Leather Armor - Bracers

The first part of my leather armor is complete! Finally, something was ACTUALLY accomplished!

Now, I give you - Leather Bracers!

I took measurements of my forearms, and then made a cardstock template which was the size I wanted. Once the template was ready, I drew the shape on some 10oz leather and cut it out. I then soaked it in hot water and shaped it to my forearm.

Here, you can see the shaped, undyed bracers next to their cardstock template.

Once the bracers were shaped, I dyed them with simple leather dye. These ones are plain brown with no symbols on them. Once I complete my full armor, I'll start making different colors, symbols, etc.

Here, you can see a dyed bracer next to the undyed.

And here you can see them both dyed

The next step (which turned out to be the longest) was to cut out the buckles. The bracers use six in total, three on each bracer. I used some 6oz buffalo leather I got in Pakistan, which is just as hard as my regular 10oz. Once they were cut out, I soaked them in hot water, allowed them to air dry (which leads to some interesting effects with dying), and then dyed and assembled them.

Here, you can see the cut-out buckles, undyed and unassembled.

Here, you can see them after having been soaked

Here are the final buckles, dyed and assembled.

Then, I attached the buckles to the bracers, and voila! Here they are, complete!

 

Plague Doctor Mask

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you... My Plague Doctor Mask!

This is by far the most complex mask I have ever made. It involves two main leather pieces, lensed eyes, breathing holes, and three buckles. The design was originally inspired by the plague doctor masks of Tom Banwell, but I prefered this design. To me, it looked more like the plague doctor masks found in old paintings. I am the model in this one.

Don't let the term "doctor" fool you. Plague doctors were around from the 1300s, when the bubonic plague struck Europe. They wore these creepy masks with long, waxed coats and gloves. They prodded their victims with sticks to make sure they didn't have to touch them. In the end, they probably did more to spread the plague than to help it. The masks were stuffed with spices, to ward off the "bad odors" that spread the plague. After all, everyone knows that's how the plague spreads: through bad smells! They DID manage to stay uninfected, but that was because their coats prevented fleas from biting them.

Leather Armor - Sketchbook Planning

Here's my next big leather project, and this time I figured I'd give you all a look into it. I'm starting work on a full set of leather armor. Right now, I've planned out the designs, and made some measurements. I'll be adding more measurements, cutting the patterns out of cardboard, and then finally starting to work with leather.

Here are the images of my sketchbook that I've been planning it in. You can also get a peek into how I work on new designs that require more planning.

 Above, you can see me jotting down some notes on what parts it'll have, how many buckles, o-rings, etc I'll need, as well as the first part of it that I designed.

Above are the parts that are similar to each other (I.E. the bracers, greaves, things like that).

This was the most complicated part: the pauldrons. I was planning on having them strap into the cuirass (see below), so I had to make a complicated thing in order for them to be worn separately. Then, I decided against having them strap onto that, so a lot of the planning was wasted. That happens often.

And finally, the cuirass. The last part of the armor.

I took a lot of inspiration from a website called www.darkknightarmory.com. It's an awesome place. I'm going to try to make it SCA/LARP legal, and I got some good buffalo leather for the thin parts while I was in Pakistan. I'll keep posting as I keep working on it!

Mask Display Area

On Saturday, my uncle and I decided that it would be cool to put a place to display my masks in the basement, where I make them. 4 days later, we had completely emptied the workshop, put in a new worktable, redid the lighting, added a place to display my masks, and then put everything back into the workshop in a more organized fasion.

Voilà!

And finally here, we have all my masks!

The Man in the Trees

May I present to you The Man in the Trees, my first (and hopefully not last!) mask based on The Green Man. It has three buckles, two on the side and one over the top, and has some cool sewing stuff.

The model is my brother, Brian Barker. A better picture will hopefully be coming (don't hold your breath).

The Entertainer

A new mask of mine, the Entertainer mask. I named it that because it is kind of based on the Commedia Dell'Arte mask, and I also wore it around town the first time I went busking.

(That handsome model is my brother Humza Chaudhry, wearing a steampunk tophat and some spiral contacts.)

The picture is the mask in blue, although it can also be made in white, red, black, green, or brown.

Clawed Glove

Clawed Glove

This crazy thing was made out of an old driving glove I found laying around the house, and I added the claws that I made myself. I bought some thin metal sheet from Michael's Arts and Crafts, and hammered it into the shape of claws. I drilled some holes in them and sewed them on.

Steampunk Bowler Hat

My next project:






A Steampunk Bowler Hat!








A request from Aubrey Jewel, I decided to make this in the same style as Tom Banwell's Top Hat (http://tombanwell.blogspot.com/2009/07/top-hat-prototype.html). I have high hopes for it!