Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Cimrandir wrote: ↑Tue Mar 22, 2022 9:51 pm It’s never foolish if it’s for science!

very true, and good news, today I am not a fool, it seems to work





the detail would probably be better if both the top layer and cord were thinner

note: I dipped the thin piece in quite hot water and got it in the mold quickly, so it would wet form and partly harden, allowing me to separate the two pieces without loosing it's shape:





and add water based pva glue:





then I re-stacked the layers, and clamped it back in the kydex mold for a little while to make sure the two sides were firmly pressed together, but because the foam isn't porous it wont dry, so I took it out again and left it in the boiler cupboard, with any luck it will stay flat and keep it's shape but I'll let you know tomorrow

Cimrandir wrote: ↑Tue Mar 22, 2022 9:30 pm I tested mine with some scraps (skipping the sewing steps) and it seemed to work all right.

I'd be interested to see how your test worked out

Iodo,
The water you soak your top layer of leather in doesn't need to be hot. I used to use cold/room temp for sword grips and it's fine. That kydex press is excellent. Makes total sense. You should be able to go back after you pressed it, while it's semi-set and still a little damp, and burnish the details you want with a bone or wood tool. Like a blunt needle.

A thin kidskin or pigskin would give you those needle-sharp lines on the red pouch.... I think that uses sheepskin going by the pore pattern

Really thin wood (like a shingle for example) is easier to cut then really thick leather.

I'd like to try something like rawhide for edging, it stands up to Viking re-enactors hitting shields so its pretty tough

Iodo: I've got a few spare random sized bits of antler if you're interested for tools or WHY? Some are probably Reds or Fallow and some Reindeer.... PM me

ForgeCorvus wrote: ↑Wed Mar 23, 2022 8:01 pm Iodo: I've got a few spare random sized bits of antler if you're interested for tools or WHY? Some are probably Reds or Fallow and some Reindeer.... PM me

thx for the offer, it's appreciated, but no worries, I haven't got the space for a whole lot of stuff but if I do ever really need something I do have the funds to buy it, quite honestly I just make do with what I have out of laziness (and lack of storage space) a lot of the time, there are probably others on this forum who would benefit from your offer more than I

Experiment update: it's dry, For a tiny piece of scrap leather and half an hours work it looks really nice, and I'm very tempted to cut it out neatly, get some dye on it and stitch the edges, maybe use it as some kind of token or something? possibly a key fob





However,

Yavion wrote: ↑Wed Mar 23, 2022 2:26 pm The water you soak your top layer of leather in doesn't need to be hot

you are quite right about that, it's a naughty trick I use if I need something to form to shape quickly and hold the shape reliably whilst it's still soaking wet, the water I used was probably ~35 - 40C, hot enough to make it stiffen fast in the wet-form shape but not hot enough to fully harden it. I was worried that because I needed to peel it apart straight away to get the glue in I might damage the shape, and although it worked, it wasn't necessary and now I have payed the price, it's not flat, it's bowl shaped:





that's because the heated, partly hardened leather will shrink when it drys, the silly thing is I know this, I just didn't think of it until afterward, and because the thicker piece of leather didn't shrink it forms the bend, so if you want to make a leather bowl you now know how

but joking aside, if I were to do this again (so it ends up flat) this is what I would do:

- glue the cord to the thick leather with waterproof solvent based glue (wait for it to cure)
- make both pieces of leather wet with room temp water (so if any shrinkage happens they both shrink at the same rate)
- dry off excess water with a tissue
- apply water-based adhesive to the thick piece of leather (because you apply the glue to wet leather anyway there is no point in risking damaging the wet-forming by separating the pieces after they have been pressed)
- assemble the layers and clamp in the foam (I had the thick flat side of the stack directly on the wood, then the thinner piece, then both pieces of kydex press foam, because the leather is cool you can use any high-ish density EVA foam, the stuff that cheap hardware store anti-fatigue mats are made from (example: https://softfloor.co.uk/product/classic ... DUQAvD_BwE) are made from would be fine)
- wait about 10 minutes
- remove it from the foam mold
- make any further tooling adjustments
- leave it to dry somewhere warm

and with any luck it should end up flat, no promises tho

You're a treasure Iodo, you're always willing to roll your sleeves up and have a go!

You want to try wetting the leather more and really tooling into the cordwork to make it pop out. As long as it's glued well and let dry you shouldn't have any problems with shifting. You can see on this freshly done example how proud the cord stands up.



And a before and after shot of another work in progress

Eofor, that is incredibly beautiful! I don't know what it is but I find that style of decoration so pretty.

I might sacrifice a larger piece of leather this weekend and try to go full scale on my plan to try it out. Will let folks know how it goes.

that is beautiful work, nice

Cimrandir wrote: ↑Fri Mar 25, 2022 1:05 am I don't know what it is but I find that style of decoration so pretty.

You've just found your style. I'm the same, everyone assumes with the depth of my love of Early Anglo Saxon history that there must be some sort of family link or the like.

No, I just love the style of art, the jewellery, the metalwork and even the poetry.
Every part of it.