Staining a wooden canteen

[Hank Trent]

Most unpainted original cedar canteens, Gardner, civilian or otherwise, appear dark brown in images. Is that due to age, or was a dark stain typically applied as part of the finishing process, or was some other finishing used which naturally turned the wood dark?

I recently made a civilian wooden canteen out of eastern white cedar, which should be a typical period wood, but it's very light, sort of a beige. It just looks so... wrong. It's much lighter than even a repro Gardner canteen.

How were period wooden canteens typically finished on the outside? I found references to oiling for maintenance, but couldn't find anything on the initial finish. Do I leave this one plain and just wait for it to age naturally, or is the typical darker color actually due to a stain or oil that I need to apply?

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Staining a wooden canteen

Hank, I have an answer but it may not a quick fix. Mr. William Wigham has been making proper white wood canteens for forty years. He recently wrote me a letter and mentioned that earlier canteens were stopped and then dipped in “tar oil”. He mentioned that this was a period practice and it helped seal the wood (not the joints). A by-product of this is that it stained the wood the darker color that we are accustomed too seeing.

I got the idea from him that the tar oil dip was to prolong the life of the sapling straps.

Now I have to admit that I’m not sure what tar oil is. Mr. Wigham can hard to reach electronically but loves to correspond by mail, real mail. I wrote him ten days ago for information on tar oil and have not heard from him yet.


I’ll post some picture of his work in a few minutes.

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Staining a wooden canteen

Here is a thirty year old wood strapped white cedar kag by Mr Wigham. I know the decades have mellowed its looks but the dark tar oil satin is still there. The last image compares it with a new linseed oil sealed Doolin.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Staining a wooden canteen

Here is a thirty year old wood strapped white cedar kag by Mr Wigham. I know the decades have mellowed its looks but the dark tar oil satin is still there. The last image compares it with a new linseed oil sealed Doolin.

Yep, that's the darker color I'm seeing. My whole canteen is the color of the stopper. Since mine does have wood bands, sounds like tar oil is the way to go. I'll see if I can find out what it is. Thank you!

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Staining a wooden canteen

I have a few ounces of ancient pine tar. It's coal black and smells just like the stuff pro baseball players use today. Pine and juniper oils were refined here for a couple of centuries and I think its safe to say what you are looking for is a derivative of that. Hopefully it isn't creosote.

I shaped the new stopper from EWC last week.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Staining a wooden canteen

I have a few ounces of ancient pine tar. It's coal black and smells just like the stuff pro baseball players use today.

I think we have some pine tar running around here from one time we needed to use it on our horse's hooves.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Bill]

Re: Staining a wooden canteen

Hank,

I don't know squat about civilian canteens of the period, but most military wood canteens had no finish, other than maybe some linseed oil. Your canteen will darken with age. Cedar will turn sort of a brown-gray color over time. You can speed up the process by hanging it out in the sun. You need to keep the canteen full of water. My guess is that is even more important with wood bands.

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Staining a wooden canteen

The tar oil is not a cosmetic stain but a sealant of sorts. Any traditional wooden boat builder is familiar with the oil and the process.

Unless you soak the entire piece the water seldom touches the outer bands. The staves expand to keep the bands snug. Mr. Wigham told me that every original canteen or kag (spelled correctly) from mid 18th century or later he has handled had a similar treatments. He said that includes painted canteens as well.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Staining a wooden canteen

Hallo!


If linseed oil was used, yes it will darken over time (as does linseed oil based varnish on classic artwork) just like it can on gunstocks.

Another cause of darkening is "environmental dirt" that gets absorbed over time.

And last, linseed oil in wood serves as a food base for fungus which darkens the surface of the wood where the oil lies. This is often found on some original gun stocks as a slightly soft thin outer "shell," and is an annoyance in that the softer surface of the wood makes it more prone to scratches, gouges, scrapes, and "dings" than the original hardwood surface.
(And in "restoration work" clogs sandpaper like gooey rubber...)

I hate to say "never," but I have never come across a Period account of wooden canteen manufacture, or seen a CW era wooden catneen that appeared as dry, naked. bare wood- the limited numbers I have seen appear to have been "oiled" or "varnished."
(However, whether a coat a varnish was put on in 1862 or 1942 is a harder question to answer...)

Prior to the advent of "tin" canteens the Army seemed to have favored painted wooden canteens. May be they knew something? ;) :)

Curt
Whose repro red cedar canteen appears varnished, not that it matters Mess

[Joe Walker]

Re: Staining a wooden canteen

My original CS cedar canteen has some sort of finish or treatment. I think it is similiar to a gun stock finish. Also, if the canteen is made of cherry wood it would have been darker in color to start with. I have a cedar canteen made by Don Plifka many years ago (Rapidan canteen works) that is darker than those you see now because, I believe, Don put something on his. The possibility of the region/type of cedar used cannot be ruled out as another possibility why one canteen is darker than another cedar canteens.

Joe Walker

[Hank Trent]

Re: Staining a wooden canteen

Well, the only pine tar we had wasn't pure, had neatsfoot oil and lanolin and such in it too. I tried it on some scrap wood though, and it looked like a nice sealing kind of finish but didn't turn it much darker.

Found some boiled linseed oil and decided to use that on the canteen. It looks less naked now, but it's still a honey color, far lighter than the better repros and of course lighter than the aged originals. Guess it'll do though, until it darkens naturally.

The possibility of the region/type of cedar used cannot be ruled out as another possibility why one canteen is darker than another cedar canteens.

Out of curiosity, what were typical cedar canteens of the period made from? Were they usually eastern red cedar (juniper) or one of the white cedars? I'd guess they weren't western red cedar.

I used eastern white cedar, which was common in the coastal upper south and grew into nice wide clear timber, so I'd bet it was used, but I wonder if red cedar/juniper was as common or moreso?

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Staining a wooden canteen

Again I refer back to Wigham, in reference to earlier wood canteens;

…The white woods are the most typical……white pine, white cedar and white oak were used in various combinations... the woods are not be mixed within a single component. All the staves need to be one type and not mixed, both sides should be the same type etc…

[Bill]

Re: Staining a wooden canteen

Hank,

It is very difficult to tell exactly what wood was used in the original canteens. I've been able to pick out cedar, cypress, and cherry. I have always figured they used Eastern White (or swamp) Cedar, because, as you said they were big knot free trees. I've never seen an American canteen made of of oak, but there are lots of canteens out there.

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Staining a wooden canteen

The white oak was split for the straps. The NC Maritime Museum has mid 19th century two gallon water casks that are oak. They are in essence huge canteens with galvanized straps and a bronze screw stoppers.

[Bill]

Re: Staining a wooden canteen

Garrison,

I have seen those big canteens. I've always just called them "Wagon Canteens". I saw one at an antique shop that had two spounts. One was just a hole maybe 2 inches in diameter. The other had a regular spout for drinking. No clue of how old it might have been. It also had heavy iron straps.