First you get a wooden cutlass from TopiCool.com and then you modify it so it looks a little more realistic.
The first step was to paint the wooden cutlasses. Sorry, I did not document the painting. I first painted the handle using a metallic gold spray paint. I then painted the blade with a brushed nickle spray paint.
The painted cutlass then needed to be aged. So I took and old shoe brush and some hardened black shoe wax and daubed it on sparingly. I then buffed it with the shoe brush followed by a rag. I think the cutlasses aged nicely.
I used some black felt, cut in strips, to wind around the grip. The grip was sprayed with an adhesive to hold the felt in place. 
As a final touch I wound some rawhide lacing around the grips to simulate the wire that was used on original cutlasses.
In the mean time, The Blushing Bride, with the assistance of her cat, is working on my Captain Hook costume. My grandson Ise decided that this year, he would be Peter Pan; The Blushing Bride will be Smee, his sister The Newbie (7 months old) would be Tinker Bell and I would be Captain Hook. Anyhoo, we will see how it all works out.
A good pirate also needs a brace of pistols to carry. So I got these at the Wal-Mart supply store. A couple sprays of burnished nickel spray paint and the "Brady Bunch" ridiculous bright orange end is covered.
These are pistols Captain Hook would like to cry. I purchased these in Spain on my first "Med" trip in 1963. They are replica pistols, I've never fired them because I know nothing of their ancestry. But I won't carry them on Halloween. As a retired LEO, I would never put a fellow officer in danger by causing him or her to respond to a citizen's "man with gun" call.
Another gratuitous shot of The Blushing Bride still working on Hook's outfit. This picture was taken a few hours after the first picture and she is still hard at work.
A trial fitting of the coat. The Blushing Bride still has much to do, so I better go fix her supper.UPDATE, 30 OCTOBER 2008
While building Captain Hook's cutlass I realized that Peter Pan would also need some armament. Peter Pan carried a dagger, so I located a "Wooden Medieval Knight Dagger" sold by: Sword Demon through Amazon.com.
This is the dagger, as you can see it has been lightly sanded and the handle has been painted metallic gold in color.
At this point the handle is metallic gold and the blade is brushed nickel. Again they are a little to bright even though I did not pick the brightest colors available.
Before adding the felt the dagger was covered with black shoe polish. I used the Miyagi Method, wipe on, wipe off. This takes the shine off the new paint while making the dagger look used or distressed. I used green felt on the handle as Peter Pan wears a lot of green, at least as I know him. The felt had a sticky side so I just wrapped it around the handle twice and it is stuck in place. The felt on the cutlasses was added using a felt strip approximently an inch wide wrapped multiple times around the handle.
And a final shot of the completed dagger for Peter Pan. I put some leather lacing, also rubbed with black shoe polish, to soften and darken the lacing. The lacing is to help keep the felt from peeling off and to decorate the dagger.Update, 01 November, 2008:
Captain Hook in all of his glory on Halloween.
Peter Pan his own self on Halloween. Ready to do battle with Captain Hook.
The great Captain Hook with Smee, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell on Halloween.A great time was had by all.
