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End of Life on this Site

This website and blog is at the end of its life.Ā  In the next couple of days, it will disappear. For a decade, I maintained this website and blog and it has been very enjoyable. For a variety of reasons, my posting on this blog had slowed significantly the last few years. I have decided to no longer maintain and host that website (and pay to keep the domain). Knowing its popularity, I have archived some of the most popular...

Selling my fusil

I am, somewhat sadly, selling my fusil.Ā  It wasĀ built by Jai Mather. It has a 20 gauge, 44ā€ Colerain barrel and Davis lock (stamped A TVLLE) that have been rebuilt to more correctly match originals. The stock is walnut and hand scraped (no sandpaper hit it). This was built to be a working canadienā€™s tool and be plain Jane. I have used it for a few re-enactments but mostly for hunting. It is a SWEET shooting gun and has taken...

Piping the Past

A couple weeks ago, I did some historical interpretation and piping for “The Past Passed Here” in Chippewa Falls.Ā  For the event, I portrayed a piper for the Northwest Company in the late 1790s to early 1800s.Ā  I spoke on the history of the fur trade and specifically the Scottish elements of the Northwest Co.Ā  Ā It was a fun little time and the school groups that came through were great.Ā  My piping was definitely...

Another Pipe Banner and a Correction

About a year ago, I made a bagpipe banner and blogged on it.Ā  The banner was to be a banner for the personal piper of Simon McTavish of the NorthWest Company.Ā  In that post, I questioned some of the heraldic info out there and the coat of arms of the NorthWest company.Ā  This stated, I was quite sure on the heraldry of Simon McTavish.Ā  I have since found some information contradicting my earlier research on Simon’s...

New Leather Goods

I recently received a few things from a friend, who has recently moved to Morocco in search of creating some very nice reproduction historic goods.Ā  Among the items I have received from him are a couple pairs of slippers (a pair for me and one for my wife) and a leather document folio. These items are amazing.Ā  The leather is fantastic, as is the color and craftsmanship.Ā  I have only worn the slippers for a short bit but I...