Do you actually use your tankards?

[Sir Martin]

I must confess that I mainly use my tankards for display purposes. I've drank from them only on special occasions (a Super Bowl, college graduation, final payment on mortgage etc.). At TRF, you will see many people using tankards for tips (usually the 2000, 2001 and 2002 versions) at their shoppes. I saw an R/F member (Queen Shauna) using a 1995 TRF Dragon Comets tankard as her personal drinking vessel while at Bay Area Renaissance Festival in Tampa, Florida!

How many of you use your tankards to drink from, or do you mainly use them for display?

On a side note . . does the 2004 mead horn actually hold liquid or is it for display only?

[Ottheinrich]

If I bought one I would use it the day I bougt it but I dont think I would bring it back and use it as my primary drinking vessel. I have a wooden mug for that.

[Rapier Half-Wit]

The tankards I've bought persoanlly have never been used, I have a drinking vessel for that. I can't speak for those that I have picked up second hand, but I can tell you that they have all been washed very thoroughly before being put on the shelf.

[Nunyafb]

If I bought one I would use it the day I bougt it but I dont think I would bring it back and use it as my primary drinking vessel. I have a wooden mug for that.

Yeah, that's that's the way I do it too. When I get my tankard home, it usually goes up on a shelf and stays there, but I will occasionally drink out of one every now and then.

[pixiewings]

What is the point of having cool tankards if you don't use them? I don't take them to festival - too breakable - I use metal ones there - but at home - I always use my tankards - well the older ones, the ones made of out of the good stuff. The newer ones, the ones made with the cheaper, inferior, more breakable materials are display only.

[Rapier Half-Wit]

I don't suppose that technically there is anything wrong with using the tankards. You are correct, they are designed for use, and as you also point out they are subject to risk of breakage. All of them. And that is exactly my reasoning for not using any of them for drinking. I suppose you could argue that one is missing a part of the excitment for having them buy not using them, but one will also miss a major part of having them if they get broken.
I don't know about you but broken pieces of tankard just don't look that nice on my shelf. :)

[Ottheinrich]

I don't suppose that technically there is anything wrong with using the tankards. You are correct, they are designed for use, and as you also point out they are subject to risk of breakage. All of them. And that is exactly my reasoning for not using any of them for drinking. I suppose you could argue that one is missing a part of the excitment for having them buy not using them, but one will also miss a major part of having them if they get broken.
I don't know about you but broken pieces of tankard just don't look that nice on my shelf. :)


Thats what they make SuperGlue for. :D

[Rapier Half-Wit]

I suppose that's true, except that the need for the use of superglue has a nasty side effect of devaluing the tankard. I don't collect the tankards for the value of them but it's a very convenient excuse for me to use with my wife when she demands to know why I'm "buying another one of those @#$%^ things" if you catch my drift.

[Ottheinrich]

I completly understand

[Rapier Half-Wit]

LOL that makes one of us. In my particular case, it's another one of those "wear your food" things.

[Halfdan]

I have a few tankards in my modest collection. there are several I do not use. But as I have an extra 2002 I do use it, but also take good care of it.

[Rapier Half-Wit]

I suppose that having and using a spare stein wouldn't be such a bad idea. Hadn't really thought about that. And since I do happen to have a couple of duplicate steins that it really wouldn't be such a bad idea, I suppose.

[Sir Martin]

Not a bad idea at all. The 1980/81, 1982, 1983, 2000, 2001 and 2002 seem to be the ones that can be acquired at a most reasonable cost today. If you are purchasing at The Dragonslayer, the 2000 and 2001 models will be the most economical.

[Rapier Half-Wit]

It's not a bad idea at all to collect a few extras so that they can be used. I think that I will start doing that.

[bobzombie88]

me and my family use ours. well, with the exception of the gold lined one. the past two faires i have been collecting my own tankards. there is no other mug i would rather drink my coffee out of than my 2006 pirate tankard. :D