Prince

Right on. Experimenting never hurts... usually... lol I may try to find some vinegar and try it too, got plenty of wool in the shop. Chemistry is fun : ) Wonder if we could find a catalyst so it doesn't take a week. Peter there said it was a very old formula so I guess it's nothing secret or new, may be some more info for the process somewhere.

I thought it'd be a good idea to take the air brush to this piece to give it some flavor but ended up with something I don't quite like. Its still usable but I read on the fiebings dye quart bottles that the deglazer stuff can take dye up and was wondering if anyone here had any experience using it. These are going to go on the elbow section of an armor harness I'm making. Nevermind the odd designs on the flat section, an overlay is going there. If deglazer wont lift the black any, anyone ever messed with coloring wings, like on eagles or something that might share with me a tip or two? The theme of the armor is gryphon oriented. in fact, the helmet is going to be a gryphon head with articulated visor and removable lower beak mask... sounds odd I'm sure but wait till I'm done. lol then it'll be really odd to most of you I'm certain. : ) oh and I was going for black feathers with gold/yellow tips/edges. And the color theme of the customer's armor is black and yellow.

steel wool and vinegar? ..I couldn't imagine that smelling anything other than vomit inducing! It does have to be equipped by a person; how does it smell after the chemical reaction?

I mostly make armor and most of that is dyed USMC black on the inside. Problem is, sometimes it rubs off on a person, especially on the hot Texas ren fair days. I do use ample amounts of super sheen but on the armors that touch skin, like the female armored corsets, they will bleed some. Is there another type of sealer that works well that I don't know about, or maybe I should switch to oil dyes? Or what. Any suggestions? Also, its not just the USMC, now that I think about it, the mahogany and other dyed interiors also bled. I used to dip (read "drown") armor pieces in super sheen and they'd still rub off some. I can of course line things and do other expensive work arounds, but most customers aren't willing to pay for it.

Articulated arm section. Pictured is the vambrace (lower arm), elbow cop, and the lames in between. Rerebrace not finished yet (upper arm) This is but one part of whats to come and even this isn't finished. It'll be cool though. been in the shop from 5 this morning till about 12 tonight making this and a other stuffs. sleepy

I agree with that but I don't have a grinder right now. My mentor had the god of all belt sanders, a giant burr king that they dont make any more. Man I miss that thing ;'( A good belt sander is expensive and since I want to pursue knife making I'm saving up or holding off rather, for a good one, eventually though... I'll just try to file it or something. I imagine its a bit dull

Oh and I have worked the Texas Renaissance Festival, and the Arizona Ren Fest. That was when I was working with my mentor but I'm on my own now so I expect I'll stay online for a while. I'll have college soon and no way I can pull working to get ready for a fair with school going on.

Hey, I'll keep it brief as I'm eager to get back out to the shop to work on my new designs. I've had a break from leather and am ready to get back to it. I was apprenticed for a short while (Read: "Free Labor") but for varying reasons I dropped out of that mess to pursue other ventures. Unfortunately though, mundane work just seems so undesirable so I'm hoping to make some kind of funds from my craft. I'm 22 and am looking to also start college finally with the main ambition of producing a large scale game I have in mind. Currently I'm working on my own unique designs for armor and other leather stuff. I can do some wood working if need be and I may expand into metal working if I make enough from leather to finish off the tool selection for a metal shop. I'm hoping to get advice from some of you folks along the way. I'm pretty creative but have much to learn about leatherworking. Real name's Samuel by the way.

Alright, moving right along in my questionnaire here. What do you guys think about the Tippmann Embosser? I heard they weren't worth a flip from a guy who makes belts, and it would wear you out working it, but I wont use it much for belts, nor do I mind extra physical exertion. I expect I'll be using the celtic border design or other designs around armor plates or other decoration use like bags or whatever. Also I bet I could find some cool uses for that cutting wheel attachment. What say ye gurus?

That was quick. Thanks for the tips. I'll take everything into consideration and figure out what I'm getting. Thanks again!

Hey folks, found this site a few days ago and would like to hop in on the bandwagon of knowledge you've got going here if I may. I'll introduce myself later but first I was wondering if I may be enlightened on a few things. Firstly, a mallet/maul... I have a couple of rawhide mallets from tandy, one of which is light weight (I hate it) and a heavier one which I guess is weighted a bit, not sure what weight it is but I only know of 2 from tandy so its those two. The heavier one suits me better than the light one but thats not saying much because most of the time it feels like its still too light, especially when trying to smash through some 12oz+ with a end punch or what not. Moreover, while I'd like to find a funny analogy for it, simply put, it looks like mush, its beaten to hell and back. So long story short, I need a new whacking stick. Ive seen the $$$$$$ Al Stohlman maul things which look kind of hard to control ( I read a couple threads already here about users experience) I'm not opposed to giving mauls a shot, but I'm willing to bet I'd be better off with a mallet. And some of those too are $$$$$ for the nice looking ones I've seen. $$$ doesn't always translate to quality though. So I guess what I'm asking is if anyone knows of a good quality and good priced mallets out there I could buy online or if any of you maybe have a decent used one for sale. I'm getting ready for an intense production run to make some really cool stuff and would like to get one pretty quick. Also, if by recommendations of the learned ones (you guys), that you do in fact get what you pay for, and suggest I should spend the $ for a good name, I would probably give it a shot. No point cheaping out on probably the most used tool. As for weight, I'm looking for something a fair bit heavier than the Tandy rawhide ones. So, any guidance? I'm all ears : )