Dagger

Ian Mercer was quicker with a sword or dagger than anyone Cutler Beckett had ever employed before.

"We still have our daggers."

―Tarek

A dagger is a fighting knife with a sharp point and a double-edged blade, typically used for thrusting or stabbing. While most knives are seen as tools, daggers are specifically designed for use as weapons.

History

"When I asked him later on how he was managing without the hand, he said that it wasn't so bad, the hook was as good as a dagger in a fight."

―Don Rafael on James

Daggers have much shorter blades then swords, making them easy to conceal, and therefore became a weapon of choice for assassins and spies. They were also frequently used by pirates. Well-balanced daggers can be used as throwing weapons.

Stone-Eyed Sam, the pirate king of Isla Esquelética, carried two glittering jeweled daggers on his belt, as delicate as dragonflies, which he would use in battle to spun and slash like a berserker. At the beginning of the quest for the Sword of Cortés, young barmaid Arabella Smith had a dagger hidden in her pocket, notably while waiting for young Jack Sparrow next to the fishing vessel, the Barnacle. When they found the treasure of Stone-Eyed Sam, the crew of the Barnacle found pretty little daggers in golden hilts with amethyst pommels.

The pirate Baldy Malone owned a dagger which he used to attempt to kill Jack Sparrow when the younger pirate couldn't pay him back a loan of fourteen shillings. However, since Malone was drunk and Jack was sober, the younger pirate easily disarmed his opponent with his cutlass. At some point during his career, the pirate captain named James lost a hand and replaced it with a hook. When he encountered a fellow pirate Don Rafael, James said the hook was as good as a dagger in a fight. During one of the meetings of the Pirate Lords at Shipwreck Cove, the Russian Pirate Lord Boris Palachnik slammed his dagger down into the tabletop as a reaction to the news of the rogue pirates violating the Code of the Pirate Brethren.

As Jack Sparrow held the last vial of the Shadow Gold in his hands during the Day of the Shadow, Henry Morgan, now known as the legendary alchemist Shadow Lord, grabbed the Spanish princess Carolina, with tendrils of shadow wrapping around her, then pressed his dagger against Carolina's neck, and threatened to kill her if Jack doesn't hand over the vial.

Ian Mercer occasionally used a dagger while serving as a clerk for Cutler Beckett and the East India Trading Company.

Behind the scenes

Daggers first appeared in the 2006 book Jack Sparrow: The Coming Storm by Rob Kidd, which featured young barmaid Arabella Smith having a dagger hidden in her pocket while waiting for young Jack Sparrow next to the fishing vessel Barnacle, as well as the treasure of Stone-Eyed Sam including daggers in golden hilts with amethyst pommels.

In Pirates of the Caribbean Online the dagger is one of the available weapon types; there are six types of Daggers: three for fighting (the "simple" Dagger, the Battle Dirk (a well-balanced long knife) and the Main Gauche (a fancy blade that is useful for keeping opponents off guard) and three for throwing (the "simple" Throwing Knife, the Sidewinder (a large curved throwing knife) and the Viper Brace (a brace of special throwing knives meant to be thrown in a set).

There were some discrepancies between the films and the novelizations. In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay for the 2006 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Mercer wipes the blood of Captain Hawkins from his knife with a handkerchief, a detail adapted in Irene Trimble's novelization, whereas Mercer used a dagger in the film. In Elizabeth Rudnick's novelization for the 2017 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Jack Sparrow uses a small dagger to fight Armando Salazar-possessed Henry Turner during the battle of Poseidon's Tomb, whereas Jack uses his sword in the film.

Appearances

• Jack Sparrow: The Coming Storm (First appearance)
• Jack Sparrow: Silver (Mentioned only)
• Jack Sparrow: The Timekeeper
• Jack Sparrow: Dance of the Hours
• The Price of Freedom
• Legends of the Brethren Court: Wild Waters
• Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow
• Pirates of the Caribbean Online
• The Treasure of Shipwreck Island!
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
• The Haunting of Jack Sparrow!
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Novelization

See also

• Dagger in the Pirates of the Caribbean Online Wiki

External links

• Dagger on Wikipedia