Hi all
Thanks for the compliments. I don't have a template but can give you some additional info.
Size is about 7" in 'diameter'... the rest you have to 'eyeball'. The top where the plug is: make the OUTSIDE as wide as the diameter of the plug you want to use. After stretching, the INSIDE (inner seam) will fit the plug...
As said: you have to use veg tanned leather. This is a must, because of the need for wet forming/stretching.
Cut out two exactly the same halves from the leather.
Draw the 2 stitching lines. When you zoom in on the picture you'll see them. Fur equal distance of holes I used a stiching wheel but a simple ruler will also do.
I cut grooves in the leather so the thread is suppressed somewhat below the surface after stitching. Before stitching: glue two halves together only at the very edges. Just to hold the 2 pieces together. Helps with making holes and stitching. Holes I made with a dremel and very small drill. Quite thick leather when the two pieces are glued together. A hole punch or awl would also work I think. Stitching: I used artificial sinew. Any strong stitching thread will work. Dont make the holes too BIG ... remember... all needs to be sealed later to keep water in.
After stitching: soak the leather. Warm water helps to speed it up, I used about 20 minutes or so in warm water.
After the leather is soaked, it's time to stretch the leather from the inside out. First blow in it to open up the form somewhat. Then use a funnel in the opening so you can fill/stuff the inside of the bottle. In old days sand was used for this. It will work but getting the sand out after drying can be tedious. Some use barley or corn. I didn't have that readily available and I decided to use rice for stuffing/stretching, figuring it's food safe, hard, and .... it absorbs water so I thought it would speed up the drying of the leather from the inside out after stretching was done.
For stretching/stuffing: use a dowel, stick... I used backside of a wooden ladle. You have to really force the leather to stretch as much as possible to get the most 'content' in your final leather container.
The wooden plug can actually be made anytime, but I made it BEFORE stretching so when the leather is still wet (during and after stuffing/stretching) I could use it to get a good and tight fit between plug and leather opening.
Then let the filled leather bottle dry completely. Took me about 24 hours in a warm/dry spot. The leather is now very stiff. Pour out the rice. Poking with sticks/rods whatever to get the rice flowing out helps. Als tapping on the sides of the bottle to get as much of the rice out of the tight spots of the leather helps. In the end, I used a handfull of small steel nuts to throw these in and shake the bottle to allow the bolts to loosen up the last rice grains from the inside of the bottle. I guess pellets of any sort, like BB gun pallets, would also do the trick.
Last step is making the bottle watertight. I used pure beeswax to impregnate/soak both the outside as well as inside of the bottle. Pure beeswax is solid and you'll need to melt it. Don't make the wax too hot, just above the melting point will do. I tried to submerse the bottle in beeswax and after the outside was done I poured in melted wax a few times inside the bottle and stirred it around to make sure that especially the seems would be fully impregnated. Don't do this directly over an open fire in-house as the wax could catch flame. I used an old oven pan submersed in another pan with boiling water to keep the temperature below 100C; the melting point of beeswax is around 65C. Take some time and care to do this. Use gloves... it WILL get a bit messy. If you decide to do it in the kitchen: cover up the stove and kitchen worktop to keep you better half happy... When you're soaking the leather in beeswax, don't forget to throw in the wooden plug also into the wax. It impregnates the wood and makes sure that you'll have a smooth and watertight fit with the leather opening. I found that making the wooden plug tapered helps. Some sort of hardwood is best. I used beech, as I had a rod available of this... (a leftover broomstick).
Now let the leather cool down and you'll have a very sturdy (hard) leather canteen. You may have to remove excess wax by buffing multiple times. Having a hot air gun or hairdryer handy helps, to heat up the leather from the outside one the wax has solidified. You'll see the wax permeating the leather when you heat it. Also great to deal with scratches when they occur after long use. Just a hairdryer and... the wax will sort of self-repair the surface. Give it a buff, and it looks great again.
This canteen holds 0,7 liters and is fully functional a water canteen. No nasty taste in the water. After use: Always empty the canteen and store it (without plug) a while so that the water can drip out and the inside can dry. Only then put the plug back in.
Don't use warm liquids (will ruin the wax internal lining) and be careful with liquids with too high alcohol %. Wine will do I guess, as I read in old texts.
Next time I'll try a somewhat bigger one.
