Prince

Well firstly, you're very welcome. I always order by phone and generally deal with the same people each time. Problem is even if they allow me to ship them back to exchange, I'd still have to cover shipping and since I'm doing this as a business now, any extra expense is counterproductive. And since the closest Tandy is about 2-3 hours away in Austin; definitely not a close trip, and my truck gets 9-10 MPG so definitely not an efficient choice to make a trip. And if I go up there and only 2 hides are worth looking at, definitely a bad deal. I just wonder if someone out there deals with a supplier that charges a fair price and has good quality control. I'll pay a bit more for peace of mind and consistency. Just how much more I don't know. Depends on the product I guess.

Figured this category was most applicable for the topic. but anyway, I seem to have a problem with consistency with my leather orders. Seems hit and miss. I order a lot of leather from the Hide House but since it's in CA I find myself ordering from Tandy at times since I can get the leather shipped and receive it the next day. But with either one I never know what kind of quality I'll get. Sometimes I'll order the premium grade from the hide house and the back will be nearly as nice as the front should be but the front looks like somebody killed Jabba the cow and it's loaded with wrinkles and grainy junk and will even vary in thickness or any sort of stuff like soft thin spots in the middle, etc. Same for tandy. And sometimes I'll order the economy stuff and it'll look better than the premium stuff. And sometimes the front will be nice but the back will look like a tropical hair forest. The really annoying thing is when I order some premium stuff for a commission and some economy stuff for bracers and standard items and they ship it together and I can't even tell which hide is what quality. I feel there should be some distinction if I'm paying extra for a higher grade. Is there even a process that decides what makes a hide better than another? In my mind surface quality, nice light color and being free of blemishes, and a nice smooth back coupled with thickness consistency is what would make a hide pristine. I understand there's a difference in carve-ability but I've never had problems with it. For those of you who often get 8oz to 12oz leathers, who do you deal with? How much does it cost? Maybe I'm just getting the wrong leathers for my purpose?

I've ordered some stuff from them that was hard to find elsewhere but I agree with most opinions that they need to do something about their catalog and the sooner the better. Scrolling though a PDF is kind of annoying too. Really inconvenient and time consuming actually. I hope they logically divide and organize and catalog their items to their website (in web format, not PDF), shopping cart site or not. But it's for them to decide if they want to appease the internet market. It'd be a boost to sales for sure. I also hope someone there reads this forum thread but I'm sure they're not oblivious to their situation either. Stuff happens and they may have encountered a big setback that takes priority. If they're worried about going under I think it's as simple as expanding to online sales and offering a good variety of stuff. Possibly the head honcho is an old dog wary of online sales? Doesn't do anything to speculate as to what the situation is. Hopefully they'll be back in the saddle soon. My point of view anyway.

I kinda skimmed this so if I'm repeating something forgive me. I think it bears mentioning that not all fairs are period. Some are fantasy and/or a blend between fantasy and history. The Texas Renaissance Festival is one of the largest in the US, I think it's the largest in land size (in the world I think, with something like 54 acres) and second in rank something with else (like patrons/visitors, number of shops, can't remember) I could be mistaken either way but it's definitely big and it's a fantasy and historic themed fair. Fantasy more towards the Middle Earth tone vs. a SciFi fantasy. Pretty nice fair all around. But I happen to have a bad taste in my mouth since I sort of partnered with someone pursuing a venture at some festivals and lost a very large sum of money. So I may be biased when I say working a festival changes the experience for the worse. Kills the fun of it. Sounds like you don't have the same idea many have of thinking since it's so fun to attend a fair, it must be wonderful to work it. It can be but it's not all fun and games for sure. I was mainly an investor and didn't do many sales but from what I did do and what I observed it's mostly standing behind a counter, answering ridiculous questions (though granted we were selling custom swords and armor and most people have many misconceptions about them so it likely wouldn't be the same for more general items) and beyond that, if you don't have hired help, good luck with a rest room break or food break. To my knowledge regulations are pretty technically strict, probably to cover the fair owner's basis, but you can get away with a lot if you don't cause problems, or if you do cause problems and if you're well liked you can get away with stuff too lol. As I said, I lost a lot of money, but that's not due to lack of patronage or clientele, mainly it was due to my business partner getting wrapped up in nonsense and never taking care of business, so that aside, I think there is a big potential for profit at fairs. I may be providing some products to a vendor at the fair there this year so I'm still willing to stick my foot in the door to see how that goes. Frankly though, I have no interest in managing a shop. Online sales are good enough for me to stick with just that, and I can choose my clients as a bonus (I get some odd requests after all). But some extra revenue at the trade off of tedium, making a load of basic stuff, might not be a bad thing if it pays off well enough. At the festivals i know of, there are permanent buildings instead of tents. Still some tents here and there, but most of the buildings are built as a facade of historic construction. Most buildings are owned privately by each different business though the fair retains rights to seize the shops at their will (sounds dangerous but if they did that, nobody would work their fairs so it's not a big risk). The shop I was involved with I believe was priced at $28K. Pretty sick huh? Especially when you consider it's only used 6-8 weeks out of the year. So while there's a lot of profit to be made, it costs a lot. or it can anyway. plenty of people just haul in carts and set up tables here and there. I don't know your exact situation and what size of fair you are checking out but talk to the fair's crafts coordinator to see if you need to be jurried in and if he/she thinks your products will have a good chance of selling, or if the market for your item is flooded, etc. They can usually help you with tips. Your best bet is to call the fair office and ask for the coordinator or someone who can answer your questions. The UK fairs may be entirely different than over here and the advice given may be incompatible.

The 3000 seems to be held in high regard. List price seems to be around $2200 which I can't swing now though unfortunately... Though I would hate to compromise on something and have wasted money on something that's not good enough for what I need. But are there any viable alternatives? Wouldn't be fun to do the entire coat with the Boss... Horrible thought. Thanks again

Hey folks, I'm now in the market for an automatic machine that can handle upholstery leathers and stuff like the thicker supple buffalo or bull hides. Main thing I need it for is a commission for a big coat (just think trench coat for reference) using 8oz buffalo or bull hide. Odds are I'll also use it for bags and pouches, overlays stitched to armor. I think $600 - $700, maybe $800 would be ideal but I'm wondering if it would be better to bite the bullet and get something like the artisan 3000 or something. Though I do need the machine pretty soon and something that expensive would probably put me in a bind. I don't know if the machine will get frequent enough use to justify the 1-$2K+ price range. Just having the machine would yield an excuse to make more stitched things. I think it's safe to say it'd be a good investment, that is, if that's what I need. Maybe I can do just fine with something mid ranged? I've already got a Boss. Sometimes it's nice, sometimes its the biggest PITA in the world but point of mentioning it is that I have something that can handle the super thick stuff if need be. And stitching overlays to armor doesn't really take that long after it's set up. It wouldn't hurt my feelings to find a heavy duty machine that can handle the thick stuff too since the boss is so slow and often problematic. I'm definitely open to any options and suggestions. Hmm, I do wonder though, if I got the heavy duty machine, would that render the boss obsolete? or would it still be handy to have around? Cause if it isn't I could always sell it and recoup from the cost I guess. It's an option at least but I expect the boss would still be handy. Also wonder why the Boss is so expensive for such a relatively primitive piece of machinery. compared to the similarly priced sewing machines I've been looking at. Thanks in advance.

That's quite remarkable.

That's really nice. Will you add color to the knotwork?

I wouldn't call this a tutorial, but you can kind of think of it as a guide, or maybe more of an overview of how I went about making a piece of my armor. Linked from my Deviant Art Account: More progress but not finished yet:

From my point of view, you're making a mask, not a helmet or safety apparatus, so make a mask. Velcro would work by itself I think too, even with wrestling. but... If it were me making the mask I'd use a zipper (industrial strength) in the back and probably have a velcro closure over the top of the zipper to hide it and to make the mask look more streamlined. Just remember that masks have been done before, and are still used, so if they can do it, so can you. Just my perspective on the matter anyway and that's the attitude I'd take.

Thanks : ) It's all dye, except for the metallic gold of course. Hammer marks are actually ball peen hammer marks ; )

Well I'm still at it of course and I have some new goodies to share. Here is a progress pic of (part of) the new dragon themed armor I'm working on and thought I'd give a glimpse at how I make my patterns and how a piece actually starts and you can kind of see how I (sometimes) plan some of the design when I make the pattern.

Sorry for the delayed reply but thanks for all the comments and feedback : ) And yes, you can wear it to the store lol. Much fun. I actually have a section in my auctions that clears that up: “But where could I use it?” you ask? Well most of you browsing this will probably have a good idea, but to give you a few ideas of where you might want to visit in your armor: Renaissance Festivals – You’ll feel right at home. Halloween – An obvious choice. Costume Parties – You’ll be a hit. Conventions - Win every award. Wall-Mart - Never ending amusement. SCA, LARP, Various fighting/reenactment groups – Be the envy of everyone! Retirement Homes – Scare old people. Schools – Scare young people. Malls – Stand out, be seen! Work – Bound to grab some attention. Paintball – no, on second thought, no… well maybe.. Restaurants - I’ve gone to restaurants a number of times with armor equipped, it’s very fun! And certainly you can think of more, be creative!

Here is my most recent completed set of armor. Simply called the black and silver armor. Sorry for the lack of creativity there lol. All leather construction as usual. Full view at my gallery: http://azmal.deviantart.com/art/Black-And-...-Final-88599604 More cool stuff at my Deviant Art gallery at http://Azmal.DeviantArt.com/gallery and the Prince Armory Website www.PrinceArmory.com Completely functional and highly movable with articulating elbows and flexible knee. Breastplate is actually a type of Lorica variant with floating sections so it can bend, flex, and twist with ease. Collar has no historic value I'm aware of but it looks cool and the client wanted one so there it is. List-O-Stuff - We've got the breastplate with wet molded 'muscled' chest. Articulated cuirass. (Lorica style) Lots of carving and embossing. Incredibly solid design with a lot of overlapped plates and hardening. Helmet with detachable face plate High Collar Cool new Pauldron design Full fingered and articulating gauntlets Greaves with high knee Unusual sabbaton design Scale 'Super Skirt' with hundreds of 'floating' scales where each of which are hand molded and, dyed, painted, studded, and assembled. Incredibly solid and a bit heavy but doesn't restrict movement at all. It's got full articulated arms with the elbow cop, vambrace, and rerebrace. Similar to metal plate designs. This is the first set of armor where I've tooled the Prince Armory logo into it. Shows up nicely in this pic. Thanks for looking : )

Stiffness is from general wet molding : )

Latest creation here. Lot more stuff going to be finished in the next few days. By the way, please check out this thread and give me your opinion if I got a good deal or not. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=2986

So I went out on a limb hoping for a good deal. Hopefully I don't reveal myself as foolish and impulsive lol. I came across this sort of at the last minute, did some quick research, and placed a bid figuring I could always expand to making custom boots, armored or not, and the odd stitchers would help making odd shaped things like helmets, and also thinking I wouldn't get it anyway... well I got it. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=110250915522 Auction ended like 30 min ago Anyone know the value of these items? I think I got a good deal judging by the quick price checks I did. The typical 'old couple dies and leaves behind a set of tools for auction' type setup.

wooooooooooooo way cool

haha well the gloves are just there to hide the mannequins broken off fingers. They had to be broken off to fit gauntlets on to the hands. At any rate the client has decided to commission the gauntlets and helmet too so it'll really be a complete suit Thanks everyone

Yet another shameless plug. Here is the end result of the 'Black and Silver' commission. Description follows: We've got the breastplate with wet molded 'muscled' chest. Articulated cuirass. Lots of carving and embossing. Incredibly solid with a lot of overlapped plates and hardening. High Collar Cool new Pauldron design Greaves with high knee Unusual sabbaton design Scale 'Super Skirt' with hundreds of 'floating' scales where each of which are hand molded and, dyed, painted, studded, and assembled. Incredibly solid and a bit heavy but doesn't restrict movement at all. It's got full articulated arms with the elbow cop, vambrace, and rerebrace. Similar to metal plate designs. This is the first set of armor where I've tooled the Prince Armory logo into it. Shows up nicely in this pic. The mannequin doesn't wear the armor well at all. As usual. 90% of the armors I make are commissioned and are made to fit a certain person. A disproportioned 6' 4" mannequin doesn't really do the armors justice. I think there will be an immense difference when the intended wearer of this piece and hopefully they'll get some photos to me. All leather construction by the way held together with rivets, chicago screws, and floating retaining straps. Design and intricate work by me but a a lot of props go to my assistant and friend, Chris, on this one for a lot of the work on it. It doesn't have a name but if it had the right type of helmet I'd probably want to call it the "Leather Iron Man" armor haha Hope you all like it.

Sweet, that looks great. I'm gonna have to check out that tutorial when I get some time. Some things I have infinite patience for, some I have none... I hope braiding I have some patience for lol.

Well, actually I don't even have armor that I've made for me. This is just something I've made for sale. I figure it'll be another standard item in my product line though must of my work is commissioned work. see http://www.PrinceArmory.com and http://Azmal.DeviantArt.com/gallery to see more of my stuff Thanks

What a fun idea. Very clever.

Well, here is a new breastplate design. Sturdy Muscled Breastplate. Heavily formed and very hard. The color is actually a bit darker than the photo shows. Unless it's in the sun or under bright light. Deeeep dark Ox Blood color. Lion head cape clasps added too.

Thanks all. I'll try to make a point to drop in more.