Leather Help

[William_Pynnoke]

Greetings Armour Archiver’s,

Over the last year I have been a daily lurker on these forums and have learned a great deal (yes the search function). I feel like I know many of you from reading your posts I hesitate to post asking this question, but feel that someone could point me in the right direction. I am not a very spatial type person (in other words looking at a drawing and coming to the solution it not really my forte). Also, directions alone without pictures are very hard for me as well. I would like to construct a leather gorget because I am one of those no thick neck kind of people. I bought a stainless gorget and that was a definite non-working solution. While I am doing the gorget, I thought about doing some leather gauntlets as well. So here are my questions:

1. I thought about going to Tandy and getting a side of the armor bend 14-16 oz leather. Would this be a good choice? If not, what would you recommend?
2. I need to find something that would give me a starting pattern and step-by-step instructions (otherwise I will never get it made) for both the gorget and gauntlet. Any suggestions?

I appreciate any consideration that you may afford me in this endeavor.


Bene agendo nunquam defessus,

William Pynnoke

[Kilkenny]

The 14-16 oz leather that Tandy sells as sole/armour bend will certainly do well for protection, although it is not exactly easy to form.

Saddle skirting, which runs 13-15 oz typically, is easier to form and once hardened serves quite adequately for SCA armour.

Either is a reasonable choice. By a whole bend of the 14-16 oz and you should have leftovers from a gorget and gauntlets. By a side of the 13-15 oz leather and you can do an entire harness - in other words, you *will* have leftovers, lots of them from a side of saddle skirting.

You might want to work out your patterns and take them with you to Tandy, so you can judge just how much leather you need and avoid over or under buying unintentionally.

The gorget pattern I'm partial to doesn't really translate well for the very short-necked types and I don't have a gauntlet pattern at all.

Sorry I can't be more helpful.

Gavin

[Maelgwyn]

1. Make a gorget pattern out of poster board or file-folder. You might look at this one for a starting point: http://www.armourarchive.org/patterns/gorget_ab/
For leather I'd replace the spring pins with a rivet on one side and a buckle on the other.

2. Tape it together on your neck with the rest of your gear on and go through the range of motions you would use when fighting. See if it stays in place, doesn't bite and protects what you want it to protect. Adjust by cutting or by taping on more posterboard until you like the results. If possible get an experienced fighter or marshall to look at it.

3. Trace your pattern on leather and cut it out.

I prefer to use thinner leather (about 10 oz.) and harden it. You might also consider adding a steel splint across the front of the gorget to stiffen it. A "tooling belly" provides plenty of leather for a gorget and perhaps some other projects.

I have not seen a published pattern for leather gauntlets that I would trust. You might look at Dan's or Torvaldr's pictures for ideas but their patterns are part of their business and not available for download. I suggest doing several projects to gain experience before trying leather gauntlets.

[William_Pynnoke]

Gavin,

You were incredibly helpful! I went online to Tandy and found their "Select Import Saddle Skirting" in 13 to 15oz weight with 22 to 24 sq ft on sale for $79.00. I called the closest store and spoke with an employee who is in the SCA (he actually said he found Tandy through the armour archive and ended up working there) and he is going to ship it to me for $9.00. I think its a pretty good deal. It is also less expensive than 15 sq ft of what I was looking at purchasing. Additionally, you helped me make that decision because it is easier to work. Just the kind of help I was looking for. Thank you so much!

Bene agendo nunquam defessus,

William Pynnoke

[William_Pynnoke]

Maelgwyn,

Thank you for your ideas. Most wonderful help. I have to agree that Torvaldr's gauntlets are very nice. I would love to have a pair exactly like them. I might try demi-gauntlets first and work my way up to full ones. The poster board sounds like an excellent way to work out a pattern! The steel splints are another option that I had not really thought about. I appreciate the link to the pattern here on the archive, but that is one of those "here is a drawing, you should be able to figure it out" kind of things that I really am not any good at doing. I do have a stainless gorget that fits pretty good except the neck area. Do you think I could use that as a pattern and trim the neck height? Also, I have read about water harding, should I soak the pieces in water, then boil them? I was thinking about using my current gorget as a sort of last. Then curing in an oven. What do you think about that idea? I think I want to dye them black, it is done after the baking process? Is that correct? Finally, any information about finishing them would be appreciated. I do not quite understand the options and what the different process entails (wax, floor stuff, glue, etc).

Bene agendo nunquam defessus,

William Pynnoke

[RenJunkie]

I'd suggest soaking them, and then baking them. check out Dan's site

www.houseofthewolf.com

Go to the gallery page and click on the tutorials at the bottom of the gallery page. Lots of text explanation to go with the pics of what he's doing. That should help.

Good luck...
Christopher

[Maelgwyn]

Maelgwyn,

...I do have a stainless gorget that fits pretty good except the neck area. Do you think I could use that as a pattern and trim the neck height?

Yes, that approach should work. I'd still make a posterboard pattern from your current gorget before cutting leather.

Also, I have read about water harding, should I soak the pieces in water, then boil them? I was thinking about using my current gorget as a sort of last. Then curing in an oven. What do you think about that idea? I think I want to dye them black, it is done after the baking process? Is that correct? Finally, any information about finishing them would be appreciated. I do not quite understand the options and what the different process entails (wax, floor stuff, glue, etc).

All of these processes have been described in detain on this forum. My prefered method is to get the leather damp, then dye, then let dry, then soak in rabbit glue, then bake at 180 degrees, then glue in a sheepskin lining for padding. An outer coat of wax should keep any moisture from affecting the glue.

[William_Pynnoke]

RenJunkie,

That is exactly what I needed! That link to House of the Wolf is perfect. He not only describes each step, but has pictures as well. Fantastic! Thank you so much for taking the time to help.

Bene agendo nunquam defessus,

William Pynnoke

[William_Pynnoke]

Maelgwyn,

Thank you for your help. While I have searched and read just about everything I can on this forum and as you pointed out there is a lot of detail, for me at least it is very confusing and sometimes conflicting. I appreciate your taking the time to answer my questions. I know it many it seem like "why can't these noobs figure this stuff out" or "read the topic at the top of the forums" and is frustrating for some of the more seasoned people doing these projects. But as an analogy I have been doing computer systems for over 25 years and I realize that for many people it is confusing and foreign to them. While it seems simple to me, but I do understand that they are just learning and need a little hand holding, which I am more than happy to provide. I want to thank you and the others who have helped me.

Bene agendo nunquam defessus,

William Pynnoke