The Armour Archive

I've got a friend who's an excellent leatherworker and who has been making nice stuff for a long time now. He has another friend who enjoys making very nice things out of scrap leather for fun and who helps sewing the shoes now and then. After they recieved Purses in Pieces, this second friend has started to make very historical pouches, so nice it's silly. These are mostly special projects which aren't done much, but when I ordered a small pouch they made me this:






I love it to bits!
I'm working on a very posh kit now, to wear on several occasions and gigs and this is perfect for it! The small imperfections make it feel even more realistic.
The best thing is that they agreed to make me a very nice purse, also based on PiP and the Mérode Altarpiece tryptych of Robert Campain. I can't wait until the silver fittings I've ordered are here so they can start on it. I hope it will be as special as this small pouch.
I hope any people around here can use it as inspiration.

Wow that is a really nice purse.

BAD ASS!

Seconded, that is an awesome pouch.

What are the particulars of the original it's based on, if you don't mind me asking? (Date, location, materials, etc)

Corey

Purses in Pieces has many variations of this style in it; it is based off of 15th and 16th century finds and art. I am working on one for my wife and I may do punch work myself now

James B. wrote:Corey

Purses in Pieces has many variations of this style in it; it is based off of 15th and 16th century finds and art. I am working on one for my wife and I may do punch work myself now

I'm pretty certain this accordion fold drawstring type, with the suspension strap, goes back significantly earlier. You can find a similar sort of pouch in the Manesse Codex, and Purses in Pieces shows several methods of building them, including the method here, where the suspension strap is integral with the ends and bottom of the bag.

The interpretation here is really quite excellent.

I love the punch work; I need to find a good source for punches of good size I only have a few small ones.

James B. wrote:I love the punch work; I need to find a good source for punches of good size I only have a few small ones.

Consider the following suggestion. Purchase a set of wood carving chisels rather than dedicated leather punches. You can use the chisels as punches in leather quite readily, and put together a vast assortment of shapes from a small number of tools.

I need to find a good source for punches of good size I only have a few small ones.

For the Lozenge shapes, I'd use a sharp chisel.

-+G

Vitus von Atzinger wrote:BAD ASS!

QFT

I don't think it can be summed up any better than that.

Briefing my ninjas now.

Christopher

Tried out using my wood chisels last night and it worked great; I am making and early 14th century shoe that has triangular cut outs and punched work on it and I will post pictures as soon as I finish the upper this week.

very cool!

I've got to get a copy of that book.....
( and a dozen or so other books and.....)

Its a book I need to get too. That purse is drop-dead gorgeous.

Do you happen to have a scan of the painting which inspired it?

-+G

Rev. George wrote:Do you happen to have a scan of the painting which inspired it?

Are you asking me Rev? If so I am basing it off an extant example in Stepping Through Time but I am making a Romance of Alexander kit and that manuscript is full of open work shoes.