Making a Leather Cuirass

[Master Achbar ibn Ali]

A young Lady would like a body fitted leather Cuirass. Where can i get information on this sort of thing? She would like a waxed leather Body armour.



Achbar

[Angusm0628]

I cheated a bit. I took a friends 7 piece Churburg, made a pattern from it, then made mine from 14oz +/- leather.

[Uilleag]

A young Lady would like a body fitted leather Cuirass. Where can i get information on this sort of thing? She would like a waxed leather Body armour.



Achbar

Hey Achbar,

Drop me a line and I will give you all the details you need, and then some. The email in my signature block works, talk to you soon.

[freiman the minstrel]

Hey Achbar,

Thanks for De lurking.

Ask Dan at House of the Wolf. He really knows his stuff.

Alternatively, you could bring her by camp in a few weeks, and we could ask our leather workers to sit down with her for a few minutes. We have a couple of really good ones.

f

[Ceadda]

Any chance to wrap a young lady up in leather.

[Uilleag]

Any chance to wrap a young lady up in leather.

how do you think I got started in this business?

Seriously though, Achbar. There are several pictures of female body armours on my gallery page, and then there are the tutorials that will show a step-by-step process to shaping and hardening leather. If you have specific questions about patterning, types of leather, specific shaping, etc. just let me know.

[Master Achbar ibn Ali]

Thanks for all the assistance people, I hope to get this lady on the field and doing her things. What is more, i want to assist as many people as i can and expand my knowledge base.


Achbar

[Master Achbar ibn Ali]

Any chance to wrap a young lady up in leather.

Ok, I am busted! but any chance to get a fighter on the field is what I am hoping to achieve.


Achbar

[Uilleag]

The text below is copied and pasted from an email with Achbar:

Ok, for the patterning, you are making a vest, so all of the appropriate measurements apply. Chest, waist, length in the front, back, and sides. Arm openings, etc. I highly suggest that you make the pattern out of posterboard. It is stiff enough to bend like leather, but cheap enough that it doesn't hurt if you have to redo it a few times to get it right.

For leather selection, I would recommend saddle skirting. It comes in 10 - 12 oz, heavy enough to offer protection on its own, but light enough that the finished product isn't too damn heavy.

For shaping, you will need to dish the breast area to allow room for the girls. This can be as natural shaped as the fighter wants, but all that is required is that they aren't too smooshed or bound up. Make sure that there is coverage on the side of the breasts as well. Tip shots there are rather painful if they aren't protected. The rest of the shaping is simple in that it fits like a vest. You may need to dart and rivet the leather at the breast area, if you need to dish deeply to provide adequate shaping.

Since you are wanting to wax this leather, I recommend drying the leather in the oven at 180 degrees. Just set the oven to "warm" if it doesn't go that low, but keep an eye on the leather so it doesn't crisp. Heating the leather will open the pores of the leather and allow better wax saturation. Heat the wax in a double boiler or a crock pot. Use straight parrifin. You can find it at any grocery store that still sells canning supplies. I have picked up at WalMart. You will need two boxes of wax, or about 4 lbs.

When the wax is completely melted, remove a piece of leather from the oven and paint the wax onto the inside of the leather. Repeat until it won't hold anymore wax. Put the leather back in the oven waxed side up to allow the wax to melt all the way through the leather. It will look wet when you pull it out. Wipe of the excess with a rag or paper towels, allow to cool. During this process you will want to keep an eye on the leather to make sure it doesn't loose its shape or crisp up.

If you have any more questions give me a call and I can help you through the process. I sent my phone number in the last email, but if you need again, just ask.

Hope this helps,

Dan/ Uilleag

--- On Wed, 7/2/08, Achbar Ibn Ali <achbar> wrote:

Subject: Re: Leather Cuirass
Date: Wednesday, July 2, 2008, 6:38 PM

Brother, all of the above

Achbar

On Wed, 2 Jul 2008 12:50:41 -0700 (PDT), you wrote:

>Ok, you have left me with a rather open ended question. LOL
>
>Do you need to know about patterning?
>
>Do you need to know about leather selection?
>
>Do you need to know about shaping and assembly?
>
>Do you need to know how to apply the wax, and which wax solution I
recommend?
>
>Do you need all of the above?