Several different types of swords were used by pirates. They would have mainly used the most common ones found in their part of the world. For Caribbean pirates these were normally the one handed double edged type popular in Europe.

The Cutlass

The Cutlass in swashbuckling lore is perhaps one of the most popular weapons of the pirates. It is believed to have evolved from the long knives used by the early buccaneers to butcher their meat. It had a blade length of about two feet, and was slightly curved with a single edge. With its relatively short blade it proved to be a very effective fighting tool in the confined area of a ship. It was so successful in fact that it was copied by many naval forces around the world.
This was the sword of the seas. A cutlass was a short bladed (compared to other swords) singled edged sword. The blade was usually slightly curved and only sharpened on the outer blade. In appearance the Cutlass resembles a sabre, only the blade is slightly heavier and shorter. The reason the cutlass had a shorter, heavier blade is because of what it was called upon to do. Besides having to run through your foe, the cutlass was also called upon to cut through heavy marlin lines, break down heavy oaken doors, and so on. A regular sword may not have always been up to the task. Furthermore, the slightly shorter blade was not seen as a disadvantage when fighting aboard a ship, because there was rarely enough room to swing a cat let along a longer sword. The shorter blade allowed the blade to be sturdier without adding weight to the overall sword.
When fighting, the general rule was to hack at one's opponent such as was done in sabre duels. Thrusting or stabbing, was done with rapiers or swords. Thrusting took longer, and if you were not careful your blade could get stuck. Hacking meant that you could just as easily immobilize your opponent by chopping off his hand rather that stabbing him in the gut. This also explained the design of the blade. Curving the blade made it more easy to control while hacking, and the added thickness insured that it would cleave through bone and muscle. Of course curving the blade made the cutlass slightly less effective as a thrusting weapon.

Typical 16th thru 18th Century (1500-1700s) Cutlass. Note the shape of the blade. Functional but not the stuff you'd see in Errol Flynn's hands!

Slightly decorative version of an 17th thru mid-19th Century (1600-1800s) Cutlass. Note a full basket on the handguard. This solid handle would cracksheads as well as protect the hand.

Cutlass/Pistol combination, sometimes called a hunter's sword. The idea was to put two weapons in your hand at once. In reality you ended up with two sub-par weapons. The pistol is highly innaccurate and hard to hold steady and the cutlass is off balance because the added weight. But doesn't it look great!

The Sabre

Late 18th, 19th Century (1776-1860) French Officers Cavalry Sabre. Note the similarities to a cutlass.

The Rapier

A rapier with matching parrying dagger.
Note how the hilt forms two almost enclosed circles. The enclosures are designed to allow an opponent's sword to slide down the dagger's blade and be caught within the circles. If such an event occurs, it makes it possible for the dagger's owner to snap or at least capture the opponent's sword blade with a turn of the wrist. Such enclosures are known simply enough as "Blade Breakers"

 

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