I agree with Greg - the fellow on the left is not too far off from how I picture Butterbur! I've also worn an 18th century short jacket in other contexts, and quite like them. With my soft kit, I was influenced (at least in general form) by the Quintfall Hill Clothing - quintfall hill clothing.jpg I...

Sorry about the double post, but I did find something - Butterbur is wearing a garment with a pocket, from which he produces Gandalf's letter to Frodo (FotR, Book I, Chapter 10: "Strider"). This could be a pocket in his breeches - Letter 211 specifies "that males, especially in northe...

Are there any references to waistcoats or jerkins in Bree? Not that I've found. :( My clothing references largely consist of the quote from Letter 211 and bits of clothing belonging to groups known to travel through/trade with Bree. A waistcoat could fall into the latter group - Bilbo wore a "...

Aaaaand I've finally updated this again - added my hard kit picture, but I forgot my axe! Ah well, I figure y'all know what an axe looks like. I'll try to take a picture with all my gear, and it'll be in that. If it really bothers me down the line, I'll just take another picture!

To day I went for quite a long trek through forest and across moorland, I was bordering on too hot in thin linen trousers and tunic (with the sleeves rolled up and a modern sun hat) I think, being British and not use to heat, I couldn't cope with a wool hat, nice as it would be. My interpretation a...

I know the name of the game, particularly with Rangers, is to be as average as possible. This is HARD. I may abandon the weapons situation until after I've got a cloak/breeches/shirt set up. I'll have to talk about boots in another post, given my need for the most possible traction due to concerns ...

Thanks! ... Are you planning to wax the cord about the neck? I imagine that might help things from getting too soppy once it's in use. That'd probably be a good call, but I've already given it to my friend! :mrgreen: He's pretty clever, though, and he's got some beeswax, so I'm sure that'll occur to...

I converted another bota as a gift for a friend using pretty much the same method that I used for my first one, but I remembered to take WIP pictures this time! waterskin.jpg I wrote up a how-to over on my blog - there are a lot of pictures (and most aren't very interesting to look at), so I didn't ...

Yeah, I also did a bit of Googling for alder, and it's likely I'll be using a different wood, at least for a first iteration. I'll be checking for references to different woods in the text at some point. Good thing to keep in the back of my mind, though! Alder is the only tree mentioned specificall...

Well that's interesting: I'm curious though - reading the article, I don't see what convinced them this particular object was intended as a fighting weapon, as opposed to some other tool. Not to say it *couldn't* have been - I sure would't want to get thwacked with it. My guess is that one of the c...

Yeah, I also did a bit of Googling for alder, and it's likely I'll be using a different wood, at least for a first iteration. I'll be checking for references to different woods in the text at some point. Good thing to keep in the back of my mind, though!

Ned, I heard about this in a recent NatGeo, and was able to read the complete scholarly article Here . https://d.ibtimes.co.uk/en/full/1653452/thames-beater.png Called the 'Thames beater', it's an Alder club dated to 3530-3340 BCE (aka FOURTH AGE!). If it was me doing a Breelander kit and I need a ...

Nope. My friends in Regia Anglorum, think that fabric made from nettle fiber was commonly used. https://regia.org/research/life/textiles.htm Nice article! I'd be interested in seeing their references for the use of nettles other than hemp - always interested in learning about different historic fib...

That certainly make sense, and definitely come from a place of both practical and historical knowledge! Thanks for the experimental archeology update!

What else is in the yard that I can eat? lol If you Google for edible plant guides for Montana you'll probably turn up a few resources! There might even be some classes offered in your area - foraging is becoming hip. Some easy ones that might be around for you are clovers and acorns (with processi...