when I asked he pointed out that the thin light cream hemp rope I had for a pack strap was blindingly obvious in the dark of the trees and had been the only thing he could see, I quickly changed that for dark leather cord
yikes!
I'm mostly out alone, and other than a period years ago when I was doing overnights alone in public backcountry wasn't paying much attention to trying not to stand out. Re-reading, I'm getting reminded of how important that was, and it has me rethinking things. I think I need to start doing some experiments in the near future. If anyone's done any kind of experimentation looking for friends in various kinds of period clothes, I'm curious how it went. I've a sneaking suspicion some colors might not stand out as much as I'd expect - deep dull plum-madder reds for example - but I really have no idea.
As for arrows, I want my shafts brighter than the underbrush specifically for hunting. Arrows are expensive, even in period, and so I would want a bare-wood gleam to help me retrieve arrows (and, in kind, find the start of blood trails, etc.) Since quivers cover most of the shaft, I could see dyeing the crest/cap of the shaft, but leaving the forward 2/3rds light for utilitarian purposes.
I think a lot of that is context. For our roving use - and yes, hunting - I think bright arrows are absolutely the win.
(In fact, for just plain roving practice I'm still stuck with using my modern arrows and recurve bow, as the arrows are more disposable and the bow weak enough not to break them should they hit something harder than expected - and I get to use those marvelous wire dont-get-lost heads. )
That said, it seems to me that an arrow light enough to stand out amongst the leaf litter for retrieval is almost by definition I'd say light enough to catch the eye of an orc should one find oneself more hunted than hunter. 2/3 is an interesting compromise. Hrmm... I'll have to think on that. Certainly the bag does help a lot.
I will be trying that dye Ursus, at least on my next batch. Thank you! It's just walnut powder boiled down to a paint consistency? Do you wipe it off after letting it sit a bit to stain, or do you actually use it as a paint? I assume you glue / bind the fletching after?
The one frustrating thing is I'd finally gotten my eye trained out of seeing light-colored ash as "wrong" compared to all the TV dramas from way back when.
Or maybe I'm just overthinking things. Anyhow, nothing for it but to try.
Greg wrote:Iodo wrote:Interesting, I always imagined that a sword hilt wouldn't be darkened, it would just be hidden behind a cloak.
There's an app for th...I mean, there's a reference for that!
Ha!
Persona: Aerlinneth, Dúnedain of Amon Lendel c. TA 3010.