Prusty

Belt measuring 77" long and 1" wide with tooling and metal fittings from the early-to-mid 13th century. Started this last year but only got round to finishing it last week because I really underestimated how long the tooling would take! The tooling was done using tools from the same period, and is inspired by art and architecture in Britain at this time. There's a few more odd looking leaves than I'd like, but having to do 63 of the little buggers means not every one can be just right. There's also a few collapsed edges in places from the burnishing, not that noticeable but still annoying, so need more practice there. The buckle and buckle plate are made from silver, with inset garnets and green enamelling, and the lion strap-end is cast from brass. All of them are based off finds from the period, and were made by an old re-enactor friend over at Westwir, who makes really nice jewellery and medieval belt fittings. Any feedback and critique is appreciated!

The tooling was done using a brass stylus and a thin bone folder. Normally I have another slightly thicker folder I use to widen some of the lines, but I recently bought a new one at a reenactment market and wanted to test it. Still trying to research 13th century tools, so maybe one day I can use something less primitive!

13th century dagger scabbard, 2mm veg-tan over a balsa wood core. This was a pain to get right, mostly because I forgot how to get the tip right on the pattern somehow, so I had to throw away a first attempt that was 4mm too tight and wouldn't close at the tip. Also the wood core was 'roughly' cut when it was given to me by the owner, I had to sand it down to its present form and its still not even, so the tooling looks a little wonky now it's around the core. The tooling is based on late 12th/early 13th century finds, applied using tools from the same period and is appropriate for a minor noble or professional soldier. Bit rough and basic, but no better or worse than a number of the surviving examples. The handle wrap is bound .8mm calfskin over leather and cord risers, I'd never attempted something like this before but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The risers feel present but not uncomfortable in the hand, comfortable in both forward and reverse grips. Got a few old swords that need refurbishing, so got plenty of chance to practice! Any feedback or critique is greatly appreciated!

Made this recently for an old friend who needed a new belt for a knightly/lordly kit impression at living history shows. It measures 70' long so there's about 2ft hanging from the waist when its buckled up. The tooling was done using 13th century tools, and is based on a pre-conquest cross found in Lowther, although I simplified the design just so it'd be a bit easier to make. The tooling is pretty rough in places, its a new design for me and I'm not great at doing curves. And those rivets gave me some real trouble- some of them had shafts set off-centre and ended up really off-centre on the belt, something I really should've checked first. And I'm not entirely confident in the burnish holding up, but time will tell on that. My friend is happy enough with it though, and it does compliment the rest of his kit well, so I'm gonna take that as a success!

Made an account some while back but never got round to posting anything. I'm Thomas, from Leeds in the UK, and have been doing leatherwork for maybe 4 years, but only got serious in the past year and a half. Done almost only 12th/13th Century reenactment stuff, all of it inspired by finds from that period of history, and a few semi-replica pieces for fun like the knife sheath in the photo. I'm trying to get into more modern stuff which is a bit daunting for me! I've done some here and there over the past few years, but its all been a bit rough and unfocused, so I'm really trying to push myself to improve. I'm looking forward to learning from everyone here! Thanks for looking!