The Armour Archive

Hi guys, I made this 3/4 inch oblong leather punch out of an air hammer bit and some 14g steel. Heat the 14g red, wrap around bit, weld, sharpen, punch. Hope someone can use this idea it seems to work great.

Take care

Pitbull

Nice punch, If it was 4130 it will hold an edge.

Heat red and quench in oil.
Polish on sander.
Heat to blue and cool slow.

To me, it looks like a cool leather belt buckle slot punch.
Is that what it is?

Hal

Hi there Hal. I wish I knew more about how to tell what steel was what. Im not sure what it is made of. Yes its a slot punch for buckles and other stuff. Some chamfrons I build have a 3/4 inch strap that runs through the main plate so I made this for them. Most of the air hammer bits are 3/4 on the end so it was just like wraping bacon around it and frying it up. I figured even if it was softer steel It would still last a long time punching leather. Ready for the self imposed derail? Hey Hal when you Blue plates like on your beowulf helm, are you tempering them? does the blue scratch off easily? I havent tried any colored armor yet and I liked the blue you make.

Take care

Pitbull

Ahhhh... The heat blue.

This is what Ugo was talking about.
One makes it look naturally used.
Darker background with a lighter foreground.

Patina.
YMMV

Hal

PS: I use my flame thrower, various chemicals, oils and scrubby pads.

Seems like a lot of work when you can buy one of several sizes for $20-30. A top quality professional tool might be as much as $60. But hey, if making tools is a few minutes work with stuff you already have... neat!