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My 1870-90s style travel trunk & other late 19c gear


Redbeard Jake

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I just wanted to share some photos of my 1870-90s style travel trunk for a cowboy, travelling craftsman or frontiersman:

 

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  • Redbeard Jake changed the title to My 1870-90s style travel trunk

great lookin piece of craftsmanship , kinda like a settlers foot locker , nice kit as well , i was expecting more of a steamer trunk look but i like the look of what you put together , 

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I have a couple of questions about your kit.

 

What's in the bottle? I'm trying to decide between honey and whiskey.

 

There's a short piece of stag above the tinder box. What is that? Sort of looks like it might be a salt and pepper holder. Hollow most of the antler out from both ends, but not all the way so there's still antler in the middle. There looks to be a cap on each end.

 

Top left corner of the gridiron. That a mucket? What size is the skillet - 6 or 8"?

 

That gray rectangular thing between the knife and the sheath. My initial thought was a whetstone, but then I saw the grooves in one end of it and decided that wasn't what it was. So what is it?

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Thank you for the kind feedback everyone :D

 

The pocket glask, which is a repro. of early American glassware (more early 19c than late really, but they were made for a fairly long time), contains Buffalo Trace.

 

The small stag tube is a salt horn, the cap is only removeable in one end. I have other spices, including a bottle of Tacasco, in one of the small bags.

 

That is indeed a mucket or corn boiler. The skillet is a 6.5", just large enough for a few slices of bacon or a small steak.

 

The gray rectangular is indeed a whetstone, in Norwegian mica slate which has been exported from Norway since the iron age. I have a few original stones, dating from 900-1500, in the same type of stone as well, they are very common here. Considering that I would go as one of the 336000 Danes that immigrated to the US between 1820 and and 1930, it would make sense to have brought along something like a locally produced whetstone.

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13 minutes ago, Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 said:

Jake:

 

Very nice project!!

 

What are the contents of the brass oval box?

 

LL

 

Thank you.

 

The oval (Hudson's Bay style) tin is a tinder- or tobacco tin. It contains flint and steel, as well as amadou fungus, charcloth and flax, for starting fires. Under the small cap on the lid is a magnifying glass, also usefull in that regard.

 

I do carry all-weather matches in a small metal container for emergencies, but I greatly prefer to use the flint and steel.

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Great lookin kit.

 

Found reference to a pipe lighter that is a self creating charcloth made from a small diameter metal tube 4-5 inch long with pure cotton yarn inside it.

 

To use it you push enough yarn out that the charred ends will take spark start your dottle coal or fire and then draw the yarn back into the tube. It extinguishes itself and creates the char for next use.

 

Been using one I made for over a decade at this point beats all everthin out of opening my tinderbox and finding my charcloth all powdered.

 

Use cheap mop strands as my source for cotton yarn. Just the right size to fit a 1/8 brass pipe fitting.

16131305886493619452426036616162.jpg

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Very nice. Thanks for sharing.

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3 hours ago, Redbeard Jake said:

The pocket glask, which is a repro. of early American glassware (more early 19c than late really, but they were made for a fairly long time), contains Buffalo Trace.

So that's a Pitkin flask. Very cool.

https://ancientglass.wordpress.com/2014/04/26/pitkin-flask-early-american-glass/

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4 hours ago, Texas Joker said:

Great lookin kit.

 

Found reference to a pipe lighter that is a self creating charcloth made from a small diameter metal tube 4-5 inch long with pure cotton yarn inside it.

 

To use it you push enough yarn out that the charred ends will take spark start your dottle coal or fire and then draw the yarn back into the tube. It extinguishes itself and creates the char for next use.

 

Been using one I made for over a decade at this point beats all everthin out of opening my tinderbox and finding my charcloth all powdered.

 

Use cheap mop strands as my source for cotton yarn. Just the right size to fit a 1/8 brass pipe fitting.

16131305886493619452426036616162.jpg

 

I will have to try that. Thank you for the tip.

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2 hours ago, Alpo said:

 

I did not know then were called that, but yes, that is definitely the model.

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Very nice. I made a solitary one years ago when I was doing Civil War re-enacting. I put external handles on it to keep dirt and bugs out. 

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A few photos of some of my other 19c gear.

Due to the laws in Denmark, making it fairly difficult to obtain a permit for using live- or blank shooting guns for re-enactment, all of the guns, aside from the .357Mag Pietta 1873 in the first photo, are air-softs.

 

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I am also quite fond of the classic barlow knife:

 

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  • Redbeard Jake changed the title to My 1870-90s style travel trunk & other late 19c gear
1 hour ago, Wallaby Jack, SASS #44062 said:

OUTSTANDING !!   :D

 

Thank you :D

 

I may also have a slight thing for badges and pocket pistols:

 

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The badges, except for the 1940s Missouri Humane Officer badge on the far right, are all repros.

 

The percussion pistols are originals; the top one is a Belgian Liège screw barrel boxlock, the sidelock pistol on the left is a gold inlaid coat pocket pistol made in Copenhagen, the double barrelled boxlock is unmarked, but it is most likely a Swedish postman's pistol. It is said that one barrel of the Swedish post pistol was always loaded with coarse salt (for wild dogs and other animals) and the other with a lead ball (for robbers), I can't say for sure - but what I can say is that one barrel of the pistol is heavily corroded and the piston for that barrel is almost worn down, while the other barrel and piston are in good shape.

 

 

Well, apparently I do...

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  • 2 weeks later...

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I recieved my badge yesterday :D

 

I don't think I have ever recieved a welcome package as nice as that from any club.

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