09-27-2011, 05:00 PM
There's quite a lot to know about an knife, a canteen, or a shoulder bag. I'd warn against "back in the day" crude--everything we see made in Archaic Greece is well made.
There are eating knives at Sardis and Olympia--most of them are bronze. I just photographed a bunch of knives from Epadavros in the Peloponnese, and they all seem to be bronze, too. NB that may be a matter of survival. Iron goes fast. But Occam's razor says you're better off with a simple, flat bronze blade in a pair of slabs, fastened with rivets. That seems to be the commonest form.A spike tang in wood or bone also seems common. Contact me by PM and I'll post a sample of originals.
Gourd canteens--good notion--any supporting contemporary evidence?
Buckskin bag--ditto?
But I'm delighted that non-combat gear is getting this attention, because in our unit, we require it first.
There are eating knives at Sardis and Olympia--most of them are bronze. I just photographed a bunch of knives from Epadavros in the Peloponnese, and they all seem to be bronze, too. NB that may be a matter of survival. Iron goes fast. But Occam's razor says you're better off with a simple, flat bronze blade in a pair of slabs, fastened with rivets. That seems to be the commonest form.A spike tang in wood or bone also seems common. Contact me by PM and I'll post a sample of originals.
Gourd canteens--good notion--any supporting contemporary evidence?
Buckskin bag--ditto?
But I'm delighted that non-combat gear is getting this attention, because in our unit, we require it first.
Qui plus fait, miex vault.
