David Rider wrote:
...They will offer an exact size reproduction as well as a larger (Packer) size pack as well....
Hi David!
I had to laugh when I first read this to see that someone else is now having to deal with the same 'legacy' issues that I had to! Some things never change...
For those that don't know the story... in 1994 I was contacted by Lonnie Cryan because he had heard I was making Berdan knapsacks. I actually wasn't I was making French Napoleonic cowhide knapsacks; but Lonnie could provide me with all the sketches and information that his unit had (which turned out to be a pretty comprehensive collection at that time).
Based on this research a prototype (Mark 1) was made for evaluation at the annual Berdan Dinner at Gettysburg that November. Objections were raised at that time that the overall dimensions were noticeably smaller than the reproductions that some units were using, and the curve of the sides more severe. Providing that that was the common consensus of representatives of all the USSS units there, I agreed to modify the pattern to one closer to the previous designs. For myself I needed one single design that everyone was happy with, rather than trying to keep tabs on eighteen different patterns for eighteen different units (those people dealing with leggings will know where this story goes when you can NOT get a consensus...). This 'universal pattern' was settled to those compromise standards, and became the one that everyone knows now (or the Mark 2 as I know it!).
As I added my own research to the pile, it did appear that the Mark 1 prototype may have been the more accurate design; but by then the Mark 2 had been very solidly established as the standard, and became very difficult to move away from. I know that there has been some wild speculation as to why the dimensions of these packs are off, but that's the unromantic answer -- horse designed by committee!
As a matter of curiosity (rather than practical use) for most of you, I will be developing a Mark 3 pattern this Spring which is being redone completely from the ground up going back to the original data, and incorporating new info that has turned up since 1994. It'll make an interesting comparison to the first one...
Unfortunately, this is more of a research project than anything else. I now live in Europe and the hammering that the US Dollar has taken combined with materials prices will, I am certain, make anything I make here completely un-competitive and un-saleable to a US audience. If your new supplier can provide you with consistently acceptable knapsacks at the $400.00 mark that will definitely be the easier and cheaper option.
I will take some photos of the process though, and keep everyone up-to-date, if there is any interest in following this. If anyone is thinking about making their own, I'm also more than willing to help with questions of construction or assist however I can.
Anyway, strange to feel I'm the old inaccurate one that the new guy has to compromise to...!
FWIW
Frank