new corn boiler dissapointment

[Black Hand]

Ok. Now that we have covered the gambit of Crazy Crow merchandise , what about Backwoods tin and copper. I know everybody has an opininon heck how often does somebody actually ask for it? fire -away! :haha:

Honestly, the piece you showed looks a little "modernish" to me.

 

[coloradoclyde]

ok I can agree with that especially the one with folding handles jump over take a look around and tell me if anything apeals to ya http://www.backwoodstin.com/index.htm?cat6.htm

 

[RJL]

hello CC. I have several pieces from bob (backwoods tin) he makes a very good product and stands behind everything he makes. I have the boiler you pictured with the non folding handle, been using exclusively for the past 10 years. she's been bashed around, cooked in, drank out of. I know it's a fantasy piece and someday I may replace it but, not while it or me still hold liquid! you wont be disappointed with backwoods tin

 

[coloradoclyde]

:thumbsup: thank you for the input

 

[Loyalist Dave]

If you want something else then you have to go the handmade or custom made route, at considerbly greater cost.

Actually if you go to Avalon Forge you will find production stuff that is affordable and I have two of the soldier's "tin cups", which are really mugs, and I added the bale, myself, to one of them for trail cooking.

any thoughts on this from
Backwoods Tin

Well I understand the stuff is well made, but I would suggest you add your own bales to anything that you get with a mug handle. Bales that are 90 degrees offset to the handles mean that they interfere with your mouth when you try to drink... now the Backwoods Tin items are at least set below the lip of the "mug" but when I add a bale I put one hole at the lip Next to the handle, and the other hole opposite the first. This allows me to hang the cup for cooking, but if I am drinking a beverage, it keeps the bale well away from my mouth and no worries. If you want a lid and you say you are on a budget, get a piece of pine board and make one.

LD

 

[coloradoclyde]

Excellent L.D. I hadn't considered bail position
that 2 cents was worth a dollar :bow:

 

[Black Hand]

All that said, a small tin cup AND a pot/kettle are a far more useful combination than the cup/pot combination you showed. This way, you can drink (brew) tea/coffee using the cup while you cook dinner in the pot/kettle.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Yep you have turned my thinking around. But I’m still gun shy on getting a trade kettle from Crazy Crow
A trade kettle pot and a tin cup combo would suit me fine.

 

[Black Hand]

The cooking/eating/drinking implements I use:

(Double-click on image for a larger view)
P.S. We cook and eat as a mess for dinner and most breakfasts, rather than individuals each cooking something different.
The contents of that pot (1/2 gallon) will feed 3-5 people, usually supplemented with some roasted meat.

 

[nwtradegun]

backwoods tin is the way to go. years ago when reenacting was big in ga. I got all my metal ware from him. good work, far price and timely delivery. he even made some changes I requsted.

 

[coloradoclyde]

where did you get your kettle blackhand?

 

[Black Hand]

Mountaintop Trading (1/2 gallon) http://www.mountaintoptradingco.com/index2.htm (under "Camp Gear")

Tin-lined India-made brass kettle. The lugs aren't correct, but too much of a nuisance to replace with "dog-ear" lugs...yet. Lots of "mileage" on that kettle.

 

[Stophel]

I will second your recommendation of Carl Giordano tinware. http://www.cg-tinsmith.com/catalog2.htm

So far, I only have a cup and little oil container from him, but they are VERY nice looking, well finished, nicely soldered, and very "professional looking". Others I have and have seen, while they may be sturdy, they don't look so great. :haha:

If one wants an 18th century type cookpot, then get an 18th century type cookpot. :wink: I have considered getting one of the "Camp Kettles" myself from C.G. Tinsmith, and I probably will eventually, it's just not high on the priority list right now, because my use for one would be extremely limited.

Personally, I never understood the desire for people to go out into the woods on an "18th century scout" and then cook themselves a gourmet meal while they're out there. Pots, pans, skillets... everything but the kitchen sink in nesting, collapsible, folding-handle "convenience"... all made "just like 18th century examples"... Just more stuff to carry. And I hate cooking anyway... I durn sure ain't foolin' with all that stuff when I'm out in the woods! :haha: Of course, I'm not out with a whole crew of people... A good sized tin cup is good enough to boil some food in, easy to clean (pitch the water out and wipe it off) and good for boiling drinking water. Other than that, any cooking I do is on sticks. I'm good with jerkey, bread, cheese, dried fruit, parched corn, etc. Frankly, I could eat that way every day!

 

[Stophel]

Wait a minute, we've been talking about what an 18th century pot would really be like, but I don't know if Colorado Clyde is actually wanting such a thing to be 18th-Century-historically-accurate, or just wants a decent, functional pot for a not-necessarily-historically-accurate jaunt into the woods.

:idunno:

 

[Rod Lassey]

I have his camp kettle, and it's very well made. I have to admit I've got more cooking gear than I can shake a stick at---but with my wife and 4 kids along, I need more. Along with Carl's camp kettle, I've got a nesting set of three brass ketles from Jim Kimpel of HighHorse, and the aforementioned HBC copper pot. Add pewter spoons, various tinned cups, at least 4 scalping knives, and I've got a mule load of cookware.

I don't take it all at once, but it's nice to have what I need depending on whether I'm alone, or with the family.

On the other hand, I'm with you on using the meat on a stick approach---I've never owned a set of fire irons, or those "squirrel cooker" thingamajigs. A tripod made of sticks and rope, a stick over the fire, or just put the kettle right on the coals works best.

Rod

 

[coloradoclyde]

Stophel,
I love to cook over an open fire. I use to do a lot of modern camping and would drive surrounding campers crazy, cooking in Dutch ovens all day. The smell of roasting chicken, fresh baked bread and apple pie brought many people to my fire to see what was under the lid. The look on their faces when I would lift the lid and reveal a lattice topped apple pie was definitely a Kodak moment. It’s sad how many people think a campfire is just for burning their garbage while sitting around it drinking beer.
What I am looking for is 18th or early 19th century piece for trekking, light weight versatile and small enough for one person. I did not know that the corn boiler was a fantasy piece. Education is one of the reasons I’m here. For me price tends to outweigh historical accuracy.

 

[Stophel]

The accounts I have read of men on forays into the woods pretty much all describe them as carrying virtually nothing with them. Gun, axe, knife, shot bag, blanket, parched corn and jerkey, and that's about it! Many real "frontiersmen" were too poor to afford much else anyway... even in their homes they often didn't have much in the way of cookware! We all love gadgets and gizmos, and I'm sure they did too, but 230 years ago, many times these items were either non-existant or too expensive/unavailable or otherwise just considered non-essential.

For the real "longhunter" or someone else out with a "company" of men on an expedition you certainly then would have the luxury of carrying lots of equipment for your crew. But you also probably had pack horses. :wink:

I think a simple, large tin cup would work as well as anything. You can boil in it fine, and absolutely no one can question the authenticity of such an implement (assuming it is properly styled and manufactured, of course!!! :haha: )

I have this one, though I have yet to cook anything in it!

This is Giordano's "Ft. Ligonier cup".

Admittedly, I am a minimalist. Even though I rarely get to practice it.

 

[Rod Lassey]

Here's a couple of period camp minimalists---the writer is John J. Audubon, and the setting is heading out up the Yellowstone River from Ft. Union:

"When Bell was fixing his traps on his horse this morning, I was amused to see Provost and LaFleur laughing outright at him. These old hunters could not understand why he needed all those things to be comfortable. Provost took only an old blanket, a few pounds of dried meat, and his tin cup, and rode off in his shirt and dirty breeches. LaFleur was worse off for he took no blanket and said he could borrow Provost's tin cup; but he being a most temperate man, carried a bottle of whiskey to mix with brackish water."

It's something I think about every time I load up to go anywhere--they'd probably die laughing at the stuff I take, even when going 'light'.

Rod

 

[54ball]

I think most reenactors camp like they are on a safari in a Tarzan movie.

I guess most portray Southerners because Pre F-150, it would take an army of slaves to tote all that stuff.

 

[Black Hand]

You'd be surprised what can be cooked with dried rations and a minimal amount of gear. There is no need to go hungry or deprive oneself of decent food, even when on a scout.