hardening/shaping leather

[Moginheden]

I finally tracked down the recommended method of hardening and shaping leather.

SCA armor seems to require hardening, Belegarth doesn't but it does make the armor seem more authentic, and the shaping part can be quite useful.

This tutorial is for shovel greaves but the same system can be used for any piece: web.archive.org/web/20050214073301/www.houseofthewolf.com/shovelgreavetutorial.html

The other method that seems to be shunned due to inconsistent results, (but also looks much faster to do) is here: www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Articles/Perfect_Armor_Improved.htm

[David of Doell]

I have been working with leather for three months. I have not read about the pounding method somehow. I have read a ton about leather working though. I successfully made a leather chest piece. It is under renovations now though. For shaping I just soak the piece in water and hold it to the body part. Just soaking it and letting it dry is supposed to harden it a little bit. www.personal.utulsa.edu/~Marc-Carlson/leather/hl.html#cb2 This site covers a lot. Check out simple soaking and hot water soaking.

A great forum I found with tons of great info for anything leather is: leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s=2121d55d7c83d9d6523dc64759dc5b78&

How long have you been into leather?

[Moginheden]

cool thanks for the link.

I'm not really "into leather" so much as trying to get some and finding no one around here seems to make it so I might have to make it myself.

I tried to get Definitely Different Leatherworks to make me some gauntlets and they look cool, but they aren't hardened and really can't be hardened.

I've been wondering about making myself a lamelar chestpeice for a few months but I think I'll be buying it from the states instead. I do have the pattern and the tools to make my own now, but I bought the wrong type of leather, (chromium not vegetable tanned so it can't be hardened.) Should still work for Belegarth I think.

[Darr]

I have a cousin in Calgary that has done leather working already. I could arrange for him to make you some armor if you want?

As for hardening armor, that is not required. All that is required for leather armor is that it must be at least 3/16 of an inch thick. Just look it up in the book of war yourself: airdriebelegarth.googlepages.com/resourses.html

[Darr]

Please forgive me, the link does not seem to be coming in I will try it again.

[Darr]

Okay, here we go: airdriebelegarth.googlepages.com/resources.html

This on seems to be working when I preview it so I think its good now.

[Cib]

Weird... It is like it wants you to link through the site first... I wonder why it is doing that.

Book of war online: www.geddon.org/index.php/Book_of_war
Book or war can be downloaded here also: albertabelegarth.googlepages.com/realm

[Darr]

Oh. . . uh. . . that is because I didn't know were to link the book of war so I just put a link to the site were you can download it.