My first creations (LARP)

[SmoothZey]

**Hello everyone first off i'd like to mention that english isn't my ''first language'' so please don't ''flame'' me if my english writting is ... kinda bad lol ...**I started leatherworking this summer .. it all started after i participated to a LARP event (Canada, québec) and i saw everyone with good looking armor and accesories... i said to myself that it would be cool to have some too ... so i went to a LARP store and realised that kind of stuff was REALLY expensive ... so i decided to make my own ... i searched on internet to find some pattern and tips on leatherworking and my search wasn't very succesful ... i bought tools and leather hides and started my own pattern ... since this time i made some armor pieces and i'd like to have your comments/tips/feedback/insults on my first leather creations ... thx .. and keep in mind i started with nothing and no one to help me ;)Not enough space to upload my last pictures so here they are...

[TomSwede]

Welcome to the board!

I don't know why but there aren't alot of LARP people here, maybe they think we just make handbags and purses with cute braids??

Nothing wrong with that, it's just personal pref. We do have alot of variety and some VEEERY advanced armour and maskmakers. Look for Azmal if you haven't allready seen his stuff. TO DIE FOR!!!!

I really like the first set of vambracers. Always thought I'd do sumting like those but faith has it that my carved bracers is high in demand.

I like the clean lines in the cutting and that you have put your head into it and rounded off the corners. Also you saw the good value of eyelets, that makes them stand out more professional. I like them!!

One thing you can do is to study the threads here about edge slicking/finishing/burnishing to learn how to get really professional and slick edges that are well rounded off and highgloss, if you'd like to pursue that. Then of course to go deeper into it you may look into carving designs onto them or differents colours with dye, perhaps combined with stamping.

One thing I like to do is to wetmold my bracers to shape for my customers. I want them to be hard and armourlike. While damp I tie them onto my arms (gently when carved, wich they always are) and let them sit until dry. That is a good time to do massive posting to this board;-) Before completely dry I pinch the bottom edge between my thumb and indexfinger and bend the edge a bit outwards wich gives them a nice fit to the hand and allows for more movement.

Tom

[SmoothZey]

thx tom ur comments are greatly apreciated

i bought my leather hide black because i had no freaking idea how to dye it lol ... i kept it simple to make my start easier ... ... for the round and high gloss border .. do i have to use a product on the leather .. the technic i currently use is .. i cut a slice on the border using the aproriate tool and i put some water on the edge and use a homemade metal tool to slide it on the border ... it gives me a good result but after some time (when the leather dry), the border become rough ... like the inside of leather hide ... what should i do to get clean border with same gloss as my whole project ? btw i used a black buffalo hide cant remember what thickness and if its a vegtan .. i think it is 11 oz. ...is it possible ??? (where can i find a chart for thickness lol as a apprentice leatherworker i should start by knowing that kind of stuff lol)

for the carving ... again i had in mind the "keep it simple" rule lol .. so yes i plan making some investment in carving tool .. but before that i want to be at ease with cutting/pattern making/measurment/riveting and all ...

and for the first thing u said ...who care about what kind of stuff you make .. if its LARP stuff or pouch, bag, clothing ... don't the technic stay the same ? so i don't understand why they might think bad think about non-LARP leatherworker lol

[TomSwede]

Yeah the first thing I said was just a possibility to as why we don't so many LARPers her but the point was like you said, the tchnich stay the same (basically, there seem to as many methods to do something as there are leatherworkers, lol. This is really noticeable with the edging. Soo many techiques to achiev about the same result)

I'm not sure about using metal for your edges. Boneantlers and cocobolo wood dowel are commonly used. Some use justa cloth. I use the Tandys bone (imitation) edgeslicker. Yo have to practice a little with it to ge the hang of when the leather is taking the slicking best. Too moist or too wet and you wont get much action out of it but when it is just right it goes really fast to make a highgloss edge. In my experience, others will prolly disagree. I think when you say the edge gets rough again that you mean that you slick just to long. My experience there is that the gloss get's a craquelured effect from overheating or sumting. Edging is strange I think.

OR you mean that it gets rough after you have been wearing it sometime??

Anyway, a good thread is up and active at the moment. You have 47 re's in it to plow through if you like to get deeper into it.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s...ic=3680&hl=

Yur gunna have a loooong evening;-)

Good luck with it (Oh and BTW, I'm no expert on edging but manage allright or at least half decent, I think)

Tom

[SmoothZey]

thx again tom ill try it ... i was already reading this topic lol ... but i realized that indeed metal may not be the best ... nylon or bone... create more heat/friction than metal ... as i can remember from my chemistry classes lol ... it about the capacity of retaining heat in the metal ... neway ill try it thx

[twofour878]

Very nice job. You've started for the same reasons I did. I fight in Belegarth and wanted to make myself some armor. Yours looks much better than mine.

I should have started with the same thickness you did but I went straight to 16oz sole bends. The stuff is a pain to shape and cut but it will actually stop a knife blade at full swing lol.

[SmoothZey]

hehe thx is there any place where i can see your armor twofour878 ?

[twofour878]

Unfortunately not until I get home. I'll write myself a note to make sure to post a pic of it since I'm horrid at remembering anything.

All I ended up with was a set of pauldrons similar to yours but much thicker and more rough looking since I rushed them and had no idea what I was doing in the first place. Mine are made from 16oz veg tan and dyed with Eco-Flow Scarlet, then finished with Eco-Flow Super Sheen.

[calanneh]

Your stuff looks great Zev!! My son plans to add segmented shoulder armour to his outfit that is almost identical to yours!! I showed your pictures to him and he got excited to see somebody else thinking the same way he is!

We would all love to see your armour 24878! Post the pix as soon as you can!!

William

[SmoothZey]

for now i dont have any breast armor created im working on the pattern right now ... ..

if ur son need inspiration i took mine on ELAD website http://elads.biz/index.html (here is the link to shoulder armor picture : http://elads.biz/dkssp.jpg)

i also found a good place to understand how to build shoulder armor ... http://armorgeek.com/ and there is a shoulder armor pattern he can download http://armorgeek.com/Projects/Spaulders-Pa...e/Overview.aspx

neway ill keep posting my stuff for sure but it may take some time .. university keep me very busy ... so i have to deal with it (first) lol

and one last thing ... its not that important .. but its not SmoothZev but SmoothZey

[calanneh]

Kewl SmoothZey!

I was mis-reading your name!

Thanks buddy!

William

[twofour878]

Here's that pic I promised. The onyl one I have for now that has my armor on. I fight most of the time without it since it's more in persona to fight bare.

[SmoothZey]

nice i like it ... but in deed .. yours look WAY more protective lol ...

[hivemind]

I don't know why but there aren't alot of LARP people here, maybe they think we just make handbags and purses with cute braids??

We're here - or at least I am. But there's a lot of stuff here, and the SCA/LARP market is very specific, and this board can be quite overwhelming at first. Hell, I've been here months and it's still overwhelming sometimes.

I still sometimes see stuff here and say "What the hell are those?" only to find out they're stuff I'd never even thought about - like chaps. Never even crossed my mind that people actually wore those still...

If people are looking for patterns/techniques/inspiration specific to medieval-type leatherwork, I'm still not sure this is the best place, simply due to the massive amount of information here. It's very easy to get sidetracked. On the other hand, I don't know of any others...

[SmoothZey]

hehe i understand what u mean .. but im not only interested in medieval leatherworking ...that what i started with because i had need for this kind of item ... im not here to complain lol like u said there is so much information here !!! and i think that is better to have advice from people that do different kind of work because its a good way to use original technics or simply to learn faster than by ourself alone ...

** chaps .. this is the leather pants motocycle biker wear ? im i right ?*

[calanneh]

** chaps .. this is the leather pants motocycle biker wear ? im i right ?*

Well, anybody riding something big and powerful..bikes, horses etc etc.....

I started with medivel leather for my own Ren Fest outfit, added in a little Native American for Boy Scouts and then branched out to other types of costume and daily items.

LW.net may not have a huge resource of medivel leatherworkers or info on the surface, but you will be surprised what you find if you scroll back thru the older threads!!

Besides, just because the leather is cut into the shape of armour instead of chaps, doesnt mean the process or quality is handled differently!! I have learned a great deal from some of the 'western leather' folks that I have used on my medivel leather.

Just rememeber, it's all the same leather underneath the dyes!!!

William

[SmoothZey]

thx calanneh thats what i was trying to explain

[ArtS]

Cool work SmoothZey. I like it and look forward to seeing more.

Art

[SmoothZey]

hey i know im a lil off topic .. but twofour878 ... what kind of weapon u were using during ur LARP event ??

was it some kind of foam ?? or latex weapon ?? i never saw something like this ... ..im using Latex sword .. and most of the people i play with too .. or the other use homemade weapon ..( PVC rod with isolation foam and duct tape )

at first i was like .. heum .. duct tape weapon .. damn must be ugly as hell lol .. and i saw some good creation at my last LARP event ... i decided to put some time creating a new sword for my dark elf character ... here is the result ...

[twofour878]

We use foam covered solid core weapons. It's a full contact event with no armor requirement so we baseball swing each other with no padding. The weapons are checked quite often for breakdown and proper building.

I just got a new digi cam so I'll post some pics of my weapons when I get home in the morning.

Quick story to give an idea about the intensity of our fighting. My friend went to block a mace and was hit in the fist with the shaft, it smashed into pieces and nearly broke his hand. It tore the skin off his knuckles and now (almost a month later) it still hurts to use his hand. The core was 1/2 inch pvc pipe wrapped with a small layer of foam (courtesy padding since it wasn't the actual striking surface) and hockey tape.

Edited November 14, 2008 by twofour878

[Spider]

Keep it up it looks good. Maybe I'lll get the guts to make something like this one day.

[twofour878]

Here's a pic of the weapons. Sorry about the mess, it's the cleanest spot in my room

The DVD is there for size comparison.

Oh and in case you want to look into the group we're with here's a link.

http://belegarth.com/

There's only 2 groups in Canada right now according to the realm list, and ours is the only one that travels to international events.

Edited November 14, 2008 by twofour878

[SmoothZey]

We use foam covered solid core weapons. It's a full contact event with no armor requirement so we baseball swing each other with no padding. The weapons are checked quite often for breakdown and proper building.

I just got a new digi cam so I'll post some pics of my weapons when I get home in the morning.

Quick story to give an idea about the intensity of our fighting. My friend went to block a mace and was hit in the fist with the shaft, it smashed into pieces and nearly broke his hand. It tore the skin off his knuckles and now (almost a month later) it still hurts to use his hand. The core was 1/2 inch pvc pipe wrapped with a small layer of foam (courtesy padding since it wasn't the actual striking surface) and hockey tape.

still waitong for your pictures

[Viper]

Nice work SmoothZey

I'm a LARPer from the UK and started leather work for the same reasons

Like you, we tend to like our weapons look a little more realistic than a pipe with insulation foam. We also have a lot of safety restrictions and limitations with the weapons. Even the shields are foam and latex covered... just incase.

The weapons tend to be a solid core, with a foam shape, coated in latex to whatever colour is required.

I've tried making weapons myself, but after a number of failed attempts, gave up and now stick to making my own armour

One of my favourite makers is http://www.eldritch.com/, but there are also some nice weapons found at http://www.lrpstore.com/

[wildrose]

A while back, I made a shield for a LARPer up in Pennsylvania. Here are some pics with my hubby "modeling" (he's really getting into it, huh? LOL!). He has his own sword, which is a Starfire. It was wood in the center, leather on the outside, and foam around the edge, covered with suede, and held on with upholstery tacks. I learned alot from this one, and would make changes had I another to do. One thing I was fortunate on is that my dad-in-law cut the wood for me, so that saved time and money.

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