New Look vs. Old Look

[hrayton]

So this is something that has been on my mind as a question ever since I have begun pondering this sport of muzzleloading, and I am curious to see what thoughts the rest of you guys have in regards to it....so bear with me. 

When I visit various sites or go to a rendezvous as a tourist, a couple of things have always struck me...everything looks "old" which in itself isn't a bad thing for "authenticity" purposes, everything looks like it is 200 plus years old. Rifles, horns, cookware, tents and clothing, everything is hard worn, and aged to look like it came out of an antique or curio shop. I guess my question is this then, everything being proudly displayed that looks old was once new. It was new in 1790, or 1800, or 1810, or 1830, or whenever, and if that is the time period being portrayed, shouldn't some of the stuff there look as if it was just made? Not trying to step on anyone's toes here, and there are some awesome craftsmen that make things that look good to a 21st century eye, but if the year really were 1810, and you had a period correct powder horn that looked like it was 200 years old, well then that would mean that the horn you were carrying was made in 1610 right? I can understand things looking like they have been used, and used hard, but rendezvous were places where new things were being brought in by traders to resupply folks. So how do you strive to look authentic without looking like a walking talking breathing antique? I am going to my first rondy as a participant in less than a month, and I have made a ton of my own gear for it, and it's not really broken in yet, I have been taking hikes in the forest preserve wearing my moccs just to break them in,  gaaaaah, I feel like I am rambling....

I'm not gonna worry about my stuff looking new when I go I think, because in time it will get broken in, and used, as long as the clothing is cut correctly it should be fine. I'm not gonna worry about browning my axehead, as it is shiny, it too will dull on its own, my leather will age as it is exposed to rain, and greased to keep it dry, and my cookpots will also brown as they are exposed to fire......

I guess I answered my own question, I'll simply get some new/old stuff that will age with me in my travels......but I don't think I'm gonna spend the time hunting down antiques unless I am using them as a model to make something "new" that through use will eventually look "old" right? Just curious to other people's take on this....

[old salt]

There would be some old and some new. Some of the gear would old because you took grand dad's
or uncle Joe's or whom ever, some would be new because Mon and Grandma would not have it any
other way
Just the way I see it.

[Ironwood]

Hrayton,  I agree with you wholeheartedly!  I've been chastised in this very forum because the leather stuff I made looked "machine made" and "too new".  That I ought to take it out and sort of destroy it.  Well that ain't gonna happen.    I don't have any issue with folks that want to wear the beat up, worn out, ready for the trash heap, stuff but that's not my thing. :)     

[DEADDAWG]

My feelings on it are an item starts out well made and new, then let it age with use over time. I don't purposely abuse something to make it age, but I don't baby it either.

[david32cal]

Hrayton,i think you are on the right path. the best thing to age somthing is time.

[NAULTRICK1]

  What I think truly counts Trout, is the effort, all things will age (including us ) I think your effort just to keep period correct will be appreciated, and like most things, if your new to the genre as were newbees to the mountain or woods back then (greenhorns, tinhorns whatever ya want ta call em) of course there gear would mostly be new, some handed down, some traded for, but after they earned there names or stripes or what have you, so would their gear. Your trying to keep it real and I applaud you for it.   personally I like to keep things as new looking as possible, as I'm sure they did then, hence such well cared for rifles surviving to this day, I also think that is one of the reasons we are so passionate about this affectation, we object to this disposable society and it's lack of ties to anything and pride of ownership.

[Rev]

Bear in mind, things back then were made to last. I have a 150 year old shotgun that works as well today as the day it was made. If you bought something, you generally expected the grandchildren to be using it. If you got something to Rendezvous, it spent months or more on the trail, exposed to weather & hard use. It would not take long to start to look old. Given these conditions, most everything either looked, or was, old...

Just sayin'...

[Micanopy]

I would have to agree, some things, Items of clothing perhaps, as a traveler, would or could have a worn look, lived in so to say. Other things can have a newish look as if just obtained at a voo, or trade. If an item was new in 1810 and you are portraying that period it shouldnt look like it is two hundred years old, unless you are of course 200 years old and got it new in 1610..........

[Red Badger]

I believe that pride in ownership was as prevalent then as it is now... When I get a new tool or item of gear I tend to try and keep it looking it's best, except for normal wear and tear... Now my clothing I tend to really wear and with sanitary standards what they were then - the only way to wash clothing was in the nearest stream and so the rocks and scrubbing took it's own toll on clothing... so it should look beat up unless you are portraying an important personage in history and member of the gentry... then you would have the fine silks and linens that were starched and very carefully tended to...

Luckily I do not portray that type of "Gentlemen".... I am rough and tumble and my clothing should look it.   But I do have a linen shirt in the works and it will be kept as nice and clean as I can in my travels, as I will only wear it for special occasions... the Wedding of a neighbor or the occasional town party...   I think you get the idea...

[Hawken50]

  Exactly,clothing especially,would have looked rough after just a week.They didnt shower every morning,go to the closet and pick out one outfit out of 20.Their clothes were worn and slept in fer weeks.Equipment was taken care of because their life depended on it.Look at how many old cap and ball colts are out there still doing what they were ment to do.Ive seen"antiqued"repop sixshooters that looked worse than a battlefied relic.But thats the fun of all this,whether mountain man or civil war reenactor,or cowboy action,its a do it your own way thing.Personalize everything,its what makes everyones plunder unique.

[voyageur1688]

  My gear gets beat up and old looking fast enough on its own from regular use. I dont see any reason to say either way is more correct than another.  As long as it is of the style and type that would have been in use at the time you are covering then it is up to you to say if you want it to look freshly made or if you want it to be looking like its been serving you well for a might bit.
Voy

[Micanopy]

I use my regalia very often, specially huntin and it gets fouled up fast, mud, blood, greaze, dog spit, beer, whizkey, soot, lotsa smoke both black powder smoke and wood smoke from fires, but since I am a wanderin ndn boy livin off the land trappin and tradin that works. A farmer would be more soiled from those types of labor and of course a townie would be soild from a days toiling at his trade.

[Bulldog lady]

I'm kinda thinkin anyone who made clothes in the old days, expected them to be used, but take pride in the finished product, when they were new. Materials could or would be hard to come by and use used them as best you could.  Just my two cents worth.

[Ranger]

Its been my estimation that the folks back then would have done the same we do now. They would have taken care of their gear to the best of their ability. They would have kept their guns, traps, and other gear as clean and in good working order as possible. You wouldn't let a brand new tool get rusty and old lookin in your mundane life so why would you let your rendevous equipment get mucked up. Of course you have normal wear and tear on everything but let it be normal wear and tear and cared for use, not abuse. This inludes clothing of course.  Just my 2 cents if it makes any difference.

[Hanshi]

Back then most stuff would be new just like today when something is acquired.  In 1795, for instance, a rifle and/or accoutrements wouldn't look 200 or even 50 years old in all probability.