I'm looking for a good Union knapsack that would I can use in all periods of the war, preferably one that an Ohio unit would've had.

What details should one look for? Who are good suppliers?

Plain, old doublebag.

As for a good maker, define good:  decent, but inexpensive, highest quality and willing to pay for it, or something in between?

Occasionally on this and other fora, you can find one for sale used, at significant savings.

Missouri Boot & Shoe...Bob Serio makes one of the best common Federal doublebags around.  Been using mine since Chickamuaga 1999.

Kent Dorr
"Devils Own Mess"

I'm partial since I sell his stuff, but if you really want the best, Nick Sekela. I concuur the double bag is the most common but not the only choice, there is also the Shorts Patent Knapsack or if early war you could use a Mexican War model.

As to what to look for, look for one that copies an original to the n'th degree. Look at stitching, look at the durability of the leather, is the leather properly dyed or is it painted?, look at the weight of the linen, etc. The best thing is to get a good look at an original then compare what you see on it to the repop. If you would like to see Nick's dissertaion on the Double Bag follow this link: http://www.njsekela.com//OSCommerce/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=31&products_id=144&osCsid=ac7e6befc4c30dda9968e2ac3137c131  

--Last edited by toptimlrd on 2008-01-30 22:17:00 --

Quote :

flattop32355 wrote : As for a good maker, define good:  decent, but inexpensive, highest quality and willing to pay for it, or something in between?

Highest quality and willing to pay for it

Tom;
Here are list of makers who make excellent quality double bags.
Robert Serio; Missouri Boot and Shoe
makes the early and mid-latewar model, excellent quality and durability
Nick Sekela; Historic Clothiers;
Makes 3 or 4 different variants, excellent quality and durability.
Tim Welch; LD Haning; his leather accouterments are excellent, and I have seen one of his knapsacks up close. Nice work.,
I personally own two of Robert Serios. both the early war and mid to late war. Have had them since 2001.
And am currently scraping up some pesos to buy one of Nick's striped ticking doublebags.   "infatuated with knapsacks!"

Yeah Harold, I can identify with your knapsack fascination, as I'm quite the knapsack whore myself.  I can testify to the goodness of all the above makes, as I've either owned them or worn them or have close pards with them and I've seen them firsthand.  I'm pretty partial to Mr. Sekela's products, as I have an excellent Storms doublebag and an incredibly comfortable Short's Patent.  If you're looking for the best "fit into any scenario bag" go with the doublebag, but as I've started to research, there were more Short's knapsacks in use during the war than I thought.

Hey Ross;
Hope to see ya at Olustee. I see you've been hard at work sewing some pretty nice shirts!
Kindest Regards;

Harold,

Give me a shout when you're at Olustee next weekend.

Robert;
Will do! I've swapped emails with you and chatted on the phone, but have yet to meet you in person. See ya next weekend!
Kindest Regards
Harold Adams

Harold,

My unit being in charge of registration among other things camps right under the fire tower at the front gate. I'll be wearing blue this weekend, ask any of the folks in tat camp and they should be able to find me or point you to where I'm at