Haversack build

[River Runner]

I really enjoy going to the Ft. Frederick market fair.  One of my best finds was a haversack that has and is  still serving me well.  One of my buddies admired it and wanted me to find one for him.  After a couple of years of searching, I finally decided to make him one and gave it to him.  He is not a living historian anymore but carries it to all our shoots and when we go to gun shows.  I thought I would share it with you. It's lined with pillow ticking and completely hand sewn.

[Greg Pennell]

Very nice!  Hopefully I’ll find time to make myself one, and I hope I can do as good a job!

Greg

[KC]

That's a nice looking haversack. What are the dimensions? It looks pretty good sized.
K.C.

[David R. Pennington]

Very nice. I have an old oilskin one I will need to replace some day. What is exterior material?

[River Runner]

Thanks for the compliments.  The overall size is 13"W x 15-1/2"L.  The outer cloth material is linen.  I waterproofed it with a tin cloth recipe I found on the internet.  It worked well and darkened the cloth pretty nicely.  The strap is 1" hemp. 

[River Runner]

Oh...the leather is pigskin, I think.  The one I copied was of linen and goatskin.

[Marcruger]

Might be pigskin, but I don't see any pores.  From the look of it, I'd say it is goat.  Great leather, as it is tough as nails but supple.  God Bless,   Marc

[WKevinD]

River Runner, I believe the original maker of the haversack you picked up at Ft Fred was Harold (Bagues) a vet from NC that sews great haversacks, bags and packs.
He camps with us every year near the spot where Bill & Selinda Kennedy used to camp.

Kevin

[River Runner]

burnt,

I don't believe I know any of those folks, but I would like to meet my fellow North Carolinian.  Here is a photo of the haversack I purchased at Ft. Frederick in 2008 or 2009. 

[Marcruger]

I think I like the one you made better than the original one you purchased.  :-)  God Bless,   Marc

[AsMs]

I second that Marc!

[Hungry Horse]

I see the linen one has a bottom seam. I think this is not something likely to be seen in early times. A seam is always going to be a weak spot, for one thing, and unless they just happened to have small pieces of linen, why make a seam where you didn’t have to. Same goes for shooting bags. The old shooting bags I’ve seen rarely had a bottom seam, even when they had gusseted sides.

  Hungry Horse

[River Runner]

The backside of both haversacks are of leather which runs up and folds over to make the front flap.  The tan haversack has a pillow ticking inner liner.  The front linen piece is hemmed over and captures the ticking.  The stitch is of waxed thread run with two needles in and out.  This stitch passes through the leather, the two panels of ticking and the two panels of the linen (front face and the hem), if all that makes sense.  This is true on both sides of the haversack.  When you pull that all together, it is very strong.  It's not going to pull apart, trust me.  There are many ways to make a haversack.  This is just one style variant.  Whether or not it can be documented historically, I don't know.