bottle gourd canteen

[George]

Ran across a bottle gourd I had stashed away sometime or other, so I decided I needed another gourd canteen, like the one this old veteran carried in 1780.





Sawed the top off, shook out all the innards I could, then put a bunch of nuts, bolts and screws in it and shook for the next 15 minutes, all the webs came out easily. Smoothed up the opening, carved a stopper from an old cork seine float, and I now have a new canteen, need it or not. I don't line my canteens, so it is finis. Holds 5 1/2 cups, enough for most of my outings, these days, even if I cook.



Spence

 

[Einsiedler]

Nice!

 

[Artificer]

Great tip on using the hardware to clean out the webs!

Are there more than one kind of bottle gourds? The reason I ask is because no one grew them in my neck of the woods as I grew up and I'm getting interested in getting one of these.

Gus

 

[Einsiedler]

Here's a pair of my modest fabrications.



Spence,

Really appreciate the old veterans moustache and hat! Thanks for posting that pictures!!

 

[Rifleman1776]

Kinda looks like me these days.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. :wink:

 

[Einsiedler]

Kinda looks like me these days.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. :wink:

And there asking below about an aged personna??

This one looks perfect. 😂😂😂

 

[smo]

Great looking canteen Spence :thumbsup: I've got one on my work bench as we speak. I was wondering if I should use brewers pitch or bees wax in mine ? And you gave me the perfect answer.......nothing! :hatsoff: I remember drinking from a gourd dipper as a kid and don't think it was lined...

 

[Twisted_1in66]

just saw a video on making gourd containers and canteens. Said you should boil it for at least 30-minutes before you do cut it open. That will harden the outer surface so that it doesn't crack after just a modicum of use - makes it much more durable.

Always wanted to make one of those. Perhaps I will give it a try.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan

 

[George]

Said you should boil it for at least 30-minutes before you do cut it open. That will harden the outer surface so that it doesn't crack after just a modicum of use - makes it much more durable.

Gosh, wish I had known that 27 years ago when I made my two other canteens. I didn't boil them, so they are liable to crack any day now. :haha:

Spence

 

[George]

Just from curiosity I weighed this new canteen. It weighs only 2.5 ounces. My tin canteen, British kidney shape, holds only 4 cups instead of the 5 1/2 cups this one does, but weighs 12 ounces. If weight is a consideration, let's hear it for gourds. :wink:

Spence

 

[Black Hand]

Much has to do with how the gourds were dried. None of the gourds I've made needed hardening and show no signs of failure. Another consideration is the gourd itself - there are some that are thin which is felt as give when squeezed gently. The ones I use for projects are about 1/8" thick and don't give when squeezed.

On the other hand, dipping/soaking in hot (soapy) water has helped me remove the remaining cuticle and expose the hard shell underneath.

 

[Black Hand]

...gourd containers and canteens...

Always wanted to make one of those. Perhaps I will give it a try.

Check your local Farmer's Market - If you ask around, someone may have gourds available. That's how I found mine and now have 15-20 gourds of varying sizes in the garage waiting for a project. I've used a gourd 3" tall for a salt container up to gallon-sized gourds for camp water containers (filled from the ubiquitous plastic camping water containers). They make very handy jugs, bowls and dippers.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I've gotten mine from the local Pumpkin Patch Harvest Your Own for Halloween - guy. I bet you could get the local pumplin farmer to plant some for you if they don't already have it planted, but don't wait. :shocked2:

LD

 

[SgtErv]

I prefer a wax liner in mine. It just tasted funny before I did so.

I have to say, it's a great canteen. Mine holds a bunch of water.

As with any canteen, I've stored it dry, upside down, and opened to prevent mold.

There are a ton of these at the fort of varying sizes, and Ive thought of using some for smaller needs like spices, brick dust, or sweet oil. If one is so inclined, they make for great scrimshaw practice, too.

 

[Einsiedler]

I have a small salt gourd around here somewhere. Tapered just like a small cow horn. Works great. Mebbe 5"-6" long. Just don't know where I put it???

My two gourds pictured above are like ones BH described. One is maybe 1/8" thick or a tad more, bigger one is almost 1/4". And field dried and were already hardened for use.

As to weight. Don't know exact but light enough. Thought about fabricating different type of straps/ hangers, but simple seemed to be the norm. So I'll leave em as be.

Actually had saddle horn use in mind when I made them, but my back prevents me from anymore horseback expeditions.

 

[SgtErv]

Yeah simple works well. I keep a little extra cordage wrapped around the neck of mine. Pretty good place to carry it

 

[BillinOregon]

Wonderful thread. Spence, Le Nez, love your canteens. I planted bottle gourds last spring but they never fully developed in our cooler marine-influenced climate. Moving back to southern Oregon's Rogue Valley soon, and gourds do well there.
As to the image of the old vet, if the wooden peg leg fitting was historically accurate, that had to be a very uncomfortable way to ambulate!

 

[Einsiedler]

I will add this little caveat to mine. I really doubt it is necessary or even historically correct, but simply for sake of wear, tear, and a fungus that seems to attack gourd exterior in these climes, I did rub exteriors down with an extremely thin coating of either spar varnish, or shellac. I don't really remember which one. Also made them a bit easier to clean off if hiking/traveling in a dusty environment which happens a bunch here. But really nothing a good dunking wouldn't take care of! Just for my own piece of mind. Totally unnecessary tho! 😉

 

[George]

I have a small salt gourd around here somewhere. Tapered just like a small cow horn. Works great.

I like gourds, use them a lot in my reenacting.
http://s881.photobucket.com/user/Spence_2010/slideshow/Gourds

I don't usually treat the outside of them, but this new canteen was an old gourd, no longer really hard and shiny on the outside, so I melted a very thin layer of beeswax over it. Can't tell it's there, now, but I think it might stabilize it a bit.

Spence

 

[Einsiedler]

I have a small salt gourd around here somewhere. Tapered just like a small cow horn. Works great.

I like gourds, use them a lot in my reenacting.
http://s881.photobucket.com/user/Spence_2010/slideshow/Gourds

I don't usually treat the outside of them, but this new canteen was an old gourd, no longer really hard and shiny on the outside, so I melted a very thin layer of beeswax over it. Can't tell it's there, now, but I think it might stabilize it a bit.

Spence

I know in some of the gourds I raised there was some kind of blight/ fungus that hit some of them. Black areas on exterior. Gave the shells a kinda uneven thickness. And fragile areas. Wondered if the boiling them was really to arrest this dilemma? Just speculation on my part.

Anyway, I had an old muzzleloading hunting partner 35 years ago when we hunted horseback in southern New Mexico. Hes gone now, but he packed a gourd canteen that was round and grown flat between two boards. Had a leather harness for it. Perfect for hanging off saddle horn. That canteen was coated on the exterior with something. May have been beeswax. I simply don't remember. If slept a bit since them days. But it was a very nice canteen.