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This is a new and exciting area that we here at Hilton Handcraft
of the Ozarks are entering into starting in 2008. Well, I say
"starting in 2008" but, really, we've already started. You
see, in our discussions with renfaire (that's a shortened version of
renaissance faire which we'll be using in order to save a little
typing from now on) event coordinators, performers, patrons and
other merchants over the past couple of months, we've already been
hard at work making mugs, tankards, goblets, weapons racks, unique
gifts, custom furniture and period wooden products of all sorts.
We think this will be quite an exciting new venture for us.
So, over time, you'll see this page fill up with news, articles,
pictures, videos, unique handmade products and all that you've
come to expect from the rest of our site.
- Enjoy!
Faire Event Coordinators
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Above is our basic workshop / demonstration setup with pole
lathe, shave horse and riving block/tools.
Obviously, overalls aren't ren-period but we're still working on
garb for the renaissance period.
The canvas tent has been taken down from the frame there in the back
in order to see the pole for the lathe too. |
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Currently, we're evaluating several faires and festivals here in the
midwestern USA in order to best present our products and demonstrations
to the renfaire community. That means a whole lot of traveling,
walking around fairegrounds, and talking with other vendors and event
coordinators. We've found many fantastic people and events.
It's tough to decide where we'd like to go in 2008 but we will be making
our decisions within a couple of more weeks. The renfaire community
has really responded to our products and how we make them! Since
we've been making inquiries on the web about various aspects of the
renfaire scene and letting people know what we do, we've had several
requests for goblets, tankards, custom furniture pieces and lots of
period items that we never knew even existed (but we're hard at
work researching those and will be making them over the coming weeks)!
We're even working with an award winning stage act to design and produce
a line of unique, handmade products for their company. Not bad at
all !
February 25, 2008
The Spring season is almost upon us and we're
very excited about it. Our applications for the Spring
faires are in and we've received acceptances to all that we've
applied to (so far). It's looking like quite a busy time.
We're ramping up our production of items to take to faire right
now so that we'll have enough to last us until Summer comes ....
we hope. There's a couple of custom furniture orders still
out there that we'll have to finish up but, overall, we're going
to be working hard over the next month to get enough made.
Were we a bit overly ambitious in this new adventure? Time
will tell.
February 2nd, 2008

It's not exactly what we do daily, but we got to talking about
renaissance things the other day and decided to give building a
trebuchet (ancient siege weapon) a try. Well, here's our first
try at one. It's just made from scraps that we had lying
around and in no way an accurate or period-appropriate rendering of
one. But, it works amazingly well! The main
beam is 38" long with a long end of 30" and the short being 7.5".
The whole thing is about 2' tall. The projectile is a tennis
ball (about 2 ounces) and the counterweight is just lead shot (22
lbs). Getting the release point correct was quite tricky and
there's lots of adjustments to be made to fine-tune this thing.
As of today, we were consistently firing the tennis ball 80' (yes,
feet) and able to hit within a 2' circle each time. A
little fiddling with the release angle, and I think we can pick up
another 10 to 15 feet as the arc of the ball is a bit too high.
It's not going to knock down a castle wall, but it ain't bad,
either. Good fun.
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Renfaire related products for the patron or playtron in all of us.
Some of these items you'll be familiar with and some will be completely
unique that you've never seen for sale anywhere before. All
products on this page are as close to 'period' as we can make. If
not, we'll note that. In fact, most historical items are even
made in the same way with the same type of tools that they were made
back in the 1400's, 1500's and 1600's ! As always, if
there's something you'd like and don't see listed here ... doesn't mean
we don't make it. Just let us know what you're interested in, be
it a different style of something listed below or a completely different
product, and we can make it. No problem! |
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Item # Spurtle |
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Spurtle A fantastic
little kitchen tool ... the Ancient Scottish Spurtle. It pre-dates
the spatula and most other kitchen utensils. Great for jellies,
oatmeal, soups or anything else where you don't want to disturb the bottom
of the pan.
Each are about 8 to 12 inches long and are double handled so you can
use it however you'd like! Comes with a free, traditional porridge recipe.
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| May be made from these or similar
woods ....
Hard Maple, White Oak, Cherry, Pecan
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Item # Gob2C |
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Goblets Each goblet is
different. Sizes generally range from 8" to 12" tall and 2.5" to
4" wide. Styles are different too. We don't make just one
type of goblet. Tell us what you'd like, and we can make it for you ...
be it a "champaign glass" or "chunky wine" or chalice style.
To the left is just a sample of the many styles made and woods that are
used. This particular one is the "medieval chalice" style and made
from Mesquite wood.
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Gob2C-6 ... 6 oz Goblet
Each goblet is
different. Dimension for this size of goblet is approximately 8" tall and 2.5" to
3" wide. Styles are different too. We don't make just one
type of goblet. Tell us what you'd like, and we can make it for you ...
by choosing the style below or contacting us and letting us make one
exactly how you'd like it!
To the left is an example of the "champaign glass" style in this
size.
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NOTE: Before ordering, please know that the prices listed
are for goblets made from domestic (mostly USA) wood species only.
For exotic woods, please contact us and we'll quote you a price and
availability. If no choice of wood is made, we'll choose a great
one for you.
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Gob2C-8 ... 8 oz Goblet
Each goblet is
different. Dimension for this size of goblet is approximately 10" tall and
3" to 3.5" wide. Styles are different too. We don't make just one
type of goblet. Tell us what you'd like, and we can make it for you ...
by choosing the style below or contacting us and letting us make one
exactly how you'd like it!
To the left is an example of the "Chalice" style (very popular for
medieval or renaissance festivals!) in this size.
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NOTE: Before ordering, please know that the prices
listed are for goblets made from domestic (mostly USA) wood
species only. For exotic woods, please contact us and
we'll quote you a price and availability. If no choice of
wood is made, we'll choose a great one for you.
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Item # TankSW2 |
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Tankards - Solid wood Each one
is different. Sizes generally range from 6" to 8" tall. You
can also just tell us you'd like a 12 oz size and we'll make it to fit!
Tell us
what you'd like, and we can make it for you.
To the left you can see a custom made 40 oz monster of a tankard made
from Zebrawood with a walnut bottom. While we can't make another one
like it (it was an exclusive design of the owner), we can make one just
as beautiful just for you.
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NOTE: Before ordering, please know that the prices
listed are for goblets made from domestic (mostly USA) wood
species only. For exotic woods, please contact us and
we'll quote you a price and availability. If no choice of
wood is made, we'll choose a great one for you.
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Drying Rack Standard
size is 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide (when stretched out completely) but
we can make it to whatever dimensions fit your needs. Made from
cherry, oak, walnut or about any wood available.
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Price each: |
$ 150.00 |
| Please Specify....
Wood: We have a wide selection of woods, both
domestic (maple, walnut, oaks, etc.) or exotic.
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Woven seat Stool
Completely handmade in the traditional way with riven (not cut lumber)
wood and shaped on a shavehorse and spring pole lathe. The seat is
hickory bark strips that we cut from the hickory trees ourselves.
Woods used for the stool frame is ash, walnut or white oak. 18"
tall and 14" wide. Custom sizes are no problem. Just let us
know your needs and we'll work out a price. |
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Price each: |
$ 175.00 |
| Please Specify....
Wood: We have a wide selection of woods, both
domestic (maple, walnut, oaks, etc.) or exotic.
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Applecore style Spool 3"
tall. Made on the lathe one at a time. Varnished and stained
to give it that aged and authentic period look. |
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Price each: |
$ 10.00 |
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Short 'Bodger' Log Benches
Made in the traditional "bodger" fashion, these rustic, handmade stools
fit well either outside or inside. Made of local hardwoods such as
cherry, walnut, sycamore, osage orange or any number of other trees.
'Short' just means taht they aren't over 24" wide. They are built
to last through any weather or abuse. Strong and sturdy, they've
been heavily treated with an outdoor resistant finish. There are
NO nails, screws, glue, bolts or modern fixture in these. They're
made with a mixture of green (wet) and dry pieces of wood and joined in
the traditional manner with traditional tools by our very own Bodgers
here. Custom orders are welcomed! Just
contact us and we'll make what you'd like |
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Adults - Price each: |
$ 60.00 |
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Childs - Price each: |
$ 45.00 |
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'Bodger' Stools Carved
seat stool that feels absolutely comfortable to sit upon. If
you've never sat in a handmade custom carved seat ... then you've never
truly been sitting comfortably. The more you use these stools, the
more solid they become because of how they're constructed.
Completely handmade by us. There are NO nails, screws, glue, bolts
or modern fixture in these. They're made with a mixture of green
(wet) and dry pieces of wood and joined in the traditional manner with
traditional tools by our very own Bodgers here. From the tree ...
to this treasure. Custom orders are welcomed! Just
contact us and we'll make what you'd like |
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Adults - Price each: |
$ 175.00 |
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Childs - Price each: |
$ 115.00 |
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Many more items coming ....
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