Mrs Barry Hicks

Hey everyone. It's been a while. Over the last couple of years I've been studying how to make leather helm crests. I uploaded a couple of photos of the two I have been working on recently. Here's a link to the gallery. I also put up a link to the documentation as to how they are made. I also have a blue hoer I need to upload as well, which I will do hopefully over the next day or so. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?app=gallery&album=2314 It's a very different kind of approach to leather because the leather is the base of the finished piece. Here's a peak at one of them...

Well I must say that seeing so much opinionated responses on this subject leaves me a bit saddened. First off I'll post this link for those who want to read it. http://astelier-medieval-du-cuir.over-blog.com/article-21921258.html Might I suggest using Google chrome, it has a built in translator. The website overall has some great studies. Many of them I have tried, though I use rabbit hide glue, which comes in granular form and you must prepare it for it to be used. You can get it at http://www.naturalpigments.com/search_results.asp?txtsearchParamVen=12 Just scroll down, they have a variety of glues. There are other places that sell it as well online, just look for animal hide glue, there is also fish glue. Cuir Bouilli as ChuckBurrows has mentioned is still very much used today. And there is some loss of information that we are still trying to recover. See, most medieval and earlier leather working was done under what are known as guilds. And most of that information was passed down verbally. Only around the Victorian times did leather working information become available in book form. There are a bunch of good free books online under Google Books. Rabbit hide glue has been used with leather for a long time. It is still used today by master wood workers that do restoration on wooden items and some leather items as well. And some of us crazy people who choose to study it's history. And as for Cuir Bouilli and it's definition.... Keep an open mind. One place may have thought hot water was used, and another place hundreds of miles away may have used cold water (leather bubbles either way). And the application of sealers/hardeners could range from wax to glue to varnishes (shellac is ancient along with hide glue). Remember to have fun and keep an open mind. I don't think there was a one and only way to do this. Different applications for different results. Enjoy, play and learn. It's what makes us the great teachers for the next generations.

You can use animal hide glue. I don't have time right now to answer this, but I'll get back on here and post it, unless you want to contact me off list.

Wow guys you all are terrific! But I'm not seeing what it is I'm trying to do. These will definitely help! I'm looking to list the different types of holsters out there. Not for a particular pistol but something more like IWB, or the Avenger, or Pancake. These themselves have huge amounts of variations on them. And then there are the Western Holsters. I'll be doing some serious reading with all the info all of you have provided. Thank you!

Luke, thank you! I'll check it out, that would be very useful indeed! US Gunleather, I am leaning more towards a open file document instead of a database. I'd have to host a database and then have users who could log in and update stuff. I'm just a leather worker. I don't have that kind of time. Maybe one day I will, but for now it's more of a searchable document that can be updated by others.

what is the weight of leather you were using on the holster. Most are 8/9oz. This is really cool and actually makes me want to use it for other stuff. Thanks for posting this!

joshk, that's a good question. I'm not looking to include how to make a holster, AND I would be more than willing to link to someone else's pages (with their permission) on how to make a particular styled holster. <-- That right there is a whole other can of worms. I'm looking to pull together a database/document to inform people about the holsters out there already. What kind it is and under what categories it fits. Does it have patent or is it copyrighted? If so who owns the rights and what permissions are there. When was the holster created? Where? Some of this is sort of like getting to know about what it is you are making. And it can help in knowing what is out there. I dunno, maybe no one is interested. I am. I might be wasting my time though putting on the board if no one is interested. But I think it could be of great use to this community. Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll have something started and will post it. At least it will make for an interesting read.

Welcome everyone to my bit of craziness. For a couple of days now I have been looking for information on different modern gun holsters. I found lots of holsters including old ones. I also read about things like giving credit to others who designed holsters (modern), though there are a few with names already being used as the name of the holster itself (such as "Threepersons"). There's also the learning curve of abbreviations such as IWB (Inside Waist Belt). Now for some of you this is fine, you have learned the ins and outs by asking here and there and stumbling on toes sometimes to find out about other things. Well I have found all of this to be a chaotic mess. I am going to do something stupid. I am going to try and create a document that is understandable and is sort of like a database to anyone who wants to use it. What I am hoping to do is collect as much information about each holster out there and who made it/when it was designed, images and diagrams, and other stuff like if the inventor wishes to have credit, etc.. For now I will be limiting it to gun holster. I would like to get the leatherworker.net community of holster makers to help with this one. If you have information to share, please feel free to post it here on the forum. I will be creating a PDF that I hope to keep updated at the top of this forum in the near future that will contain and organize this information. Too many gun holster slinging monkeys out there and I am going to try and clean up this holster town as best as possible. But I need you holster slinging monkeys to help this old gorilla fix it up. So would you help me? Don't like being called a gun holster slinging monkey, tough, I just called myself a gorilla so deal with it. Now let get started....

I posted in the Show Off forum section about a medieval leather book case I made. Here's a link to it for anyone who is interested http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=38110 I also posted a link to my documentation for it as well on the thread. Barry

Yes, I'll definitely be at Pennsic. Yes, I definitely will be displaying it at the A&S display. And yes, I do have "Purses and Pieces"! Look forward to seeing you at Pennsic. Bring some of your stuff by to the display! I love to see other leather workers art! Barry

I love seeing old masters being redone in modern times. Very nice. This is one of my favorite subjects for artwork, so I really appreciate seeing it done on leather. Only thing that I might suggest is making the flames a bit more apparent in the back? I love Golden acrylics. Best paints out there. Great choice with the colors too btw. Really cool.

Thank you everyone. deadline13, I used 1/8" plywood. If it gets wet it won't swell and not go back down to it's original size. I got it at my local hobby shop Michael's. they sell 12x24" boards. I didn't have a sander or a fancy table say to cut stuff down and make it perfect. All I have is a dremel and that doesn't work as well as I would like for this kind of project. I hope your Dad loves it! I'll keep an eye out for pictures on the board.

The following is a document that I created that has more information along with pictures of ones that existed during the Medieval time period. WinterBear, I could have used a leather thong. However, I was also entering the woven cord under another category. Oh and I'm holding a round knife and am cutting leather (though the knife is modern). And the main reason for not winning the competition was because I was not wearing "period" clothing in the painting. http://leatherbybarry.com/SCA/LeatherCaseDocumentWeb.pdf I'll be making Penners soon, they hold quills for scribes. It was worn on the belt. I'll post stuff when I'm done with that. And I'll also be making a parade helm heraldry coronet type thing... well when I make it you'll see that one too! I hope you all enjoy! Barry

Oh wow! That is really nice! I love the overall look and feel of the mask. The scales worked out beautifuly imo. Great job!