Neck knife sheath & Trade gorget

[Crewdawg445]

Evening all, I wanted to take a few minutes and share a few item's I crafted today.

First is a neck knife sheath made from deer hide and adorned with glass beads sewn with heavy linen thread. The sheath is also welted at the seams along with a double welt at the bottom for obvious reasons.

Now on to the trade gorget! For anyone who is interested, these items were highly sought after trade items. Gorgets are well documented and were commonly worn by officers and traded to many Native tribes. Made from brass, copper and tin, it was a relatively easy item for Natives to construct for personal wear and also trade.

I decided to make one from .025 thick copper sheeting, which could have been cut from a copper pot in the day. Made a template that I transfered to the copper sheet and carefully cut along the outline with tin snips. After the ruff gorget was cut, I filed the remaining edges down and began to shape the piece on my anvil. After shaping, I polished the piece and started the beadwork. Holding it all together I used real sinew cordage that's twisted and waxed with beeswax. Next I used real purple dyed/ white wampum beads accented with trade silver beads and red glass beads. The loops attached to the gorget are heavy gauge copper wire soldered into... loops. Very pleased with the finished project. :hatsoff:

 

[Black Hand]

Add a rawhide liner. Soft leather is not enough to keep that blade from puncturing your belly no matter how much welting you add....

 

[Crewdawg445]

Your not understanding the construction... I'm not a greenhorn with this type of work, double welt with tooling leather along the bottom that shields the blade. No amount of leather will stop a razor sharp blade, however I appreciate your adivce but the steps have already been taken during construction to help prevent that unlikely event. :thumbsup:

 

[Obi-Wan Cannoli]

Very impressive work. Did the gorgets have additional uses for the indigenous people outside of jewelry? Such as light cutting, tool work of some sort, denoting status, or ceremonial purposes?

 

[Crewdawg445]

Thank you sir, most documentation I've found on gorgets of the period has them appearing to be strictly ornamental. They certainly were also a sign of status indeed. Being the majority of these trade pieces were made from rather soft metals like brass, copper and tin, their use as a tool would have been lacking. Also worth noting, gorget I believe is a french term for neck or throat. Therefore all examples I've seen are rounded or peened around the entire circumference, all sharp edges removed. Definitely a plus for an accouterment worn around the neck. :thumbsup:

 

[omarick1948]

Gorget's are believed to go back to the days of armor and knights. The armor Gorget was the larger shield under the helmet to help protect the wearer's neck area in battle and events. In later history they became a symbolic part of many countries military officer dress and still is today in Europe. Many colony Silversmith's made Trade Silver which included Gorgets including Paul Revere (both Junior and Senior) and famed Silversmith Robert Cruickshank of Montreal.

JFYI...You can make a simple flattened tip point cover out of tin, copper or sheet brass and slide it in the bottom of that sheath to guard against the point from sticking you. DON'T ASK ME HOW I KNOW!

Rick

 

[Obi-Wan Cannoli]

JFYI...You can make a simple flattened tip point cover out of tin, copper or sheet brass and slide it in the bottom of that sheath to guard against the point from sticking you. DON'T ASK ME HOW I KNOW!

Rick

won't that prematurely dull the tip in a slip sheath?

 

[LRB]

Not if of brass, silver, or copper

 

[Crewdawg445]

Yes silver would have been a biggy without a doubt.

As for the sheath, the body is deer hide were the interior portion is tooling leather, doubled up towards the bottom for extra measure. Should have explained the construction in more detail with pictures to avoid any confusion.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

Great work as usual! I really like the beadwork on the sheath. Did you make the knife?

 

[Crewdawg445]

Thank you friend, the knife is actually made by Dean Oliver. I'm sure you have probably came across his knives. His makers mark is a canoe stamped towards the tang end of the blade. Anywho, I have several of his offering and I've been very impressed with each one. 1095 spring steel, properly tempered and they all have taken a wicked edge and hold it as well.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Gorget's are believed to go back to the days of armor and knights. The armor Gorget was the larger shield under the helmet to help protect the wearer's neck area in battle and events. In later history they became a symbolic part of many countries military officer dress and still is today in Europe. Many colony Silversmith's made Trade Silver which included Gorgets including Paul Revere (both Junior and Senior) and famed Silversmith Robert Cruickshank of Montreal.

Yep. Just wat I was about to say. A vestige of early days when armor was worn. Then it became decorative only.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

The name does ring a bell. Fantastic looking little knife. 1095 makes a great knife.

 

[airborne1]

Great job on all items! I really enjoy your posts and fantastic photos of your craftmanship! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Crewdawg445]

Thank you gentleman, it's certainly a pleasure knowing others appreciate my work, makes the efforts worth it!

 

[Silky921]

And crewdawg does it again. :thumbsup:

 

[Grumpa]

Yet again, you make your ancestors proud. :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

 

[Crewdawg445]

Much appreciated!

 

[steve free]

Awesome work on some cool projects! Keep 'em coming.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Simple and beautiful :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: