Recreating Kephart's Outfit

This is really exciting.... I am liking your project a lot ..... There has been a modest but growing Classic Camping movement taking place and for me it is pretty nostalgic because, I grew up under canvas tarp tents and pack sacks..... I went modern because of weight and an aversion to honest work.... The more “primitive” materials will teach you weight discipline......Only takes a couple of trips...LOL..... The early English Alpinists went a long way on hard bread, sausage, hard cheese, chocolate and tea with a bunch of sugar...... I did fine with a couple of tarps and an army wool mummy until it got cold.... That wool bag was an itchy s.o.b..... Switched to an all nylon bag and then down and then the synthetics....

A worthy project. Thank you for sharing it with us.....

E

You do have choices in the axe department
 
Ethan Becker said:
This is really exciting.... I am liking your project a lot ..... There has been a modest but growing Classic Camping movement taking place and for me it is pretty nostalgic because, I grew up under canvas tarp tents and pack sacks..... I went modern because of weight and an aversion to honest work.... The more “primitive” materials will teach you weight discipline......Only takes a couple of trips...LOL..... The early English Alpinists went a long way on hard bread, sausage, hard cheese, chocolate and tea with a bunch of sugar...... I did fine with a couple of tarps and an army wool mummy until it got cold.... That wool bag was an itchy s.o.b..... Switched to an all nylon bag and then down and then the synthetics....

A worthy project. Thank you for sharing it with us.....

E

You do have choices in the axe department
Click to expand...

Why, thank you Ethan! I've always been enamoured with the old ways. Last fall I took a week long canoe hunting trip, deep into the heart of ancient Acadien forests. Slept cozily in a canvas Polish lavvu tent, wrapped in woolens, searching for deer to take with a long bow. No such luck that time, and it was probably for the best, as the thought of adding a hundred or more pounds of deer carcass to the already grueling portages wasn't exciting.

Nothing beats the feel of leather and canvas. Synthetics are great and all, but gimme the old timey stuff any day. Especially near fire.

I have a kit based on Ötzi the Iceman in the works as well, to be real primitive...

Thanks again for bringing this piece to life Mr. B.


 
This is a great project. I would be open to modern substitutes, especially tent, sleeping bag, tarps, and so forth to reduce weight. Kephart's list is one of the things about his book that I found fascinating and of course a bit dated to materials available in the early 1900's.
 
I have often wondered if Horace Kephart had a horse or mule? I think he would have found a Llama a very useful pack animal to have around in his mountain wanderings.
 
22-rimfire said:
This is a great project. I would be open to modern substitutes, especially tent, sleeping bag, tarps, and so forth to reduce weight. Kephart's list is one of the things about his book that I found fascinating and of course a bit dated to materials available in the early 1900's.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Definitely going to be making some substitutions here and there, for practicality sake. For example, in lieu of a browse bag, I think I'll use the Canadian army rubber air mattress. It's fairly light, very robust, and gives lots of padding, and I don't have to cut browse or pick leaves and grasses at every site, which helps lessen the footprint on the area.
 
Pack sack update:

Got the strapping for the front all assembled. There's a leather "washer" stitched on the inside of the pack for every strap and buckle, and they are then double riveted with solid copper rivets and burrs. Decided to forgo dye, I'll oil them up and let them age naturally. Got some wax paste on it, so I'll probably wind up treating the whole thing for some added water resistance.
Now onto the shoulder straps and tump line.





 
Really, really nice work!.... Can you post pix of your Otzi Kit?.... I have been interested in reproing his axe.... Just for me mind, not a commercial project....Would be fun to work with that blade.... Maybe one in bronze and one in steel.... Dreams.....
 
Nice work! I love to see your progress photos. I would also like to see any Otzi stuff.
 
Not a whole lot of Ötzi kit yet; so far it consists of a hickory self-bow, a Condor Ötzi knife, and this quiver I made from a deer. I have some good sized chunks of flint and obsidian, as well as some knapping tools to try and make some arrowheads and a knife, but I thus far lack the skill.



 
I made this stuff up last year, and still have a bunch. It's Nessmuk's fly dope recipe, but Kep mentions it as well.

3 parts pine tar,
2 parts castor oil
1 part pennyroyal oil,

Cooked together over a fire and bottled. It's a pretty excellent insect repellant, though it is a tad sticky and will darken your skin. Builds into a glaze, except during the height of our unseasonably warm summer, excessive sweat tends to cause it to run off. But it's damned effective otherwise.

 
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