gourd canteen

[threefingersjack]

i'm looking for differn't ways to carry a gourd canteen that is pc during 1750 to 1840. I have a gourd that holds about 2 qts and I want to use it for trekking and etc.

 

[rschissler]

Won't it rot after awhile?

 

[Cruzatte]

Won't it rot after awhile?

Not if it's good and waxed inside and out. The problem with gourd canteens is that they're fragile. I speak from experience.

Cruzatte

 

[dodgecity]

I've seen a few reenactors who used them, and they constructed woven, or solid leather "sheaths" with a shoulder strap to carry them. I don't know about rotting, I think they are normally coated inside with bee's wax to retard it, but, they always seemed to me to be too fragile for the rigors of every day use. I made my canteen from a colonial type heavy glass flask, sealed with a cork stopper, and sheathed with heavy leather and a shoulder strap, after the fashion pictured in "The Collectors Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Revolution". My main reason for choosing this system over wooden canteens, gourds, etc, was that a glass liner can be kept very clean and sanitary compared to the other alternatives, and, if I decide to carry a beverage a little stronger than water, it won't dissolve or effect the linings used in the others. Of course, the same thing could be said of a good quality tin canteen.

 

[musketman]

I've seen a few reenactors who used them, and they constructed woven, or solid leather "sheaths" with a shoulder strap to carry them.

Like this?

Gourd with jute...

 

[dodgecity]

Yup, exactly like that.

 

[threefingersjack]

thanks for the info guys.i'll try the glass flask dodgecity once i aquire one.thanks for the picture also musketman that was a big help. :front:

 

[Kevin M]

I tie a few loops around the neck of the gourd and carry it over a shoulder. It gets really heavy though. I took it deer hunting for a week and went back to my smaller kidney shaped tin canteen. I have lined them with beeswax and pine pitch. The beeswax seems to grow mold quicker. I just take and fill it with bleach and water and let it sit overnight and then rewax it.

 

[threefingersjack]

I have it cleaned and coated on the inside with bees wax and was wondering if I coat the outside with polyurthine or something on that nature would it ruin it? Also if i use rawhide instead of leather for a sheath when it dries would it crack it? :hmm:

 

[Black Hand]

I have it cleaned and coated on the inside with bees wax and was wondering if I coat the outside with polyurthine or something on that nature would it ruin it? Also if i use rawhide instead of leather for a sheath when it dries would it crack it? :hmm:

Sir,
I coated mine with the same wax I use inside. I also used rawhide, but not as a complete covering with no ill effects. If you send me your address, I will e-mail you a picture.
Black Hand

 

[fiddler]

I make them often to sell at rendezvous. I line the inside with a 50/50 mix of paraffin and beeswax and coat the outside with polyurethane. I sew on a strap/sling made of wet rawhide. When it dries, it tightens up rock hard. After some months of use, the wax starts to flake off inside. I just fill it up with boiling water and swish it around. This reseals it.

 

[Maestro]

I just ran across the following link...

The Hard Shelled Gourd: its use as a container

 

[onefeather]

great site gave me alot of ideas i plan to be growing some gourds next year and got more ideas now thanks :RO:

 

[dodgecity]

Give some thought as to where you plant them. I planted a whole package once, which turned out to be way more than I needed. They were the ball shaped ones with a long neck. Once they started growing, they took over the whole garden, and then started out through the yard. Some went under the fence, through the fence, and even over the fence and started through the neighbor's yard. I had vines with gourds hanging on them everywhere. Kinda felt like Jack must have when he planted the beanstalk. Gave some away, cut some up to make ladles and bowls, some the wife used for fall decorating, and some I put up as birdhouses for the next few years (the house wrens loved them). My supply finally gave out. I haven't planted any since, but, maybe next year, but further from the house.