Author Topic: "Mountain man coat"  (Read 17559 times)

Offline Forty Rod

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"Mountain man coat"
« on: April 15, 2010, 05:26:48 PM »
I saw one on here a couple of years back and decided to see if I could make one.

Need to know where to find a basic pattern and any design recommendations.

Need to know what weight leather to use (I'm thinking deerskin or elk) and recommendations here, too.

Need to know what pitfalls to look out for. (I already know how to make a lot of mistakes and would prefer to avoid any that if I can.)

Any and all help, advice, or wisdom that you can pass along will be greatly appreciated.
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Offline FEATHERS

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2010, 07:14:49 PM »
G'Day 40 Rod,I have a catolog from Traditional Tanners,it has a lot of patterns on frontier clothing to buy.The webpage is www.braintan.com hope this helps.Feathers

Offline GunClick Rick

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #2 on: April 15, 2010, 08:01:27 PM »
Howdy Doody came by today and he has a very nice one made of elk! He said to tell you we have the Northern Lunch Bunch Society we meet at Mavericks Roasting Co. i have pice to prove it if i can figure out how to get them off a cell phone,my cameras died right when i wanted to take pics,all i had was my cell. Nortinos rule eh"... 8)
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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #3 on: Today at 06:34:43 PM »

Offline Forty Rod

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #3 on: April 16, 2010, 12:19:26 AM »
G'Day 40 Rod,I have a catolog from Traditional Tanners,it has a lot of patterns on frontier clothing to buy.The webpage is www.braintan.com hope this helps.Feathers

Thanks, Feathers.  I'll check 'em out.
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Offline Forty Rod

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #4 on: April 16, 2010, 12:22:02 AM »
Howdy Doody came by today and he has a very nice one made of elk! He said to tell you we have the Northern Lunch Bunch Society we meet at Mavericks Roasting Co. i have pice to prove it if i can figure out how to get them off a cell phone,my cameras died right when i wanted to take pics,all i had was my cell. Nortinos rule eh"... 8)

Dang, you and Howdy hang out together?  Does Homeland Security know about this?  ::)

Tell me more about your Lunch Bunch.  I'm always interested in who'd doing lunches and where.
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Offline ChuckBurrows

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #5 on: April 16, 2010, 12:29:32 AM »
Rod there were two basic types made in period: The square cut which is a matter of putting together a series of rectangles and a couple of triangles or the frock coat which is a more tailored cut, bit isn't all that complicated. Let me know which style you prefer and I can tell you where to get the patterns:

In so far as leather IMO their are only two types that even come close to the leather originally used and only tow I would recommend: real braintan or the German Tan sold by Crazy Crow - both are made using old time tanning methods and like the Indian made leather of the time there is NO smooth side. Other advantages are they breath whereas commercial tanned elk and deer do not and are generally lighter in weight than the commercial even when the same thickness. The only advantage to the German Tan is the price - about half the cost of GOOD braintan.

Pitfalls: take it slow and easy and you should have no real problems. As with all soft leathers, whether using BT, GT, or commercial pre-stretch the heck out of them first and let hang stretched for 48-72 hours. Advice get some canvas or denim (muslin is too light and won't drape right) and make a mockup first - adjust you pattern if need be and then start cutting.

I also have several pics of original coats as well as some period images - let me know and I can post some for inspiration.......
aka Nolan Sackett
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Offline Forty Rod

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #6 on: April 16, 2010, 11:01:56 AM »
Thanks, Chuck.  I like the idea of the "tailored" style, but I don't know that I have a "tailored" style body.   :o

I'd like to see the pictures, because at this point all I have to go by is a pigskin coat by Scully that I've had for years.  It was "good enough" when I got it and before I started looking at what was possible.  Now it just isn't what I want anymore.  A couple of years ago I saw a picture of one (possibly yours) that really looked great. It had a piece down the back that looked like the yoke was lengthened and run down almost to the hips, and that started my serious dissatisfaction with what I have.

I appreciate the tips.
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Offline ChuckBurrows

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #7 on: April 16, 2010, 03:54:31 PM »
Howdy Rod -
I'll post some pics later and then offer some advice. That tapered back yolk was taken from the tailored frock coat of the period but can easily be incorporated into the simpler style.
aka Nolan Sackett
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Offline Mogorilla

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #8 on: April 17, 2010, 09:08:59 AM »
How long were these worn.  You see pics of young buffalo bill in a fringed coat, and the posed photographer shots, but in everyday dodge, circa 1876 would you have seen one?

Offline Forty Rod

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #9 on: April 17, 2010, 11:24:10 AM »
I don't know, MoGo.  One of my characters is a early post CW trader going into Indian country and among the settlers of the Rocky Mountains.  That way I can wear anything that might have been bought for, or taken in, trade along the highways and byways and low ways and noways I travel.

F'rinstance, I lost my hat in a windstorm and had this really big derby that had been on the wagon for months.  No one wanted it so I slapped it on my head.  Later a Shoshone woman traded me the hatband for a pound of sugar and her man threw in the quilled and wrapped feather for some tobacco.

It doesn't matter to me how wide-spread or common things were or when they were worn as long as it was during or before my period.  Until I sold it for about 3x what I had in it, I carried a Scottish flintlock pistol as a backup.  I've regretted selling it since I closed my fist around the money.  The gun cover I just made was a MM era piece for a short rifle I once carried, a .50 flint converted to percussion trade gun with the barrel cut back to 24".  A lot of my stuff is Revolutionary War period or mountain man era because I kept it from when I was doing that schtick.   ;D
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Offline GunClick Rick

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #10 on: April 17, 2010, 01:19:39 PM »
Mountain Man schtick==Usually curvy manzinita limb  a little over waist high with leather lanyard at top some times highly decorated with beads and such.. ;D
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Offline Doc Arroyo

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #11 on: April 21, 2010, 01:05:16 PM »
Thanks, Chuck.  I like the idea of the "tailored" style, but I don't know that I have a "tailored" style body.   :o

Hell, neither do I.  My coat is tailored style, but still a bad enough fit for a working trapper...



Ain't like the old days, but it'll do!

Offline Forty Rod

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #12 on: April 21, 2010, 01:33:23 PM »
Glad to see I'm not the only "hawg body" around.  ::)

Actually, you look mighty good, a lot better than me.  (But I got  bunch of years head start on you.)
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Offline GunClick Rick

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #13 on: April 21, 2010, 02:21:51 PM »
Hear tell you and Mark Twain ran together Forty :D ;D

Dang nice coat and outfit,i'd love to wear somethin like that durin huntin season and run into a bunch of camoed up fellers,bet i would see them afore they seen me ;)
Bunch a ole scudders!

Offline Forty Rod

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #14 on: April 21, 2010, 04:22:58 PM »
Hear tell you and Mark Twain ran together Forty :D ;D

Dang nice coat and outfit,i'd love to wear somethin like that durin huntin season and run into a bunch of camoed up fellers,bet i would see them afore they seen me ;)

We never "ran" anydangwhere.  We sat around and told each other stories.  He smoked his Peterson pipe and I drank ice cold Coke.  Once in awhile we ordered a pizza.

As for the second part, you're probably right.  I never saw a bush or tree get up because of ants or to go take a whiz.  I have seen a man in a dusty red shirt, Levis, and a dirty white Stetson vanish on relatively open ground by simply being very still and close to the ground.  Any of the Indian kids I grew up around could do it and their elders could vanish on a white tablecloth in a well lighted room...almost.  Welllllll...maybe a dirty white tablecloth.  ::)

I watched an old navajo gent walk in plain sight to within a couple of yards of three mule deer, two doe and a buck by moving very slowly and only when the deer weren't looking.
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Offline Doc Arroyo

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #15 on: April 21, 2010, 05:18:04 PM »
Dang nice coat and outfit,i'd love to wear somethin like that durin huntin season and run into a bunch of camoed up fellers,bet i would see them afore they seen me ;)

 ;DA club I was in used to have "survival" primitives.  Once I was the guy farthest down the hill, closest to the road and my truck was the emergency vehicle.  I walked up and watched a couple of fellow's change a tire on their vehicle while they discussed whether to break into my truck or not.  They made the right decision, and I never had to let them know that I was 12 feet away and armed!

40Rod - if you need help with a pattern let me know.  I have to admit this is a great use of braintan!
 
Ain't like the old days, but it'll do!

Offline GunClick Rick

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #16 on: April 21, 2010, 05:23:10 PM »
Yep,i reckon the first man made gunshot ever heard by a deer ruined it pretty much..That's how my brother in law hunts,knows where he is goin,dreses for the occasion.Here he is ice fishin..

Bunch a ole scudders!

Offline GunClick Rick

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #17 on: April 21, 2010, 05:25:55 PM »
Did you make that coat Doc Arroyo ???? It's mighty nice.
Bunch a ole scudders!

Offline Doc Arroyo

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #18 on: April 21, 2010, 05:48:57 PM »
Yep.  It took awhile to get the guts to start cutting up them hides, but after that it were just a bunch of evenings with linen thread and a glovers needle!
Ain't like the old days, but it'll do!

Offline Ten Wolves Fiveshooter

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Re: "Mountain man coat"
« Reply #19 on: April 21, 2010, 05:59:45 PM »

  Doc Arroyo, I'm impressed pard, you look great in this coat, and you did a fantastic job putting it together, maybe Forty Rod will be motivated by this. Thanks for sharing this with us.


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