Page 1 of 2

What are the contents of Aragorn's belt pouch?

Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 4:44 am
by JeffCee
This might be my first post, but I've been creeping here for years unnoticed. Online Ranger AF.

I'm planning on making the pouch, but am still working out what would be in it, so far I think it would have:

A flint and steel
waxed jute
a magnifying lens
a metal box of dwarven matches
a small char box (metal)
a slice of horse Hoof fungus
a sewing kit ( awl, needles, waxed thread, leather lace)
a folding knife
a little money
an arrowhead

Thats it so far. I think its his last ditch possibles bag, so what did I miss? There are no bad suggestions at this point.
Thanks All!

Re: What are the contents of Aragorn's belt pouch?

Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 6:03 am
by Iodo
Welcome to the forum!
That seems like a good choice for the contents of a pouch to me, you seem to have covered most things. The only thing I can think is you may want more than one arrowhead?

Re: What are the contents of Aragorn's belt pouch?

Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 10:28 am
by Ursus
I keep my waist pouch very small with a purpose. I pretty much just keep a greased leather bag that rolls up around my fire box and steel striker. The box contains charcoal and char cloth as well as a small store of fat wood and a flint. Crammed into the bottom of the pouch is a small amount of emergency tinder.

The purpose for erring on the side of smallness is that all other possibles are kept in my scrip. I do not want the weight or bulk of them stored in one spot on my person when I leave base camp to range about. I store things like my camp knife on my sword scabbard and spare arrowheads in my arrow bag to help distribute weight. Basically when I set camp and am doing chores or ranging I like to be down to just my hand axe, small pouch, and sword -the sword is often removed in camp. Different rangers have different needs though.

As far as Aragorns pouch goes he is only ever described as having kingsfoil in it. But I don’t imagine it holding much more than a fire kit of some kind and maybe a bit of pipe weed. Of course as his kit is never detailed it is all open to interpretation but being the greatest huntsman and traveller of the age I’m sure he can appropriate anything he needs in short order.

Re: What are the contents of Aragorn's belt pouch?

Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 11:08 am
by Elleth
Oh I love this topic! Some thoughts..

A flint and steel
Almost certainly!

waxed jute
Jute is east Asian in origin, and had not as far as I know made it to Europe in the medieval period. That may or may not affect your decision to use it: I don't. If it's tinder you're after, the period equivalent is tow, a byproduct of processing flax into linen for cloth - and it makes a fantastic bird's nest. There's a guy on eBay who puts some up for sale now and again.

I suspect Strider's tinder would be something of a rolling stock: tow after leaving a settlement, dried grasses after passing marshlands, etc...

a magnifying lens
Possibly. I don't recall lenses ever being mentioned in Middle-earth - much less being cheap enough to carry around - but as always, "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."

a metal box of dwarven matches
Dwarves "have never taken to matches even yet." (The Hobbit, Ch 6) - but hobbits are known to. We discuss matches vs. tinderboxes in this thread:
http://middleearthrangers.org/forum/vie ... =27&t=3626
(which is not to say a reliable real world backup is not a very good thing to have!)

a small char box (metal)
Likely! It could also be of wood, horn, bone...

a slice of horse Hoof fungus
Quite possible, at least occasionally as he found it.

a sewing kit ( awl, needles, waxed thread, leather lace)
Almost certainly.

a folding knife
Reasonable. I don't recall seeing folding knives in descriptions of Middle-earth, but they're so old a technology I assume it likely they'd be there. And a backup knife is a good thing to have.

a little money
Almost certainly! He was paying to stay at the Pony somehow.

an arrowhead
Possible, but I suspect he'd have more than one spare arrowhead, and they would be packed away with wherever he keeps his field fletching supplies.

Re: What are the contents of Aragorn's belt pouch?

Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 11:26 am
by Taurinor
Elleth beat me to it! Those were largely the notes I had (and likely more clearly explained than I would have managed :mrgreen: ).

The only additional points that I would mention is that if the twine is for cordage, it's likely that Aragorn can make his own from natural materials, such as the inner bark of certain trees or nettles. It's no bad thing to carry some, though! I'm a barely competent woodsman, so I carry cordage, but it usually rides in my bedroll, since my primary uses of it are for camp-based activities.

I also think it's very likely he carried a sewing kit, but again, maybe in his bedroll. Again, barely competent woodsman, but I do most of my repairs after making camp.

I tend to agree with Ursus's point of keeping the pouch small. I'm not necessarily good at following that rule, but I aspire to it! Keith Burgess (Le Loup) made a video of the contents of his belt pouch - it gives you an idea of the size of the pouch as well as what he keeps in it.

Re: What are the contents of Aragorn's belt pouch?

Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 1:25 pm
by Elleth
d'oh! You're right of course Taurinor about the placement of the sewing kit. Of course it's most likely elsewhere: I plead pre-breakfast thoughtlessness. :)

Regarding cordage: while I'm certain Aragorn was quite handy at fashioning it himself by the time of Fellowship, given that crafting good cordage is a rather time consuming process for a fairly light and easy-to-carry product, he probably would have preferred like you to simply carry some.

Re: What are the contents of Aragorn's belt pouch?

Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 11:35 pm
by Harper
I agree with Elleth about have some cordage on hand.

Some other thoughts:

-a small candle stub (more for fire making than light);
-a fish hook or two;
-a small sharpening stone; and,
-snare wire.

Can anybody recall any references as to where Aragorn carried his pipe while in the field?

Re: What are the contents of Aragorn's belt pouch?

Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 6:07 am
by JeffCee
Thanks for the responses! This is great!

Iodo: Only one arrowhead in this pouch, more can live in the quiver. The arrow head is the most difficult part for me to make. So this way I can make one usable bow and arrow in about a day if Im lucky with materials.

Ursus: I totally agree that the belt pouch should be minimalist. I imagine it should also be insurance for losing everything else. A seasoned ranger should be able to live out of this kit. So while Im saying "whats in Aregorn's pouch" my first list is built around my skill set and I'm no Strider.

Elleth (QUEEN! Your kit is great!) Thank you for all the research! the waxed jute can double as a candle or a birds nest or even hasty cordage. I was unaware of the origin. Would hemp be a more accurate fiber?
The lens I'm saying would come from his foster dad. I will play the elf card whenever possible. My phone is of elven make.
Arg! When I wrote this I was remembering something about Dwarves being skilled fire builders and confused the two! Thanks for the correction! A hobbit matchbox is even better, Rangers hang out near enough to the Shire to be aware of them.
It's a last ditch arrowhead. The rest of them are in the quiver.

Taurinor: The waxed jute primarily for light, fire making and in third place, cordage. I can make 3 feet of cordage from plant fibers in about 15 minutes with just a knife and blistering fingers, so its more of a convenience that an essential. I wouldn't put dedicated cordage in this kit. It would be in my Bedroll or haversack for sure, because who the hell wants to spend all day making cordage?

Harper: He kept his pipe in his bedroll If I remember right.
I like these suggestions! the heavy waxed thread I use could probably double as snare or fishing line (going to research that) and the hooks are a great idea!
I could use the wax to waterproof a small container so that would have a second use. Space would be my only concern.
The whetstone is on his belt in its own sheath, so that's covered in a future build.

Keep it coming! this is really helping me refine this piece of kit!
And Thanks!

Re: What are the contents of Aragorn's belt pouch?

Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 10:56 am
by Ursus
A tip for emergency cordage that I use is that my boot laces are in fact three separate four foot long pieces of waxed hemp cordage that wrap around and tie at the upper by my knee the middle of my shin, and down by my ankle. In this way with both boots I have 6 four foot pieces of emergency cordage to hand.

Re: What are the contents of Aragorn's belt pouch?

Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 11:24 am
by Peter Remling
All good stuff one suggestion: At least one of your spare arrow heads should be cut or ground out of flat bar stock so you have a 2 dimensional hunting or broad head. To use it for archery you'll have to affix it by sandwiching it between the shaft. The reason behind this style is two fold, first it's quicker to affix to a shaft than a socketed arrowhead and more importantly, if you attach it to a longer shaft, you have a good spear for fishing.

Almost everything in your kit should have multiple purposes.

Re: What are the contents of Aragorn's belt pouch?

Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 11:52 am
by Taurinor
JeffCee wrote:The waxed jute primarily for light, fire making and in third place, cordage.
If your plan is to use it for light and fire making, I'd second Harper on the candle stub! Just bung one in your tinder box/bag - not like they take up much space or weigh much.
JeffCee wrote:the heavy waxed thread I use could probably double as snare or fishing line (going to research that) and the hooks are a great idea!
My understanding is that pre-WWII, most fishing line was linen. Historic Angling Enterprises has a fair amount of information on fishing from 1400-1800, if you're interested in that.
JeffCee wrote:He kept his pipe in his bedroll If I remember right... The whetstone is on his belt in its own sheath, so that's covered in a future build.
I'm guessing from these two statements that you're going for a movie-based Aragorn impression? Manveruon has done an excellent reproduction of the PJ kit - don't know that he's posted it here on the forum, but I've seen it on FB.

Re: What are the contents of Aragorn's belt pouch?

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 1:39 am
by Harper
An animal can chew through jute cordage, that is why metal wire is better. It is also light and can be used for other purposes.

Personally, I don't hunt or trap. But I have learned how to for survival situations. Wire is a good thing to have.

Re: What are the contents of Aragorn's belt pouch?

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 2:09 am
by Elleth
You make your own arrowheads? That is SO COOL!

Regarding substitutes for jute...

If you're ONLY looking for tinder, try this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Flax-tow-fiber ... 2827668807
Various sellers on etsy and eBay carry the same stuff - I just happen to have purchased from this seller before with good result.

If you ALSO want it to be cordage, this might work:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/599080095/tow-linen-yarn

I've never tried it, so I couldn't say for sure. But it looks like it'll unravel into a decent bird's nest. I see that seller sells raw tow as well, so perhaps they could say?

Regarding fishlines: totally beyond my expertise, but I did just see a reference in either Tudor Monastery Farm or Tales from the Green Valley (both on youTube) to plaiting fishline from horsehair: apparently it was quite the thing at one point.


Finally, regarding "things of elvish make" --

Oh, I have been here. :)

First, please take this in the gentle spirit in which it's intended.
We all do this hobby because we want to have some goofy fun, and I know some among us are here explicitly because they're tired of the stitch-counting stickupitdness that can exist in historical reenacting. There's no jury board on MERF, no standards - not even an agreed upon common mental image: we're all just here for fun.

Now that said..the way you're using the "elvish make" phrase indicates we're in a very familiar territory.
Everyone who's done reenacting has been here and has stories. I have SOOOoo been here.

There are two approaches to adding things to a presentation.

The first approach begins with an item one really thinks is cool or useful, and asks "how do I justify this?"
"I want to carry a burning lens - it came from Elrond!"

The second begins with a particular need the represented individual has, and asks "given what we can find in the sources, how would he solve this problem?"
"I want a second way of starting fire... what do the scenes I can find in the books tell me? What was done in analogous cultures?"

The second path means occasionally passing on things you've really really got the sparkle-eyes for... and that's hard.
But it does push you to learn more, to study more... and over time, one does end up with I think a coherent whole that you're much happier with.

I really really don't say any of that to squash your fun. DO WAT U WANT.

But it's said from a place of having tons of hours in projects I've either abandoned or need to remake because I have not done this well myself - and would like to save you some of the trouble. :)


==================

PS - none of that is passing judgement one way or the other on the particular question of the lens: I have no idea there. :)
I'm purely talking about mental processes.

PPS - none of the above applies to things one has to carry for modern reasons / reasonable safety precautions.

Re: What are the contents of Aragorn's belt pouch?

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 12:48 am
by Greg
Taurinor wrote:I'm guessing from these two statements that you're going for a movie-based Aragorn impression? Manveruon has done THE BEST POSSIBLE reproduction of the PJ kit - don't know that he's posted it here on the forum, but I've seen it on FB.
Fixed that for you.

Re: What are the contents of Aragorn's belt pouch?

Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2018 6:43 am
by JeffCee
Ursus wrote:A tip for emergency cordage that I use is that my boot laces are in fact three separate four foot long pieces of waxed hemp cordage that wrap around and tie at the upper by my knee the middle of my shin, and down by my ankle. In this way with both boots I have 6 four foot pieces of emergency cordage to hand.
I love these little tips! Thanks!