What You Need To get Started In 18th Century Historical Trekking. Part One.

What You Need To Get Started In 18th Century Historical Trekking. Part One.



Equipment.


1. A kettle can be useful for boiling water for hot drinks and cooking food, but it is not necessary. You could instead drink water from your water bottle and carry meat to cook on a stick or other foods that do not require cooking. If you want a kettle you could start off with just a tin can with a bale made of fencing wire. It is not authentic to the period, but it will suffice until you can get the real thing.

This is one I made many years ago. You can cook with this and use it as a cup.


2. Cotton or linen food bags. These are easily made and not expensive. A cheap calico will do fine.


3. You will probably need a knife at some time or another. A good hunting knife will do for cutting and eating food, and I suggest you check out the op-shops and second hand shops for second hand butcher knives. The handle should be pinned and not riveted, but you can change the handle if needs be.

One of these cost me $4 and the other $7. One like this will make a good hunting knife.


A sheath for one of these is easily made from second hand shoulder bag leather.

 This one of mine is double leather; a heavy leather inside a soft leather casing.


4. A tomahawk is a handy tool for constructing shelters and for many other tasks. It is not too difficult to convert a second hand hatchet into a tomahawk, which is lighter to carry than a hatchet.

This is a square poll hatchet head that has been lightened and the eye reshaped to take a tapered tomahawk helve.

This beautiful piece was made by Todd from the Woodlife forum, from a store bought hatchet.


5. A knapsack can be made from one of those made in China all cotton school knapsacks, or you can make one from a haversack or from scratch.

Here is the one I converted from an all cotton made in China knapsack.

A glass wine bottle with a cork will do for a water bottle, and modern ones are still being made in roughly the same 18th century style.