Comacchio Leather Bag HowTo

[Jona Lendering]

I have bought one of Martin's bags, and you can see it here. I am very happy with it.

[LUCIUS ALFENUS AVITIANUS]

Nice! So it's useful, not only beautiful.

[Flavius Promotus]

Voilá, my version of the Comaccio bag, made according to Martin's construction plan (with a few variants like heart shaped patches instead of drop shaped ones, red laces, and my legion's number [= fancywork]).

I know this bag is most likely from the Augustan age and should perhaps not be used for an early 3rd century impression (but without any other evidence...). On the other hand, my scutum cover is also based on one of the Vindonissa finds, so what the heck
:lol:

Martin, hail thee, king of leatherworks!!

[Martin Moser]

Hi Florian,

nice work! What did you use to color/dye the laces (I take it they are leather, too)?

[Primvs Pavlvs]

Christian this looks great!

I am in the process of building one of these also with some variation. I am using a heavy dark brown elkskin with vegtan accents.

I will post some pics later.

[M. Demetrius]

So would a legionary be ok carrying one of these bags instead of the "loculus" that everyone seems to make? Would a mix in a group of soldiers be reasonable to expect?

[Primvs Pavlvs]

David I think thats going to end up being a matter of opinion. However I think its more than acceptable, and we are using them in our group.

[Flavius Promotus]

Christian this looks great!

Do you mean me (Florian) or Martin? :wink:

What did you use to color/dye the laces

I confess to have used a chemical leather dyestuff

:oops:

Maybe I can experiment with madder one day...

So would a legionary be ok carrying one of these bags instead of the "loculus" that everyone seems to make? Would a mix in a group of soldiers be reasonable to expect?

To be honest, I have no idea
At least this bag is based on an original find, whereas no specimens of the 'envelopes' on Trajan's column have been found, yet. Since a bag which looks very similar to the Comaccio bag was found at Vindonissa (a legionary base), I would say that using such a bag in a military context should be ok

[Marcus Mummius]

Maybe I can experiment with madder one day...

Keep in mind that you need alumn tanned leather for that. Madder doesn't have a lot of effect on veg tanned leather.

[M. Demetrius]

Thanks guys for the replies. I have a "Trajan column" loculus, but really, the million stitches don't seem to be essential to the function of a shoulder bag. If the bag is soft deer or goatskin, and the strips are heavier leather, it makes sense, otherwise, it's just a lot of extra trouble to make. At least that's the view from here. I actually made mine from 2-3 oz (2mm) veg tanned cowhide, and after oiling, it is very soft, but still holds its shape.

I think I'll make one of these Comacchio bags, or a minor variation of it, next. A shoulder bag is always a good idea. And a buckle strap is a good idea, too, in case you choose to hang it on a furca and don't want the strap to dangle too much.

(Hmm. If you made a furca from Fir wood, would it be a Firca??)

[Primvs Pavlvs]

Christian this looks great!

Do you mean me (Florian) or Martin? :wink:

Sorry Florian :oops:

[MARCvSVIBIvSMAvRINvS]

very very nice bag indeed!!!!!!!!!!!!


could and of course... would you post the Pattern?

M.VIB.M.

[Flavius Promotus]

Keep in mind that you need alumn tanned leather for that. Madder doesn't have a lot of effect on veg tanned leather.

Thank you for this information! Do you know any method of dying veg tanned leather red? With chemicals that were at hand in antiquity? (and I don't mean purple! )

would you post the Pattern?

Martin has started this thread with a detailed description of the construction process :wink:

[Marcus Mummius]

Quote:
Keep in mind that you need alumn tanned leather for that. Madder doesn't have a lot of effect on veg tanned leather.


Thank you for this information! Do you know any method of dying veg tanned leather red? With chemicals that were at hand in antiquity? (and I don't mean purple! Very Happy )

Well, I'm not sure if the Romans used chemicals to dye their leather. What do you understand under the term chemicals? Is dyeing black with iron salts chemical dyeing?

Vegetably tanned leather is in fact dyed by the oak's bark that is used in the tanning proces. This makes it very difficult to dye vegetably tanned leather. I don't know if any of the vegetal dyes the Romans knew can be used to dye veg tanned leather. I don't think the Romans dyed vegetably tanned leather. If they wanted to colour leather they would use alumn tanned leather as vegetal dyestuffs work very well on this kind of leather.

I'm still looking for a good source for alumn tanned leather. Until I find such a source I use veg tan leather and modern chemical dyes. Most of them are more like stains than dyes.

[Hibernicus]

Thanks for the inspiration Martin!

We've started making some as well.