TomSwede

A very nice design with that snake inlay and that bronze hardware on the strap retainer is also a nice eyecatcher! Nice to see another Swede here MVH/ Tommy (från Gävle)

That cover I made wasn't a lot of tooling on it and that probably is the greatest factor regarding stiffness or lack of it in my case. Thanks for the info, in the end all things considered weigh in! Tommy

That looks fantastic! I'm just curious to ask about the stiffness when it's open, do you have any type of stiffener like cardboard or plastic sewn in or is it good enough without? I made a bookcover for a friend once that looks similar in construction (probably a bit bigger though) and stuck the cardboard bookcover into the pocketlike slots that you also have. Great stuff, thanks for showing!

Greetings and hails from the nordic region Daggram! Very nice looking spangenhelms you make and glad to see some without those horns aswell I tried to get one together a few years ago but failed to get the panels to line up correctly and gave up on it. Nowadays I do have sketches for the spangenhelm so who knows, maybe someday. I have a great interest in vikingage and myth so it's nice to see some authentic stuff. Keep up the good work! Tom

Wow Larry, beautiful work! Those really look professional and judging by the time it takes you to make them I'd say that you know your way around leather designs. Incredible work and I'm very happy to sit back and just watch those spurs.

Those are really nice designs! Love the colour on the checkbook and the pattern is a kicker for sure.

Thank you for sharing Johnny! The reason I'm asking is because I'll be paying a visit to the nearest dealer tomorrow, getting "skinned" again so to speak and nice background bevelers are in the priority list this time. Looking forward to see more from you! Best regards/Tommy

That is really nice and HEY alot of filigree too! I'm wondering what stamp your using to get that nice and crisp filigree? It makes the tooling pop out real nice on that outdoor shot and the motif makes justice for a nice old cliche': -Less is more! That JD seat in the other thread was really nice too, same filigree? Tommy

I like the riveted one! It has those really nice looking wrinkles to tell from the photos, also playing a little bit guitar myself I prefer just simple straps with no padding and about three holes on the bottom for length adjusting, but then again my needs aren't really that demanding but I DO think I'd prefer the same for playing live aswell. Keep up your good work! PS: that guitar is surely a beauty in that transparent black finish. I have blue transp. w. black edges on my Jackson Kelly KE3

Nice job Mike! There sure are some skills here one can pick up from Looks really comfortable too.

Hi there all of you, Mike Phelps, Abn, Beaverslayer (again), Don 101, Matara, The Major! Thanks for all your positive response on the items shown. Most bracers I've done are unphotographed due to lack of camera. Some of them were really nice, mostly I've been sticking to dark brown/Mahogany antique finishes, just love it really much. Black is mostly just spoiling good work but for metal people it IS the preffered choice so I've unwillingly done some allblack items aswell. Twocoloured items are difficult but I'm currently experimenting with some techniques and studying the forum about the art of dyeing. I have sold some black bracers with blue or red viking/celtic style patterns. The only thing i produced in a series. It's a a little prank I played with the ones who bought them (all friends). That particular design is actually from a very visible tattoo that is done as an armbracer on my left underarm. I also have an really big celtic tattoo covering my right frontside underarm and a lifesize bracer with an exact duplicate pattern tooled out that fits right over the tattoo. If anyone would be interested in stuff concerning Vikingculture or the mythology, just go ahead and ask. I'm not an expert but nows a bit about that and any missing information I can probably lookup pretty fast. Scavenging websites about such information can easily present some misinformation since there sure are alot of people that's more interested in "cool bloodthirsty Northmen" than studying agrocultural facts in a document requring a glossary to strange old words forgotten alongtime, or whatever. Well about that cig.box I just wanna say you can be glad you cant see UNDER the bottom of it. Practical and fully functional-will last longer than the lid BUT NOT a neat sight. At least I know from experience now how to manufacture the bottom next time. The lid is also a funny little experimental thingy. The thinner leather is rolled over the topedge and then folded under and stitched to the tooled round 4mm top piece so the outward pressure from the round piece against the rolled edges is what whats keeping it in place. Just thought I'll try and see how long it lasts, it saved me some stitchin time and I believe timesavers are really valuable in this line of work. I'll just have to keep in mind to make that piece a bit oversize next time (if I find it works ok during tear and wear). This box will take some beating during fishingtrips, wildlife and nature photography, and even some metal concerts. OOOh Iron Maiden tickets will be available on Monday so I might sit in front of the 'puter all day, trying to get tickets. I get shaky hands by just thinking about it. Have to go and take a suspitory (beer and scotch whisky) right away. Bye for now! P.S. I do write long stuff about nothing sometimes and my rusty English is enjoying being dusted off again.

Here is a complemantary to my original presentation post. Two items I made just recently so you can see where I'm heading now. First up i a molded sheath for a laserpointer with a thin flap for fast access. It has now a metal skull on the edge of the flap to weight it down a bit. Second is a cigarette box. A bit crude in size and apperance but it was made only as an experiment to gather learning from so carving, tooling and dyeing was a bit rushed through. The main course here was to learn about how fix various problems in the construction and stitching section of this piece. It's all lether and no plastic box inside. Main piece is a rolled 4mm leather that is stitched together in the back (not showing in the pictures) with a loop stitch that holds it together. Not the nicest solution but it works. This is my first real Sewing/stitching experience.

Tjenna Oldtimer! Gävle är min hemvist! Kanonställe detta, känner att det kommer att leda till helt nya erfarenheter! Kul att det finns någon Svensk här också!

Thank you Beaverslayer! I have seen your website before finding this site so I've seen your work. Must have been some good stuff there since I remember the visit;-) Have a couple of Indian saddle frames incoming so I think I ran across it searching for inspiration for that.

Hello Leatherworkers! I'm a 35 year old young man from Sweden. Being a part of the Swedish heavy/death metal scene just grew me tired of those spiked armbracers so I decided to make a few for myself with tooled patterns instead. Altough a very crude apperance on my first ones people around me was amazed and wanted to buy. So it began in the late 90's. I have so far made about 40-50 armbracers that was custom made and sold. A couple of book covers been done too. Now I've had a long break from it and are slowly returning. Looking back at the stuff I've done I realize I could have done better actually but as the train was rolling it just kept on back then. Now I have a hunger to learn more advanced techniques like the art of dyeing, lacing, stitching but also perfecting the art of the swivelknife- get those long curved lines really nice and smooth aswell as the tiny narrow ones. I'm really glad to find this site and hope to pickup lots of new information and learnful resources and hopefully contribute with something back aswell. Actually I have already found wonderful help here. Yesterday I tried to dye (yet another armbracer) with black spirit dye and the leather just wouldn't take it. Looked like a streaky old mess there. Scavenged this forum and found others peoples problems with this and what they done to help the problem and, phew, now I have dared to slightly oil the surface and gotten some nice rich black dye down there. Thanks a whole bunch for that Leatherworkers. Posting a few old pics that represent my work in the bracer department also.