Mace In The Mail: 7 months later

A few days ago, I got some new photo’s. The Mace In The Mail project started on July 1st, 2010. I’d mostly given up on it since the updates had stopped flowing in. Out of the blue, the original cucumber mace recipient sent me a few pictures about the same time the host situation hit the fan. As Kevin can attest, our collective luck with timing, and many other things, tends to run closer to getting keel hauled than enjoying a nice sailing trip.

The mace made the cross country trip from New England to the west coast of the U.S.

I suspect the picture below came from the original recipient but am not entirely sure. Updates are sporadic and slower than I envisioned. No shock on that front.

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Inspiration Realized

When you are inspired by odd things, I find it is best to strike rather than delay. My original intent was to just utilize the pizza pan as a shield as identified by Kevin and Randall. I didn’t really have the materials on hand to just convert the pan into a shield with a bit of paint and design work. I did have a bunch of leather laying around from prior projects. I’m also a bit fixated on leather for some reason. Maybe its because I finally understand, albeit marginally, how to make it transform into the products I’m interested in.

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Sir Dylan’s Leather Helm

Sir Dylan's Helmet

The helm above is what I concocted for my nephew, Dylan, to add to his Halloween Costume. I barely managed to get it complete in time for his school party. Not quite what I was looking to do. Between the short time frame and my sinus infection, I didn’t take any detailed pictures. The design is based on the Leather Helm by Baron Sir Gerhard Kendal presented by the The Armour Archive.

Happy Halloween, all.

Armor for Kids: Sir Dylan’s Base Suit

Sir Dylan’s basic cuirass is complete. I have pictures coming from his Mom but failed to take my camera along for the final fitting. Considering it was a balmy 98° Fahrenheit, Dylan wasn’t very interested in donning hot leather. He was focused on getting back outside to the sprinkler.

Sir Dylan's Set

The fit is okay. To wide on his frame but it will fit over a winter coat when he ventures out on Halloween to do battle with the local ghosts and goblins. I was overzealous when it came to room for growth. I should have stuck closer to the pattern and done a few more test fits before finishing.

Sir Dylan the Skinny

I’m pleased with the setup. It came out pretty well given I hadn’t touched leather in 10 plus years. Some of my techniques are still raw and need practice.

Leather Kids Cuirass Nearing Completion

Another progress update. The front and the back of the 2-part cuirass are now complete. The one remaining task is adding straps for the shoulders and sides.

Front and Back Completed

The straps will utilize modern buckles to allow easy adjustment to Sir Dylan. He stopped by on Sunday to get a test fit. Both sections line up well on his frame. The neck opening could have been slightly larger but will fit nicely. The length looks nice on him. I’m glad. When looking at it on the table, the halves appeared overly long but my measurements were true.

Dylan liked the look. If he’s happy, so am I. I’ll post final build photos when I do the final test fit.

Yet Another Update on Armor for Kids

Finally got the front stitched together today. Ran into issues with that including broken thread. I’m learning as I go. Sort of on-the-job-training. It’s been fun and my fingers are not nearly as sore as they were after the back half stitching.

I believe I’ve convinced my over zealous evil half to keep the project simple. The end product is for a costume not for all out neighbourhood warfare. So instead of going nuts, I’m just going to add a small decorative feature to the front on the basic cuirass. I settled on a cross pattee.

While waiting on the dye to dry on the front, I cut out the cross. I could have stayed simpler and tooled it into the leather directly. Given I made the decision after the initial round of dye was on, that was not an option.

Sketching the Cross

Once sketched, I transferred the pattern to the leather and used a hobby knife to cut it out. Not perfect but close enough for Sir Dylan the Skinny. He won’t notice the imperfections.

Adornment Atop the Top

Once the dye has dried fully on the front, I’ll finish it off with a second coat to get a uniform color. The cross will need burnishing, dying and can then be stitched onto the base. I haven’t settled on a color for the cross yet.

I should also get a second test fitting in this weekend so I can position shoulder and side straps. Then I’ll have to cut those, burnish, dye and attach. Once I have all those techniques tested, I can try out something fancier.

I like the look thus far. Different than my original vision but still pretty cool. Unsurprisingly, I have at least two additional variants I want to try out. And now I’m a wholesale member at the leather store.

Rear Half of a Kid’s Cuirass

Rear Half of the Cuirass

Just a minor update on the Armor for Kids project. The photo depicts the rear half of the cuirass after dying and stitching of the basted edges. The completely untouched front half is underneath the rear just waiting for me to get busy. Even without the add-ons or a final finish, I like the look.

The project has taught me a number of lessons. My novice skills are getting tested. I’ll detail the struggles when I have more time.

Update:

This just in, the marketing department of the office supply houses never considered this as a target market. It looks pretty funny.

Front Seam Basting