The Armour Archive

a simple question but a stupid on
ok steps in finisheing a leather piece I was told these are the steps...after you cut the piece

1) Dye it
2) harden it (( boiling then waxing))
3) stiching ((if needed))
4) riviting

so does this sound right?? if not could someone tell the steps or point me to a place where i may find them

Thanks is advance

If you're planning on hardening the leather, you'd best do your stitching first. This works for some items, not all.

After hardening (if done right) you're going to have a real fight on your hands trying to drive an awl through your leather.

What are you trying to make? I may be able to help with more details...

[This message has been edited by Wulfgar Davinsson (edited 10-14-2002).]

trying to make a full set i fight in amtgard and most people have plate or use the fake leather for armor I dont want to get into metal work and the fake leather, i dont like much...so any how no one i know has any exp. in leather work so im just asking questions on how to make each piece the only problems im having is makeing elbow and knee cops and bracers(i cant figure out the curves on bracers to make them even at the point you lace them up at)

if you can under stand my babbaling any help will do =)

What sort of fake leather are you talking about? Most vinyl/naugahyde isn't even thick enough to count as a single point of armor in Amtgard, even before penalties.

A good way to get started on your armor is to make a mock-up out of posterboard and paper fasteners (like brads). Once you get all of the pieces working right, you can take it apart and use it as your pattern for your actual armor.

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Amtgard Armorers Guild

[This message has been edited by Glenalth (edited 10-15-2002).]

USE POSTER BOARD FIRST!

Saves cutting up perfectly good leather, and you can play with the pattern to get it "just right"

G--

Elbows and knees:
First a cautionary note, I designed these for SCA use. They are not historical at all, and are probably too much for what you need. I never did build the knees, but it's the same design for the elbow.

Took a piece of 14oz leather, cut it into rectangular pieces. mine were 9 by 13 inches I think, but it's been several years. Made a cut from each corner diagonally towards a center point. Each was between 3 and 5 inches. Then I folded the leather, using those cuts, riveted. Then used parafin to harden.

Now I'm using aluminum cops, hidden under a kabadion. I'll be experimenting with water hardening this winter. IMHO, hardening with wax wasn't for strength or protection of the body; it was for weather-proofing the leather. Water hardening was for making the leather strong enough to protect the body underneath.

Githian,
As previously mentioned, stitching hardened leather can be difficult. Leather that has been water hardened takes on a consistency sort of like flexible wood. Not the easiest stuff to stitch, punch holes in, or reshape. When I make something from leather I follow the following development steps:

1- Make sure you have an accurate mold of yourself, or the body part in question, to form the leather to. A duct tape bust works great (see below).
2- As previously mentioned, I get some poster board (or cardboard if the leather is really thick) and make a mock up. I normally use duct tape to hold the paper together.
3- Test fit the cardboard cutout on yourself, accounting for any padding, under-clothing, jewlery, other pieces of armour, etc.
4- Cut the paperboard template into workable pieces and lay them out on the leather. It's worth mentioning that, at this point, I may modify the design considerably. There are some things that just don't work right with leather: you learn what they are by trial and error.
5- Professionals mark the leather on the flesh (non-shiney) side with a scratch awl and cut from there. I normally mark the skin side and try REAL HARD not to mess up. I have a hard time seeing lines on the flesh side.
6- Cut the leather out using either leather shears (extremely sharp scissors that work wonderful for anything 9oz or less), skiving knife, box cutter, exacto blades, whatever. If using a knife, I suggest a piece of plywood underneath the leather and a straight edge to guide the cut.
7- Once all the pieces are cut out I test-assemble it using bolts instead of rivets. If everything looks ok I dress the leather edges with an edge beveler and a slicker (see other thread on this topic).
8- If the item needs hardened, I do that now. Water-hardening is a topic all in itself, so e-mail me if you'd like the details of how I do it. Once it's hardened and dried, I test assemble it again and re-punch any holes that may have shrunk in the hardening process.
9- I stain the leather. For a beginner, I suggest a solid brown or black color for the item. Heck, red should work OK as well. The reason for this is dying takes practice and dark solids are very forgiving. Once dyed, I apply super sheen to it, let it dry, then apply beeswax as a water-proofing layer.
10- The last step is to rivet it together. If it won't see alot of heavy contact, using "quick rivets" is a good choice, just make sure to get a setting tool to make your life easier. If the piece will see heavy action, copper rivets and burrs are a good choice. Again, a rivet setter is a good idea. Besides, copper rivets are VERY easy to peen.

I hope that's not too much information. I don't want to insult anyone.

Good Luck

Paul

As for the strength of waxed leather, I trust my torso, elbows and throat to the stuff every time I hit the field... it works, it softens a bit in the sun, but nothing so great as to cause alarm.

Wax hardening is very easy, but adds weight.

Water hardening is very difficult to get right, makes the leather harder, and adds no weight.

That said, I fight in a waxed full leather klibanion, it weighs about 11 lbs. Fit correctly the weight isn't noticeable...

Stay the f&^k away from vinyl, unless it's strictly for costuming purposes, it won't breath (which makes it uncomfortable) it's ugly, (which makes unpalatable) and it's... well.. vinyl.