were simple weapons with no adornments, but they got the job done. Pikes with more elaborately designed tips usually belonged to officers.^{[14]
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15

Grapeshot

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What if you wanted to create the effect of a blunderbuss shot, but from the safety and comfort of your own sailing vessel? You filled a canister with small bits of metal called grapeshot, loaded it into the cannon with gunpowder, and lit the match. Then—boom—shrapnel flying all over your enemies, grazing some and maiming others. You can't say that pirates didn't have ingenuity!^{[15]
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16

Grappling hook

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Long before Batman, pirates threw large hooks over to enemy ships, where they would catch on the rigging or the top edge of the ship's side (called the gunwale). Then, they'd swing across the breach on the rope attached to the hook. This was the speediest way to board an enemy ship without bothering with ramps.^{[16]
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17

Marlin spike

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A marlin spike was a tapered rod of metal used for twisting and splitting rope strands. Picture it: you're a pirate sitting in a quiet corner of the ship. In your hand is a metal rod tapering to a point at one end. You're using it to split strands of rope apart and splice them with another length of rope at your feet. Then, the sailor in the crow's nest spots a merchant ship sailing in the distance. Your captain is saying to prepare for boarding. Luckily, you already have a weapon at hand: the marlin spike may not be as elegant or sharp as a cutlass or a dirk, but it will do the job of staving in someone's head well enough!^{[17]
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- Did you know? The marlin spike was also sometimes called a sailor's knife or a rigging knife.

18

Caltrop

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Why engage in a swashbuckling duel to the death when you can take down your enemy by making him step on something sharp? No, we're not talking about LEGOs, but caltrops. These were small pieces of metal with 4 sharp iron spikes. Lay down a few of these bad boys, and your enemies will soon be jumping around, yowling, and holding their injured foot. They might even collapse in the agony of having their foot stabbed right through, in which case all you need is a belaying pin, a tomahawk, a cutlass, or even a simple dagger to finish them off.^{[18]
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19

Belaying pin

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Not all pirates could afford nice weapons like a musket, a pistol, or a cutlass. Very often, the poorer pirates had to make do with what they could find. One item that could be easily repurposed was the wooden belaying pin. This simple device was supposed to help keep the rigging (ropes) on the ship secured. But in a pinch, it could be repurposed into a club and used to thump enemies soundly on the head.^{[19]
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