Real Deal Spolas

[Dan Howard]

Do you need flexibility? Most leather armour is multi-layered - there is very little flexibility in the final construction.

[Feinman]

Do you need flexibility? Most leather armour is multi-layered - there is very little flexibility in the final construction.

Hi Dan, I only mean flexibility in the pigment layer, so it won't crack if severely bent, and this technique creates a very flexible layer. The leather strength or stiffness isn't affected.

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Do you need flexibility? Most leather armour is multi-layered - there is very little flexibility in the final construction.

Hi Dan, I only mean flexibility in the pigment layer, so it won't crack if severely bent, and this technique creates a very flexible layer.  The leather strength or stiffness isn't affected.

Also, titanium dioxide is used in place of lead white.  The 12 gauge is quite thick --looking at depictions the leather is probably thick, but flexible.  In some cases there seems to be a second layer on the upper part of of the yoke flaps, but that is all. And sometimes a reinforcing band as my armour is shown to have.

[Feinman]

I'd been considering two layers on front (and yoke) and one on back, as it is covered by a lot of the yoke. That will be some tough armour.

[Dan Howard]

Two layers on the chest and right side. One layer on the back and left side. Not sure about the shoulders.

[Feinman]

Two layers on the chest and right side. One layer on the back and left side. Not sure about the shoulders.

That's what I'll do! I just painted the breastplate portion last night and it looks really good. Tonight I will polish off the excess pigment, and seal it with the oil and beeswax and titanium dioxide and then I'll post pics. The casein and hide glue size and other ingredients really toughened up the leather too! And made it denser and a bit thinner. I am loving this project!!

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Two layers on the chest and right side. One layer on the back and left side. Not sure about the shoulders.

That's what I'll do! I just painted the breastplate portion last night and it looks really good. Tonight I will polish off the excess pigment, and seal it with the oil and beeswax and titanium dioxide and then I'll post pics. The casein and hide glue size and other ingredients really toughened up the leather too! And made it denser and a bit thinner. I am loving this project!!

Although the armour I am making has scales on the sides --it will still provide two layers at sides by that means.

[Feinman]

           

Feinman pid='349321' dateline='1565795625']

Two layers on the chest and right side. One layer on the back and left side. Not sure about the shoulders.

That's what I'll do!  I just painted the breastplate portion last night and it looks really good.  Tonight I will polish off the excess pigment, and seal it with the oil and beeswax and titanium dioxide and then I'll post pics.  The casein and hide glue size and other ingredients really toughened up the leather too!  And made it denser and a bit thinner.  I am loving this project!!

---

Two layers on the chest and right side. One layer on the back and left side. Not sure about the shoulders.

That's what I'll do!  I just painted the breastplate portion last night and it looks really good.  Tonight I will polish off the excess pigment, and seal it with the oil and beeswax and titanium dioxide and then I'll post pics.  The casein and hide glue size and other ingredients really toughened up the leather too!  And made it denser and a bit thinner.  I am loving this project!!

Although the armour I am making has scales on the sides --it will still provide two layers at sides by that means.

Okay breastplate outer layer done!  There was a natural wrinkle in that thickest dorsal section of leather; but when the piece is bent as worn, that area goes flat.  The finish is incredibly tough and close to waterproof, as I just applied the oil and wax sealing mixture.

[Crispianus]

Good Result 

[Feinman]

Good Result 

Thanks, Ivor! I keep pinching myself because I can't believe how well it actually worked... Now the oil and wax are rubbed in and the surface looks like a piece of drawing paper! I need to go about finishing the "backplate" and the yoke with the whitening and then I'll need to get some slightly thinner leather for the ptyreges, and some goat leather for the scale backing at the sides, and the edging, which I will dye red with madder and cochineal. Also need to do some paint tests for the decoration; should be a joy compared to doing parfleche on that rawhide.. The second inner layers of the back and breastplates i will make from water-hardened leather with a small amount of casein added.

[Feinman]

Haven't had a chance to do much more than work on the cartoons for the strips of egg and dart decoration and I am going to re-work the cartoon for the gorgon strip as I have found more depictions of them. Should get to whitening the rest of the leather tomorrow or day after!

[Feinman]

Had time to cut out yoke and backplate finished reworked gorgon strip. Ordered thinner leather for same. Will whiten rest of pieces Saturday night or Sunday morning!

[Feinman]

Had time to cut out yoke and backplate finished reworked gorgon strip.  Ordered thinner leather for same.  Will whiten rest of pieces Saturday night or Sunday morning!
Some pics.


   

   

This is the new chest decoration; it seems not to be possible to remove old attachments once they are posted..
   

[Feinman]

Had time to cut out yoke and backplate finished reworked gorgon strip.  Ordered thinner leather for same.  Will whiten rest of pieces Saturday night or Sunday morning!
Some pics.

transferred the design for the gorgon decoration to the leather.  Ready for painting.  Need to do a few paint tests, first.

   




This is the new chest decoration; it seems not to be possible to remove old attachments once they are posted..

[Crispianus]

This is the new chest decoration; it seems not to be possible to remove old attachments once they are posted..

Looks like all is going well.

Attachments can be edited in your account CP, in the left hand column scroll down and you'll find it there, you can also edit attachments in full edit mode for the relevant post.

[Feinman]

Thanks Ivor!
I've decided to add the decoration directly to the outer layer of the breastplate instead, and will just paint white around decoration; I can always use the other breastplate for a different armour.  Anyway that went well!  Here is a blurry pic.  have to zoom in:

   

[Feinman]

Here is a clearer detail of transferred gorgon decoration:

   

And the decoration I will in a few minutes transfer to the bottom of the thorax portion:

   

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Hey Creon, buddy! Do you have pics ofT & Y with plaques -square plaques, etc. and other weird ones you posted on FAR before? I have the extra thorax now..