If you don't have high quality hand made knives, a $2 box cutter with disposable blades works just fine, too

Tip that was missed on thread length with a saddle stitch is 4 times the length of thread of how far you want to stitch.

So, to be clear, the needle goes *through* my hand right?

It would be really cool if you had a kit for this on your website!

Hey, used to do the Renaissance faire circuit here. A tiny fraction of advice, if you'd be willing to hear it... During the forming process, use the wooden tool you have to pack the wet canteen with dry pearl barley, refill and pack more, as tightly as you can in your container. This will do a few things: such as give you more to push the wet leather out with, potentially providing a uniform stretch and more rigidity to the inside of your container as it dries. Also, you'll end up with a product that has the potential to hold significantly more liquid. Once completely dry, knock out the pearl barley with a large drill bit/stick/spoon as needed. I find a handful of nuts/bolts gets the stragglers of pearl barley out of the corners well, but I'm sure a few cleaned rocks would serve the purpose well, in a pinch. Once all the pearl barley is out, seal as usual. Hope this helps and possibly inspires a new living history/experimental project for you. :)

Must admit, I do like handcrafted leather goods. That is an impressive looking leather canteen.

The fact it's shaped like a Gibson is pretty cool, too. Hahaha

Wholesome peaceful content like usual, bless you.

The classic Bota is very much like this. What a fine group of skills this young fellow has.

"You take a sip from your trusty Townsend leather canteen."

When I've made these, after wetting the sewn costrel I would fill it with lentils and beans and then use a dowel to keep stuffing down the dry goods to expand the shape outwards and get a more round base. Great tutorial, I would just advise anyone taking these steps to also expand the leather outwards to contain more volume using rice or lentils to stuff it while it dries. Great project!

"The leather ones were not only easy to make, but, *BAM BAM BAM* they were quiet."

I was taught that the best way to finish off a saddle stitch was to just backstitch about 4 more stitches and cut it off. I've done that on all the leathercraft I've made (just my personal gear) and after 20-years of service it's never come undone.

I'm with many others who have commented on this: I'd love to see a kit or at least a pdf pattern of this!

Best channel on KZfaq. I’d consider this to be Indiana’s best export next to corn and soybeans ;)

I had a cheap leather canteen when I was a kid. I still remember the overwhelming taste of the leather.

I enjoyed this episode much, much more than I expected.

I think I just figured out why videos like this, the canoe-building episodes, and the cabin-building episodes are my favorites. I thought it was just that watching pleasant people work natural materials with their hands in a natural setting is exceptionally relaxing. But Aaron's (and probably others') camera work keeps the visuals interesting without losing the quiet focus that the person or people involved must have to complete the task, and Ryan's beautiful, wistful guitar really brings it all together and makes it even more quietly artful. While the artisan is creating something beautiful and tangible, you all work together to create an experience for the viewer that is immersive and emotionally satisfying. It's hard to just be present while watching lights flickering on a screen, but these videos make it easy to be here now, even if we aren't there then.

Leatherworking has always facinated me, I mean I've seen people work in the forge and handle metal but using hide to craft items that'll last for quite some time is just amazing to me!

I used to make very similar canteens with my dad when we would go camping. A good way to while away the hours sitting by the fire. I still have one though I didn't maintain it well so the leather cracked and won't hold water anymore. I think this has motivated me to make a new one in his honor.

Making one of these about 10 or 12 years ago was how I found Townsends. I was searching for beeswax and brewers pitch to line a leather canteen and leather tankards that I was trying to make.

Saturday Townsend's awesome

The diversity and incredible variety of information of this channel never fails to baffle me. I'm an amateur leathet crafter and I'm truly grateful for this idea. You rock!

Reject modernity, embrace tradition. Learn the old ways.

I’ve made a few of these for medieval re-enactment. I used bees wax instead of pitch, but the process is the same.

I have one of these but it's not for water, it's a rifle ball bag! Neck is the perfect size to dispense single .54 cal balls right into your palm, no fiddling with an open top ball bag using potentially frozen fingers

"Your Leatherworking skill has increased to 2"

I was thinking the pine resin was going to be gross but I looked it up and it turns out it actually has antibacterial properties. Neat!

I just discovered this channel like 3 days ago. Ive been missing out on pure gold. I'm off to buy a mug to support you kind people. im thinking the white and blue mug with the ship on it. yea, that one

Will leather canteens be sold on your store in the future?

This is wonderful! I've passed this along to a leatherworking friend of mine. Thank you!

Love it! Watched from start to finish, wished my dad could have been here to watch this channel and see youtube; all these wonderful resources for how people lived in times before now that was a major part of his love/passion in life, getting back to ancestral ways, natural workings with our surroundings, we're missing so much basic things that would make life easier/cheaper nowadays that our ancestors knew as throwaway knowledge.

The whole time I was like “how does this work if water and leather = bad” then he added the pitch to seal the leather from the water and it all made sense haha

Ive seen this done with beeswax coating and formed into shape by packing it with sand.

You make it look so easy. I would love to try this. Thank you for such a good video instruction. Also, it's so stress reducing with that gentle music

Crafternoon with a craftsman and teacher. Brandon seems a very supportive gentleman.

Nice when Brandon hosts! He’s a very centered and thoughtful teacher

i am literally going to do this right now

Thank you, Brandon. You are an excellent instructor. Nice work. This was a nice Saturday surprise.

This was really well done and super entertaining to watch! I would love to see more featured content like this on the channel!

I would love to see some other designs of leather canteens and how to make them. Like maybe a wine skin.

And here I thought those had a glass bottle inside. Lol

Providing access to a simple pattern would have been an awesome addition

I made my first of these a few years ago. It's extremely satisfying. And that brewers' pitch sold at the store really is the best substance you can use. I literally bought some a decade ago; I keep it in a tiny dedicated cast-iron pan, it lasts forever, when I need it, I just melt it back down and pour it in. I see these things sold for over $100, when it's really closer to $20 in materials plus knowledge of saddle-stitching, which you can do while zoned out watching KZfaq vids.

this was very soothing to watch. I wish I could smell that leather!

*Yeah, I could absolutely watch a multiple hour long livestream of this kind of content!!!* 😱❤️

I love these how to videos describing how to make items like this. Useful not just for historical reenactment, but for everyday life even today. One never knows when they can save money or need to make a lantern out of necessity.

Thank you for what you do! Best (and most useful) content on KZfaq!

Now that's interesting. I just learned something new today

I really want to make one now! This is all my childhood adventurer dreams in one fancy water bottle!

I watch a lot of Townsends and love the history, information, food, and music. That said I was rewatching some older movies with one of them being Gangs of New York. The wholesomeness from this channel definitely rubbed off whenever I heard a violin from that movie.

This was a really neat video! I've always loved the idea of using things like this or bottle gourds to just make your own canteen. Thank you for the video!

I really like the design of the leather canteen. Is there any way to get a hold of the plans? In a pdf form to print, cut out and use as a template?

As a historian and leather craftsman myself i LOVE to see traditional tools and means of making something historical like this.... this is gold. Support from Serbia!

That was pretty incredible to watch. You guys never cease to entertain and educate. Great work.

Townsends... THE place to get pine pitch! When I make my bottels, instead of forming it with a tool I stuff it. I force as much dried popcorn kernels into it as I can. This stretches the leather and gives me some good volume. Making one of these was the first video I posted to KZfaq back in 2017.

That was a very cool project. I like how it turned out. Cheers!

Very cool! I'd like to see more of Brandon!

Really enjoyed this video/tutorial as I enjoy all you're other videos! Would definitely watch more like this one. Also nice for the rare Saturday upload

What a beautiful item. I love the way the pitch stained the leather.

Thanks for the video, it was informative and a joy to watch. Brandon is a good teacher. This is a project that I would like to try and I am a beginner who has never picked up a piece of leather but I quickly found myself feeling like I was missing steps in the process you taught. To make the a little more beginner friendly would it be possible to put in the description box a list of all the ingredients, materials, and tools used to make the canteen? In the video you briefly showed the basic items you would need, but I felt like along the way you kept bring out new ones for example to two different tools you used to make the holes. Also please add the quantities, lengths, diameter & amounts needed to create the same exact canteen as you are making. Also, if there are links to the pattern/materials/tools (18th century or modern versions) that you used and talk about the different kinds to use, like pine resin what grade to use or stay away from. Or a link if there is a Townsend project kit, or materials to make getting the items for the project easier. To me obtaining and making the pattern is the most important part and without it I would have no clue where to start. Also, some parts where seemed to be edited or unclear like the first saddle stich, I would have liked to seen the first 5 or 6 stiches to make sure I was doing it correctly. Also, since we were not using one long thread for the job, it would be nice for you to show how to tie off the ends when the string is used up and how you start the new thread so it is seamless. I also had questions on why you ran the thread through the beeswax and who you twisted the ends of the thread. All and all a great video and something I would love to try.

tis is cool~ a printable pattern would have been nice too~

You make the best quality content on this platform, keep up the amazing work!

Thank you for providing a channel for everyone but especially the craftier end of things that were very much the pride _and the commonplace_ of our collective past.

"Patrolling The Mojave, makes me wish for a Townsend Leather Canteen."

I have made a smaller version of this, coated it with paraffin wax and use it to hold my 45 cal. shot balls, works great for that as well.

good morning and have a great beautiful weekend Townsends

It's really awesome to see other members of the team hosting videos!!

Lovely little project indeed! And well presented, Brandon. I'll add this to my list of things to try. After doing some leatherwork for knife sheaths, I think this would be a fun and useful item to tackle. Thank you for the inspiration!

Excellent rainy day content :D This man needs a spot on A&E and Nat Geo! ^w^

i also made a canteen some time ago. i stuffed it with sand while it was wet and let it dry. that way it gets an even more round shape. :)

Love this! I used to make leather purses way back when I was young. Used to be a catalog called Tandy. I wish it was still around today. They also had moccasin kits. Made those too.

Question for The Assembled: how does one clean this? I'm assuming hot water is a bad idea. Mild soap seems logical. But, what kind? Other suggestions? I'm making one currently for a young man I know who's getting into re-enactments. A good lad; I'd like him to live a long and happy life, unmarred by nasty germs in something I made for him....thanks!

Thank you for sharing a outstanding information teaching video

Man that's amazing look just how far we've come from with technology and ingenuity.

Nice video…. With the saddle stitch a knot is usually formed on each stitch which prevents unraveling. I take it is not necessary for this type of item. I also back stitch about 2 stitches at the beginning and end to include high stress points as needed. Thanks for posting!!!

I bought one of these a long time ago at a Ren faire. But I can just make them!

I just had a drink with my dinner, and I can't help but wonder how beer/whisky would taste if you stored it in that thing. Bad right? Maybe good, but probably bad.

Great job Aaron, great video of leather working. Fascinating project to help with your hunting gear. Fred. 🙏🏻🙏🏻👍👍👏🏻👏🏻👋👋

Very nice and charming video. Now I want to be in the woods and relax :) ! The guitar really adds a nice smooth touch.

I’m adding my comment for Townsends to make a pattern for this!

Do you sell this kit? Also, what type of oil do you use at the end to clean up?

What a great little project; that's some beautiful leather, too...

This is awesome, your videos are the best! Thank you for doing what you do!

That is so cool! Do you have a printable pattern ?

> Basic tools > Pulls out a tool no one has ever seen before

That is some beautiful handiwork. Thanks, Brandon.

Awesome stuff! I've only done very basic leather working - this looks like a great next project!

2:10 after starting leather work at 11 years old he moved onto making lampshades out of neighborhood children

Him. "An easy project that the average, common person can make" Me: watches video also Me: realistically pictures The ugly, leaky, misshapen atrocity of a leather "canteen" that would result if I tried to make this.

What a beautiful piece of work! Thank you!

Fascinating! Lifelong crafter, but leather work is not something I've ever thought to try. You may have inspired me! As skilled seamstress of many decades, some of the processes and techniques of this are familiar.

Cool I always thought it was glass or metal inside to keep the shape and water in, I personally like when you guys post videos of other people doing things keep the channel fresh. Great video as always

Funny you said "patience" - every time in my life I hurried something it didn't turn out well. I learned fairly early that speed is something not very desirable in most cases and that's not even limited to crafting something. I learned a lot of things in my life from metal working to computer programming and nothing I learned benefits from being in a hurry. Even cooking is better done organized so you're not in a hurry when putting a dish together. So yes, take your time, be deliberate and the end result will be much better.

Wonderful. There is so much talent working at Townsends.

Love the saddle stitch tutorial. Thanks for another lovely video

Would love over, maybe one day I'll make one. Makes me appreciate my metal one that keeps my water cold!

Beautiful! I hope they do another video with more in depth detail on the stitch

Oooh how cool! I'm not a big fan of leather nowadays, but historical leatherwork is so awesome!!! Thanks for the tutorial Brandon!

This was neat to watch. Very entertaining. Please do more of these "follow along" type gear videos.