Quartermaster James

I'm posting this here, instead of the marketplace, becuase my intent is to share the pictures for people interested in making chests. Spanish Colonial Chest

By no means assuming to presume to answer for the original poster, allow me to suppose while anticipating her reply: My supposition is that the students have latched onto pirate reenactors because they find themselves immersed in a time and place resplendent with such, namely: Portland, Oregon, Summer 2009. Now, I do not know how a distance learning center works. Are the students local to the center and learn at a distance from Emporia, or are they sent fresh from the fields of Kansas to far and distant Portlandia? If the latter, they may not have ever before encountered pirates. In July, they would have seen the streets of downtown Portland overrun with pirates for the 166th annual Plunderathon, or perhaps they had been in a bar raided by pirates, or noticed several of the aforementioned establishments already pirate themed, or found a pirate store in the mall (Aye! here in Portland, pirattitude has penetrated even the most hallowed temple of our culture!), or been told tales of Sea Dog Nights, or observed pirates at the Faire in the Grove, or seen pirates in the Starlight Parade. And now, as summer's end comes into view, we approach the Portland Pirate Festival next weekend. Of course it doesn't hurt that we are but a short sail away from the birthplace of ITLAP day! I wonder if they've even seen a Mountain Man or Civil War reenactor around these parts in a while? We do have both. Perhaps neither were chosen because 1) Civil War reenactors have been studied a bit already, 2) Mountain Men tend to fly under the radar. Just supposin'...

Yes: cheese.

I wouldn't recommend it for that. unless you are seeking an aromatic rather than visual effect. Even then, you'd probably have too many people worried about "that burning smell." If you're looking to make yourself some savory smoked tofu, on the other hand...

Did I try it out? Hell yes! I had everything around but the iron, and a quick trip and $4.99 to Harbor Freight and I fixed that! This is so brilliantly simple and it works fantastically. Smoke generation is low and constant, as opposed to billowing and quick. I got almost two hours smoking from 1/3 of a can of pellets. Also, I was able to pull this off in my little 19" table top propane grill! I did about five blocks of miscellaneous cheese I had around (to my taste, the sharper the better to go with the smoke - THIS CHEESE proved excellent!) The pellets I used were BBQr's Delight. I used the hickory as a safe bet for a first experiment, but I've got mesquite on hand and am itching to try it on something now! Did I try this?!!! Seriously Mission, I thought you knew me better than that by now!

You are so going to want to try this at home! Cold Smoke

Four, of course, being associated with death in some cultures...

Yesh...come over to the dark side...we have hardtack!

Happy to oblige, Captain. Do keep us posted on further developments.

Although I understand that black was a more difficult dye to work with, it was being worn in our time frame by even the middling class for mourning wear.. so why make it sound like only a member of the nobility could afford such an item as a suit all in black? Not trying to be argumentative, just curious.. I am seeing Black runaways in black coats but not until the 1760s I am relying on hearsay evidence and am quite open to correction. May I refer you back to the discussion of February 23, 2007, in the thread Clothing Colors: Clothing Colors, beginning about 2/3 down page 2?

Just like a woman to interject common sense into an otherwise vigorous debate!

Both, and neither You are right that a suit of black clothes would befit a duke. That said, there are far worse offenses being committed out there than dressing above your station. Now, even were said clothes gained as a prize, we're back to the old question of would they have been worn or sold for ready cash? If the clothes are discards, through how many hands have they been handed before they get to your character? Perhaps in addition to fading, you could add some signs of alteration and even patching. Remnants of long worn off trim/embroidery come to mind. Where, too, is your character based? What you might not wear in London for fear of drawing unwanted attention, you might put on in other parts? What is the background of your character? Are you someone among your crew, who after having taken a particularly fat prize might have been dressed in these clothes by his mates precisely because they are so far above your status; mocking both your position and the social order? These are a few of the considerations I was offered when I was starting out and I was thinking I would dress in black. There are far better historians on this board than I, and I hope they weigh in on this question, particularly as to how a modern black dye would fade compared to period dye. Personally, I like Lady Brower's suggestion to make the clothes and age them rapidly but naturally.

Best wishes for the happiest of birthdays!

Silkie - Do I hail thee on your birthday? Hail yes! Happy birthday!

"My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." -Hedley Lamarr

Bo, This makes me wonder what salt use/consumption in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica might have been. I have the faded memory of an educational film about some jungle dwelling peoples who, in one scene, were introduced to refined salt. The commentary was something to the effect that they took to this new foodstuff, eating it by the handful, as we might sugar. Unfortunately, I have no recollection of what part of the world this was. Additionally, I have a minor interest in pickling, especially brine cured lactic acid ferments such as sauerkraut and kim chi, and I cannot recall ever encountering regional pre-Columbian pickles. Please let us know if your course offers any answers.

Certainly any people near an ocean do not need excrement to produce table salt! I strongly suspect that the salt mentioned is not NaCl, but rather KNO3, potassium nitrate, aka: saltpeter. See Ulrich Bretscher's excellent black powder site for more information on the production of potassium nitrate. Besides it's use in black powder, KNO3 is also used in tanning. However, I do not know how early it's use was introduced to this process. Bo, can you give us a link to the other discussion please? I am curious. Was brain tanning ruled out for some reason?

I guess we're not so much learning from as leaning on.

No $#!%! Duct tape isn't historically correct! Use a strip of linen cloth!

Sorry Hawkyns, didn't see your post. I didn't mean to dismiss TOTW, in fact I just placed an order with them last night!

Yeah, sometimes it seems Erwin's got a different name for everything That said, if he doesn't have the piece you need, you gotta hit the boards. Have you posted on the Traditional Muzzleloading Forum already? I'm assuming you've already contacted CVA, no? CVA Parts

I have to wonder of what options they were aware? If the Church was their adversary, then their adversary's adversary is their friend. After all, they didn't reject the Church for Judaism or Islam. Or was "turning Turk" considered embracing the devil? Which is not to say that all religions have a devil.

Thanks Bo. I was wondering whether to go through or around. Through it is then!

I just received my order of these. Very nice with the shiny finish. Nice pinback too. Sure to be a hit with the ladies at the festival. Now, bring me those bodices!

Somewhat relatedly: how do yall keep your hatbands on your hats?