The Armour Archive

So it looks like I'm going to be putting together a simple set of leather vambraces with fanless cops and probably buying a set of splinted legs and making my own greaves (or getting them made locally). My questions are:
On the vambraces, I'm planning to do some wet-forming, hopefully heating it to harden it. My current arms are formed such that when I strap them on my palm is facing up. Should I keep this same arrangement or is it better to have them default to my hand being perpendicular to the ground? (Let me know if that makes any sense.) Also, to attach them to the cop, should I run one central strap or two on the sides?
For the legs, since they are gonna be splinted, is it worth looking into a pourpoint for them, or will hanging them from a belt work better?
Thanks,
Adam
P.S.- (different topic) Is there any special technique to planishing aluminum?

I think it is better to have the opening of the vambraces on the inside of the arm. I'm not sure if this answers your question. As far as attaching them to the cops, one strap down center will be less cumbersome.

A pourpoint will always work better than a belt. Just depends if you've got the skills to make a pourpoint.

Hope this helps.

Yes I agree- leave the opening on the inside.

as for forming I'm not sure on how much you've done- but heres some tips if you like.

-to do the actual forming first soak the leather for a hour or two in (warm) water. if is still making weird noises let it soak for longer until it stops. then take it do your edge work/tooling/decoration. then since it's a little bit dryer you can now form it. for this some people like to hammer it (which works great and tends to lend the peice strength) but I prefer to mold it around the limb itself. to do this put it on your limb and somewhat tightly wrap wide strips of cloth around it over your limb. make sure that the cloth overlaps each other or else it will leave marks. leave it on for around an hour to an hour and a half. take it off and throw it in the oven.

the temperature is up to you. I prefer around 325 while others use 150's. it does the same thing the hotter it is the faster it will harden. every 5 or so minutes check it to make sure it hasn't burnt. every so often re form it around your limb (CAUTION HOT) to ensure proper fit. also make a little bit small so with your gambeson on it will fit nice and snugly.

Hope this helps and just ask if you have anymore questions.

Aaron

audax wrote:I think it is better to have the opening of the vambraces on the inside of the arm. I'm not sure if this answers your question. As far as attaching them to the cops, one strap down center will be less cumbersome.

I think it's hard to do this in words. I'm not entirely sure what you mean by the inside. I wouldn't be putting the straps over the bone, the opening would be between the bones (radius and ulna?). I think my question is when the vambrace is in the neutral position, like as I'm strapping it on, do I want it to look like number 1 or number 2 in the picture I'm attaching (yeah, sorry it's hideous). My current rig looks like pic number 2. It's basically the same shape just rotated 90 degrees, and I think it wouldn't matter except that I'm gonna be strapping it to the cop, so which one would move best?

Aaron-Thanks for the tips about the hardening, though I'm probably gonna give it a shot heating it with a paint stripping gun, since I was told that the oven is for food, not for armor.

Adam

Adamo wrote:

audax wrote:I think it is better to have the opening of the vambraces on the inside of the arm. I'm not sure if this answers your question. As far as attaching them to the cops, one strap down center will be less cumbersome.

I think it's hard to do this in words. I'm not entirely sure what you mean by the inside. I wouldn't be putting the straps over the bone, the opening would be between the bones (radius and ulna?). I think my question is when the vambrace is in the neutral position, like as I'm strapping it on, do I want it to look like number 1 or number 2 in the picture I'm attaching (yeah, sorry it's hideous). My current rig looks like pic number 2. It's basically the same shape just rotated 90 degrees, and I think it wouldn't matter except that I'm gonna be strapping it to the cop, so which one would move best?

Aaron-Thanks for the tips about the hardening, though I'm probably gonna give it a shot heating it with a paint stripping gun, since I was told that the oven is for food, not for armor.

Adam

By inside of arm, I mean the palm side. So, if I understand your pictures, it would be number one.

I think that hardening your leather using a paint stripping gun would be very difficult, because you want a pretty even drying of the peice. Is it your lady who insists the oven is only for food? If so, one cannot go against ones lady's wishes, perhaps you could go over to a friends house and use theirs? The oven really is the best place to heat dry leather armor, because you can control the temperature and the leather will dry more evenly, which is very important.

Looking at your images and reading your description of where to put the closure, I'm not understanding your question.

My problem is that the two positions are the same - you've turned your hand, but the closure is still in the same place on your arm, so I don't follow what you're asking.

I can say that when I buckle on my arm harness I hold my arm palm up, but that's because for me it's the easiest position for pulling the straps tight. Might not be true for someone else.

Is the question you're asking related to where to attach the elbow cops ?
Sorry, but I'm just not following....


oh, as to heating the leather with a heat gun.. patience, lots and lots of patience. Keep moving it around, don't hold it too close. The leather will singe in a big hurry - at least that was my experience.
Oven's a much more controllable process.

Gavin

Kilkenny wrote:Is the question you're asking related to where to attach the elbow cops ?
Sorry, but I'm just not following....

Pretty much. Sorry about the confusion, but looking at the pic I posted, should the single strap attaching the cop to the vambrace be at the bottom edge of number 1 or the bottom edge of number 2? That's what I was getting at with "when I'm strapping it on." The actual vambrace will be in the same position on my forearm, the question is about what orientation the vambrace should be compared to the cop.

Adam

Ok...if I'm going to harden the leather by wetting it, forming it and drying it in the oven, is it necessary to use the armor bend leather, or will 13-15 oz saddle skirting be sufficient?
Adam

Adamo wrote:Ok...if I'm going to harden the leather by wetting it, forming it and drying it in the oven, is it necessary to use the armor bend leather, or will 13-15 oz saddle skirting be sufficient?
Adam

13-15 oz will be sufficient.

Another point, if you are going to use a belt to hold up your legs, make the straps to hold them up towards the outside of you hips. This will distrubute the weight a little better and keep them from sliding in towards to the front. I.E. old west gun slinger
Hope this helps