Shako & Sabre

As of last weekend I made another step forward with my Hussar's kit.

I had recently acquired a Boreel shako from Willem Pet. I would howver need to furnish the chinstraps, shako cords etc. myself. Then on Saturday I received the chinstraps and rondels for the shako as a birthday gift- Thanks Albert & Sonja!

It took me a bot of fiddling on figuring out how to attach them. The suggestion was to use linchpins to attach the chinstrap and then glue the rondel on. I ran into a number of difficulties with this. First of all I could not get linchpins with a flat head, they all had the bent wire end. In addition, I was concerned about the glue letting go and losing the rondels.

So, I stubbornly set onto different track. I drilled 2 small holes in the rondel, and put a brass rod through those holes and the linchpin. I then filled the back of the rondel around the brass pin with solder. I'm pretty sure that will hold up to most stress that will not kill the wearer... Afterwards, I used my dremel to clean up the outside and ran it over my polishing machine. There are some small marks, but I seriously doubt anyone will notice at anything but very close inspection.



The next picture shows the slight marks at the "11 o'clock" and "6 o'clock" positions on the star itself.

I'm pretty please with the result, now for the shako cords! Oh, and if anyone would care to enlighten me on the proper way to attach the rondels, I'd be much obliged.

That, however, is not all. Last weekend also saw the arrival of a package - courtesy Albert couriering service - containing my sabre. I'm right pleased with it, even though I have to say it's surprisingly heavy and unbalanced compared to the medieval swords I'm used to. Guess I'll have to go back to school with this one!

I'm currently in the process of ordering the sabre belt so I can show up at Waterloo with a sabre on my thigh.

Most critical pieces of kit still to sort:
* Sabrebelt & tache
* Overcoat
* Shakocords & hooks
* Carbine belt (as I do have the ammo pouch)
* Surcingle

Followed by:
* Hussar's bridle & reins
* Loads of other kit

Bles, uniform and new saddle

Tried out my new saddle during a very pleasant weekend of napoleonic civilian riding at the Archeon - a lot of fun and truly excellent company!

 

NB. Unfortunately no pictures of the much better looking female company, as they were taking these pictures. My humble apologies.

My horse, Bles ('Blaze') certainly seemed to enjoy most of the weekend, but was hard challenged by the speed at walk and trot of Albert's trotter (Kidnapper). Had to feel sorry for Bles, trying to keep up with a horse that will trot about as fast as Bles will canter.

 

Also took the opportunity to ride for a little bit in my newly acquired Boreel uniform. Unfortunately without headdress, and the trousers are obviously too short. I was very relieved that it all 'works' well and is a heck of a lot more comfortable than 'classy' 15th century clothes.

The below picture is one of the cool ones - there's a lot of others that make me grimace at my riding style - work to be done there, for sure.

 

Look what came in the mail - Indian UP saddle

I got a very nice surprise today: The saddle and stirrups that I ordered from sellerie-occitane.com arrived in the mail!They offer a very affordable UP saddle of indian manufacture, and since I needed a new saddle to do napoleonic light cavalry, I ordered this. It beats any and all offers for refurbished UP's that I've come across, so kinda hard to refuse.

 

First impression: It's a saddle!
Second impression: It's a UP!
Third impression: Looks servicable and sturdy enough - the metal is a lot thicker than on my Hungarian UP.
Fourth impression: Some of the finishes do look a bit rough

View from the front:

 

View from the rear:

 

Cantle support:

 

Pommel support:

 

Pommel close-up:

 

Height of seat leather above tree and webbing:

 

The leather of the seat extends very flat, and doesn't curve down much at all. Right now, it is a very unpleasant seat with the edges digging into my thighs. I am a bit concerned here, but fully realise it's probably because the leather is brand spanking new and still has to settle. I have never owned a brand new UP, or any brand new saddle, so don't know if it's normal. I expect it will settle in quickly enough with riding.

Roller in cantle:

 

This roller looks particularly rough - a tiny bit of extra effort would have looked a lot better. Also, note the cutout, that doesn't look realy finished.

Roller in cantle, seen from rear:

 

Strap mount:

 

Overall there are a few minor gripes about the finish, but it looks like a saddle that will be durable enough. For the price, I wasn't expecting a perfect finish.

I'm really keen to try it on my horse, can't wait for the weekend!