Middle Earth Ranger Forum

I've received my first leatherwork commission and I have a question on vambraces. More to the point how thick of leather to use? His renfest garb is more lord than ranger would a sturdy but more flexible leather work good or a more stiff leather? Any help would be nice. Thank you

On my old vambraces seen here, the two layers add up to a hair under 15 oz. Since these are based on the Boromir bracers and meant for combat/protection, the heavier weight makes sense.
On the other hand, my archer's bracer seen here is much more flexible, at about 8.25 oz. But then again, it's only meant to protect the wearer from string-slap.

It's been awhile since I've posted this, so consider this a friendly refresh. Approximate leather weights in terms of US coinage:
Dime = 3 oz
Penny = 3.5 oz
Quarter = 4 oz
Nickel = 4.25 oz

What is he looking for in these vambraces? Purely costume, forearm protection for archery, functional armor?

I've made costume bracers from leather as light as 3-4 oz; they offer no functional protection, but they hold your sleeves out of the way and they look neat. Lightweight veg-tan like that will hold it's shape, so they won't slide down the forearms and wrinkle up at the wrist, while being very comfortable and easy to wear. Like I said, though, they're strictly for costuming purposes (so I find them unsuitable for ranger-ing).

For bracers that double as archery arm guards, I like to use (at least) 6-8 oz veg tan. For heavy duty armor-grade pieces, I think 14 oz veg-tan is recommended (but the SCA folks on the forum would probably know better).

Udwin wrote:Dime = 3 oz
Penny = 3.5 oz
Quarter = 4 oz
Nickel = 4.25 oz

This has always been a very helpful way for me to get an idea of leather weights and thicknesses!