Calling all vendors!

[4VADRUMMER]

First let me excuse myself if this topic has been covered before or if I've posted this tread in the wrong location. Feel free to move it or shut it down as you wish moderators.

Now, in this hobby guys and gals, in general, get along pretty well and are able to put together really great impressions. The reason for this tread, at least it's hoped, is that folks can post things they would like to see vendors get produced/recreated some day. This all came up recently on my units site in which we were discussing various buttons and fabric that no one produces though everyone would love to see available someday. So without rambling on any longer here is my personal vendors wish list! Please post your own as well!

1) Royal Blue Kersey. Like the previous run County Cloth made. With the 1863-64 anniversary's right around the corner I know guys would jump all over a run of this stuff!

2) English Blue/Grey Satinette. I know there are several sources for English Kersey at present (thank god) but no one to my knowledge has made a really kick butt reproduction of this cloth. Would be great to make a type II or a Charleston Depot jacket out of this stuff. Again, I'm sure it would sell well.

3) A good English Import Blanket reproduction. Again, never been attempted to my knowledge and they would fly off the shelves.

4) A run of Confederate Saddle blankets. Now I'm not Calvary but I hear all the guys on the Calvary discussion section looking for saddle blankets. Help these guys out! They probably would be sold before the wool hit the looms!

5) M-1855 Rifleman's belt. Ok, the hardware is produced and sold by Parsley's Brass but no one makes the belts. Would be a really neat item to see!

6) Eagle Buttons. We need someone to get new dies cut for eagle buttons in general. Most reproduction eagle buttons are made with worn out dies. Also I'd give an arm and a leg to see Eagle Rifleman buttons and the infamous eagle V buttons so popular with Virginian's at the start of the war.

7) Script I's, and A's with the floating shanks. We have some great script I's in the hobby thanks to Ben Tart but how freaking awesome would it be to have a set of Floating shank buttons on your Tait jacket? They made them in the 1860's, why so hard today?

8) Sheet iron frying pan with a (riveted to body) Iron handle. All these years and no one still to this day makes a really good frying pan. Your only option today is to hunt eBay for an original unfortunately.

9) Pressed sheet brass belt buckles. All that is available today is heavy cast brass buckles. I want a pressed sheet brass Virginia buckle!

10) Virginia Buttons. Again, the dies used to make both the Staff and line buttons are worn out. Not to mention the line buttons are not correct for pre-war militia. Can we get a better supply?

11) stamped two piece local buttons. Unfortunately the only option if you want to sport some über cool local buttons such as the (Star I ) buttons you have to get cast brass. Can we get some variety?

12) Block R Rifleman buttons. No one makes these with the correct shanks today. Can we get a decent reproduction made?

13) Federal Staff buttons. Again, dies worn out. Need new suppliers...

14) Now I've saved the best for last. Can someone make a run of correct Alpaca lining material for federal frock coats? I mean really! No one has ever even attempted this to my knowledge. How many frocks are made a year in this hobby and not one of them has real alpaca lining in them!

That's my list! This list isn't meant to offend anyone or anything of that nature. The hope is to start some sort of dialog to get the wheels turning within the vendor community. So post your wish list. I know I've missed a lot! Besides, this is just my personal list.

[The Bloody 6th]

Re: Calling all vendors!

According to another recent thread, there seems to be a demand for Federal Cavalry blankets.

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Calling all vendors!

1) Royal Blue Kersey. WW&Co has some in-stock, albeit with synthetic content.

2) English Blue/Grey Satinette. This would be GREAT.

3) A good English Import Blanket reproduction. Matt Woodburn had a S-M-A-L-L number of these available several years ago. To my knowledge, these are simply a white wool blanket with a “WD”/broad-arrow mark, correct?

4) A run of Confederate Saddle blankets. I’m not up on my cav stuff. However, if the demand is out there, it might be ripe for an entrepreneur to gauge demand and contact sources for wool and weaving. (nudge!)

5) M-1855 Rifleman's belt. No idea!

6) Eagle Buttons. I thought someone was working on this, but I’ll let such folks speak for themselves.

7) Script I's, and A's with the floating shanks. My understanding that the cost for dies makes the cost for tooling-up significant. Demand would really need to be there.

8) Sheet iron frying pan with a (riveted to body) Iron handle. There have been a number of vendors offering these over the years. Frank Ellis is the one that comes immediately to mind. However, I simply purchased a sheet metal pan, had the handle clipped off and gave instructions to a good blacksmith to rivet a wrought handle on for me.

9) Pressed sheet brass belt buckles. Are you talking about plain stamped-brass, clipped corner? Don Smith used to make something like this. I’ve made my own in my garage. Pretty simple.

10) Virginia Buttons. Yep… same as above. Fall Creek has had some great buttons over the years. The frock I made that CJ Roberts recently sold featured some of these buttons. However, I think issues with these buttons, in particular, have more to do with shifty supplier issues than with worn dies. I can’t recall all the back story on this.

11) stamped two piece local buttons. Not sure I am familiar, so I can’t comment.

12) Block R Rifleman buttons. Not sure I am familiar, so I can’t comment.

13) Federal Staff buttons. I’ve turned to the tin-backed post-war variety as an alternative. However, those aren’t getting any cheaper.

14) Now I've saved the best for last. I made a Fed frock recently and used some stuff from WW&Co. I’d recommend talking to those guys about their fabric.
Whew! That’s all I can comment on! Good luck!!

[dogcompanylt]

Re: Calling all vendors!

Personally for me,
With trying to find items for an impression im currently working on, which is a Federal asst. Surgeon.

I would have to say that finding more options for Federal Officers Jackets and trousers. I know that a fellow in NJ produces some fine garments, but he is the only one?

Surgical Instruments! Looks like its original or bust!

Lastly for my friend, a maker of quality swords.

I understand that with some of the officer gements the labor involved is what drives the prices and keeps vendors from producing.
The lack of a good market would keep the surgical items from being produced, and who would want to start a specialzed vendor who makes quality swords?

Just my wish list.
Ryan Gray

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Calling all vendors!

With officer's garments, sometimes it helps to ask. The demand is lower for those items, but there are makers who can/do produce fine products, but don't necessarily advertise, as such.

[garyjd]

Re: Calling all vendors!

I'd like to see some decent swords.

[Mississippian]

Re: Calling all vendors!

David Jarnagin is make the 1855 Rifleman's belt now. It's on his website under "New Products"

Will MacDonald

[dogcompanylt]

Re: Calling all vendors!

I think I will have to send some "feeler" emails out there to see what turns up for the officers items.
Ryan Gray

[GreencoatCross]

Re: Calling all vendors!

John and others,

Dan and I are NOT stocking royal blue kersey with synthetic content. I myself considered a run of CS trousers and kits using 85% wool 15% nylon kersey but then learned that the fibers were blended before spinning instead of having a synthetic fiber core with wool spun around it (completely hiding the synthetic content). I am working with a dye house to over-dye our 100% wool kersey to the proper royal or French blue color of the imported fabric.

I have looked into a number of reproduction buttons; state seals, Fed. enlisted, Isaac Campbell & Co. trouser buttons, CS gen. service, black horn, and even wood-backed tinned iron "utility" buttons. The companies that are still around CAN produce these but at an incredibly high cost due to large minimums and tooling/die fees. It's been nice to know that these items CAN be made but disappointing in the extreme that I cannot afford to have them put into production. There was some discussion about the quality of current Fed. enlisted buttons being offered; the last I heard about this, improvements are going to be made.

Good "alpaca" can sometimes be found online through east/west coast fashion fabric stores but it's usually expensive. So far I've found a couple of good substitutes that are typically worsted wool on a silk warp, sometimes plain woven and sometimes a satin weave.

As for the other textiles mentioned above, I am in touch with a company to provide us with affordable mill-end wool yarn suitable for blankets or any other fabric we want to make. The mill can produce specially dyed blends in any color combination but again, the minimum poundage they require might kill any project before real development begins. Dan just purchased 600 pounds of wool yarn that he shipped off for weaving that included a LOT of different colors but in small lots...enough to satisfy a small demand but the finished fabric will be one-of-a-kind and likely never offered again unless the mill I'm in touch with offers affordable wool yarn in small minimums.

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Calling all vendors!

Brian,
Thanks for the clarification!

[Old Overholt]

Re: Calling all vendors!

I have seen some terrible reproduction U.S. enlisted buttons out there recently - wrong diameter, flattened shape. What gives - anyone in the know?

[Pvt. Shattuck]

Re: Calling all vendors!

Carpet slippers. No Victorian gentleman was without a pair. Loads of period images of sailors on deck and soldiers and civilians in camp wearing them. Can't find 'em anywhere. Look at these 1855 beauties.

[JimKindred]

Re: Calling all vendors!

I have seen some terrible reproduction U.S. enlisted buttons out there recently - wrong diameter, flattened shape. What gives - anyone in the know?

There are as many button sources as there are dealers selling them to answer your question.

I am working with a company now to produce Federal enlisted buttons from originals I have supplied. Will they be like all originals you may happen to see? No, but they will be like the originals I supplied as patterns. Will there be examples made using other type originals as patterns to cover the various variations in these buttons? No, my minimum was 10,000 for an initial run and it was hard enough to get that started. Will the original back markings be copied? Not a chance.

Everything I have seen on the wish lists are possible, there is no reason they all cannot be produced other than money.

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Calling all vendors!

Looking forward to seeing those buttons, Jim! Thanks for taking on that project... that's quite an investment.

[Nighthawk]

Re: Calling all vendors!

I'd really like to see a good stamped brass "Breckenridge style" belt plate, a cast pewter Noble Bros. belt plate, North Carolina "Pine Tree" buttons, wood handled knife and fork that slide into each others handle, a good carpet blanket, and a correctly sized Wilkinson bullet mould for the Austrian Lorenz rifle. As long as we're wishin'......