Some of my Gear

[Jake MacReedy]

Here's a photo of some of my gear.  At the top is the old Solingen Bowie that I modified to a mid-1800's style.  Also shown is the locking clasp knife carried in my "old" brain-tanned possibles bag.  Atop the bag is my neck knife/bag knife made from an old table knife, and my Billy Watson Barlow knife.  The horn to the left is the one I'll be making into my powder horn in the near future.  Come on up to Kansas and see it when it's finished for our shoot in September!

Regards,
Jake

[Tsalagidave]

Great looking kit Jake! That horn looks stripped and ready for a project. I've only done one horn before and I am about to do a buffalo horn (ca. 1830-50s).  I love that brain-tanned bag. Since you are further along with that horn, I cant wait to see how it turns out and hopefully, I can play some catch up.

I took some photos of my kit as I was preparing for another shooting trip and here is what I have. I have a brace of Navy sixes, one in a Main & Winchester California holster, the other in an E.L. Gallatin-Style. The hunting bag is more of a lined "haversack" style ca. 1850s. It holds my bullet bags, pocket flask, wadding, caps, tools, tinder box, compass, spyglass or bioptics and patch-knife. (I may have posted these items on this site before.)

When going into thick brush and rugged terrain, even the hunting bag can get cumbersome. That's when it is a lot more comfortable to drop the caps, pocket flask, bullet bag and a sack of meal and jerked beef into the coat pocket and proceed as light as possible.

I hope other people post their kit photos also. I'm all about the gear.

-Dave

[Jake MacReedy]

That is great-looking gear, Dave!  I'm in the process of saving up my pennies to get a Colt 2nd Generation '51 Navy, and will provide it with a slim-jim holster when I do get it.  Who made the Bowie that you have?  I like both the knife and the scabbard for it.  I look forward to sitting around with everyone comparing and talking ab out our gear at our next get-together!

Regards,
Jake, aka Ron

[Tsalagidave]

The knife is made by Hanwei. They are really good at kitchen cutlery and tried their hand at historic reproductions. The quality is great but their marketing failed to connect with the demographic so the line was discontinued. It is a great meat knife.

-Dave

[Jake MacReedy]

Oh, yes, I forgot about Hanwei and their Bowies.  They are great knives, and you can still find them if you look hard enough.  I'll bet it IS a great meat slicer!

Ron

[Tsalagidave]

Thanks Jake,  its a good one. I like the knife in your neck sheath.  It is very similar to the one I have sheathed to my hunting bag. I have quite a few guns for 1700s and 1800s impressions but think we all have our favorites. If it was about 1852-54, the kit below is about the period equivalent to what I'd use today for a long trip.

[BlackHillsScout]

Both of you that's some great gear!

Jake what is your pouch made of? It looks like old oil cloth.

[Jake MacReedy]

Scout, it's made of thin, brain-tanned deerhide.  It is incredibly tough, and can be wadded up and it will go back to looking the way it was.  I bought it from the maker at the NMLRA Spring Shoot in Friendship, Indiana about 10 years ago.

Jake

[Jake MacReedy]

Dave,

I forgot to say that I purchased that horn stripped, boiled and ready to go at the NMLRA 2010 Fall Shoot at Friendship, Indiana.  I'll have to boil it and soften it to fit the plug, but it's ready for carving and shaping. I'm not going to make it fancy, just carved a little and fitted with a "fiddle stem."

Jake

[Tsalagidave]

I had an old buckskinner teach me to boil the horns in olive oil. It makes them more pliable without drying out/cracking them. It is a very period method. Olive oil was a fairly common item then. And not a lot is needed for the process. When you are done, use the olive oil to season your hunting bag in the sun. It looks like you have the makings of a good powder horn pard; have fun with it.

-Dave