feastgear-msg - 3/24/08 Obtaining feastgear for use in the SCA. Cleaning wooden feastgear. NOTE: See also the files: p-tableware-msg, p-kitchens-msg, utensils-msg, ovens-msg, pottery-msg, glasswork-msg, nefs-msg, forks-msg, spoons-msg, tablecloths-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ Subj: Re: Feast Gear Date: 7 Feb 92 From: trifid at agora.uucp (Roadster Racewerks) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Organization: Open Communications Forum This brings up the subject of what-to-do when you've forgotten your feast gear. Several of my friends in the Macflandry Guards came to what turned out to be a feast not knowing it was one (mixup in communications) so our Adjutant Katherine FitzAlan and I decided to go on a quick shopping trip in the local area, where we bought enough "cannonball" bread loaves to make trenchers for all (half a loaf per person) plus buying a couple of paring knives for those whose belt knife wouldn't serve. Not only are trenchers very period, you eat them afterward instead of washing them! (Not too good for soup, though. :-) Any good, hard crust loaf of bread will serve two people. *Don't* cut off the upper crust to make it flat, though, as it will leak later on. We found it unecessary in any case... So well did it work that when we travelled a great distance to Twelfth Night, we repeated the strategy, and even got complimented! (And, if you have the misfortune to attend a "feast" that skimps on food, you have an entire half a loaf of bread, in any case! Not a problem at either feast mentioned, BTW...) NicMaoilan, who *is* a Scot, after all... :-) Subj: Re: feast gear Date: 7 Feb 92 From: whheydt at pbhya.PacBell.COM (Wilson Heydt) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Organization: Pacific * Bell, San Ramon, CA jeff at math.bu.EDU (Jeff Suzuki) writes: >Cup: Anyone who brings a glass or porcelain cup to an event has my >admiration; they are obviously dextrous enough to protect it against >any of a zillion dangers. Wood or steel is best. Warning about >pewter: it contains lead, and acidic drinks will leach the lead out. *Some* pewters contain lead. Buy pewter from a reputable manufacturer (i.e. one that explicitly tells you it doesn't contain lead). For instance, Kongetinn flatware is made with a non-lead pewter for the handles, and the jewelry company that had the Jefferson cups made in the '70s used a lead-free pewter. There is also Armetal. You can get cups, mugs, plates and bowls. It's the stuff that looks like pewter, but isn't. (It's harder and tougher.) I grant that these options aren't the cheap ones--but what's it worth to avoid lead poisoning? --Hal Hal Ravn, Province of the Mists, West Kingdom Wilson H. Heydt, Jr., Albany, CA 94706, 510/524-8321 (home) Subj: Re: feast gear Date: 11 Feb 92 From: habura at vccnorthb.its.rpi.edu (Andrea Marie Habura) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY I have used metal goblets in the past; I can't say that I like them. Most drinks available at feasts, alcoholic or non, are acidic...if you let the liquid stand in a metal goblet (other than stainless steel) for more than 20 minutes, you get a very nasty surprise with your next mouthful. I have been using a glass goblet for about two years now. It's irregularly- colored blue glass, and reminds me of an 18th century cup my mom has (OK, it's OOP, but it looks old.) I picked it up for $6 at a Pier 1 Imports, and I know that they still carry them. The glass is thick enough that I've never had problems with breakage; I just wrap it in a piece of scrap cloth before I put it in the feast basket. One other thing I've been using, which isn't standard feast gear. I get very thirsty at events, and sometimes the lemonade or whatever doesn't make it to the feast table until 20 minutes after the bread does. I made myself a leather cover for a 1-liter soda bottle (I generally don't drink 2 liters all by myself). The body of it is thin tooling leather (with a figure representing Youth that I copied from a 13th century sarcophagus tooled on it), and the top is doeskin, with grommeted holes and a drawstring. There's a little cylindrical cap tied to the drawstring. The top is drawn tight around the neck of the bottle, and covers it completely. It isn't period, I know, but it's a solution for times when I forget to make mint drink the night before the event. The cover itself is modeled on a 14th century leather case. Alison MacDermot *Ex Ungue Leonem* Re: feast gear 21 Feb 92 From: hwt at bwdlh490.BNR.CA (Henry Troup) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd., Ottawa, Canada In article , habura at vccnorthb.its.rpi.edu (Andrea Marie Habura) writes: |>I have used metal goblets in the past; I can't say that I like them. Most |>drinks available at feasts, alcoholic or non, are acidic...if you let the |>liquid stand in a metal goblet (other than stainless steel) for more than 20 |>minutes, you get a very nasty surprise with your next mouthful. Pewter seems to work well for me. It's modern food grade lead free pewter, and the goblets were made by a local craftsman. (They're not cheap! but available at craft shows.) We travel with a goblet and a tankard each, plus one glass tumbler for hot drinks. One learns not to drink anything hot out of a metal vessel! The tankards are Wilton Armentale (tm). It takes engraving pretty well, is easily available - and expensive! But the metal stuff lasts as long as you don't lose it. Henry Troup - HWT at BNR.CA (Canada) From: del at babel.DIALix.oz.au (D Elson) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Safe to drink from Pewter Date: Mon, 13 Dec 93 13:04:38 GMT Modern pewter from Australia is safe -- it contains no lead. Pewter from Europe sometimes contains lead, and sometimes doesn't. I have no experience of American pewter. A quick test -- place your proposed pewter vessel under some pressure (enough so that it begins to bend). If it _doesn't_ "crackle" slightly while being bent, it is not safe to drink from. If it crackles a lot, it is probably lead free. Anywhere in the middle, you pays yer money and you takes yer chances ... Del -----------------------------------+------------------------------------- D Elson | del at DIALix.oz.au del at adied.oz.au -----------------------------------+------------------------------------- From: Alfredo Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: A couple of EASY questions about swords.. Date: 1 Dec 1995 01:02:35 GMT Organization: Data General Corporation, RTP, NC Margaret (Gretchen Miller ) wrote: >Excerpts from [...] Honour Horne-Jaruk at brege [Alizaunde]: > >> Therefore, while people who never polish an eating knife can get away >> with using mineral oil as a rust-preventive, I really don't recommend it [...] >Ok, so what do you recommend? (I'm mostly interested for my wood, on >which I currently use mineral oil, because that's what the manufactorer >recommends) Here's what I do with wooden feast gear: At the end of a feast, I put it all in a plastic garbage bag. I mean to wash it all right away, but sometimes leave it until just before the next event. I wash the woodware in warm water with Dawn dishwashing liquid, taking care not to let the wood soak long enough to split. I spread the woodware out on a towel to air dry. When it's still a little damp, a spread olive oil all over, then wipe away the excess. So far, I haven't had any trouble with the oil going rancid (knock wood). -- Alfredo hopkins at dg-rtp.dg.com From: iainranock at aol.com (IainRanock) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: A couple of EASY questions about swords.. Date: 1 Dec 1995 13:05:18 -0500 Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) In article <49lk7b$ncj at dg-rtp.dg.com>, Alfredo writes: >Here's what I do with wooden feast gear: >At the end of a feast, I put it all in a plastic garbage bag. >I mean to wash it all right away, but sometimes leave it until just >before the next event. >I wash the woodware in warm water with Dawn dishwashing liquid, >taking care not to let the wood soak long enough to split. >I spread the woodware out on a towel to air dry. >When it's still a little damp, a spread olive oil all over, >then wipe away the excess. >So far, I haven't had any trouble with the oil going rancid (knock wood). > >-- Alfredo >hopkins at dg-rtp.dg.com > Well, I use regular salad oil, not much different from Olive Oil, on mine and haven't had any problem, just don't leave excess amounts on the feast gear. Mine date back to about 12-13 years to when I bought them while in the Barony of Western Seas. Of course mine get used at least monthly and often more than that (except during tax season). In Service to the Society Iain of Rannoch (Lost north of Sea March, Trimaris) " Gebe mir Schokolade und niemand wirt verletzt !!!!!!!!!! " From: afn03234 at freenet2.freenet.ufl.edu (Ronald L. Charlotte) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Wooden feast gear Date: 11 Dec 1995 04:54:27 GMT In <4adu2o$761 at news1.delphi.com>, RCMANN at delphi.com wrote: > Quoting bjm10 from a message in rec.org.sca > >Well, if you wanna plunk down the money or do the work, you could do > >away with wooden feast gear altogether. > >Bring REAL trenchers with you to feasts--the actual baked bread > >trenchers. "Taco Bowl Salads" are a re-cycled idea, y'know... > I've been thinking about doing this at the next event we go to. Is > there anyone upon this bridge who has actually done this, or who can > refer me to some reliable sources? What kind of bread? (Ie. white, > wheat, etc.) What dimensions are period/preferable? Does it have to > stale a bit before use? Should I make a bread "bowl" for soup, or > would it be more period to use a wooden bowl for hot liquids? > Should my lord and I share the bread trencher? It's been done at events here a few times, usually for specific dishes. Kind of bread? Pick your favorite, but should be a type that forms a good thick crust especially when eggwhite glazed. Dimensions? Suit your appitite. Staleness? The ones put before me at the feasts I've had them at were baked onsite. I wouldn't do the bowl for soups, myself, YMMV. Sharing? Quite period, but again a personal preference. -- al Thaalibi ---- An Crosaire, Trimaris Ron Charlotte -- Gainesville, FL afn03234 at afn.org From: jtn at newsserver.uconn.edu (Terry Nutter) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Wooden feast gear Date: 11 Dec 1995 06:32:42 GMT Organization: The University of Connecticut Greetings, all, from Angharad ver' Rhuawn. Al Thaalibi responds to a request for information on trenchers: : > I've been thinking about doing this at the next event we go to. Is : > there anyone upon this bridge who has actually done this, or who can : > refer me to some reliable sources? What kind of bread? (Ie. white, : > wheat, etc.) What dimensions are period/preferable? Does it have to : > stale a bit before use? Should I make a bread "bowl" for soup, or : > would it be more period to use a wooden bowl for hot liquids? : > Should my lord and I share the bread trencher? : It's been done at events here a few times, usually for specific dishes. : Kind of bread? Pick your favorite, but should be a type that forms a : good thick crust especially when eggwhite glazed. Dimensions? Suit your : appitite. Staleness? The ones put before me at the feasts I've had : them at were baked onsite. I wouldn't do the bowl for soups, myself, : YMMV. Sharing? Quite period, but again a personal preference. Practices no doubt varied from time to time and place to place. According to John Russell's Boke of Nurture (a fifteenth century English work, possibly derived from a fourteenth century predecessor, that describes rules for serving in noble households, an edition of which appears in Furnivall's _Early English Meals and Manners_, a volume in the Early English Text Society's Old Series), trenchers should be four-day-old bread. He does not otherwise distinguish them from the fine bread that is served at table for eating; it rather follows that they should be made in the same way as payndemayne or manchet, of white bread (with perhaps some wheat germ added back, and perhaps a _small_ admixture of whole wheat, but not much). Trenchers are sliced from the loaf, apparently in vertical layers, four to a loaf, and squared: so they do not include crust. They appear to be about the size of a normal dinner place, or perhaps smaller. Russell is clear that trenchers are to be placed one per diner, and not shared. It is also clear that they are _not_ used for all dishes. In particular, he instructs to butler to find out how many dishes of pottage the Sewer has been instructed to prepare, and use that number to know how many places to set and trenchers to cut. The pottage is being set by the Sewer, not on trenchers, but in bowls. There are also plate and bowls set on the cupboard and the ewer board, and it is not entirely clear when they are and are not used. Some dishes are specified as being served on saucers; and so forth. Baked meats are served, depending on the kind of the stuff inside, either sliced and placed on the trencher, or in the crust (either whole or pared in a variety of ways), or cubed with the bottom crust still on and placed in saucers (specifically for custards), or so on. The key seems to be that solids eaten by pricking with the knife go on the trencher, and things eaten with spoons are presented in a variety of other ways. (Russell is _very_ clear that nothing that is too large to be put directly in the mouth should ever be put in front of a diner. Things that come from the kitchen in large pieces, such as birds cooked whole, or large bits of meat, should be carved at table before being served.) What clearly goes on the trenchers is sliced meat, fowl, and fish. It is not clear that the trenchers were ever eaten. Indeed, Russell distinguishes explicitly between bread that is to be eaten and trenchers. One should also note that trenchers were not universally used: we know that in many places, plate (especially of gold, silver, or pewter) was used instead. Cheers, -- Angharad/Terry From: jeffebear1 at aol.com Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Feast Utensils Date: 8 Jan 1997 19:12:50 GMT maxheadroom at clo.COM writes: >I am looking for someplace in Toronto that might have appropriate gear( >eating dishes,goblets/mugs,etc.) for the upcoming 12th Night feast. Any >suggestions would be appreciated. If you don't mind mail order DragonMarsh just got in a brand new shipment of feastware. There is 2 new pewter patterns. One is pinecones and the other is a reniasannce pattern design. Other patterns are plain and grapes/vines. They are great and machine washable. Nothing like throwing your feast gear in the trunk after an event and not having to worry if you forget to wash it till Sun night. DragonMarsh 3737 6th St Riverside, Ca 92501 (909) 276-1116 DRGONMARSH at aol.com hope this helps Morigianna From: "Bill Schongar" Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Pewter Ware Date: 7 Jul 1997 13:26:39 GMT Organization: LCD Multimedia Creations Alane of Elerslie wrote: >My family and I are new to the SCA and are looking for pewter mugs and >flatware to use at feasts and wars. Is there a mail order source >available at "Reasonable" prices? I'd recommend Hampshire Pewter, in Wolfeboro NH. I don't have their 800 number handy, but for some odd reason I have their number (local for me) on my machine here at work: (603) 569-4944. The prices are definitely not cheap, but the quality is extremely high and everything is lead-free. If I had the money, I'd have a lot more of their stuff than I do now.. -Bill From: Brett and Karen Williams Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Pewter Ware Date: Mon, 07 Jul 1997 16:31:43 -0700 Bronwynmgn wrote: > "Steven H. Mesnick ('Steffan ap Kennydd')" writes: > > >You may want to look into "Wilton Armetale" which is an alloy similar to > >pewter, but cheaper. > > Wilton Armetale is based in Mt Joy, PA (near Lancaster) and has an 800 > number in the phone book here: 1-800-348-7184. > > Brangwayna Morgan However, for the perenially change-challenged, there is a way to obtain Armetale for less than retail: the Betty Crocker/General Mills catalog. They admittedly have a limited selection of SCA-usable Armetale ware, but the pieces suitable are nice ones-- the plough mug and related bowls, plates, pitcher, charger plates and some serving dishes. For someone who bakes a lot of bread like me, the collection of points necessary to obtain the discount isn't a problem. :) The phone number is available through 800 information; the catalog itself is available free through a phone call or by mailing US$0.50 to the address on one of the point coupons. Coupons are found on General Mills products, usually on the box top. ciorstan From: osmansks at cvn.net (Mary Frey) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Help for a newcomer - Feast Gear Date: Sun, 26 Oct 1997 21:44:36 GMT Wood is lighter weight. If your family is more than two people, and you want to carry your feast gear in a single basket, it will be easier to carry if your dishes are wood. Something like a wicker picnic hamper makes a good carrier for feast gear. Or a solid-color canvas tote bag will do. Cloth napkins rather than paper. And since you never know what the tables will be like at a feast, a fabric tablecloth can also be a help. [I made one from a piece of damask I found in a remnant bin at a fabric store.] Yard sales, Goodwill or Salvation Army stores, and those discount "clearance" stores like Ollie's and Value City are a good place to look for individual linen napkins or a tablecloth, as well as for the odd-and-ends wooden or pewter pieces. I prefer to stay away from glass or ceramic pieces because wood and metal are much less likely to accidentally get broken -- and it isn't just children who can break things. Mary of Montevale From: rlobinske at aol.com (RLobinske) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Help for a newcomer - Feast Gear Date: 26 Oct 1997 21:08:27 GMT >My family has recently joined the SCA and we are looking for a little >assistance on what is the usual feast gear like? From my subjective observation, most feast gear seems to be a combination of things cobbled together from God knows where with items purchased from SCA merchants that the owner thought looked good. I have seen a few gentles who have made a determined effort to provide themselves with in persona feast gear. That said, I would suggest as starters a plate and bowl, spoon, knife and drinking vessel per person. Some form of period lighting would also be a good idea. Purchase as your budget allows and that pleases your aesthetics, most likely SCA merchants will have the best selection available for items reasonably period. After that, as you learn more about your chosen culture, you will then be better able to make informed decisions about what would be appropriate for you. Victor Hildebrand vonn Koln [Submitted by rmhowe ] Subject: Re: *WH* Ceramic feast gear Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1998 09:33:14 -0500 From: jsrechts at imap.unc.edu To: windmasters at netwharf.com On Tue, 27 Oct 1998 10:14:12 +0000 maridonna at worldnet.att.net (Andrea Hicks) wrote: >I am looking for someone who makes dinnerware sets with personal arms >(or badges) on it. A set would include a goblet or tankard, bowl, small >and large plate. If you know of someone who does this, please let me >know. Seppo does. I don't know his last name but sells from Potters Hall at Pennsic. You may want to look him up in the Pennsic Merhcant Directory. He does fabulous work and has a laurel in pottery as well. Lyanna [submitted by rmhowe ] Subject: Re: *WH* Ceramic feast gear Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1998 12:09:30 -0500 From: Christoph and/or Sherry Hintze To: windmasters at netwharf.com At 10:14 AM 10/27/98 +0000, Andrea Hicks wrote: >I am looking for someone who makes dinnerware sets with personal arms >(or badges) on it. A set would include a goblet or tankard, bowl, small >and large plate. If you know of someone who does this, please let me >know. I have to recommend Ancient Pots, a small reproduction pottery business run by Sharyne Graham. From the tag on one of her pieces, "All works are made, using the same color clay and glazes as the original." Her work is meticulously researched, and extremely beautiful. I do not know for certain that she does custom work, but it's worth checking. Ancient Pots Reproduction Pottery P.O. Box 743 Newport, NC 28570 (919) 223-5893 Lady Kat Subject: Re: *WH* Ceramic feast gear Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1998 10:46:42 -0700 (MST) From: Grumpy Witch To: windmasters at netwharf.com On Tue, 27 Oct 1998, Christoph and/or Sherry Hintze wrote: > I have to recommend Ancient Pots, a small reproduction pottery business run > by Sharyne Graham. From the tag on one of her pieces, "All works are made, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Also known as Mistress Anna Munro Ayo (former apprentice to said Laurel) % zofran at deepthot.ml.org Cheryl Martin, grumpy witch % Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 12:19:44 -0600 From: mfgunter at fnc.fujitsu.com (Michael F. Gunter) Subject: SC - Interesting site I was informed about a wonderful site. It has beautiful armor, clothing, pottery, etc... The main point for this list are the carved horn cups, spoons, even a bowl. And the crowning glory is the Medieval Reproduction Carving set! They took a woodcut of a feast carver and reproduced his tools. Absolutely beautiful! http://www.historicenterprises.com/ Gunthar Date: Mon, 04 Jan 1999 15:13:47 -0500 From: rmhowe To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: placemat size? [SCA] Gwen Morse wrote: > When you make placemats for feasting, how big are they? I'd like to make a > placemat for my feast gear, but, I don't want to make one so big it would > overcrowd my neighbors. This isn't the sort of thing that you need a > pattern for, exactly, but, there's got to be some sort of size range to > these things... > > Should it be as wide as I am ? > > Eachna After years of using and folding tablecloths to all sorts of dimensions Anne and I still carry them, but we bought a couple of pairs of Celtic Tea Towels in Green and Blue Celtic Bird Motifs from PastTimes. That pretty much solved the problem, and we can clean up and leave when we like. Also we don't take more of the table than we need and can arrange them end/side, side/side, or opposite. Magnus Date: Wed, 10 Mar 1999 06:48:52 -0800 From: Anne-Marie Rousseau Subject: Re: SC - Plateware, cutlery, etc. Hi all from Anne-Marie We are asked for sources of period tablewear. for horn spoons, horn cups, knives, cool pitchers and baluster mugs, check out www.historicenterprises.com for metal spoons, check out Francesco Sirene, Spicer (they're pewter, and so rather bendy, but cheap!) or Frederik de Kohler (an Antirian...dont know as he travels much) for plates, we use the IKEA big wood chargers (not perfect, but they work) for bowls, we use cheapo wood ones or else some spiffo ceramic ones that a friend got for us from Pennsic (sorry, no vender) for glass glasses, check out that Viking glass website (also carries 15th century stuff) mentioned here before. - --AM, all for more period tablewear! :) Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 12:35:46 -0400 From: snowfire at mail.snet.net Subject: SC - Re: SC Simplicity patterns (inc. table linens) - -Poster: Jean Holtom A gentle on the Garb list brought it to our attention that there are some new dress (and men's renaissance shirt) patterns in the Simplicity pattern book. Note that they are not in the costume section with the others however, but are in the prom and special occasions (historical) section of the catalogue instead. Also, in the home decorating section they have 2 different patterns for renaissance tablecloths, pillows, mantle hangings etc. which could be extremely useful. Elysant Date: Sun, 12 Mar 2000 07:03:38 +0100 (MET) From: Par Leijonhufvud Subject: Re: SC - Tablewear On Fri, 10 Mar 2000 lilinah at earthlink.net wrote: > As a Ren Fair actor, i have two, count 'em, two sets of eating > utensils, a brass two pronged fork and matching more-or-less > hemispherical bowl spoon (watch out for acids, make you taste the Brass contains copper. Copper produces verdigris. Verdigris is toxic. Be very carefull about keeping it clean, never storing food in it, and you may get away with it. /UlfR From: Darice Moore Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Early Period Glassware/Feastware Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 05:15:36 GMT Organization: RoadRunner - TampaBay hrjones at socrates.berkeley.edu wrote: > If you don't mind spending a little money, there's a company associated > with the Stockholm museum that creates accurate historic glassware from > Scandinavia and Germany. I ran into some folks at the recent West Kingdom > Crown who are importing the stuff -- contact them at > . You won't get thrift-store prices, but you _can_ > get as authentic a Viking beaker as you'd ever care to get drunk out of! You can order the glass through the Web too, and there's more than just Viking there: http://www.northerner.com/histglass.html The history glass goes all the way through the Renaissance. It's expensive (more for shipping than for some of the items - a "rush cup" will set you back $12 + $15 or so for shipping. My husband and my soon-to-be Laurel each ordered me a Frankish glass for the holidays - luckily, they each ordered a different style. The glasses are works of art, incredibly beautiful - and very attention-getting. - Clotild of Soissons Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 16:29:45 -0400 From: Elaine Koogler Subject: Re: SC - Metal drinkware (was With a Curtsey to Their Majesties: An Introduction) I found that the best way to do this is to use the bubble-wrap bags that I sometimes receive shipped items in. I then carefully pack these in a good sturdy basket--we have a Mountain Man basket with a solid wood lid. Failing that, what I used to use (and learned the trick when I was selling antiques at antique shows in various venues) bed liners. You can get them very inexpensively at your local drugstore or variety store (Walmart, etc.), they are padded, large enough for just about anything and work very well...and they're cheap and reusable! Kiri kathleen.hogan at juno.com wrote: > I agree...I've never cared for drinking anything out of metal (strangely > enough...I hate the aftertaste plastic gives, too). I just pack my > ceramic & glass dishes CAREFULLY. > > Caitlin nicFhionghuin > House Oak & Thistle > Shire of Bordervale Keep > Atlantia From: "Ken Koll aka Lord Valdis of Gotland" Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Ceramics Date: Fri, 2 Nov 2001 02:20:15 -0500 Any particular reason you want ceramics? Are you looking at multiple pieces? There are numerous woodcarvers out there, including myself. I could get you the name of some others if you so wish. If you looking at duplicate copies, have an original carved in wood, then have a mold made from it to make resin or ceramic copies out of. Resin is the most durable and cost only $11-$15 per copy...bulk order would lower it, and size does matter. Resin is nice because you can bounce it off the floor and not break it...the answer if you have kids, where ceramic will crack, shatter, chip and so forth. Resin can be painted like ceramic, can be casted to look like wood in color also. Let me know what you are interested in and I can E-mail you some pics of other work I have done in wood and some that have been casted from my wood carvings. Lord Valdis of Gotland "Baronessa Ilaria" wrote: > > I am looking for custom Ceramic. I would love to have my Device and > >such done. Who does this work please? > > Check with Mistress Olga - Stephanie Howe - of Ash & Griffin Pottery. She does > some lovely work and I believe is willing to do custom items. Her website is > at > http://www.icon-stl.net/~kafritts/index.htm From: Coblaith Mhuimhneach Date: September 3, 2006 2:12:40 PM CDT To: Barony of Bryn Gwlad Subject: Re: [Bryn-gwlad] Feast Gear Questions Rahil al Nadir wrote: > What is included with the feast gear? I'd recommend at minimum you bring a bowl, a plate (or a second bowl), a knife, a spoon, and something to drink from, for each member of your party. A cloth napkin or three each and a basket to stack it all in will come in handy, too, as will a candleholder and candles on some occasions. "The Well-Tempered Feast Basket" will give you a good overview. > My family and I are from Al-Andulas (Moorish Spain). We are > Andulasian Moors living in the city of Granada during the late > 15th, early 16th Centuries. We are not extremely wealthy, but we > are well to do middle class type citizens. For your period, forks are also very justifiable, especially for someone of Arabic descent . > What are the common metals, stones, or woods used in feast gear? You could be asking either of two questions here; I'll try to address them both. 1) What are the materials most commonly used by SCAdians for feast gear? Metals: (Modern, lead-free) pewter is a popular choice. Some is very plain and utilitarian, but you can also find companies that make decorative pieces. There are also modern alloys that look much like pewter but are less expensive, and in some cases more tarnish- and ding-resistant. Brass, bronze, and copper are also seen in period, and, while I haven't noticed feast gear made from those at any of the feasts I've attended, they are sometimes available from vendors catering to the SCA market. Stones: The Norse used soapstone for cooking, among other things, several centuries before your period. I'm not sure whether it made its way onto their tables. I'm not personally aware of any stone options in feast gear. Woods: Olivewood is popular with some vendors. But most of the wooden feast gear I've seen is either just labeled "hardwood" or "wooden", without specificity. It's unlikely to matter which type of wood your gear is made of, as far as "fitting in" at a feast goes. Pottery and Ceramics: Earthenware is a popular choice, because of its relative sturdiness. Stoneware that can be bought (in solid colors) at houseware and discount stores and decorated at home with food-safe paints is, as well--it's not too fragile, and not too hard to replace if it does break. 2) What materials would commonly have been used in tableware by your persona? I don't know a great deal about your period; mine's several centuries earlier, and in a different part of the Knowne World. The 15th and 16th centuries are well-represented among Karen Larsdatter's link to photos of artifacts and period paintings showing table service ; you might find something useful there. (She also has links to some sellers of reproductions, many of which offer cited copies of artifacts from that era, for when you're ready to buy.) I do know that maiolica was popular over much of Europe in your timespan. HL Amata posted a link a few days ago to the site of a SCAdian artist , by whose work she stated she was "very impressed". It includes historical information on the form, as well as photos of a few artifact pieces. Lusterware was also apparently big in Spain in that era . You might find the members of the Al Andalus Yahoo! Group are better able to point you to resources directly related to your persona. Happy searching, and welcome to the Society! Coblaith Mhuimhneach From: tmcd at panix.com Date: September 3, 2006 4:18:07 PM CDT To: Barony of Bryn Gwlad Subject: Re: [Bryn-gwlad] Feast Gear On Sun, 3 Sep 2006, Sandy Straubhaar wrote: > and I still eat off of wooden plates and bowls. I drink out of > leather drinking jacks made by Morgan the Tanner of Calontir > sometime in the eighties. ... None of these things break, whereas > glass and ceramic (that you love) might easily break. Tradeoffs all around. I used a wooden mug until the handle broke off. I tried ceramic but stopped before it broke. I now use silvery goblets. Their drawback: they're now dented and noticably out of round, and I don't know how to get them rerounded. But I can use them still just as easily, when they'd been subjected to forces that would break most ceramics. I used to use a wooden plate. Then I realized how long I was letting my feast gear sit after coming back from an event before washing it, and wondered how quickly I would die the next time I ate from it. Then thought about my old wooden mug and shuddered. I then got a silvery plate. I'm not worried now about bacteria lingering, dishwasher safe ... worked great until I went to the Steppes Twelfth Night at Fair Park, Dallas. Fair Park was made for summertime fairs, so there was no heating in that hall. It was maybe 55 degrees inside. The chicken hit my plate and I could almost see ice crystals forming. Between courses, I took it into the men's room to hold it under the hot-air hand dryer -- didn't heat very much. The table candles didn't help much either. But that was just one very unusual occurrence: they've worked fine at the other dozen or two feasts I've taken them too. So, on the whole, I prefer metal plates and goblets for durability, washability, and safety. Danielis Lindecolina -- Tim McDaniel; Reply-To: tmcd at panix.com From: Stefan li Rous Date: September 4, 2006 1:01:33 AM CDT To: Barony of Bryn Gwlad Subject: Re: [Bryn-gwlad] Feast Gear On Sep 3, 2006, at 4:18 PM, tmcd at panix.com wrote: > On Sun, 3 Sep 2006, Sandy Straubhaar wrote: >> and I still eat off of wooden plates and bowls. I drink out of >> leather drinking jacks made by Morgan the Tanner of Calontir >> sometime in the eighties. ... None of these things break, whereas >> glass and ceramic (that you love) might easily break. > > Tradeoffs all around. > > I then got a > silvery plate. I'm not worried now about bacteria lingering, > dishwasher safe ... worked great until I went to the Steppes Twelfth > Night at Fair Park, Dallas. Fair Park was made for summertime fairs, > so there was no heating in that hall. It was maybe 55 degrees inside. > The chicken hit my plate and I could almost see ice crystals forming. > > Danielis Lindecolina Yep. I use a pewter mug and had a similar problem. When filled with a hot liquid the rim can get too hot to drink out of comfortably and with a cold drink the metal is such a good conductor of heat that the drink warms faster than I might like. Unfortunately, I've not found many good insulated pewter mugs. :-) I now use a set of pewter eating utensils. I recommend hitting up the various thrift stores and SCA merchants. It's much nicer, in my opinion, to pay $6 for a used pewter plate than $22 new. However, it can take several years to assemble a complete collection of place settings. Before I had assembled my pewter collection, I put together a place setting of brass eating utensils. Very classy... Except they require polishing. Bring them home from the thrift store. Polish them. Put them away for a month or two until the next event. Bring them out. Polish them. Go to the event. Put food on the brass plate and watch it almost tarnish in the front of your eyes. Bring home. Polish them and put them away. Bring them out before the next event and notice they need polishing. Polish them. Repeat above process. Again. Argh. Ceramics tend to have a rather short life span with me. I did get a nice tankard in an auction lot of items I got at this last Pennsic. And I lost one of my pewter tankards at that Pennsic. :-( We'll just have to see how this ceramic mug does. :-) Stefan -------- THLord Stefan li Rous Barony of Bryn Gwlad Kingdom of Ansteorra Mark S. Harris Austin, Texas From: Chris Zakes Date: September 3, 2006 6:58:01 PM CDT To: Barony of Bryn Gwlad Subject: Re: [Bryn-gwlad] Feast Gear Questions > I am new to the SCA and am in need of some information. What is > included with the feast gear? I have been on Ebay and have seen > some lovely sets, but I don't want the purchase a set that is too > extreme or out of period. What are the common metals, stones, or > woods used in feast gear? Voice of experience here: There's a good chance of just about any SCA feast gear getting dropped, forgotten or loaned out and not returned. My recommendation is to go for something that's durable, fairly cheap, easy to replace and *doesn't* have great sentimental value. In my experience, most silver-plated feast gear is pretty for the first month or two, then you have problems either with tarnishing or (more common with the cheap stuff) the silver plating starts coming off. Also, silver will react to some foodstuffs (oranges for example) and give a funny taste to your food/drink. The grey fake-pewter is durable, but it transmits heat *very* well. Don't put hot coffee or tea in one of those mugs unless you also have an oven mitt handy. Whatever you choose, always pack a small plastic bag in with your feast gear. Most sites get grumpy if people wash dishes in the bathroom sink (too easy to clog the drain) and few site kitchens are set up to allow 100+ people to wash their dishes. This way, you can scrape the worst of the dinner debris into the trash and then put the dirty dishes in the plastic bag to isolate them from the rest of your stuff until you can get it home to wash properly. -Tivar Moondragon From: Marlin Stout Date: September 3, 2006 9:32:20 PM CDT To: Barony of Bryn Gwlad Subject: Re: [Bryn-gwlad] Feast Gear Questions Coblaith Mhuimhneach wrote: > I'd recommend at minimum you bring a bowl, a plate (or a second bowl), > a knife, a spoon, and something to drink from, for each member of your > party. A cloth napkin or three each and a basket to stack it all in > will come in handy, too, as will a candleholder and candles on some > occasions. "The Well-Tempered Feast Basket" > > will give you a good overview. Yep. what she said. Covers it pretty well. > Brass, bronze, and copper are also seen in period, and, while I > haven't noticed feast gear made from those at any of the feasts I've > attended, they are sometimes available from vendors catering to the > SCA market. Just make sure the brassware (or copper or bronze) are anodized, or your silver is stainless. All of these metals tarnish, so you can get tarnish-resistant versions or develop a close personal relationship with Brasso or Duraglit... Charles Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 13:22:54 -0500 From: "Elaine Koogler" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] ordering pottery by mail To: "Cooks within the SCA" On 12/29/06, Michael Gunter wrote: > I got Elizabeth the gorgeous Ave Maria plate from > www.historicenterprises.com > and it came well packed in bubble wrap and newspaper. No problems > at all. > > We need to figure out some kind of easy protective carry system for our > feast get to prevent it from getting chipped up. All of mine is probably > six years old and it is starting to look it. > > Gunthar There are several things you can do. I find the most efficient is using bubble-wrap "bags". I take bubble wrap, cut a large enough piece to wrap around whatever item I am packing. I then seal the edges together to make an envelope with a small flap. This usually protects most breakables (and other items that could be scratched) quite well. Bed liners (from a drug or medical supply store) also work very well. Make sure that you stash them in a hard-sided basket or box for travel. Kiri Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 13:27:32 -0500 From: "Daniel Phelps" Subject: [Sca-cooks] Pottery Carry System To: "Cooks within the SCA" Was written: <<< We need to figure out some kind of easy protective carry system for our feast get to prevent it from getting chipped up. All of mine is probably six years old and it is starting to look it. >>> Well I purchased one of those quilted zipper top china three container storage systems. I only use the large cylinder and the small one but not the rectangular one. Was rather cheap. I pad between plates and bowls and have wooden trencher plates that I place at the bottom and top of each cylinder. Need to do something for glass ware. Daniel Edited by Mark S. Harris feastgear-msg Page 18 of 18