fredk

I've enjoyed reading all your responses and seeing all the cases / packs you've found Just shows ya, a good idea just stays around and is adapted by different trades In the 1100s thru 1500s ordinary people wore a hood with a short shoulder length cape attached (actually it was one piece). In the old illustrations the chapman's hood-cape draped over the top of his pack. It looked like he'd put the pack on first, then his hood, which draped over his shoulders and the rear part covered the top of his pack I never photo'd it and afaik no else bothered to either. It was no great shakes. It was just a rough one knocked up to see if it was useful. Plan was to make a better one Good one. Looks like they continued a profession which went back to at least the 900s yeah, well, I was sort of teasing on that. I did get slightly more attention from both visitors and the press. If you've seen one Black Knight sword fighting you've seen them all but it's not often there was someone (me) sitting making arrows, or sewing up shoes etc Oh, another version; the knapsack, aka a backpack, used by British soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars (1793 - 1816) and by US soldiers from about 1811 was of a similar construction and opened up in the same way. The Froggie's / Crapaud's pack was different Now that we have all these variations who will be the first to draw up a pattern for one they might use? 'Be the first on your block!' as adverts on the back of comics used to say

You can buy LED lamps which look like Tilley oil lamps. They are aimed at campers I can't find the one I'm thinking of but here is another example https://www.amazon.co.uk/Camping-Lantern-Sahara-Sailor-Collapses/dp/B076K13QVV/ref=sr_1_26?adgrpid=50624903462&dchild=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6NmHBhD2ARIsAI3hrM2BgjO5_WcjyCyWOvQtd30j8F2oIQRDRXsF7vGWGA5G-8Tuj3rDGF8aAprlEALw_wcB&hvadid=259034948109&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1006500&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=11031287559302580435&hvtargid=kwd-297169368403&hydadcr=28153_1821061&keywords=led+camping+lights&qid=1626821317&sr=8-26

I think if you understand and visualize what goes on may help Your awl blade tapers from the point to its maximum width. You need to get the blade to a part of its maximum width thru the hole, not just a bit of the taper. As soon as you withdraw the blade the leather starts to close back up, thus you need to get your needle into that hole real fast, in fact, as you withdraw the awl blade the needle should be going in and coming out the other side with the awl blade. If you are saddle stitching the second needle should be going in now once the tip of the awl blade is clear of the hole. Now you'll feel resistance to the thread going thru the hole but if the thread is well waxed it'll pull through

so true

Last first. Yes, undoubtly but imo, not until you have gained some experience. Cheap tools will get you going, then buy the expensive ones when you're sure you'll use them I use these pliers type sewing holes punches. They do 2mm diamond holes at 2mm spacing. They are good for general sewing. Available in 4-tooth as per photo and 2-tooth for going around curves

rather than hi-jack this thread I did a thread on a Chapman's Pack https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/96513-chapmans-pack-for-renn-faires-and-markets/

On another discussion I mentioned a Chapman's Pack. @Klara asked what a Chapman's pack looked like. She could not find an example via google. In medieval times the chapman was a travelling shop. He came around your area every once in a while. He brought his stock of household requirements in his pack. He brought needles & threads, thimbles, eating knives, spare buckles to repair old belts, he brought toys for children, confections, cheap jewellery, ribbons & lace and more to sell to village and country housewives. One thing he brought which was priceless was the latest news from around the Kingdom or just the next parish or village The chapman travelled alone on foot in person but usually had a dog to accompany him and for protection. He did his rounds just about every day of the year, no selling on Sundays though and except in the very worst of weather. He got shelter and food from his customers and at Abbeys. He carried his shop on his back. Very rarely was he ever robbed. He was one of those who bandits never really bothered, he was just an ordinary workman earning his living. When I was involved with historical presentation societies I choose to be the simple craftsman whilst everyone else wanted to be the 'Black Knight' and do the sword fights. Guess who got more attention? More photos in local & national papers? Towards the end of my time doing events I made a basic Chapman's Pack but was planning on making a better one. Just opening up the Pack drew crowds of attention at events My pack is based on several drawings which were in the margins of early illuminated books, mainly from the early to mid 14th century (the 1300s) Herewith is a basic sketch outline of what a Chapman's pack looked like and how it was opened up The box shape is made of extremely thin and light weight wood, about no more than 1/8 inch thick for the panels and the frames about 1.5 to 3 inches thick. My sketch is very basic. Those who study it will realise that the depth of each main side, top & bottom piece is different to accommodate the thickness of the panels when they are folded in. Generally the pack was about 18 to 20 inches wide, the width of a strong man at the shoulders. It was about 20 to 26 inches tall, from top of shoulders down to arse and between 8 and 16 inches deep. The rear-most panel had waterproof material on it as it was first on the ground when opened and when up it closed off the contents from wind and rain. Each panel opening in its sequence. The hinges were often of hardened leather. Each side panel and top opening panel, or flap, had various ways to hang the Chapman's wares for display. Some cheap items just being laid out the ground flap, the goods protected by the waterproof cover. The most expensive items remaining in the main box of the pack but could be seen. The shoulder straps would be unbuckled and re-attached to the flap to hold it up. Rarely, the chapman also carried, attached to the pack, 4 wood shafts, each about 3 ft long which he could attach to the base of the pack somehow to raise the pack up, to make it easier for customers to see his goods - no kneeling down, better for elderly housewives in market places Obviously there can be a great many variations on this design

Its been a while since I done that My usual, sometimes too bluddy often, mistake is to take what I think is a waste off-cut and think 'That piece will do nicely for this, it just needs cutting down to shape' then after its been cut down, its 'Oh Sh*t' as I realise that piece was a cut piece for an on-going stalled project. And invariably it was the last good piece available for the stalled project. No repair. You'll not be happy or content until you remake & replace that slashed panel. And it'll be one of the bestest panels you'll ever do!

If I may, I'll add some more. Not leatherwork but when I had a wooden toy making company. I was once asked about producing a number of wooden toys for a shop that was going to specialise in being sort of 'Victorian'. We, being me and the shop owner, decided on which toys and worked out a per unit price based on dozens being made. As for 'samples' I charged much in excess of the unit price. I had to charge for; design, hand construction of each sample toy, buying in the safety info sheets for dyes and paints, fees for the testing to destruction of the toy for it to pass regulations as well as the cost of materials and a cost for time spent on it all, which included travelling to meetings, to the timber yard etc and fuel costs & parking fees et al. afair this total came to around £35 to £40 per toy against a unit price which varied, wholesale, from £1.50 to £3 As it turned out that shop never materialised but I did not loose any money on it because the 'sample' prices had all been paid. All R&D costs covered. In other words, I'm trying to say; make sure you are not out of pocket on the deal. Even though you'll only use 1/4 of that shoulder, unless you can immediately allocate the other 3/4 to another on-going project the whole price of the 'samples' needs to cover the total cost of that shoulder. Plus costs for any time you need to spend designing the pouch or hangers as well as making them On those wooden toys I had to buy in excess of certain hard-woods for them but that was covered in my charge I've found what Tugadude said to be very true; "The old adage about people not appreciating things that are given free is pretty accurate " You don't need to explain anything to the client about your prices. Just tell them that if they want quality items they'll have to pay R&D for them but after that the unit price will be lower

I'm contrary, due to past experience of getting ripped off. Charge a normal 'whole-sale' price for the samples. ie the price you are going to sell them to the client for. Also make sure your maker's mark is on each item. Even with a written contract of supply and even if you think you can trust that client they may take your items to someone else to copy and get them at a reduced price even with reduced quality. Been there, got the tee shirt etc.

I must be careful. This could easily veer off topic into a rant by me Its not for the festival 'police' - its for the eejits who think our ancestors could not and did not make nice quality items. If you get involved with the SCA (Society of Creative Anachronism ) you'll find they are tended to properly researched things whereas independent groups believe all they see in 'Games of Thrones' or 'Xena: Warrior Princess' That is mostly imagined history, although the Vikings & Normans did have sword scabbards made from unfinished sheepskin with the fleece on the inside, The natural oil lanolin acted as a rust inhibitor That is some of the thoughts of some eejits you may well come across I invested heavily in books written by archaeologists about finds from digs. The books cost £30* and upwards. I got them to research the items and to make modern copies of the real items *I rarely pay more than £5 for a book! There are three kinds of historical' accuracy or perception of the ancient past 1. real, researched 2. imagined 3. based on fantasy medieval such as 'Games of Thrones' which is mainly 2 with a wee bit of 1 thrown in

Your W&D paper is expensive. 8 x 12 inch sheet £0.50 to £0.60 per, or about 70c per another vote for a box cutter knife don't buy card for pattern - scrounge cereal boxes or boxes from shops

aye, but I'd make something like this Even though its a copy of real one, but with different stamping, I was told it was not / could not be real. Medieval people carried knives in scabbards/sheaths made by thonging two rough cut pieces of leather together

I think I'll need to get back to you about that. Its hard to describe in under 1,000,000 words of less than seven syllables. Maybe a drawing, if I could draw

Just another fancy name for that cheap' leather' they use on 'leather' furniture. I know it as PU Leather - PolyUrethane mixed with leather dust and bonded onto a cloth backing. We used to call it 'leather cloth'. Been in use for about 100 years by now

I don't use 'waxed'' leather, I use my version of M&G in place of Resolene as a complete sealer. If it soaks in it'll probably seal

No, cos they think our ancestors didn't know how to make quality leather. My stuff was often dismissed as 'not historically accurate' as it was 'too good' / 'too nice' I got into the habit of keeping some of my reference books with me 1 faire to see not what you are up against, but see what people are wearing and using and see if you make those items - better I hit submit before I'd finished that, it was to be Just before I gave up doing the medieval scene I was trying to make a good version of a chapman's fold up pack. I had a simple one made and it attracted attention just on opening it up!

No, not crazy, But be aware that *every body* at a Ren Faire thinks they can do leather work cheaper and better than you (at least thats my experience) Also, I found all I needed was a small fold up table, a stool and a cloth about 3ft x 3ft. Table for better things, eg my board games, the cloth on the ground for general belts and belt purses & pouches, drawstring bags (which are easy to make and really big sellers) Just before I gave the medieval scene I was trying to make a good version of a

try sealing it with 'Mop & Glo' * floor polish which is very thin acrylic varnish. I use a local version a lot for sealing * this has various names Home made meade

They are called lift-a-dot available here, eg https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201585672657

You have my condolences as well friend I can understand your feelings at this time Thank you for feeling you could share this with us strangers on here

This whole thing of manufacturers getting things made cheaper in another country, then trade tariffs imposed et cetera is nothing new. The Romans and Greeks had the same problems over 2000 years ago and it happened right thru the centuries to modern times

Looks most excellent to me

Deviation over Back to the main subject; if you were yo increase the card thickness, say, by gluing on another layer or two you could impress the design deeper

That place does not actually exist anymore. Its what we call a ghost. When it was open, it was only a meeting place with high prices. They did not have either any equipment nor experienced advisors. We have a lot of these types of business who's only aim is to get public money to run empty places