armor-leather-msg - 2/8/08
Making leather armor.
NOTE: See also the files: armor-msg, p-armor-msg, armor-plastic-msg,
shields-msg, Shield-Balanc-art, gambesons-msg, coat-of-plates-msg,
************************************************************************
NOTICE -
This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.
This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org
I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.
The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.
Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s).
Thank you,
Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
************************************************************************
From: ddfr at quads.uchicago.edu (david director friedman)
Date: 15 Dec 91 17:30:06 GMT
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Cost of armor
A number of people have posted, commenting on the low cost of plastic
armor relative to steel or leather. One possibility which I have not
tried but which might be worth exploring is to find a free or nearly
free source for small pieces of leather. My current design for
lamellar leather armor uses pieces 2 inches by 3 3/8 inches, and
smaller pieces could be used. Somewhere there must be leather
workers, perhaps shoe repair places, generating pieces about that
size as scrap and throwing them out. Of course, the leather has to be
reasonably thick--12+ ounce vegetable tanned leather is ideal.
What I have been using is eight ounce leather, which is available in
fairly substantial pieces, apparently as scrap from making something
else. One local source sells it for $3/lb. Using that, plus beeswax
($1.95/lb + postage), lamellar body protection weighs about six
pounds, costs under $20, and takes perhaps nine hours to make. The
result is much prettier than plastic armor, easier to move in (more
flexible because it is lamellar rather than plate), but not,
I suspect, as good protection. I would rate the 8 ounce hardened
lamellar as minimal legal--suitable for covering places where you do
not expect to get hit hard very often.
The next step up, which I am currently experimenting with, is to use
something stronger in the places you are most worried about. I
suspect that 12 ounce lamellae will do it. They weigh half again as
much and cost at least three times as much (at least twice the price
per pound, since I cannot get them as scrap). But I think a klibanion
that is about a quarter 12 ounce (on the sides) and three quarters 8
ounce will do the trick, and that should come to about seven pounds
and $30, which is still pretty light and pretty cheap.
An alternative, which I am also experimenting with, is to make some
steel lamellae, and alternate steel and leather in the important
areas.
Incidentally, for readers not familiar with leather terminology, "8
ounce" leather means 8 ounces per square foot.
Cariadoc
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: ddfr at quads.uchicago.edu (david director friedman)
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Organization: University of Chicago
Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1993 03:59:41 GMT
Patrick Angus Flynn asks about waxed leather, and Magnus Moorley
responds:
"Making it is simple; get a big kettle, melt some parrafin, dip the
leather, and bend your leather to the desired shape immediately."
I would add:
1. Beeswax also works and, unlike paraffin, is period.
2. You can also do it in an oven at about 220 degrees, with the
melted wax in a baking pan or something similar.
3. While you can bend leather as described, it would be very
difficult to get any shape that involves stretching. My usual
technique involves first soaking the leather in water for many hours,
then shaping and stretching it to the desired shape, then letting it
dry out on some convenient form to keep the shape, then waxing it
when it is thoroughly dry. This way all the forming is being done
with cool, water soaked leather, not with hot, wax soaked leather.
4. More more detailed instructions, see my article on the subject in
T.I. a year or so back.
David/Cariadoc
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: pmw2c at csissun10.ee.Virginia.EDU (Paul Michael Wayner)
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Organization: University of Virginia
Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1993 04:13:49 GMT
jeff_witham at mercer.COM writes:
|> Patrick Angus Flynn enquireth:
|>
|> >>What is the opinion of the populace of waxing leather for
|> >>armor? Is it necessary? Is it a good idea? If so, how do I do
|> >>it?
|>
|> Waxed leather or Cuir bouilli <sp?> is a relatively inexpensive
|> (but effective and authentic) type of armor. Not only does this
|> make the leather waterproof (and almost sweatproof), but it makes
|> the leather much more rigid. I'm going to make some this year.
|> I like it better than regular leather since the leather can
|> protect you better. Making it is simple; get a big kettle, melt
|> some parrafin, dip the leather, and bend your leather to the
|> desired shape immediately. I've been told that this can be done
|> in the kitchen. I wouldn't do it in _my_ kitchen, though. I
|> think I'll go camping to do it, and make a party of the occasion.
I have made Coir bouilli in my kitchen (I'm not
real picky :-) and have been very pleased with
the results. Cuir bouilli has the properties of
being light, and fairly rigid but not too rigid.
When armour is too rigid, like steel, you can get
armour bites. Armour bites are much less likely
with Coir bouilli.
There are some things you need to be aware of
though.
#1 if the wax gets warm the leather gets
soft again. This is more of a problem with beeswax
than parafin, which has a higher melting point.
#2 you can use the warming to your advantage. If
your leather gets bent (which it invariably will)
you can heat it and bend it back into shape, no
problem!
Conrad Hebenstorm
From: nusbache at epas.utoronto.ca (Aryk Nusbacher)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Date: 3 Jul 93 11:38:46 GMT
Organization: University of Toronto - Wax on ... wax off
I had heard that a blend of beeswax (for resilience) and carnuba wax
(for hardness) made for the best hardener.
In my experience, the wax always had to go on hot leather, or it would
just sit on the surface. If the leather is hot (only as hot as an
oven or dryer) vegetable tanned stuff, it will drink the wax right in.
Aryk
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: ross at chem.queensu.ca (Ross Dickson)
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Summary: Be sure to let it dry first!
Organization: Dept. of Chemistry, Queen's University
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1993 18:14:49 GMT
David / Cariadoc (ddfr at midway.uchicago.edu) writes:
> ... first soaking the leather in water for many hours,
>then shaping and stretching it to the desired shape, then letting it
>dry out on some convenient form to keep the shape, then waxing it
>when it is thoroughly dry.
I thought I should mention that the bit about waxing it WHEN IT IS
THOROUGHLY DRY is important. Gaerhun made his first set of waxed
leather armour here a couple of years ago, and we discovered that one
of the pieces was a rather brittle in the center, and had the
appearance of a crystalline nature at the broken spot. We deduced that
the center of the piece hadn't completely dried before it was waxed.
Angus / Ross
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: nusbache at epas.utoronto.ca (Aryk Nusbacher)
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Organization: University of Toronto - Wax on, wax off...
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1993 20:34:37 GMT
Another safe way to melt wax: microwave oven.
Aryk
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 93 16:47:00 GMT
Greetings from Balderik:
Here's some info I posted LOOONNNGGG time ago on making
cuirboulli armour:
According to Waterer (Leather Craftmanship, Leather and the
Warrior, etc.), the cuir boulli effect is obtained when
vegetable tanned leather is dried at elevated temperatures.
It is a chemical reaction which converts the leather
into something more closely resembling plastic (I forget the
details). It will only occur with vegetable tanned
leather (the stuff used for tooling leather).
The temperature is critical: too low and no hardening occurs,
too high and the leather becomes brittle.
R. Reid (or was it Reed? in his book Ancient Skins, Parchments,
and Leathers) concurrs, adding that it was also achieved by
briefly (!) dipping the leather in boiling water for between
20 and 120 sec. I have yet to experiment with this technique.
The application of wax is not necessary, although it enhances
the effect by increasing the density of the leather and
limiting the softening that can occur when the leather
is dampened.
The wax also makes the leather tougher. I do not recall either
Waterer or Reed making mention of the use of wax for cuir boulli
armour, but I would have to check.
I made cuir boulli arm harness' as follows:
1) cut out individual lames from leather
2) select forms on which leather will be dried :
-lames were tied onto coffee cans with string
(don't use tape!!!)
-vambraces were tied onto newspapers which were rolled
up into roughly conical shapes
3) in order to determine the optimum temperature, the scrap
bits of leather were used to experiment with different
oven settings (soak piece of leather in water until
saturated, dry in oven, check result)
4) when the correct setting for the oven in question is
determined, the individual armour components (not yet
assembled) are soaked in water until saturated, and
then tied firmly to their respective forms (note that
if you are ambitious you can carve positive and negative
molds in order to impress decorations in relief
on the armour - see Waterer).
5) place forms in oven and prop door open a crack to let
the moisture escape.
6) melt some parafin wax (beeswax can be used but it is
expensive and will smell like honey when your
armour is in the sun for a while) in a double boiler
(a bowl sitting in a pot of boiling water works).
7) when the pieces are dry and hardened, remove them from
the forms (careful of heat) and brush on the molten
wax with a basting brush or some such implement.
Pieces can be returned to the oven (placed on a cookie
sheet or something similar to prevent wax dripping
onto the heating element, etc.) in order to allow the wax
to permiate the leather. The oven should be just hot
enough to melt the wax, but NOT hot enough to burn it!
EXERCISE DUE CAUTION!
WAX IS FLAMMABLE!
8) When the pieces are hardened and waxed, any rivet holes
needed (unless prepunched) can be drilled.
Edges can be filed/sanded.
Hope this helps,
Balderick
From: sherman at trln.lib.unc.edu (dennis r. sherman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Date: 6 Jul 1993 18:02:57 GMT
Organization: Triangle Research Libraries Network
Greetings to the Rialto from Robyyan.
Aryk says (about waxed leather):
>I had heard that a blend of beeswax (for resilience) and carnuba wax
>(for hardness) made for the best hardener.
Depending on the climate you live in and the conditions you normally
fight under, you may not want to use hardeners in your wax. If the
temperature is sufficiently cool, the leather impregnated with
hardened wax will crack.
I use a mix of 50/50 beeswax/paraffin. If I never fought in
temperatures under about 50 (F), I'd increase the proportion of
paraffin so the leather would be harder at higher temperatures.
--
Robyyan Torr d'Elandris Kapellenberg, Windmaster's Hill Atlantia
Dennis R. Sherman Triangle Research Libraries Network
dennis_sherman at unc.edu Univ. of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
From: tracker at wpi.WPI.EDU (The Renegade Ranger)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Date: 7 Jul 1993 12:14:38 GMT
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Cuir Bollei (atrocious spelling of the second word, I know, but hey,
I just woke up..) is the hardening of leather through boiling.
Technically. However, it is generically hardened leather, and
wax-hardening is one of the primary methods.
Whether or not you want to wax-harden your armor (not just wax it,
which would provide a nice smooth surface and some water resistance,
but you shouldn't hold out for the chance that it'll make all blows
glancing due to its low surface friction...) depends on what you plan
to do with the armor. Hardened leather is a) waterproof b) reasonably
light and c) hard as a chunk of light metal. I've run over my
leather bottle with my car. It still works fine. Ok, I have a small
car, but still.. Hardened leather is _not_ flexible. It is also
normally a different color than when you started. Light veg. tanned
skins will turn a ruddy brown to dark brown, depending on how much wax
you imbue them with, and how high a temp you cook them at.
You would probably want hardened leather if you would like a rigid
form of armor that weighs very little, is easily formed, and not too
tough to make. You can make this armor in pieces (lamellar armor
would work very well with leather plates), or in sections (a tonlet
joined to a 1/4 piece of the chest garniture). Youl will be restricted
in size of the pices by the size of your heat source (oven).
To do it, go buy some wax. A lot. Buy some crystals while you're
getting the wax. Crystals, as they're generically called in the candle
shops around here, are small flakes which will make the wax harder.
Melt a bunch of wax over low heat, mixing in crystals as the wax
melts.. but not too many of them. Heat your oven to about 200-250F,
and get out the cut-out piece of leather that you're going to harden.
NOTE: The leather will shrink a little bit. How much depends on the
piece itself, and how much you wax it and such. Put the leather on a
sheet of aluminum foil or a big pan, and pour a good quantity of wax
over the leather, trying to get even coverage. NOTE: Pour the leather
on the 'wrong' side of the leather, _not_ the smooth flesh side. Let
the leather sit in the oven for a few minutes (5-10) so the wax can
soak through. Repeat pouring the wax. Do this until the leather looks
evenly saturated, which will probably take 1-2 times for every sq.ft.
of the piece. Then remove the item and allow to cool, making sure it
cools in whatever shape you want it to remain in. Then, go use it.
I'm sure there are other gentles with other varied and more intruiging
methods, and I'd love to see their methods or thoughts posted as
well..
-Tracker, always curious..
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 93 17:06:22 GMT
Greetings from Balderik,
gleason at scf16.scf.loral.com (Robert Gleason) writes:
|> I've noticed that the comments always say to use vegetable tanned leather.
|> Why not chrome tanned leather? What are the differences between the two
|> processes?
|>
|> Lord Parlan MacGillivray
|> --
|> Robert Gleason
|> >> gleason at scf28.scf.loral.com
The short answer is 'It don't work with Chrome tanned leather'.
I don't know the details of the chemistry off by heart. The best source
I've got, Reid's 'Ancient Skins, Parchments, and Leathers' gets into some
of the details, but it's at home. I'll try to give a 'readers digest' version,
which should be taken with a grain of salt:
Basically, one of the characteristics of Chrome Tanned leather is temperature
stability. Something about the way the chromium sulphate binds to the pelt
fibres stabilizes them. With veg tanned leather
on the other hand, something about the way the various tannins bind to the
pelt fibres allows a peculiar polymerization reaction to take place above
a certain temperature. The cuir bouilli is distinctly different structurally,
and chemically (?) from the leather you began with, apart from any wax/hardener
you may have added in the process. I've hardened vegetable tanned leather
without using wax at all, and only added wax afterwards to enhance the effect
by making the leather denser and more waterproof.
You can bake/wax chrome tanned leather, but it won't undergo any dramatic
increase in rigidity (as far as I know).
Although most people don't care, chrome tanning is not period. Whether or
not modern vegetable tanned leathers resemble their period equivalents is
beyond my knowledge, but I believe there are some distinct differences in the
production methods.
Cheers, Balderik
From: dloyer at zacson4.EBay.Sun.COM (Dennis Loyer)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Date: 8 Jul 1993 21:45:09 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Greetings,
After reading most of the posts on this subject, including the warnings on the flamability of wax, I'm surprised I didn't have an accident this last weekend when I made my leg and arm armor out of waxed leather. For the original poster on this subject, if he's still interested, I used a recipe I found in the new edition of the Fighter's Handbook, unfortunately I do not remember who the original author is and cannot give proper credit where credit is due. If memory serves, since I don't happen to have the Handbook handy, the recipe is as follows:
1 lb parrafin
3/4 lb bee's wax
1/4 cup Neet's Foot Oil
1 teaspoon Alum (check the spice rack at your local grocery store)
(I will check my handbook tonight after work and if the recipe is incorrect, or if there are any other glaringly obvious errors, I will post a follow-up to this, correcting such errors)
This are the basic proportions, I had to increase it by a factor of 4 to do both upper and lowere arms, and both upper and lower legs ( upper legs ar hinged and cover front, back, inside and outside to protect my fair skin from those nasty wraps everyone likes to throw). The procedure I followed was to take one of those cheap roasting pans you find in the grocery store, place the wax in the pan, and put it in the oven at 200 degrees. once the wax has melted competely (about 1/2 and hour) I poured in the oil and the alum, and mixed completely. I then turned the oven up to about 275.
Now comes the fun, and incredibly smelly part. Once the oven has come up to the correct heat, take about 8 - 9 scrap pieces of leather about an inch on a side and place them in the wax, after 5 minutes remove one piece and place on some newspaper to cool (cover the newspaper with brown wrapping paper, or old paper bags to keep the leather from picking up the print of the newspaper). remove another piece every 2 minutes after that. This will tell you how long you need to boil your leather. The Handbook's instructions said that you would probably only need to boil your leather for about 8 to 10 minutes, he must have been using a much lighter piece of leather, My leather was 14 oz. and needed to be kept in the wax for about 25 minutes total.
Another t