Medieval kit?

[nephilim]

My daughters school is doing a medieval fayre in 2 weeks, and I've been asked to attend because of my bushcraft skills and how they would have been helpful to the medieval man. Whilst I have the attire and some of the kit, I am missing various items and was wondering if people knew where I could get them free/cheap.

Steel striker for flint and steel (plenty of flint, just no striker as mine has gone walkabouts, probably still in my house but I've not yet found it)
Leather satchel or bag (for food storage or kit storage).
Antler or Horns for button toggles
Milling stones (small for demonstration purposes).
Small furs such as rabbit, squirrel or hare which has been tanned.

Many thanks guys!

 

[Wander]

I must say, you've left it a little late for some of those items.
They can all be got. For a price.
Steel striker - choose your favourite bushcraft supppliers. They'll have them.
Leather satchel/scrip bag - you'll have to make one or pay through the nose for one. Go into a charity store, find a cheap leather coat, cut it up and get stitching!
Antler/Horn - Again, have a look in a charity shop. Another (very) good source are pet stores. The independent ones are best. They sell antler pieces as dog chews. That's got to be your best bet.
Milling Stones - No idea. You're probably stuffed there. I'd guess they are specially made to order, and will take longer than 2 weeks to get done and will cost more than you might be willing to pay.
Furs - You know your local area. Are there any local farms that hold shoots? Or a local butcher? Google might be your friend. Since you want them at such short notice you may end up paying more than you really want to.

 

[boatman]

Any flat rocks in you garden or local garden centre? Saddle querns often in use even in medieval times. This might have been particularly so where the Lord of the Manor owned the mill and required all grain to be ground there, despite the Miller;s "golden thumb". Searches were made and illicit grindstones broken up, rotary querns too big and risky an investment. That would be an insight for the children as to the real life of the Middle Ages.

 

[Tengu]

PM me and Ill get you some antler or horn pieces

 

[Toddy]

+1 to Boatman's comments. Two stones, and simply kneel down to it and rub them together. It's amazing how fast you can shape them doing just that. Elbow grease and putting a bit of effort into it and it makes a saddle quern start, or even just making round ones with holes through for fishing or loom weights.
Sandstone's probably the most easily found and used for what you're after (not ideal for a quern though, all that grit in the flour really does a number on the teeth!) but any stone would do for a demo.
What's available in your local area ? and can you get to a stoney beach easily ? Rounded ones from there work very well.

M

 

[JohnC]

Are there any museums or national trust properties nearby that have interpreters or put on events? When I helped at an iron age thing at Holyrood in Edinburgh, the team there had some items they used that we could access to supplement what we brought along.

 

[nephilim]

PM me and Ill get you some antler or horn pieces

I've tried sending a PM but it tells me your inbox is full.

 

[nephilim]

+1 to Boatman's comments. Two stones, and simply kneel down to it and rub them together. It's amazing how fast you can shape them doing just that. Elbow grease and putting a bit of effort into it and it makes a saddle quern start, or even just making round ones with holes through for fishing or loom weights.
Sandstone's probably the most easily found and used for what you're after (not ideal for a quern though, all that grit in the flour really does a number on the teeth!) but any stone would do for a demo.
What's available in your local area ? and can you get to a stoney beach easily ? Rounded ones from there work very well.

M

We have a quarry near by, so I'll see what stones I can find there. Didn't think to look there if I'm honest and I'll try to shape it out with elbow grease

 

[boatman]

Try grinding up dried peas and beans as well as grain, dredge corn is animal feed now but was a staple for the Medieval peasant. Funnily enough although it was rough to eat the resultant pottage or the tough bread, this mixture did supply a very wide range of the nutrients needed.

 

[boatman]

Mary, your opinion please, researching the answer I came across grain being allegedly ground with a pestle and mortar. I can see cracking grain in such or preparing tapioca type starchy roots but flour production I doubt.

 

[Toddy]

This is hard earned personal evidence.
See if you're grinding grain on a quern ? bash it first. It cracks the grain, and it does remove some more of the chaff too.
We're inclined to think that the quern did it all, but honestly, cracked and shaken in a cloth or bowl until the outer layers stuff rises to a brown edge that can be removed, and then ground, makes not only an easier and tidier job of the grinding, but better flour from a fair bit less work.

If it were me back then, I'd use a mortar and pestle of some kind to crack the grain, first.

M

 

[nephilim]

I've just spoken to my butcher and he will get me some untanned skins so I can show how to tan the skins also

 

[nephilim]

So the butcher will provide me with some rabbit skins, which I'll need to flesh and tan. Should get some tomorrow to flesh and tan, and possibly turn into mittens, and probably some sort of pouches.

If feasible I'll look at making some slippers also if I get enough of them.

As for milling stones, I've been to the quarry and found a base stone to mill on and will shape out a grinding stone also

 

[boatman]

You could tell the children about warrens and the reservation of rabbits for the Lord's table. Incidentally they are coneys. Called rabbits by sellers because that indicated a young tender Coney and thus more saleable.

 

[nephilim]

Not a bad idea boatman

@tengu I have sent you a PM

 

[Tengu]

Ive sent you some antler and horn; let me know when it arrives.

Im looking forwards to seeing how you get on with it.

 

[nephilim]

thank you! I'll take pics when the pouches are made

 

[nephilim]

3 out of the 4 furs I was given ended up rotting before I even picked them up from the butcher so I was left with a single fur. This is the end result from it. I cut a piece of the antler off for a button/toggle, sewed up the fur after tanning and this is the end result.

It was my first try and tanning rabbit fur, so I think it went well and used my knowledge of egg tanning from squirrel furs. What I was left with however was smaller than expected even though it was stretched considerably when salted.

Lessons learned however.

The pouch holds approximately 50 steel ball bearings for a catapult...so not bad for a first try. This is being given to the school however to show how animal furs were used for future year groups and as time goes on, hopefully my process becomes better and better

Edit

To give an idea of size when the tanning was finished, think about how big a squirrel fur is after tanning.