Private purchase naval weapons Private purchase naval weapons are maritime weapons used aboard ships that are otherwise classified as non - government issue . They were stocked on private vessels for either an offensive or defensive purpose that did not fall under any actual branch of the naval department . Thus , they do not bear standard government issue marks of their host country despite their use aboard said ships of that country . Types . Like their naval counterparts , private issue sea service weapons had their common equivalents among the ships - of - the - line , meaning typical boarding weapons of the time period . These consisted of boarding cutlass es , axes , pike s , hangers / swords , and naval dirks . Because they were private stock , they were typically made in smaller quantities that their naval protégés and thus had much leeway in their design . Some very closely resembled the government - issue styles , but many borrowed freely from other countries ' patterns or mis - matched different styles . Some of the government contractors that made swords for the Navy department would turn around and produce a number of swords for these private quarters for financial purposes . Ships of these private firms far out - numbered the actual number of government naval vessels as a whole . Private purchase fire - arms were a whole other arena of sea weapons . As manufacture of pistols was much more complicated than just finding a local supplier to knock out a few swords , guns involved much more craftmanship and care in their creation . As such , many private ship owners purchased bulk orders of guns that were either of a rival nation and thus readily available , or pistols that were not typically identified as a naval issue weapon . For example , a British ship - owner might decide to purchase a supply of French firearms or even use Belgian - made cavaly pistols with lanyard rings as a close substitute for a maritime pistol . Uses . Private purchase weapons served an extremely important role in maritime history in that they were the weapons that were bought to stock on privateer s , pirate vessels and merchant galleys as a means of defense . Thus , they were used just as their naval cousins in both attacking and defending a ship in times of hostile boarding . Private purchase boarding axes were both used as a weapon and a tool for fires aboard ship . Other than their lack of government issue markings , they served the same purpose . It should be noted , however , that due to their sometimes limited funding , private purchase weapons could range from good quality to very crude . Shipping owners did not have the unlimited funding of government office to supply their needs , so sometimes even rough blacksmith - made items of primitive manufacture were used . Identification . Many of these weapons copied their naval equivalents and will have similar designs . Maritime cutlasses will have corrugated / ribbed iron grips and sheet - metal guards over the hilt . Boarding pikes will have leaf - shaped or 4 - sided spiked points , although the private purchase items may be cruder and lack the long backstraps found on some pikes of the naval type . Nautical motifs can sometimes help to identify sea service use , such as an anchor design , etchings of sea shells , dolphins , ships , etc . Likewise , sea items were frequently blackened / japanned to protect their iron parts from the rusting effect of salt air . A hanger sword with a black - painted guard is probably the real deal . The ship ' s axe rapidly developed into the modern fireaxe and some are indistinguishable from their true naval counterparts . Modern British fire axes , war - time trench axes and even some tool axes have characteristics similar to boarding axes . Many are passed off as " boarding axes " either spuriously or by accident . True boarding axes had heavy cutting blades that either broadly flared out at the edge or were single - flared . Some had langet straps to secure the blade , but others did not . Most importantly , true boarding axes had thick 3 or 4 - sided wicked spikes that curved downward protruding from the non - bladed end .