Update

Yesterday I worked on arrows; something delayed due to getting caught up with my firearms.

Mostly I glued arrowheads to shafts although I did straighten a few and sorted out some fletch binding that needed it.

I will be doing a lot of fletching on some of these shafts this coming week. I will also be making myself a new, custom quiver..with a good bow holder to go with it. There will also be a bow quiver for my Magyar. Once done with the arrow quiver the old one will be given to Taliesin with a few modifications made to it.

Upcoming also are some boots..I've been nattering around about boots and shoes for a time now and I think I have a design I am pleased with. Similar, in some ways, to Faramir's boots in the movies, they will have laces *and* a buckled cuff at the top. However, I will be incorporating custom arches and sole treatments as well as adding boot straps for help in getting them....the which will be hidden under the cuffs when all is settled. They will be as watertight as leather can be...that is, no open seams. Treating them with a mix of tallow and beeswax will help them stay water resistant and wool socks will do the rest.

The former design is for tall boots I might add. I am tinkering with the idea of low boots...a bit above the ankle but short of mid-calf. These would be used in conjunction with some leggings I am working on. Why? It is a flexible design and shorter boots are more forgiving with changes in musculature and whatnot. Also less resource intensive to make. Leggings have been worn since Imperial Roman times so I have no qualms about introducing them into a Tolkienesque Ranger impression.

Yes, some folk who insist on making Ranger Reenactment a new version of Medieval reenactment will not care much for them, but that is not my problem. Mixing cultures as Tolkien did, and time frames, and drawing on a wide variety of background makes for something quite interesting. I always keep in mind that Victorian, Medieval, Viking, and Celtic styles all mixed together with dragons, dwarves, elves, hobbits, orcs, trolls, giants, nazgul and all manner of other things means that the peoples he created had their own cultures...they were not just a carryover from real historical times dropped into a magical world. Not in my opinion.

Anyway, a short boot, similar to boondockers from the WWII and the old late war German shoes, combined with over the knee leggings would make for a really nifty look and a damned useful combination.

I will be experimenting with a corselet as well...these were worn as outer garments during the Victorian age instead of a true corset, or sometimes in addition as a fashion statement. They could hook and eye or lace...or even buckle, from more common steampunk notions. I have not decided the exact appearance yet but it would brace the back and, less obviously, help support the girls.

I am still inclined to use a shortened chemise instead of a man's shirt, for the basic top; they look better and give a nod to femininity without losing anything practicability. As far as trousers go I have long used drawstring sorts. I am thinking now of using a kind of 17th century trouser called the French fly style...essentially a buttoning fly. For an active lass in the wilderness the use of sanitary funnels makes having to urinate a far easier and less..revealing.. chore. I may decide to replace the buttons with a lace up section there instead but we'll see. Dunedain, as far as we know, especially those of the North, appear to not have used buttons...but catches and some buttons were used by the men of Gondor..and of course Hobbits used buttons extensively. This situation is why I am thinking of replacing the buttons with a laced fly option instead.

I have several packs. I have been dissatisfied with most of them at point or another. I am strongly leaning towards a Revolutionary War pack called the Ranger's Knapsack. It is simple, and if I use a bedroll on a tumpline then light too. I need to experiment more in this regard.

I love my sword, the Del Tin 'Glamdring' of the 80's. High quality battle sword she is...yet here in this place illegal save as a decorative item. Therefore, I use bow, tomahawk, and long knife. I forged the knife myself.

Things are moving along now and will, I hope, be complete by Winter's end. If we ever really have a Winter that is.

Blessings

Eledhwen