Prince

Hmm, I was apprenticed for a few years but it didn't turn out well... it seems most people would rather keep their tricks and secrets for themselves. And the first thing many folks would see when someone asks for training is competition; they dont want to train someone who can compete on their already slim market. Just something to keep in mind I suppose. Not to discourage you though, if you've the resolve to enhance your education via a skilled master, give it a go.

Excuse my ignorance, but what are, or rather, how are those big crescent shaped knife things that look like some exotic ninja weapon used? Actually, come to think of it, they'd probly make nice spatulas.

Well I dunno about you guys, but this is definitely different from anything I've ever seen, much less made. This whole section is actually a visor that will flip up or down upon the helmet base, of which I must still fabricate.... If I NEVER see another feather again it'll be to freaking soon lol but to finish the effect I imagine that I should have feather armor plates, well, leather feather armor plates, you know what I mean, overlapping all the way down the back of the helmet.... I'm barely getting paid for this too since I decided to go above and beyond on the fellows commission as a demo piece for starting my leather work on my own. Only thing though, I'm not quite sure it will fit with the rest of the armor. If I didn't screw up the air brush effect on those wings for the elbows it might have fit, but since I've got them in gold now I dunno lol Looking at the pics its hard to tell but if you look closely you can see there are a number of layers, its a quite design neat if I do say so myself.

I thought it might be a good idea to start a thread where people could show off their shops. Maybe its just me, but I love seeing cool workspaces and cool tools; some weird quirk maybe? Then I dont know if its one of those things where people like to keep them private. I'll post some pics of mine tonight and perhaps others would follow suite.

Cool seat but I dig your work space there. Really neat, I think I'd like to start a thread concerning 'shops... Good work : )

hmm I dont see why people hate it... maybe it doesn't match the book? I loved it, never read the book though...

Eragon had some nifty armor and weapons too. Its not a lost cause by any means. But my top priority is a game I want to develop and I've got to go to college before that too so movie work for me would be some time off in the future.

Not sure about the movie industry... Would I like to? I'd love to... but how often does a movie like Lord of the Rings come out or any other top end movies that need armor? If I went into movies, I'd mostly be making various props and such, but even still I think I might like to try it some day. As for molds, it's not uncommon for a commission to demand a mold for a perfect fit. In most cases though the aim is to make an adjustable universal fit item.

This looks fun, I've sent an email for registration.

Thanks ; ) Ah yes, the star wars realm. Those being storm troopers. Certainly one -could- make it out of leather but it makes more sense to make it out of fiberglass and/or plastic and there are places out there stamping the full suits out of plastic which looks more movie like with the high gloss smooth finish for people to buy and they certainly sell lol Go to a sci-fi/fantasy convention some time, its a whole new world. To do it with leather it would take ages to wet mold it properly, paint it, etc etc. Thanks for the suggestion though

oh, by no means is this era. In fact, the armor I make isn't even era, its all just fantasy stuff; fun for the modern age. I'm not very knowledgeable in like historical items for instance, just like to be make stuff. I want to make this bag to carry my books if/when I do start college so for one, it'll get attention and sales from inquirers hopefully, and two, when I go to present my portfolio later on, I'll have a full arsenal of impressive gear that I'm just casually strolling in with. Oh and those are very neat pictures. I especially like the small crescent bottomed bag. Wish there were a larger picture. Cant tell what exactly is going on if its wetmolded or what. Neat at any rate.

Well I've made some pouches for the renfair but nothing like a briefcase so I figured why not? Can't be too hard. Finally got a stitcher. Of course, being me, I hate normal, well, hates such a strong word, but I tend to stray far from normal at any rate. I was inspired by the fellow posting about his new briefcase and then the link to the ebay auction. So I drew this up and I'll have a go at it after I've finished that armor I'm working on. If anyone have any pointers for a first timer of bag/briefcase making, I'm all ears. Its basically the front/back panels, and two straight strips and a divider in the middle, yeah? Any tricks to make life easier for stitching? I could see it turning into a mess after a few plates are on... Hhmmm Maybe I should try braiding the edges like some of you guys do... that looks cool... better stick to learning one thing at a time though lol

Today was mostly wasted. I got my tippmann boss stitcher in today and am about to go mad trying to set it up properly... stupid thing keeps breaking the thread or nesting up. But I did manage to finish putting buckles on and equipping it to my mannequin for some pics. The tassets and helmet are next...

Dont ask me how, but I totally and utterly overlooked your question and comment. Explaining how I incorporate the ergonomics into my designs huh? hmmm How do I explain it... Ok... Take this breast plate for example. You'd never find anything quite like it historically. But, it does have roots however, in that it has likeness with lorica segmenta, which had many number of overlapping floating bands. While this only has 3 overlapping plates per front/back, it still grants the full range of movement. Historical examples dont always mean they are the best design either. Also note that most armor isn't worn skin tight. Being snug or slightly loose allows the plates to articulate smoothly. Really though, I dont know much about historical stuff so when I make the patterns I just think about all the ways it has to move and make it to where it wont pinch, bind, or get caught on other sections, or hinder movement. Of course there are exceptions to the rules for different scenarios. A grand guard for jousting for instance. Probably wouldn't work very well in a sword fight I would say. Generally, design follows function. Make something that works first, then you can decorate it and make variants of it all you want.

Thanks, heh. We'll see how the demand is when I set up shop online. Hopefully I have pretty good marketing and business sense. There's always someone out there willing to pay for just about anything. My mentor had singular sales and commissions reaching well over $30K Anyway, I think you guys will really like the end result... I'm almost finished with the torso, shoulders, and arms, and I've got to make the helmet and tassets and then I can finally start making some base products for my online business. Well, back to work.

Well here is the breastplate. Its mostly finished except for a couple details. They guy who is getting it is about the same size as me so I tried it on to ensure comfort and proper fit. Armoring is really like another form of tailoring if its done properly. I'll probably start work on the shoulders or helmet tonight.

Way cool. I love the stylized/different designs. What exactly are chaps? I mean, what are they for, and what type of groups wear them? I think they're cool but thats about all I know about them.

Didn't have any to try. I kept messing with trying to dye it to look better and just covered it all gold. Doesn't really match the theme but it works and I think it looks better than had I left it flat yellow or black.

Looks great, nearly too perfect. Looks difficult... just how time consuming -is- lacing like that? I wonder if should try incorporating some designs like lacing into my armor stuffs.

Here are a couple pics I'll point out so those of you without much time to sort through the album Lord and Lady Dahlberg - this armor is already several years old and still holding up My Dagger my GK (Goblin King) GK Strapping someone into armor he made for them at the Texas Ren Fest. Big Mace Rapier William in his armor at Dragon Con 06 (Atlanta Ga) Another pic of Dahlberg the Corinthian Suit also note most of the fabric costume design you see with the armors are made by GK too

Thanks for the props, I actually was expecting a few arched eyebrows and sideways stares; ) Exactly.... There is such a small market for this stuff its almost ludicrous to make a business out of it, yet thats what I aim to do lol. No easy task and I think I'm getting in over my head at the moment while I'm thinking about college and other ambitions too but I do need some cash inflow and need to test the market and better now than later. Another problem with the market is that of the people who do dress up, many are content wearing cheapo junk or poorly made stuff as long as it look cools... even if they cant sit down or tie their shoes. My mentor prided himself on functionality and being the best, as shall I. The armor I make is historically based in that I learned the function of armor from my mentor and make fantasy designs. Some of the designs were made as "standard edition" and he would make a pattern, and we would make variants of that pattern with different color bands and overlays and wet molded designs and tooling patterns, etc. Leather used can be , latigo sometimes, but 8-10oz tooling leather usually because it can be tooled, dyed, and wet molded to be really custom. Of course one could get creative with stitching together latigo into cool shapes or corseted designs too. My mentor (William AKA "The Goblin King") is by far the best craftsman, artisan, artist, I've ever seen for just about anything you can think of. One of those people who's really tried to do it all. he's got is own quirks and he abused my generosity terribly which is why I'm not with that business any more. Things may still work out and all but I needed a break. (what I said here doesn't leave here, yeah? - There is a big fan club and forum/album site that I built for us and I don't need the people there asking me lots of questions, in fact I haven't been back except to fix it. But I'm sure you'll like to see the billion pictures there. www.GoblinNation.com Then click 'albums' up at the top and you will be busy for days if you try to see them all. there are waaay more pictures in the user's personal albums There is a commercial site that I started on many months back before I left (which was just a few months back) and thats www.GoblinKingForge.com but its not finished but it has some products and a pretty good start. Also, my myspace for those of you into that sort of thing is www.myspace.com/goblinnation

If everything loads up ok you should be able to see a lot of what I've made before and me, the big guy in the red/gold armor. The armor I'm wearing was made by my mentor.

Thanks, I'm sure I can mange to pull up some more work. I'll post some up soon

I too find it insensible the prices that are paid for absolute crap, and when someone goes to the effort of actually putting labor into something (as opposed to an overseas sweat shop or the like produced by the thousands) they can barely charge minimum wage for their time/overhead half the time. I can see how it works with the cheapo Taiwan or Chinese etc. stuff that undercuts our prices with sheer overwhelming volume. That just happens, people like buying cheap stuff. But when the same crap has a 1000$ plus tag slapped on it, and it sells, it just blows my mind. So what is the trick to exploring the profits of the aristocracy market? If I get serious with my business I'll probably have 2 business titles. One for the common sales, the bread and butter stuff, and another that is completely separate and doesn't even mention the consumer business and have nothing but the best stuff for 1000$ and up and advertise the holy hell out of it. That too is probably one problem with the lone craftsman, not enough sales volume to pay for massive advertising nor the output capacity to support demand if advertising could be paid for. Then what do you do if you want to increase your income and output? Well, you see the answer to that with the mass produced imported junk.

Well, I went ahead fixed them in my own way so I guess never mind... Now I've gotta figure out a way to make them match up better. the gold looks out of place but it does at least show the tooling better.