I am interested in leather armor because it is primitive, and is the easiest to make compared to mail or plate armor. I know that to make leather stronger (thicker but more rigid), it can be boiled in water, or beeswax/parrafin. But I'm getting ahead of myself here... I don't even have some leather yet. I tried cutting up my mom's briefcase (the one she doesn't use anymore), but it was way too thin. Then I saw my a weightlifting belt that was 1/4" thick!! That is what I need! Unfortunately, I have no idea where to get leather that thick in large quanities, and I can't afford to buy a dozen of those belts. Any ideas on where to get the thick leather needed, or just techniques on the making of the armor?

well, leather can get really expensive.  even the scraps are expensive.  you should look for a saddle maker's shop or some other sort of local leather shop.  they often have scraps of varying size and thickness, and i have seen some pretty large scraps.  i don't know exactly how much these would cost, talk to the owner to work out a deal.  if there is no leather worker's place near you, you could look online for leather stores.

do you have a leather awl?  if you don't, you will never be able to sew the leather.  i use an anchient tool for my awl, and it works great.  pics later.

Try M. Steffan leather at www.steffanleather.com
 She handles all leathers, including SCA legal leather for armor. Linda Steffan knows what she's taliking about, and is friendly to those who don't know leather.

 Greetings, Chaotic Rage,                                                                  
        Have you looked into Tandy Leather? Try googling Tandy Leather Factory, P.O. Box 50429, Fort Worth, Texas 76105-0429 or
tandyleatherfactory.com.                              .......Dan

Try going to some powwows. There are usually one or two vendors with leather for sale. What you need is some good bullhide. It is hard enough to use for shields. :o

Leather is not cheap, But when you can find some buy as much as possible. Trust me youll run out halfway through whatever your trying to make.

I have a leather armor vest i made, Looks like crap but ill try to show you the pic. Even two layors of semi thick leather is pretty tough :)

Thanks for the comments everyone. I am still looking through some sites. Also, maybe a big flea market will have the right kind of leather (is this what a powwow is, Bigkahuna?  :))

Powwow:

An Indian cultural gathering and dance celebration

huddle: (informal) a quick private conference

a council of or with Native Americans

hold a powwow, talk, conference or meeting

A pow-wow (sometimes powwow or pow wow) is a gathering of Native Americans. It derives from the Narragansett word powwaw, meaning shaman. It has since come to be used to describe any gathering of Native Americans of any tribe, and as such is occasionally heard in older Western movies. The word has also been used to refer to any meeting, but especially a congress, a friendly gathering, or a meeting of powerful people such as officers in the military.


PowWow was one of the first Internet instant message and chat programs for Windows. It was made by a company called Tribal Voice. This is a quintessential internet startup meltdown story.

Thank you Steven. :D

Try ebay sometimes there is some leather offcuts there ;)

Is there a pattern or design to make leather armor?

I literally just foud leather....

From the recent flooding, I was down in the basement, and when I went to hang up the pump off the floor, there was..... Leather! Black heavy leather, about a  6x5 foot piece was tucked up into the ceiling (floor boards for the next floor)..... Wow, well that's awesome..... :):)

lucky you ;D

I found a place that sells leather pretty cheap, only thing is it was tanned by the hunter who shot it, so it has arrow holes in it :) But i know how to patch those up  :)

DTB

For leather and  black powder make a pilgrimage to “THE LOG CABIN SHOP” in Lodi, Ohio.
http://www.logcabinshop.com/

Their leather is not real cheap, but their place is a must see. Great gun store and used book heaven.

Thomas