A Cane (NOT Wooden) Powder Measure

[Kevin]

Greetings All,

I had posted these as part of a thread some time ago over in the contemporay accourtrements section.  Thought I'd repost to the new, and much appreciated, antique accoutrements section.

This CANE powder measure came out of a Southcentral Pennsylvania estate sale in the 1980s.  Tubular construction with a wood plug secured with a small tack.  It was found keeping company with a small powder horn.

Outside diameter 5/8"; Inside diameter approx. 3/8"; Depth of cavity approx. 1 and 3/16"; Overall length 1 and 7/8"; length of short side 1 and 3/8"

Enjoy,
Kevin

[Bob McBride]

That is super.

[MuskratMike]

Love everything about it. Just curious how many grains of 3F does it hold?

[hanshi]

I wonder about the 3F volume as well.

[Kevin]

Greeting Fellows,

I'll have to dig out the measure and see what it holds.  Might not happen until the weekend.  I had the pics hanging around on the computer for some time so don't have the measure right at hand.

More to follow,
Kevin

[louieparker]

Kevin is that a cane measure ?? LP

[homerifle]

Louie, I thought it looked like cane as well. Very nice piece!

[Kevin]

Greetings Fellows,

While I've seen photos of cane measures I, to the best of my knowledge, have ever handled something made from river cane.  Are there any clues regarding identifying something as cane vs wood?

Thanks,
Kevin

[jdm]

two on the right are cane




two on / top are cane

[Cory Joe Stewart]

That is neat.

Cory Joe

[Brokennock]

Greetings Fellows,

While I've seen photos of cane measures I, to the best of my knowledge, have ever handled something made from river cane.  Are there any clues regarding identifying something as cane vs wood?

Thanks,
Kevin

Look closely at the end of the measure at the edges of the main body surrounding the plug. Does it look like you can see growth ring structure like wood, or, does it look like a bunch of fiber ends compressed together? (Sorry best description I can come up with) Cane is like s thinner walled version of bamboo which is a woody type of grass.

To me it looks like cane or bamboo. I've made many powder and shot measure from craft, and/or home decor, store bamboo. Why the maker didn't use a node as a stop I can't explain. Maybe they were just trying to use up a length of material cut off another measure or container?

[Kevin]

Greetings Fellows,

While I've seen photos of cane measures I, to the best of my knowledge, have ever handled something made from river cane.  Are there any clues regarding identifying something as cane vs wood?

Thanks,
Kevin

Look closely at the end of the measure at the edges of the main body surrounding the plug. Does it look like you can see growth ring structure like wood, or, does it look like a bunch of fiber ends compressed together? (Sorry best description I can come up with) Cane is like s thinner walled version of bamboo which is a woody type of grass.

To me it looks like cane or bamboo. I've made many powder and shot measure from craft, and/or home decor, store bamboo. Why the maker didn't use a node as a stop I can't explain. Maybe they were just trying to use up a length of material cut off another measure or container?

Brokennock,

When I dig it out to see how much powder it holds I'll take a real close look per your advice.

Thanks & All For Now,
Kevin

[Clark Badgett]

The end looks like cane to me.

[Kevin]

Greetings All,

Many thanks to those who suggested that the body of the measure is cane and not wood.  I located the box the measure was hiding in this morning a took a good magnified look.  The ends certainly appear to be cane.  Gotta love the collective knowledge of the ALR forum.

And, for the inquiring minds that want to know:  A level measure of 3F in it is 42 grains by volume.

Take Care,
Kevin

[Notchy Bob]

And, for the inquiring minds that want to know:  A level measure of 3F in it is 42 grains by volume.

Take Care,
Kevin

A lot of old timers thought in terms of drams rather than grains.  One and one half drams comes out right at 41 grains, and I'll bet that was the intended volume for this measure.

Thanks for posting, Kevin.  I'm glad to see simple, "working man's" artifacts like this getting some attention.

Notchy Bob

[Panzerschwein]

LOVE THEM cane!!!