Making Armour

[morrokill]

Hi guys, this is my first question on the site.

I haven't done any sort of leatherwork before and I don't have any equipment or real knowledge. I'm looking to make some armor, just a chestpiece to start with, and I'm wondering if I need to buy any specific equipment, what sort of leather I should use, techniques etc.

Any links to sites would be appreciated as well.

[St8LineGunsmith]

first you will need a basic understanding of leather work which you can learn by reading here in the forums

a good place to start would be getting started section.

you will need to know about casing leather and wet forming leather

you will need to have the design of leather armour you want to make

you will need a good sharp utility knife you will need set of hole punches straight edge and other measuring tools

this is the kind of leather you will need to use

http://springfieldleather.com/29975/Sole-Bends%2CSuper-Thick/

you will also need setting tools for the type of fasteners you use

as you can see in this pic that making leather armour can be a complex undertaking

[Dwight]

It depends on the armor you want to make.

Reply with the time frame, . . . description, . . . type, . . . etc you want.

St8line showed one type of Roman armor, . . .

My armor for my alter ego: Centurion Salvatorus Antonio, of the 6th Legion, Centurion of Capernaum, was far easier than the other two examples. The orange picture is the really tough one to do, . . . the pinkish looking one is mostly sewing, and is done with thicker garment leather, . . . mine is really thick and somewhat heavy, . . . but was the easiest of all to do in my opinion.

May God bless,

Dwight

[ReneeCanady]

It also depends on what you are using the armor for. Is it for show at say a ren faire or do you want it to fit the guide lines for SCA/LARP? http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/9099-02.aspx that is a decent armor weight. I made mine more for show and used vegetable tanned leather somewhere in the 8-10 oz range.

[ReneeCanady]

Example....The men's set on the left was made from 9-10 oz leather and the women's set is made from 6-7 oz leather. You can SEE how more light weight the women's set is. It all depends on what you are trying to do.

[morrokill]

I'm sort of looking for something along the lines of the leather armor from Skyrim, more of a single piece rather than a lot of smaller ones, and I'm hoping to get into some archery, so it would also need some flexibility I guess. I don't have a particular timeframe, although if I could have it finished in time for AVCon, which is in July, that'd be awesome. What sort of money am I looking at spending for equipment alone, and then how much for the leather?

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=leather%20armor%20skyrim&rls=com.microsoft:en-AU:IE-Address&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=QdqWUfvwLsSnkgXt7IGYBw&biw=1366&bih=643&sei=RtqWUfzJI8SolQXu14Bo#imgrc=JejexUceZG_ZXM%3A%3BVft-hru2MLihcM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fimages2.wikia.nocookie.net%252F__cb20120905142824%252Felderscrolls%252Fimages%252Fc%252Fca%252FArmorLeatherCuirass.png%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Felderscrolls.wikia.com%252Fwiki%252FLeather_Armor_(Armor_Piece)%3B683%3B608 This is the armor from Skyrim, I'm not too fussed over the whole buckle in the middle.

[Dwight]

If you are referring to this particular armor, . . . archer's would have to leave off the shoulder pieces, . . . or at least cut them down some.

Looking at your deadline, . . . if it were me, . . . I'd make a front piece, . . . back piece, . . . and the belt to hold it all together.

If you did it out of 10 oz leather (my suggestion) you could pretty much tool all the designs in rather than making the separate pieces. A little antiquing, . . . creative dye work, . . . it should look good.

Make it out of veg tan leather, . . . make a "dummy" out of old shirts, . . . boards, . . . what have you to resemble your bodily makeup and shape, . . . soak it wet, . . . mold it to shape with your hands, . . . be sure to "flare" out all openings so it doesn't chafe and eat you up.

Once it is shaped pretty good and dried, . . . lightlydampen the top layer of the leather, . . . and you can tool in the details.

Looks like a fun project, . . . I'd offer to come help if you'ld pay my way to the Gold Coast, . . . we could sit on the beach and tool leather

Here in the states, . . . you are probably looking at 120 dollars worth of leather, . . . +/-, . . . a good razor knife, . . . swivel knife, . . . mallet, . . . a rough backgrounder, . . . a couple of bevelers, . . . and two or three full days of work adding the designs to the front plate.

I'd attach a robe to cover the back, . . . you could then leave it plain. The belt, buckle, everything can be made of leather, . . . proper dying and/or painting and it will pass inspection for what you are doing.

May God bless,

Dwight

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited May 18, 2013 by Dwight

[St8LineGunsmith]

seems to me a piece like that would comprise of multiple plates 8-10 oz veg tan bound to a suede garment

I like the upper leg armour to go along with the breast plate and belt

and would not be too very hard to make just a lot of sewing.