Smahon03

Just finished leather armor Nightwing, just in time for Ohayocon in Columbus Ohio! While I think the pieces could have been made much easier out of craft foam, the 7-8oz vegetable tan leather will probably last forever and have a much better weight to them. There are more photos of the individual pieces as well as my first full armor set, Green Lantern, linked on my facebook site (linked in the signature). Please feel free to follow and share! Thank you everyone for your constant inspiration!

Lots and lots of Tan-kote. Sounds great! Thank you

Can I ask what type of antique you use? And what type of finish give it such nice gloss?

Sorry for the late response. It's a plastic mesh-screen I picked up from JoAnn Fabric, literally got the idea when I walked by it on the shelf.

Very clean cuts. X-Acto knife?

This is some great tooling! You have a great attention for detail. This looks amazing!

I really how the shoulder's attach to the breastplate. The straps blend to the armor so well you barely notice them. This looks great!

For a first attempt, this really does look beyond amazing! This would be a total hit at any comic convention, ren faire, or wherever. Very similarly, I use stiff paper to make all the individual pieces first before cutting the more expensive leather. I did my first project free-handed and built it on whatever support I could find (including on myself) however I just picked up a cheap manequin for my shop and I am building everything on him, and it has been much easier. Would highly recommend it. Keep up the good work! I can't wait to see the final set put together.

Thank you everyone for the inspiration! I am working hard now on my next big project, Nightwing, which should be much more detailed. I will post updated photos on my facebook page (feel free to click "follow" ) and eventually when the entire project is done, I will post it here. Thank you again! (Attached is a concept photo I sketched at work.)

Just finished a pair of hand stitched leather bracers, themed for an elvish archer at our local Renaissance Faire. These are hand stitched, hand tooled and it was my first time working with Eco-Flo antique finish. I originally couldn't figure out why the color was so dark and I couldn't clearly see the tooling, until I remembered that you need to BUFF the heck out of the antique finish. After that, it lightened up significantly and I love how it brings out the tooling!

Thank you everyone for the inspiration!

Hello everyone! I wanted to show off a bit and post my recent completed project, a renaissance Green Lantern. I love it because I can wear it to the Renaissance Faire and ComiCons. It was made from Tandy 8-9oz tooling leather and took about 4 months to complete. I am relatively new to leather working and I have learned so much from these forums. Thank you everyone! There will be many more battle armor projects to come. Next up, Nightwing!

Hello everyone! I would like to take this as an opportunity to introduce myself. I recently picked up leatherworking last year and, with lots of trial, error, and a lot of tutorials from these forums, I am now producing leather pieces I never thought possible! I wanted to break the mold a bit and use my leatherworking skills to make different pieces of armor for the renaissance fair and comic conventions I go to with my family. The piece I am introducing today was just finished, and is the first piece of a full set of Nightwing battle armor for next year's comic book convention. It is made of 7-8oz tooling leather. What do you think! Since I am new to the trade, I started up my own facebook web site which will have all of my updates, I would really use followers, especially by experienced crafters such as yourself. Feel free to follow me! https://www.facebook.com/undiagnosableleather

Hello, long time follower of this board, first time poster. I am thinking about making some leather armor with a "metallic" color, but rather than the classic gold and silver, I wanted to have a metallic dark green. How would I achieve this? Acrylic? Dye? There are several different types of coloring agents out there, and I am assuming I will probably be mixing two of them. My goal would be something that would be pliable, long lasting, and preferably not need a top finishing coat. Which product would you recommend? Unfortunately I am new to the practice and have very little experience in coloring leather, the only products I have been using for my projects has been the Eco-Flo All-In-One which I enjoy using. The color I am looking for is best represented by these pictures from Etsy attached below.