Tips on Leather Armor Construction
by Arch Duke Sir Egil "Tree-Speaker" Njalsson of Dragonspine
(March 1999)

One of the things a newbie discovers quickly is that if they go out into the middle of a battle, they may tend to die a lot. This is to be expected, and is nothing to be ashamed of. However, if you want to increase your chances of surviving longer in battle, and if you are playing a class which can use it, you may want to make yourself some armor.

Leather armor is typically more expensive than chain mail, but takes much less work to create a functional finished product, and it will tend to require less upkeep. As the rulebook describes, leather of 1/16" thickness (suede, for instance) will give you one point of protection. Leather thicker than that (carving weight leather) gives two points. These values can be increased by attaching rings, studs, or scales, or by "boiling" it (all of which will be described later).

This article will cover torso armor only; but once you know how to make armor, you can figure out how to cover the rest of your body if you so desire.

MATERIALS

Of course, the main thing you need is the leather. You can get this at any leather shop, but you will find the cheapest rates at bulk leather distributors. They will often have bins of leather at a few dollars per pound, or they may have scrap chunks which are too small for their use, or which are of lower quality than they normally use. These pieces work just fine for armor.

There are two options for attaching pieces of leather to each other. You can use waxed thread (available in leather or craft stores) with a darning needle, or you can rivet the pieces together. Two-piece rivets are available in bags of 100 or 1000, and can be assembled with nothing more than a small hammer and a hard surface.

To cut the leather, you can use anything sharp. I tend to use a multi-purpose craft knife (the kind with a retractable blade), or a sturdy (but cheap) pair of scissors. If you are using rivets, you need a leather hole punch of an appropriate size. If using waxed thread, you will want an awl or small nail to poke holes.

The method I am describing also uses buckles for the straps which hold the front piece to the back piece, so you will need 4-6 small buckles.

If you want to attach rings, studs, or scales, you will obviously need to obtain those items.

If you want to "boil" the armor, you will need wax (candle or paraffin) and some aluminum foil, plus a warm oven and some towels.

CUTTING THE PIECES

This article assumes you want a solid back and front. The first thing you need to do is figure out the size and shape of the pieces. Remember that once you cut the leather, you can't make the pieces bigger, though you can always make them smaller.

What I recommend is that you take an old t-shirt which fits comfortably, cut the sleeves off, increase the neckhole until it doesn't have to stretch to go over your head, then slit it down the sides. Trim the sides under your arms until they just barely meet when laid against your body. If you like, round the bottom of the back to cover your rear end, and taper the front to cover your groin. Now, make two cuts at the shoulders to separate the back from the front.

Using these as patterns, cut a front and back from leather, allowing an extra inch of height at the shoulders for overlapping the pieces. (The reason you don't just cut it as one piece is that you want the slope at the shoulders to match your body. If you cut it as one piece, the shoulders would tend to stick out rather uncomfortably.)

Lay the pieces against your body, folding them to your body at the shoulders. In front and back, mark where the pieces meet, both at your shoulder and at your neck.

Laying the pieces down, trim off any excess at the shoulders, then rivet or sew the pieces along the line where they join. At this point, the armor is usable if you don't want to go any further.

STRAPPING IT DOWN

If you decide to stop now, you will always have to use a belt or some other means to keep the armor from sliding around your body. This can be done, but is very awkward. Alternately, you could poke holes in the sides, and lace them together with suede lace. Under battle conditions, the laces will tend to break and be replaced on a regular basis; but again this is an option.

A much better method is to attach straps on the sides. The wider the straps, the better they will hold. (Note: the strap closest to your sword arm will receive the most stress in battle, and is therefore most likely to break. Be sure to make it is as sturdy as possible.) For each buckle, cut two leather strips 6" long and at least as wide as the buckle. Taper the end of one of the straps so that it will slide through the buckle, and poke a series of holes down the middle (like on a belt).

The other strap takes a little more work: make sure the end fits through the buckle. Thread it through the buckle, with about 1" protruding past the base of the tooth, and determine how wide a slot you will need in order for the buckle's tooth to fit through. Cut the slot, put the strap through, fold the strap back on itself, and rivet or sew it together so that the buckle is secure.

Now put the armor back on. Mark the spots where the buckle straps should be attached, front and back. Still wearing the armor, hold the two strap pieces in place, and see if you need to shorten them before you attach them. (If so, then do it.) Then take the armor off, and sew or rivet the straps in place. Tadah! Leather armor!

If you like, you can dye it, decorate it with leather carving, or increase its protection rating.

INCREASING THE ARMOR VALUE

Attaching metal: Generally, rings, studs, or scales should be no more than 2" from each other in order to count. Exceptions may be made by the champion, if for instance you are trying to avoid marring a nice leather carving; but that's up to the champion.

Rings: Sew them on using waxed thread, giving a good general covering to the piece.

Studs: Typically, these are attached with a hammer, making sure the prongs at the back are spread smoothly.

Scales: You can attach these either with rivets or with waxed thread.

Boiling: Historically, leather armor was sometimes immersed in boiling oil to make it sturdier, but this is beyond what most of us have available. (Using boiling water makes it stiffer, but brittle.) A much easier method is to encase it in wax. Turn your oven on to its lowest setting (just warm enough to melt wax), and I recommend lining it with foil to avoid getting wax spills in the oven and food stains on the armor. Put the armor in the oven a few minutes to get it warm, then lay it on towels on the floor. While it is still warm, rub it all over with a candle or a block of paraffin. (Avoid waxing the straps, since we want them to stay very flexible.) Initially, some of the wax will melt and soak in, then the rest will form a light unmelted covering. Put the armor back into the oven to melt this layer, then take it out and repeat the process. Keep doing this until it looks like the armor isn't absorbing any more wax. Repeat the process on the inside of the armor. When it has absorbed all the wax it can, the armor is effectively "boiled." The leather will be much stiffer, though when you wear it your body heat will soften it enough that it will match the contours of your body.

That's all there is to it! Now bring the armor out on the field and impress us.

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