Great thread Jim, I love them there pirates....hence my handle, Freebooter.
As with the trademark thread, just not a lot of time this time of year but I will leave you all with these images of an Executioners axe from the Danish West indies.
I bid with fury on this many years ago but just didn't have the coin to win at the time.
The images of the gallows and the wheel on this axe are very sinister, the gallows I am sure we all know about, but for those who have not seen the spoked wheel before, don't confuse it with a makers mark.
This wheel was a horrible things. For further reading follow this link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_wheel
This particular group of images is what pirates were on the receiving end of if they were ever caught.