Projects You Are Currently Working On

[Harrison]

I thought it was about time for a thread for us to talk about our plans and progress on our projects. I'm working on a pair of Roman-esque sandals. They were inspired by the shoes in this picture...http://gallery.fantasyvault.net/showphoto.php?photo=1156&password=&sort=1&cat=500&page=2...and this one...

[Harrison]

I've changed them to flip flops, I just finished.

[Harrison]

I'm now working on some vambraces. I'm just in the design stage now. They are gonna close up like these ones. www.kropserkel.com/lbracers.jpg

[Christophe of Grey]

Gamigar,
(Seems like we are the only two "talking" on the leatherworking forum.)
There is a swivel knife blade you may want to consider getting for those vambraces you want to make. It has paralell cutting edges. It makes cutting those vines much easier!

As for projects I'm working on, I just finished my personal billboard quiver - picture in gallery - Celtic DogMan quiver with matching arm guard. I've also made up a few sets of quivers and arm guards for a traditional archery merchant, basket weave style - picture in gallery.

Right now I'm chained to the work bench making a belt for a friend, who, unfortunately, has not missed many a meal! He is a very big guy! Here's a picture of the pattern he wants. He also wants matching vambraces on which I took the central pattern - the spider thingie - and spread it out over the entire vambrace. His device has a bear paw in the center which I'm going to stamp in the center oval of the design.

I also just finished two soft pouches - like the pictures in the gallery. One for my wife and one for a friend of ours.

[Harrison]

I'm not actually gonna make those vambraces, I'm just gonna make them close like that. As opposed to buckles or lacing. I'm gonna use elastic string on it.

[Christophe of Grey]

Gamigar,
Here's a tip that will help with them fitting right from the beginning - after you finish them, soak the inside, the untreated side, until very damp. Then wear them dry shaping them around your arm. This will speed up the forming to your arms. That way the elastic wont have to be industrial strength to keep them closed. This is what I recommend to folks who buy my vambraces. If you want to use them as armor, but then they are too pretty for that!, after you have wet and formed them, take them off very carefully maintaining the sahpe while on your arm and put them in an oven that has been preheated to 200 degrees. TURN THE OVEN OFF BEFORE PUTTING THEM IN!!!! Leave them there for about 10 - 15 minutes, check often. They will harden right up. Be careful though. If you leave them in there too long, they will become very brittle and shrink. Plus you will lose all the carving/stamping work you did on them! Of course simply wearing them while you sweat will also do the same thing, it just takes longer! There is another method for hardening leather, which is actually much more period, but it is totally disgusting!! Don't recommend that method.........

[Harrison]

Thanks for the tip, I think I'm gonna make them more functional than pretty looking. I'm writing up a shopping list from Tandly Leather. Should I get laquer based finish or water based?

[Christophe of Grey]

Gamigar,
No contest there, get alcohol based. As a finish coat I've been using lately with great results Atom Wax. It's sort of like neutral shoe polish but soaks into the leather and provides a nice shine. If you don't want to do the Atom Wax route get some Super Sheene from Tandy. It leaves a nice shiney finish. After you put it on, let it set for about 2 - 3 minutes then buff it with sheep's wool or a soft cloth. Let it dry for a day and you get a nice water resistent finish. Be sure the undercoating is thoroughly dry befor you apply it.

The issue with water based dyes is that they come off when you sweat. I saw some black armor made for a lady that was dyed with black water based dye. She stupidly wore the armor over white under garments. When she took off the armor her originally white undergarments were now makred with black dye!

[Harrison]

Will the super sheene work on things that aren't veg tan?

[Christophe of Grey]

Gamigar,
It works on any leather. There is also a Satin Sheen if you prefer a satin finish instead of a shiney finish. Of course, if you like the satin sheen there is also Fiebings Bag Balm. Terribly name, even worse smell, but the finish is nice.

[Harrison]

Alright, I think I'll go with the Super Sheen. I also have everything I need for the quiver and the vambraces I'm making on the list. As well as some beveling tools, a wide one and a thinner one.

[Christophe of Grey]

Gamigar,
As you are beginning to collect leather tools, one thing you might do is keep an eye on garage sales. I had a friend in Florida who happened upon a garage sale where they were selling "Grandpa's" leather tools. I traded him some projects for the chest. However, the chest was FILLED with tools. It had over 75 stamping/carving tools, not counting the 10 swivel knifes and other tools. At an average price of about $3.75 per tool, I came out way ahead. He didn't do any leather work and was happy with the trade. That afforded me the opportunity to now have beveling tools of every size made, plus a great many other tools of every size made. It's extremely handy and time saving, plus added quality of the project, to have the "right" tool. Garage sales are our friend!

[Harrison]

Sounds like you got a good deal.

[Harrison]

Vambrace update: Upon discovering a tool my mom has for scrapbooking can work as an embossing tool for leather I've decided to put this design around the border of my vambraces and maybe my quiver.

[Christophe of Grey]

Gamigar,
That's a cool pattern. You can do some variations with that as well. Something like an over, down, across, up, over, etc. Just rotate the tool. This is what the Greeks called a key pattern. You could also do back to back boxes. If you did boxes or the key pattern you could also stamp something inside the box or keys using a seeder tool.

Gamigar, the way you are going in 10 years you could be one of the premier leather workers around!

[Harrison]

It's not a tool that I can rotate around. It's just like a pencil for leather. I think I'm gonna buy some leather from the Amish again. That was good leather and I think it'd work out better than if I tanned it myself. I also know the way that leather works, like if I press down on it gets darker in a really cool way right where I pressed on it. Thanks for the compliment. Did you find that when you first started you were always at a shortage of leather? I never have enough.

[Christophe of Grey]

Gamigar,
I was thinking if the tool were like this http://tandyleather.com/prodinfo.asp?number=644500&variation=&aitem=22&mitem=33 or this http://tandyleather.com/prodinfo.asp?number=653800&variation=&aitem=4&mitem=13 that there were some different ways to stamp the pattern to create different looks. I have a beleving tool that is basically a triangle shape with the point of the triangle the leading edge. If I were to make a single stamp with it it would look like a triangle with the tip of the triangle the deepest part of the impression. So anyway, with this tool if I stamp one way, then line up the side edges and reverse the stamp for the next stamp the result looks exactly like edge lacing through diagonal holes. Pretty cool.

May I also recommend if you are not currently aware of this magazine, you may find it extremely interesting considering your current interests - The Leather Crafters and Saddlers Journal. I subscribe to it and look foreward to each and every issue. It is jam packed with all types of leather crafting tips, tricks, and ideas. Lately they have been focusing on one item per issue, like eye glass cases, canteens, etc. But it is always filled with great stuff.

When I started I had a Tandy store and a Leather Factory store within easy driving distance. I bought $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ of stuff in the early days. The biggest issue I had was having the right tool. I look back on my early stuff and see the mistakes because I was not using/did not have the right tool for the job. Believe me, the right tool makes a serious difference! The real beauty of leather working tools is that they almost never wear out! I keep my leather in my garage where it's dry. Otherwise I have an issue with mold. Mold on leather can be removed, but it alters the surface such that the leather takes dyes differently. So because my garage is my leather storage and cutting room, my car stays outside! I don't have sides and sides of leather, but I have a fairly nice selection of veg tanned and exotic leathers. Exotic leather is stuff like deer hides, snake, lizzard, sheep's wool, and split grains of various colors. Some of it just left over from other projects, but a lot of it left over from going to the leather store and saying "I'll get it because............".

Last year at Pennsic I wandered into a merchant's tent who sold leather tools. Before I knew it I had over $70 worth of tools in my hands. This year I'm going to make a stamp of every tool I have on a piece of leather so I don't buy more repeats of what I have. I did that last year. Fortunately it was on stamps/tools that I use a great deal.

[Harrison]

I have plenty of leather scraps but if I want to make something bigger than my fist I have to order some more leather. Like I said, it's not a stamp at all, it's like a wooden handle with small metal things that look like thick needles with little balls on the ends. I just simply draw it in freehand. I was thinking of making a wooden stamp of that border so I can speed things up and make things more uniform. My dad just told me that when we move if we have a three car garage we can set up a little place in the garage for all my leather stuff. What's Pennsic, by the way?

[Christophe of Grey]

Gamigar,
That's cool that your dad is willing to give up part of the garage for your leather shop.

Pennsic is the world's largest gathering of Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) folks. There are typically upwards of 15,000 folks who attend this event. It's held for 2 weeks in Pensylvania. Here's the web site http://www.pennsicwar.org/penn33/index.html and one for photos http://www.pennsic.net/photolog.html.

Think of a two week Ren Faire with 15,000 people attending, all in costume!

[Harrison]

I got a catalog from Tandy today. They're having a sale on Veg Tan bellies. $10 per bellie!!!

[Christophe of Grey]

Gamigar,
No. I did a quick scan through most of them, but alas I am absent. Or maybe that's a blessing!

[Harrison]

Is 5oz. a good thickness for a quiver and vambraces?

[Christophe of Grey]

Gamigar,
5 oz should be OK for the quiver. If by vambrace you mean archer arm guard, OK again. Now for vambrace it depends. If the vambraces are for costume accessory, then 5 oz is good. If, however, you plan to use the vambraces in combat then 5 oz is way too light. You need at least 8 oz, and heavier is better. In this case the vambrace becomes armor and needs to be thick to asborb the blow and dissipate the energy from it.

Now if you are making an archer vambrace, arm guard, from the 5 oz it will be a very comfortable arm guard. You may consider backing it with synthetic sheep's wool which you can get at fabric stores, i.e. JoAnn's. It's not animal origin at all but rather cotton which is good. I find I sweat in mine a bit but with the cotton liner I could sponge it out if it got really nasty. The backing simply affords a bit more padding in case you really smack your arm big time. I personally just like the fit better.

[Harrison]

Okay, I've found a really big piece of leather for a really good price but it's 2-4oz. Will that be thick enough?

[Gregorius0202]

Ah, glad I stumbled in here:D Currently I'm workin' on... Wow, I've gotten the project list somewhat slimmer, lately! I've been doin' a lot!

I've got a Syrian/Mycenaean style 12th century BC leather helmet in the works. The entire outside is completed, and I need to fit a felt lining to the inside, and I've decided for the rim and to cover the cheek pieces I'm going to use some of my hair-on cowhide, which still have about 30 square feet to work with... After that I'm gong to make a THIN brass rim to go around and secure the top and bottom of that.

Then that baby will be done..!

Christophe, I was also able to put another layer of linseed oil on the Philistinian feather helmet, and it's dark enough for me. Not too dark... But dark enough!

I've recently finished a blow-horn (now I just need to learn how to blow in it!) and have dried wet leather to the front and backsides of it, and it's quite tight. It also has a leather carrying strap to supplement it.

Also completed as of late was a tooled belt (I think I use the same type of little tool Bojangles was describing, it's called an "adjustable groover") as well as a tooled pouch. Nothing historically accurate, really, but I plan on doin' some other stuff soon.

So the next time I go to The Leather factory, I'm getting leather to make my Saxon Huscarle belt, balric, shield guige strap, shield arm straps, as well as a large piece for an egyptian cap, which will be stretched into shape, and hopefully turn out quite nice, and... Oh yeah, a lot of leather to make a Lamellar shirt:D I'm going to cut all of the individual plates, darken and harden them, drill the holes in them, and stitch them to a tough fabric base. It should be the greatest project I've done yet!

Oh, also, I'm going to make a Bronze Age Egyptian quiver using an 8oz base, and then cover it with the cowhide, as well. I'm planning on selling this one, in order to pay for a calf's hair on hide, so I can get a black and white, as the hide I have is dark brown with some grey through it. This is merely to add some flavor to my collection, as I like having things different! I don't want the same hide on everything...

I recently put a cowhide cover of this sort on one of my shields, and it looks awesome. It is unrimmed, and has no guige strap, in accordance with the Medinet Habu, which is an Egyptian scene of battle between the Philistine/Sherdan warrriors and the Egyptians under Rameses the II.

Well, that's about it, for now!

-Gregory-