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A proper Dúnedain waterskin..

Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2018 12:21 am
by Elleth
So I got reaaaal close with my previous waterskin purchase / modification.

The body was great, but the mouthpiece was off: it was a cup of olive wood: while it looked grand, it simply didn't fit Eriador. I asked my husband to turn a new mouthpiece, and while he did a good job, the seal was just never the same. I finally decided to go ahead and try again from scratch: Greg and Ursus thought that was a grand idea, and so I gave Guy at The Spanish Door an email to see if he could have the bota makers turn out a short run for us with custom mouthpieces - the answer was yes!!

It's been a six month process, but they finally arrived:
merf-waterskins.jpg
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I'll let the guys post pictures of theirs, but details to follow for those who want to go down the same road...

Re: A proper Dúnedain waterskin..

Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2018 12:33 am
by Elleth
So first, the mouthpieces.

Our farm schedule was far too full over the season to get them done at home, so I started asking around at fairs and on Etsy for someone who could make some to spec. I went through a couple woodturners to find someone really up to the task, and finally found Michael Suggs of Holmgard Trading. He did a fantastic job at a very fair price:
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I highly recommend him, but in the event you're a turner yourself and want the plan I sent him:
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He modified it a bit on the fly: notably by making the hole in the spout narrower and the stopper a bit thinner, so as to leave more strength in the spout:
merf-waterskin-plugs.jpg
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He did recommend hard maple, and used some type of linseed-and-wax finish if I recall correctly. Regardless, they came out great!

Re: A proper Dúnedain waterskin..

Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2018 12:46 am
by Elleth
After that, Mr. Suggs sent the spouts directly to Guy in Portugal. He does business through spanishdoor.com/

We had a heck of a time with the spouts getting through customs, and they ended up crossing the Atlantic by slow boat three times in all I think. Regardless, eventually they made it into Guy's possession, and he handed them off to the bota maker.

I'd also wanted a but more historicity in the cord loop at the neck, the plug lanyard, and the neck binding material, so I asked Ieva of whooploop in Latvia to send some linen twine to Guy, and I mailed a scrap of pebbly coarse linen I had left over from an earlier sewing project. It's been something of an international effort I guess.

Guy also passed on my request to the bota makers that the waterskins each be fit with a leather carrying strap rather than cord, which they were happy to accommodate.

After some months of back and forth, the three waterskins arrived at my place last week, and I've just heard from Greg and Ursus that theirs are in their possession.

I'm really looking forward to hearing how well they end up meeting the needs of proper Rangers! :)

Re: A proper Dúnedain waterskin..

Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2018 1:10 am
by Ursus
I’ll jump in real quick since I have a small lull in the festivities.

First off this turned out so amazing. So many thanks to Elleth for championing this. The mouthpiece looks absolutely amazing and really brings the piece home in terms of in world aesthetics.

I opted for a two liter bag on mine. While I realize its a lot of weight I like the option of having the extra clean water. I also like that just because I have two liters doesn’t mean I have to fill it to capacity. I’ve already applied a light coat of mink oil to mine in order to darken it a bit. The veg tan strap is is the perfect length and hangs right at the base of my rib cage on me.

Edit: once the holiday fervor is spent I will get out and post a proper write up complete with full kit pics.

Re: A proper Dúnedain waterskin..

Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2018 2:02 am
by Greg
Image

It's beautiful! This is how they came, fully assembled. I'm flirting with tooling a bit of the strap, which is simple vegtan...haven't decided how else I want to treat it, but the craftsmanship is superb.

The skin itself is a goatskin with the hair still on, turned inwards. The hair, shaved short, is there to hold the flexible pine pitch lining in place. It will require a few sustained changes of water before the taste is acceptable, as it's quite strong right now, but by the time I'm ready for it we should be good to go.

Thanks again, Elleth! Way to coordinate a winner.

Re: A proper Dúnedain waterskin..

Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2018 3:10 am
by Peter Remling
They look fantastic!

Re: A proper Dúnedain waterskin..

Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2018 3:53 am
by Taylor Steiner
Yes wow!

Re: A proper Dúnedain waterskin..

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 8:51 pm
by Laothain
Those botas look fantastic!

Re: A proper Dúnedain waterskin..

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2019 9:36 pm
by Greg
Mine's has three changes of water in and out of it now, and the pitch taste is barely evident. Pretty pleased, and am going to take it for a stroll this weekend for grins because, well...because!

Still love it. Super comfy, and I have zero concerns of it cracking and leaking in sub-freezing temps. Wonderful.

Thanks again, Elleth. Something occurred to me today...I was mulling over how awful it would be if it broke down someday, and then the realization that I could ship the hardware right back to the skin maker and be back in business hit me. I'm smiling.

Re: A proper Dúnedain waterskin..

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2019 4:53 am
by Ruinar Hrafnakveðja
This is amazing! I wish I had been in on this cause I've been looking for a wineskin for AGES! Congrats on coordinating such a complicated order Elleth! They look amazing!!!!!

Re: A proper Dúnedain waterskin..

Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 3:28 pm
by Elleth
I'm glad everyone's happy. :mrgreen:

Ruinar, I'm sure the vendors above would be happy to turn out another one. It might be a bit more doing a one-off, but it wouldn't be too much worse.
(you could also order more than one from them at once, and keep a spare handy for when your first is finally worn out)

Re: A proper Dúnedain waterskin..

Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 4:18 pm
by Ruinar Hrafnakveðja
Elleth wrote: Ruinar, I'm sure the vendors above would be happy to turn out another one. It might be a bit more doing a one-off, but it wouldn't be too much worse.
(you could also order more than one from them at once, and keep a spare handy for when your first is finally worn out)

Good call Elleth, I may also see if there are others in our Ranger group who would want them. We might actually be able to get a big order in. Thanks for the fantastic post!

Re: A proper Dúnedain waterskin..

Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 10:22 pm
by Greg
So I hit my skin with the mist setting of a spray bottle loaded with walnut dye today...so far, looking good! The skin took it quite readily, and it looks like I'll have a nice two-tone look between the vegtan strap staying lighter and the much darker skin.

Image

Re: A proper Dúnedain waterskin..

Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 11:56 pm
by Elleth
wow! That does look good! Fascinating...

Re: A proper Dúnedain waterskin..

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 12:13 am
by Greg
A few spots showed drips, like running wet paint, so I dabbed them with a dry paper towel and they smoothed out before I hung it to dry. After it's completely dry, I may give it a second spray (or just a spot treatment) to fix any overly light spots (I can see one in the pic already.)

The squirt bottle worked so well that we're gonna try it on Lori's hair later this week.