Season 4 of Outlander featured an eye-catching detail. One of the Cherokee warriors encountered by the Frasers in the North Carolina backcountry is depicted carrying a blue-painted trade musket. This is a nice, authentic touch — some of the cheap, lightweight muskets manufactured for the Carolina deerskin trade were, in fact, painted blue. … [Read more...] about Blue Gun Blues

Oh, the glory… My hand and heart yearn for this piece, which is entirely out of my league. Ah, well. I am glad it exists. Here is the Karamojo Bell tribute Rigby Highland Stalker, presented beautifully. Class of the field. From John Rigby & Co. The African big game hunter is celebrated worldwide as an advocate for accurate shot placement … [Read more...] about Karamojo Bell Rigby

Ever since 1984, I’ve been telling folks that The Terminator is not science fiction — it’s historical fiction from the future. The rise of AI is, of course, proving me right. Shoulda listened to Sarah Connor. Looks like we’ll get another chance. Linda Hamilton is reprising her iconic role in the new Terminator: Dark … [Read more...] about Sarah’s Going Hunting — With A Rhino

Dave Alvin is a hero to me. He’s a genuine modern-day troubadour, a road warrior and a fellow history buff. I’ve learned so much from him — about songwriting, about performance, about making the most of a limited but compelling baritone voice. He’s been a part of the family for decades. When my now-20-year-old daughter was a colicy infant, … [Read more...] about King Of California

“It was made by a country blacksmith, and is one of the homeliest things I ever saw; but it has outlived in my affections the score of other knives that I have used in competition with it, and has done more work than all of them put together.” — Horace Kephart This was bound to happen. Marilyn and Ceili and I went to a huge tattoo expo at … [Read more...] about Stuff That Works — I Got Me A Kephart Knife

A remarkable craftsman has gone on up the trail. A block down Main Avenue from my newspaper office, Preston Thompson Guitars produces some of the most highly regarded guitars in the world, recreating the sound of golden age Martin Guitars. After nearly a year of battling serious illness and severe complications from a major surgery, Preston … [Read more...] about Preston Thompson Has Gone Up The Trail

This is going to make me feel like an old coot grousing that things ain’t as good as they were back in my day. That’s because I am an old coot grousing that things ain’t as good as they were back in my day. Last weekend, Ceili and I did a quick recon at Banana Republic. Stylewise, she considers BR her wheelhouse and she is scheming to raid it … [Read more...] about Yes, We Have No Bananas

As my moccasins pound down the warpath in the Mohawk Valley c. 1775-1882, I continually cut sign of a medieval implement that remained an effective weapon through the era of the muzzleloading musket and rifle. Talking about the Spontoon. That’s a fancy term for a military spear. Officially, it’s a half-pike. The pike — a spear ranging anywhere … [Read more...] about Spontoon

As you all know, I carry some deep ambivalence about this digital platform we share. Make no mistake I am deeply gratified that we have created a digital campfire here at Frontier Partisans — it’s the dark wilderness outside that circle of light that raises my hackles. Had an interesting conversation with a relatively new freelancer at The Nugget … [Read more...] about Digitizing Daniel Boone