Barrel-shaped leather costrel build (pic heavy!)
Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2017 7:37 pm
One of my goals for this year's skills challenge (well, last year's, actually...) was to make a new costrel. I decided to go with the 3-piece barrel-looking cylindrical costrel rather than the 2-piece flacket costrel that a few folks here on the forum use. I had made one previously, but the construction method I used the first go 'round resulted in some leaking spots that I just couldn't seem to fix, so I took another stab at it. I even remembered to take pictures this time!
I'm happy with the way my new costrel turned out, but as a warning, it's very plain. If you want to see some beautiful costrels, go check out the costrel collaboration Ringulf and Caedmon worked on a while back!
I based my costrel on a few images from medieval artwork and a couple extant examples -
Even though most of those examples look to be round (although the extant ones are kind of squashed), I decided to put a flat bottom on mine so I wouldn't have to worry about it rolling around too much. That's pretty common in later (18th century) examples, but I don't know when that started.
In order to make the ends of the costrel fit without cutting or folding them (that's what caused the leaking issues in the first one), I made a (very) rudimentary jig to shape the ends -
Woodworking is not one of my gifts. Here is a piece of wet leather being shaped in the jig -
I cut it deliberately large so I could trim it after the fact and not have to worry about precise placement. The jig wasn't pretty, but it got the job done -
I forgot to take a picture of the main body of the costrel before stitching the top, but it was effectively a long rectangle with matching shaped ends. I punched all the stitching holes, then stitched the top of the costrel to make it easier to fit the sides into place.
I trimmed the excess leather off the shaped ends -
You may notice the end does not have stitching holes punched - due to the curves of the ends, the space between the holes needed to vary to match the outside holes, so I punched the holes with an awl as I went.
One end in, one to go!
After attaching both ends, I wet the costrel thoroughly then packed it full of barley -
This stretched the leather outwards a bit, slightly increasing the capacity. It also helped prevent the ends from collapsing inward during sealing.
A LOT of barley fit in that sucker!
Shaped and ready for sealing -
The creases at the base of the neck were bothering me, but then I saw that they were present on some extant examples, so it may just be a product of the stretching process. I sealed the costrel with a mix of beeswax and brewer's pitch. I aimed for a mix of 1 part pitch to 2 parts wax, but it was all by eye.
I initially used a cork to close the costrel (it worked well enough for the March overnighter), but I wanted something more authentic, so I carved a stopple out of red cedar. I don't know how long it'll last, since cedar is a little soft and it already seems to have a small crack in it, but I figure I'll use it till it starts giving me trouble.
It holds about 2 liters/half a gallon, which was more than I was expecting! It doesn't seem especially bulky for how much it holds, though, and it rides pretty well on my belt.
I'm happy with the way my new costrel turned out, but as a warning, it's very plain. If you want to see some beautiful costrels, go check out the costrel collaboration Ringulf and Caedmon worked on a while back!
I based my costrel on a few images from medieval artwork and a couple extant examples -
Even though most of those examples look to be round (although the extant ones are kind of squashed), I decided to put a flat bottom on mine so I wouldn't have to worry about it rolling around too much. That's pretty common in later (18th century) examples, but I don't know when that started.
In order to make the ends of the costrel fit without cutting or folding them (that's what caused the leaking issues in the first one), I made a (very) rudimentary jig to shape the ends -
Woodworking is not one of my gifts. Here is a piece of wet leather being shaped in the jig -
I cut it deliberately large so I could trim it after the fact and not have to worry about precise placement. The jig wasn't pretty, but it got the job done -
I forgot to take a picture of the main body of the costrel before stitching the top, but it was effectively a long rectangle with matching shaped ends. I punched all the stitching holes, then stitched the top of the costrel to make it easier to fit the sides into place.
I trimmed the excess leather off the shaped ends -
You may notice the end does not have stitching holes punched - due to the curves of the ends, the space between the holes needed to vary to match the outside holes, so I punched the holes with an awl as I went.
One end in, one to go!
After attaching both ends, I wet the costrel thoroughly then packed it full of barley -
This stretched the leather outwards a bit, slightly increasing the capacity. It also helped prevent the ends from collapsing inward during sealing.
A LOT of barley fit in that sucker!
Shaped and ready for sealing -
The creases at the base of the neck were bothering me, but then I saw that they were present on some extant examples, so it may just be a product of the stretching process. I sealed the costrel with a mix of beeswax and brewer's pitch. I aimed for a mix of 1 part pitch to 2 parts wax, but it was all by eye.
I initially used a cork to close the costrel (it worked well enough for the March overnighter), but I wanted something more authentic, so I carved a stopple out of red cedar. I don't know how long it'll last, since cedar is a little soft and it already seems to have a small crack in it, but I figure I'll use it till it starts giving me trouble.
It holds about 2 liters/half a gallon, which was more than I was expecting! It doesn't seem especially bulky for how much it holds, though, and it rides pretty well on my belt.