Kit Update and a gift from Taurinor (Pic Heavy)

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Farodel
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Kit Update and a gift from Taurinor (Pic Heavy)

Post by Farodel »

Just make an update with some of the additions and improvements to my kit, which includes a gift sent to me by Taurinor.

Been trying to add some more of the pieces indicative of PJ's Rangers of Ithilien, thus the black face mask.
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Usually the hood and mask are down, and the mask just sort of sits like a scarf and keeps the sun off my neck. The bow is new. I got it for cheap on ebay because I needed a bow with a lower poundage for Dagorhir. It's a "finish it yourself" kit, so I sanded, stained, and sealed it myself.

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Best pic I could manage of the full kit so far. You can see a bit of the tabard layer here (not finished, still need to add a trim to it) as well as my attempt at boot covers.

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Here is the pouch that Taurinor sent, which I love dearly. It is deceptively roomy inside, and it will probably be where I keep my mundane muggle goods safe. I cannot thank him enough!

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On the other side I'm carrying a horn and waterskin. The waterskin was another cheap ebay buy, so it has a few modern bits which I'm going to alter. The red nylon rope I'll switch out for something more appropriate, and I'm devising a way to cover up the plastic bits with either brass or horn.

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That's about it for now. I have a few more additions in the works, namely the quiver. More to come!

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"Few now remember them, yet still some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless."
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Udwin
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Re: Kit Update and a gift from Taurinor (Pic Heavy)

Post by Udwin »

Hey, your kit's looking pretty darn Good! (sweet belt pouch, T.)
Have you thought about making up a shoulder strap for the bota? I imagine that's gotta feel awkward hanging on the side of your belt like that.
Personae: Aistan son of Ansteig, common Beorning of Wilderland; Tungo Brandybuck, Eastfarthing Bounder, 3018 TA; a native Man of the Greyflood, c.850 SA
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Farodel
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Re: Kit Update and a gift from Taurinor (Pic Heavy)

Post by Farodel »

Udwin wrote:Hey, your kit's looking pretty darn Good! (sweet belt pouch, T.)
Have you thought about making up a shoulder strap for the bota? I imagine that's gotta feel awkward hanging on the side of your belt like that.
Thanks! Yeah, the rope thats on it is actually long enough to throw over the shoulder, I just haven't tried it out that way yet. Obviously its not very functional how I have it in these pictures (I'd have to undo my belt to drink!). I'll probably wear it over the shoulder but under the cloak, or affix it on the strap to my quiver somehow. All works in progress, of course. Gotta figure out the most functional ways to use each thing.

Would it be ludicrous to have the bota and horn suspended from the same rope? Both, I suppose, share the same requirement of needing to be able to reach the mouth at a moment's notice. Might be cumbersom for normal use, though.
"Few now remember them, yet still some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless."
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Re: Kit Update and a gift from Taurinor (Pic Heavy)

Post by Taurinor »

Very nice! I'm glad you like the pouch :mrgreen:

Well done on the bow - those "you finish"-type ones can be a great deal.

Is it just a trick of the lighting/my eyes, or are the colors of your tunic a little more muted here than in your previous pictures?
Farodel wrote:Would it be ludicrous to have the bota and horn suspended from the same rope? Both, I suppose, share the same requirement of needing to be able to reach the mouth at a moment's notice. Might be cumbersom for normal use, though.
I feel like it wouldn't be too much of a problem while using the bota, since the horn is probably relatively light compared to a waterskin, but it would make using the horn difficult when you have a liter or so (I'm guessing) of water in the bota.

I've had reasonable success tying my canteen (a gourd, at the moment) off to my belt with just a couple of half-hitches. I just fold the rope at the "top" (where it would rest on my shoulder) and treat it like a single line to tie the hitch around my belt. I usually try to slip the second hitch, to make it easier to get off. It takes a minute to get at my canteen that way, since I have to untie it, but it's been functional, and I don't have to take my belt off.
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Farodel
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Re: Kit Update and a gift from Taurinor (Pic Heavy)

Post by Farodel »

Taurinor wrote: Is it just a trick of the lighting/my eyes, or are the colors of your tunic a little more muted here than in your previous pictures?
The last set of photos was taken in winter and I uploaded them. I'm colorblind, so I find it very difficult to tell if the coloring and whatnot is showing true in the photos. This batch was color corrected by my wife (a professional photographer), so its probably more accurate. I've died most of the layers a handful of times trying to chase the right color and shade, so that might contribute.


I'll probably try several different ways of approaching the bota dilemma and see what works. Sounds like a good excuse to go hiking in the kit!
"Few now remember them, yet still some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless."
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Re: Kit Update and a gift from Taurinor (Pic Heavy)

Post by Elleth »

Oh that is coming along nicely! I love the pouch!

I used to have a bota exactly like that, once upon a time. If you don't like the plastic piping, I think your best option would to cover it: there's not a lot you can do with that body as I recall.

Back in my faire days I made a waterskin cover, but in place of a real bladder (which I didn't have and was kind of squick) - I used a plastic platypus bladder from the hiking store. I cut off the screw cap and wrapped the mouth around a turned wooden candlestick holder for a spout. The hole for the candle was coincidentally exactly the right size to accept a regular wine bottle cork, so it worked quite well for the time I had it:
waterskin.jpg
waterskin.jpg (140.58 KiB) Viewed 14341 times
The problem is the platypus bladder was plastic-crunchy feeling (and sounding) through the leather. I wonder now if a rubber hot water bottle of some kind would have made a better bladder.
Anyhow, it got a little moldy in the move down from Alaska, so I pitched the liner and retired the cover.

Since then I've moved from a more vaguely-medieval-ish faire-fantasy style to a more historically correct approach. My next attempt will probably be either a hard jackware bottle like Greg's or a proper pitch-lined bota. (But the road there is another long in-process essay on my hard drive I need to polish and post).

Any way you go though, a wide shoulder strap will save no end of pain. Water's HEAVY. :mrgreen:
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Re: Kit Update and a gift from Taurinor (Pic Heavy)

Post by RikJohnson39 »

We have lots of options as to canteens, none cost a lot in cash, just a bit of imagination and some time.
I have a Kracken Rum bottle with carry-rings that I am thinking of making into a canteen but there is that glass-in-the-field thing I try to avoid. The bota is really common but has a few problems.

I have made any number of canteens.
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The one to the lest is a wood case I built around a large boy-scout canteen.
The one to the right is a smaller plastic canteen I covered with waxed canvas. Both cases I made a wood cover to hide the plastic spout.

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This one is a guord(sp) that I found, cleaned out, waxed the inside with beeswax and made a carry-net.

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This is my pride. I got some leather from Tandy, cut to shape, soaked it, sewed the edges, stuffed with pinto beans to shape it, then filled with beeswax inside and out for waterproofing.

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I've tried with botas but never could get them to work properly. Once they leak, you can never patch the hole. You can remove them from that tacky cover and make a new cover from leather or canvas if you take your time. I figure that a bota was a sheep's stomach covered with something to protect it form damage. Leather is what we think about but why not canvas? It was cheap and durable and easily worked.

I think of our Kit as an ongoing project. We do what we can with what we have, then, suddenly, someone inspires us and we make an improvement, learn something to share and slowly we get better.
Plus, it keeps the mind as active as our body!
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Re: Kit Update and a gift from Taurinor (Pic Heavy)

Post by Rifter »

Nice looking kit :)
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Re: Kit Update and a gift from Taurinor (Pic Heavy)

Post by Laothain »

Looks good makes me want to get back to work on mine
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