I finally finished my gourd canteen yesterday. I suppose sealing the inside with beeswax isn't 100% necessary, but I decided since my friend had some to spare I might as well.
This particular canteen is the one I started at MAPS Meet 2007 at Jamie's (of Earth Connection) gourd class. I might give it another coat of wax to be sure its sealed.
If you have any gourds sitting around that are suitable for something like this, all you have to do is poke a series of holes where you want to remove the top so you have an opening, then it should break free with relative ease. Use sand to scour the surface to remove any mold or dirt, and rocks to clean our the inside of the gourde.
5 comments:
I've been drying a couple of gourds. Do you know if they have to dry completely before they are usable?
Jason, Yes, they should dry completely or you run the risk of having weak spots on the outside. Be patient.
Regarding beeswax finishing -- crazycrow.com sells gourd canteens and water bottles that are sealed on the outside only -- just fyi, may save some work and keep you from getting a mouthful of wax when it breaks loose!
Do you grow your own gourds? If so, what species
A very late reply for you.
The wax coating is necessary. Since the shape of the canteen isn't conducive for scraping out the scraping out the dried flesh, you have to coat the inside with wax. Water in an untreated gourd tastes something awful.
A properly waxed gourd won't drop chunks of wax. Coating the outside with a thin layer isn't a bad idea, though.
As for waxes, I use paraffin wax on my gourds -- it's not as "period" as beeswax is, but it's a lot less expensive and easier to come by. I've not tried beeswax, but I've heard that it can alter the taste of the water.
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