Male Nightingale Armor Skyrim - WIP

[PerniciousDuke]

Hello everyone!

Thank you for having me here. I started off by posting a question about weathering leather, but since you guys have actually active members I thought I would maintain a build log here for those interested in following along!

My background is mostly in Tandy leather kits (wallets, guitar straps, purses, holsters etc) Years of experience, but all self taught which means I could probably improve A LOT!

I have a (2) hide sides that are 7-9oz veg tanned tooling leather that have been collecting dust for too long, combined with a new found love for cosplaying, have inspired me to build a set of leather armor from a video game.

Here is a link to my original build log from my native land. For leatherworker.net I will focus on the leather crafting aspect and not so much on the costume part.

Here are a couple images of the suit I am trying to make. It is from a video game which means that to create it in the real world there will be sacrifices, but the goal is to get as close as possible.
(in game)            (action figure)

First I took the 3d model from the game and used a program called pepakura to unfold it flat so that I could print it out on paper. Then I taped the paper to a dummy with the wearer's exact dimensions.

 

 

Before I start cutting out the pieces I wanted to have a game plan for the tooling and dying.
My first concern was how to add that detail. Here is a close up.

It looks like they are just hammered down with something like a pear stamp (is that the correct term?)
But if I were to do that does it pop enough for my liking? So I thought about cutting the detail in and fading out a background tool around them.

Even though less accurate, we are leaning towards #2 just because it would look cooler.

 

Then comes the dye, weathered black. The action figure is pure black and he looks cool. The game model is almost gray (and oddly enough black on the arms). I think we're hoping for something in between.
Here is my color test that I've done. All of the samples have been scuffed on one side with 150grit and the other side with a little 60grit sandpaper.

 

1. Two coats of Antique Gel - Smoke
2. One coat of regular black dye
3. One coat of Antique Gel - Smoke
4. thin coat of regular black dye (making sure not to dye crevices), then one coat antique gel - smoke.
5. one coat Satin Sheen, then two coats regular black dye
6. one coat brown dye, then one coat antique gel - smoke


I'm curious to hear what you all think and looking forward to showing more progress down the line. (first showing scheduled for April)

Cheers!
-PD

 

Edited January 11, 2019 by PerniciousDuke

[DJole]

Ah, the puzzle becomes clearer now!
First thing that comes to my mind is the decorative designs on the armor -- it seems to me that to get that same effect on actual leather, they would not be tooled on the surface, either with a pear shader tool or with a beveller tool. 
I think that modeling those lines from behind in an embossing effect, perhaps even wet-forming them over some kind of rigid mold, is the way to get those deep ridges.
As for the black (which is your original question) -- hopefully some color and finish experts (not me!) can help you out here. 

[PerniciousDuke]

2 minutes ago, DJole said:

Ah, the puzzle becomes clearer now!
First thing that comes to my mind is the decorative designs on the armor -- it seems to me that to get that same effect on actual leather, they would not be tooled on the surface, either with a pear shader tool or with a beveller tool. 
I think that modeling those lines from behind in an embossing effect, perhaps even wet-forming them over some kind of rigid mold, is the way to get those deep ridges.
As for the black (which is your original question) -- hopefully some color and finish experts (not me!) can help you out here. 

I like the insight there. Yes, that does seem to make sense. Though I don't think I'm set up to create a rigid mold for wet-forming. I will look into the process more to see if time and money will allow. I believe the result would look more professional. Thank you.

[Aven]

Its doesn't have to be wood.  You can make a rigid mold from scrap leather.  Build up layers with glue in the basic shape, then carve/shape them.  It just has to not fall apart if it gets damp/wet and not compress much.

[HaloJones]

You could wet form the ridges in a thin leather & then attach the shaped piece to a thicker leather to make it thicker & longer lasting.

 

[PerniciousDuke]

Thank you for the suggestions. I've looked into wet forming more and I don't believe I would have the time or resources.

It would look more accurate, but I believe cutting and tooling those lines will still look cool. And looking cool is the ultimate goal.

Not wasted though. I probably will take the time to form the six straps at the top. The mold will be simple and only needs one. Thanks everyone! 

[DJole]

Keep the build-in-progress reports coming--  you never know when somebody else will want to do the same thing and find your experiences valuable. 
Let's see the coolness happen, step by step!

 

[PerniciousDuke]

Roger that. I just wish it had bigger file sharing capacity. A single picture from my phone camera exceeds the size capacity.

 

Today I've been cutting out my pieces. Normally I like to use leather scissors, on such thick and large pieces I went with a regular box cutter and I've been having good luck. Only halfway through and I'm at 3 knife changes. 

[PerniciousDuke]

I've managed to cut all the armor pieces!(minus a couple accents)

 

Next up, I will take a small piece (one hand guard), pattern it, stamp it, form it, dye it and finally weather it. This will give me a chance to try different things before ruining any of the larger pieces. 

 

[ScoobyNewbie]

Very cool! I prefer daidric. No hope for me doing it though.

[PerniciousDuke]

That one is pretty cool @ScoobyNewbie

A product that would be better for the Daedric armor would be Worbala. Pretty neat stuff I'd like to try one day.

 

 

Update: 

 

This post was meant for my costume forum, but I might as well share with you guys too. Again, self taught, if you have any suggestions please feel free to share. 

"

First run went really well!

For those of you that dont know, I like to really write out what I do. The reason is because I'm likely to forget so having something to look back on is really helpful for me. But, if someone else gets use from it then that is great too. 


Starting with the wrist guards:

After cutting out the shape I used 150 grit sand paper to get flatter, smoother edges.
 

Used a leather edge beveler to knock of the edge. Then finished with a 220 grit to really round it out.
 

Used a pencil to draw a pattern onto leather tracing paper (it's like really thick wax paper)
 

Then I used a paper towel, or sponge, to slowly wet the leather, starting with the backside and letting it seep through.
 

With the leather wet and pliable set on a hard surface such as marble, I used a leather stylus to transfer the pattern by imprinting it in the leather.
  

Next I cut along the lines at a 90 degree angle using a swivel knife. Named because the base can swivel independently from the finger hold at the top, allowing for smooth curved cuts. Be aware of how deep you cut as well. I generally cut half as deep as the leather is.
  

Leather is abrasive and dulls knives quickly. Leather also needs to be cut cleaning, if the blade snags it will be obvious once dyed. In between cuts I sharpen my blade using the rough side of a dry piece of leather. A buffing compound called rouge is added to give the sharpened edge a better finish.
 

Next I use a bevel stamp to push down one side of the cut, giving the leather that real 3d effect. 
  

Next I use a background stamp (Tandy #E294-04) to hide my terrible bevel stamping abilities. 
  

I think it looks pretty cool. I took that wet leather and held it over my roommate's wrist. Holding that shape as best I could I took it to my heat gun and got it to dry in the proper shape.
 

To achieve my desired color I apllied two coats of Eco-Flo Black Oil Dye with a paper towel, making sure to not press into the pits.
 

Next I apllied one coat of Eco-Flo Black Smoke Hi-Lite Stain using a paper towel making sure to get all the crevices this time. I wiped excess off with a paper towel and used a heat gun to dry.
 

I took 220 grit sandpaper and made random scuff marks.
 

Then I applied one coat of Eco-Flo Satin Shene to seal and protect the leather. Doing so also got rid of all the visible scuffing. Oh well.

"

 

 

Question: what would you guys recommend for adhering the leather together? 

Many of the pieces get stacked like fish scales, but I don't want any visible stitches, rivets or snaps. Are there invisible ways to do those things? Or is gluing my only option? I've only ever used Tandy Leather Weld. I'm just worried that with all the body movements the pieces will become unglued. 

Edited January 17, 2019 by PerniciousDuke

[YinTx]

Looks pretty nice so far.  Generally, I wouldn't use a hot heat gun to dry the leather, just shape it and let it set overnight.  Adding an oil like neaatsfoot after all the dying, tooling, shaping etc. helps to renourish the leather, and also tends to make the black dye or whatever color you used a lot richer.  Then I like to finish with Aussie and buff.  Put an acrylic seal on that if you like.

@immiketoo did some historical armor, might be worth looking at how he put it together.  Glue will probably come undone, and at the worst possible moment.  Black stitching would be pretty hidden on black leather.

Not sure why you would need 3 blade changes to cut your leather?  I have been using 1 razor blade for 2 years, just give it a strop and keep going.

Like seeing all the progress pics and explanations!

YinTx

[Kulafarmer]

Howdy,,,

i am pretty sure there are different softness levels to the leather as well as different thickness, main shields would be stuff like skirting leathers, the secondary and full wraps stuff like a softer hand thick bison, the hood a combo also, 

 

cool project, really like the concept, maybe the way things are going in this country it will serve a utilitarian purpose for defense rather than just cosplay

[PerniciousDuke]

4 hours ago, YinTx said:

Generally, I wouldn't use a hot heat gun to dry the leather, just shape it and let it set overnight.

Usually I would dry overnight as well, but for the test piece I wanted to knock it out in one day. It worked so well that I may actually do it for the rest. My heat gun has 21 settings, so I can really dial it in without damaging the material. 

 

I like Mink oil and planned to coat the whole thing once I'm done. Thanks for the lead on previous project. (Blade changes were because the only large enough cutting surface I had was the back side of my marble slab. Yikes!)

I may end up going the stitching route for strength. I recently learned of a tool that cuts a u-shaped groove in leather to help hide the thread. 

 

18 minutes ago, Kulafarmer said:

it will serve a utilitarian purpose for defense rather than just cosplay

Haha, yeah that was the goal. If I'm going through the effort it might as well be functional. 

[YinTx]

On 1/17/2019 at 1:15 PM, PerniciousDuke said:

I may end up going the stitching route for strength. I recently learned of a tool that cuts a u-shaped groove in leather to help hide the thread. 

 

You can also take a look at a "hidden stitch."  They use them on saddles and shoe soles, other places as well I imagine.  Basically, with a sharp blade, make a diagonal slit in the leather along the line you want to stitch, open it up at the slit, stitch through the bottom of the slit, dampen the leather, and glue the slit back down over the stitch.  Viola, hidden stitch.  Protects the thread on bottoms of shoes, etc.

YinTx

[PerniciousDuke]

58 minutes ago, YinTx said:

You can also take a look at a "hidden stitch."  

YinTx

That is very interesting. I may give that a try tomorrow. 

 

 

Update:

 

I was having trouble with my pieces coming out two different colors despite the same dying process:

 

But, I figured out it was due to the heat gun. My first piece I heat gunned a little, then got dinner, then dyed. My second piece I heat gunned a lot. The heat closed the pores on the smooth side so that it wouldn't accept as much dye. 

I'm going to keep using the heat gun to speed up the forming process, but only on the rough side. 

 

Because of @jdole I looked into wet forming. I may not be able to make molds, but I tried my hand at a bone folder and I'm very pleased with the results! 
 

 

Several more hours and I've made some good progress:

[DJole]

Good call with the bone folder!
 

[spacedog]

Very cool project. I like that armor a lot. Keep us updated.

[PerniciousDuke]

I'm still at it!

I spent 5 evenings in a row tooling the leather on the floor and it threw my back out. :'(

Today I moved the project to my parents and I am cooking again. Here's my current set up. Bought a new leather tool storage chest too!

 

Current state of the suit:

24 of 34 pieces tooled and formed. I'll update with more detail after the weekend. 

 

 

 

Mannequins are fun!

Edited February 3, 2019 by PerniciousDuke

[spacedog]

Nice looking set up. The finish on your leather is pretty shiny.  Kidding. I'm looking forward to more updates.

[PerniciousDuke]

1 hour ago, spacedog said:

Nice looking set up. The finish on your leather is pretty shiny.  Kidding. I'm looking forward to more updates.

Haha, yeah I'm not going to make my own boots.   If you've ever cosplayed at an event for 8 hours you would know why.

We did learn that faux leather is shiny because of a polishing process it goes through and that household products like rubbing alcohol can reverse the effects. 

 

 

Edit: I realized you might have been talking about the clear wrap and not the boots. Lol

 

 

Update:

So I needed to hold the leather on the mannequin to form it and my only thought was how saran wrap loves to cling to itself. So I wrapped the mannequin, put a piece on and wrapped more over top.

One downside is satan wrap holds the moisture in so not only does it take longer, but there is a good chance of mold growing. Once a piece is half dry (8-12 hours) I take it off and try to prop it up somewhere else to finish drying.

Something new I learned is that if the piece is not fully wrapped in saran while drying then the moisture will get sucked out of that one spot so fast that it creates what looks like a burn mark! Crazy!

Edited February 3, 2019 by PerniciousDuke

[YinTx]

4 hours ago, PerniciousDuke said:

it creates what looks like a burn mark! Crazy!

I've never seen that.  What brand of leather are you using?

YinTx

[PerniciousDuke]

2 hours ago, YinTx said:

I've never seen that.  What brand of leather are you using?

YinTx

https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/economy-tooling-side-8-to-9-oz-3-2-to-3-6-mm

[spacedog]

I was joking about the plastic wrap, but I have spent hours in costume at a convention. You are absolutely correct about footwear. I feared I wouldn't ever walk right again after the first time when I wore borrowed boots. Anyways, I've never seen anything like that "burn" mark before. It's amazing that escaping moisture would do that.

[PerniciousDuke]

You're telling me @spacedog I have 3" heel raises in my Spartan suit and I don't walk well for a week after a day in that costume. But people get so excited when they see me!

 

 

Update:

Starting up another Skyrim building weekend. 

I did some stitch tests... which one do you think I'm going to go with?

 

(Hint: it's the one @YinTx recommended) 

Edited February 9, 2019 by PerniciousDuke