Hunting pouch straps

[wet willy]

Thoughts on 18th ... 19th century straps on hunting pouches?

I enjoy recreating/replicating hunting pouches from this era. Grants book, as well as Alberts, have nice photos of the hunting pouch but with scant detail on the strap.

If leather, how wide were the straps? What kind of leather? Some images appear to have a woven strap, but of what and how wide? And what about the buckle: brass, iron, etc?

FWIW, my pouch with a tightly woven 1 1/2" strap curls on my shoulder in the field. Another  pouch with a 2" (3-4oz veg tanned) strap can be uncomfortable being too wide and slipping off.

Given the pouch strap was subject to wear, and probably replaced at a later date, are their websites having examples of originals w/dimensions & material?

[James Rogers]

A high percentage majority of examples you are seeing are 19th century. Since there are no specific regs. for civilian pouches, one finds all types of straps as well as all kinds of widths. Add to that the fact that surviving examples vary from pro made to poorly made, make do affairs thrown together out of necessity.
I prefer a strap from 3/4 to no more than 1 1/2" for the shoulder.
Buckles and other hardware would be used by those in the business of using them on other items like harnesses, etc. or re-used off of other items IMO.

[Chris Treichel]

The most comfortable strap I have had so far is a piece of 1 1/4 hemp strap.  I have been using it now for about 2 years for reenactments so it gets out into the field on a regular basis. 

[Ky-Flinter]

I took these pictures at the 2009 CLA Show.  The owner of these bags said he believed the straps were original to the bags, but he would not hazard a guess as to how old the bags/straps were.









-Ron

[Habu]

I suspect you're going to need to narrow down your area of interest a bit--both chronologically and geographically--to get any truly useful information.  I can think of extant bags with flat straps ranging from <1/2" wide to roughly 4" wide (and wouldn't be surprised to hear of narrower or wider straps), and even one or two with twisted or braided cord about 3/8" diameter.  Material used is going to influence strap width.  Hardware ranges from "none" to fancy cast buckles, and everything in between.  

Then you need to factor-in that not every bag has a strap worth copying.  What can be tolerated for an afternoon hunt can drive you crazy on a long walk or over several days.  

[T.C.Albert]

Though woven strapping was undoubtedly used, its just my take, but for the sake of discussion I would think leather and saddler type shops producing pouches would prefer to use leather simply because it was their stock in trade. By far the vast majority of old pouches remaining have (or had) leather straps. And from what Ive seen, the majority of those old leather straps have been repaired or even totally replaced, making definitive answers about their details pretty difficult. That said, in general strapping an inch and a half wide or so seems right, and it was made from leather generally a bit heavier than the stuff the bag is made from, but nothing near as heavy as typical harness material, which was/is often used for the modern repairs seen on some old pouch restorations.
tc

 

[hanshi]

I like the hemp straps and use them as much as I can.  Trouble is they're hard to find and when you DO find them they are at least 3" wide with most being 4" plus.  I found some 3" ribbon and split it into two 1.5" straps.  Also when you cut them they unravel.  The only solution I came up with was to coat the cut edges with glue.  Not perfect but it does reduce the unraveling a fair amount.

[Chuck Burrows]

Hanshi - check out Turkey Foot Trading co & Forge  http://www.turkeyfootllc.com/Hemproducts.html

They have plain woven and herring bone woven hemp strapping in 1", 1.5", and 2" widths sold by the foot.

[wet willy]

Thanks to Burrows for the link to Turkeyfoot. I'll try some of their hemp 2"straps on a bag. Not as fancy as the woven straps, which are great for horns, but maybe the hemp is stiffer and better suited to hunting pouches.

The pictured fabric pouch straps didn't have buckle adjustments, so the maker must have made a decsion about length.

And thanks to others who responded with suggestions and photos.

[pathfinder]

the stuff with the stripe is upholstery webbing. It was used on the bottom frame and the spring's were tied to the webbing. Course and uncomfortable to wear!