Southern Appalachian Pouch by Frank Barker for Arnie Dowd

Here are some pictures of a Southern Appalachian pouch that I recently made for CLA member and friend, Arnie Dowd. Jack Brooks is presently building Arnie a Southern Poor Boy rifle gun in 32 cal. and he wanted a pouch to go along with it. Arnie had an idea of what he wanted and set a time period for this bag in the area of 1800 and 1820. He furnished the knife that was a perfect match for both pouch and gun. Most all of my pouches are from a much earlier time frame, having sewn in gussets and this was only my second attempt at turning out one of a heart shape design, without a gusset. He set the color and even down to the pliability of the leather. He was somewhat undecided on a flap design so I made a few different styles, sent him some photo's and let him pick out the basic shape. The leaf and vine was of his choosing but the flower of the Mountain Dogwood was one of my thoughts. What could be more Southern Applachian than the flower of the beautiful Dogwood trees that fill these wonderful mountains with it's color and fragrance every Spring. With these guide lines in mind this is my interpretation of what I felt Arnie would want. The classic heart shaped bag is 7 1/2 inches wide by 8 1/2 deep and is made to be worn on the left side with the heel bar style iron forged buckle showing to the front. The knife is mounted in such a way that it can be removed and worn on his belt if he should want to do that. There is an inside pocket that is 3 inches deep by 6 and 3/4 inches wide. His banded southern style horn will be worn on a seperate strap.

Copy and photos supplied by Frank Barker.