Peter Ellis Report post Posted December 9, 2007 Progress pictures of a pair of "bazubands" - a style of forearm and elbow armour used by the ancient Persians and found through the middle east and into India. The pieces still have to be sealed and assembled and straps added. Right now they've been hardened and given a coat of mahogany all-in-one and then an overwash with gold acrylic paint. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Randyc Report post Posted December 9, 2007 Peter. Excellent work. Very nice carving and tooling. Randy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomSwede Report post Posted December 9, 2007 (edited) Hey, those look real nice! Never had the opportunity to work one bigger than covering the forearm muscle myself so I am in envy. The scales makes it look really cool and a bit intimidating too. Is the scales your own idea or was that someting that also were common on the original bazubands and what about hardening do you apply some advanced technique there? Never heard of them before so I'm very delighted with the stuff you show here. Hope I get to see the finished result aswell. PS, do you know how old the original bazubands are? Edited December 9, 2007 by TomSwede Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Ellis Report post Posted December 10, 2007 Thanks Tom. Bazubands go back to the middle ages, not sure off the top of my head how early they started using them. The historic versions were decorated with Persian designs. I haven't seen any examples with scales. I harden by heating the leather in my oven to about 85 C (180 F) after soaking it in a solution of glue and water. It stays in the oven until it starts to dry, but not until it is all dry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomSwede Report post Posted December 10, 2007 I have not felt the need to harden any of my bracers yet but been interrested in trying and one solution I have thought off is using just glue. We used to have really great glue at work that look like plastic when dried and mix well with water that I like to try, but we don't carry that glue anymore so it has just been forgotten about. It's some sort of wooden glue so I probably I would find something like it at any woodstore. The upside I thought of there is that the grainside could be cleaned up with a wet sponge after drying some but before it's completely hardened thus leaving the surface clear for dyeing and sealer/finish (I use acryclic spray). Decorating leather like we do seem to go a long way back. I know theres a knifesheath found in Sweden from the period of the vikings and some decoration on it still shows. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Ellis Report post Posted December 11, 2007 I've finished these. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomSwede Report post Posted December 11, 2007 The outcome of that looks really nice. The straps will need a little wear to suit a project like this. Wish they were mine! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
