Title: armor-leather-msg
Subject: Making armor out of leather.
Author: Edited by Mark S. Harris
Last saved by: Mark S. Harris
Keywords: medieval, armor, leather, hardening

armor-leather-msg - 2/8/08

Making leather armor.

NOTE: See also the files: armor-msg, p-armor-msg, armor-plastic-msg, shields-msg, Shield-Balanc-art, gambesons-msg, coat-of-plates-msg, armor-chklst-msg.

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    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: ddfr at quads.uchicago.edu (david director friedman)
Date: 15 Dec 91 17:30:06 GMT
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations

          Cost of armor

A number of people have posted, commenting on the low cost of plastic
armor relative to steel or leather. One possibility which I have not
tried but which might be worth exploring is to find a free or nearly
free source for small pieces of leather. My current design for
lamellar leather armor uses pieces  2 inches by 3 3/8 inches, and
smaller pieces could be used. Somewhere there must be leather
workers, perhaps shoe repair places, generating pieces about that
size as scrap and throwing them out. Of course, the leather has to be
reasonably thick--12+ ounce vegetable tanned leather is ideal.

What I have been using is eight ounce leather, which is available in
fairly substantial pieces, apparently as scrap from making something
else. One local source sells it for $3/lb. Using that, plus beeswax
($1.95/lb + postage), lamellar body protection weighs about six
pounds, costs under $20, and takes perhaps nine hours to make. The
result is much prettier than plastic armor, easier to move in (more
flexible because it is lamellar rather than plate), but not, 
I suspect, as good protection. I would rate the 8 ounce hardened
lamellar as minimal legal--suitable for covering places where you do
not expect to get hit hard very often.

The next step up, which I am currently experimenting with, is to use
something stronger in the places you are most worried about. I
suspect that 12 ounce lamellae will do it. They weigh half again as
much and cost at least three times as much (at least twice the price
per pound, since I cannot get them as scrap). But I think a klibanion
that is about a quarter 12 ounce (on the sides) and three quarters 8
ounce will do the trick, and that should come to about seven pounds
and $30, which is still pretty light and pretty cheap.

An alternative, which I am also experimenting with, is to make some
steel lamellae, and alternate steel and leather in the important
areas.

Incidentally, for readers not familiar with leather terminology, "8
ounce" leather means 8 ounces per square foot. 

Cariadoc

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: ddfr at quads.uchicago.edu (david director friedman)
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Organization: University of Chicago
Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1993 03:59:41 GMT

Patrick Angus Flynn asks about waxed leather, and Magnus Moorley
responds:

"Making it is simple; get a big kettle, melt  some parrafin, dip the
leather, and bend your leather to the  desired shape immediately."

I would add:

1. Beeswax also works and, unlike paraffin, is period.

2. You can also do it in an oven at about 220 degrees, with the
melted wax in a baking pan or something similar.

3. While you can bend leather as described, it would be very
difficult to get any shape that involves stretching. My usual
technique involves first soaking the leather in water for many hours,
then shaping and stretching it to the desired shape, then letting it
dry out on some convenient form to keep the shape, then waxing it
when it is thoroughly dry. This way all the forming is being done
with cool, water soaked leather, not with hot, wax soaked leather.

4. More more detailed instructions, see my article on the subject in
T.I. a year or so back.

David/Cariadoc

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: pmw2c at csissun10.ee.Virginia.EDU (Paul Michael Wayner)
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Organization: University of Virginia
Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1993 04:13:49 GMT

jeff_witham at mercer.COM writes:
|> Patrick Angus Flynn enquireth:
|> 
|> >>What is the opinion of the populace of waxing leather for 
|> >>armor? Is it necessary? Is it a good idea? If so, how do I do 
|> >>it?
|>     
|> Waxed leather or Cuir bouilli <sp?> is a relatively inexpensive 
|> (but effective and authentic) type of armor.  Not only does this 
|> make the leather waterproof (and almost sweatproof), but it makes 
|> the leather much more rigid.  I'm going to make some this year.  
|> I like it better than regular leather since the leather can 
|> protect you better.  Making it is simple; get a big kettle, melt 
|> some parrafin, dip the leather, and bend your leather to the 
|> desired shape immediately.  I've been told that this can be done 
|> in the kitchen.  I wouldn't do it in _my_ kitchen, though. I 
|> think I'll go camping to do it, and make a party of the occasion. 

I have made Coir bouilli in my kitchen (I'm not
real picky :-) and have been very pleased with 
the results. Cuir bouilli has the properties of 
being light, and fairly rigid but not too rigid.
When armour is too rigid, like steel, you can get
armour bites. Armour bites are much less likely
with Coir bouilli. 

There are some things you need to be aware of 
though. 

#1 if the wax gets warm the leather gets
soft again. This is more of a problem with beeswax
than parafin, which has a higher melting point.

#2 you can use the warming to your advantage. If
your leather gets bent (which it invariably will)
you can heat it and bend it back into shape, no
problem!

				Conrad Hebenstorm

From: nusbache at epas.utoronto.ca (Aryk Nusbacher)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Date: 3 Jul 93 11:38:46 GMT
Organization: University of Toronto - Wax on ... wax off

I had heard that a blend of beeswax (for resilience) and carnuba wax
(for hardness) made for the best hardener.

In my experience, the wax always had to go on hot leather, or it would
just sit on the surface.  If the leather is hot (only as hot as an
oven or dryer) vegetable tanned stuff, it will drink the wax right in.

Aryk

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: ross at chem.queensu.ca (Ross Dickson)
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Summary: Be sure to let it dry first!
Organization: Dept. of Chemistry, Queen's University
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1993 18:14:49 GMT

David / Cariadoc (ddfr at midway.uchicago.edu) writes:
>               ... first soaking the leather in water for many hours,
>then shaping and stretching it to the desired shape, then letting it
>dry out on some convenient form to keep the shape, then waxing it
>when it is thoroughly dry. 

I thought I should mention that the bit about waxing it WHEN IT IS
THOROUGHLY DRY is important.  Gaerhun made his first set of waxed
leather armour here a couple of years ago, and we discovered that one
of the pieces was a rather brittle in the center, and had the
appearance of a crystalline nature at the broken spot.  We deduced that
the center of the piece hadn't completely dried before it was waxed.

Angus / Ross

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: nusbache at epas.utoronto.ca (Aryk Nusbacher)
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Organization: University of Toronto - Wax on, wax off...
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1993 20:34:37 GMT

Another safe way to melt wax:  microwave oven.

Aryk

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 93 16:47:00 GMT

Greetings from Balderik:
Here's some info I posted LOOONNNGGG time ago on making
cuirboulli armour:

According to Waterer (Leather Craftmanship, Leather and the
Warrior, etc.), the cuir boulli effect is obtained when 
vegetable tanned leather is dried at elevated temperatures.  
It is a chemical reaction which converts the leather	
into something more closely resembling plastic (I forget the 
details).  It will only occur with vegetable tanned 
leather (the stuff used for tooling leather).
The temperature is critical: too low and no hardening occurs, 
too high and the leather becomes brittle.
R. Reid (or was it Reed? in his book Ancient Skins, Parchments,
and Leathers) concurrs, adding that it was also achieved by
briefly (!) dipping the leather in boiling water for between
20 and 120 sec.  I have yet to experiment with this technique.
The application of wax is not necessary, although it enhances 
the effect by increasing the density of the leather and 
limiting the softening that can occur when the leather 
is dampened. 
The wax also makes the leather tougher.  I do not recall either
Waterer or Reed making mention of the use of wax for cuir boulli
armour, but I would have to check.

I made cuir boulli arm harness' as follows:
1) cut out individual lames from leather
2) select forms on which leather will be dried :	
      -lames were tied onto coffee cans with string 
       (don't use tape!!!)
      -vambraces were tied onto newspapers which were rolled 
       up into roughly conical shapes	
3) in order to determine the optimum temperature, the scrap 
   bits of leather were used to experiment with different 
   oven settings (soak piece of leather in water until 
   saturated, dry in oven, check result)
4) when the correct setting for the oven in question is 
   determined, the individual armour components (not yet 
   assembled) are soaked in water until saturated, and
   then tied firmly to their respective forms (note that 
   if you are ambitious you can carve positive and negative 
   molds in order to impress decorations in relief
   on the armour - see Waterer).
5) place forms in oven and prop door open a crack to let 
   the moisture escape.
6) melt some parafin wax (beeswax can be used but it is 
   expensive and will smell like honey when your 
   armour is in the sun for a while) in a double boiler
   (a bowl sitting in a pot of boiling water works).
7) when the pieces are dry and hardened, remove them from 
   the forms (careful of heat) and brush on the molten 
   wax with a basting brush or some such implement.
   Pieces can be returned to the oven (placed on a cookie 
   sheet or something similar to prevent wax dripping
   onto the heating element, etc.) in order to allow the wax 
   to permiate the leather.  The oven should be just hot 
   enough to melt the wax, but NOT hot enough to burn it!  
   EXERCISE DUE CAUTION!
   WAX IS FLAMMABLE! 
8) When the pieces are hardened and waxed, any rivet holes 
   needed (unless prepunched) can be drilled.  
   Edges can be filed/sanded.  

Hope this helps,
Balderick 

From: sherman at trln.lib.unc.edu (dennis r. sherman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Date: 6 Jul 1993 18:02:57 GMT
Organization: Triangle Research Libraries Network

Greetings to the Rialto from Robyyan.

Aryk says (about waxed leather):

>I had heard that a blend of beeswax (for resilience) and carnuba wax
>(for hardness) made for the best hardener.

Depending on the climate you live in and the conditions you normally 
fight under, you may not want to use hardeners in your wax.  If the 
temperature is sufficiently cool, the leather impregnated with 
hardened wax will crack.

I use a mix of 50/50 beeswax/paraffin.  If I never fought in 
temperatures under about 50 (F), I'd increase the proportion of 
paraffin so the leather would be harder at higher temperatures.
--
  Robyyan Torr d'Elandris  Kapellenberg, Windmaster's Hill  Atlantia
  Dennis R. Sherman  	         Triangle Research Libraries Network
  dennis_sherman at unc.edu       Univ. of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

From: tracker at wpi.WPI.EDU (The Renegade Ranger)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Date: 7 Jul 1993 12:14:38 GMT
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute

 Cuir Bollei (atrocious spelling of the second word, I know, but hey,
I just woke up..) is the hardening of leather through boiling.
Technically. However, it is generically hardened leather, and
wax-hardening is one of the primary methods.

 Whether or not you want to wax-harden your armor (not just wax it,
which would provide a nice smooth surface and some water resistance,
but you shouldn't hold out for the chance that it'll make all blows
glancing due to its low surface friction...) depends on what you plan
to do with the armor. Hardened leather is a) waterproof  b) reasonably
light  and c) hard as a chunk of light metal.  I've run over my
leather bottle with my car. It still works fine. Ok, I have a small
car, but still..   Hardened leather is _not_ flexible. It is also
normally a different color than when you started. Light veg. tanned
skins will turn a ruddy brown to dark brown, depending on how much wax
you imbue them with, and how high a temp you cook them at.

 You would probably want hardened leather if you would like a rigid
form of armor that weighs very little, is easily formed, and not too
tough to make. You can make this armor in pieces (lamellar armor
would work very well with leather plates), or in sections (a tonlet
joined to a 1/4 piece of the chest garniture). Youl will be restricted
in size of the pices by the size of your heat source (oven).

 To do it, go buy some wax. A lot. Buy some crystals while you're
getting the wax. Crystals, as they're generically called in the candle
shops around here, are small flakes which will make the wax harder.
Melt a bunch of wax over low heat, mixing in crystals as the wax
melts.. but not too many of them. Heat your oven to about 200-250F,
and get out the cut-out piece of leather that you're going to harden.
NOTE: The leather will shrink a little bit. How much depends on the
piece itself, and how much you wax it and such. Put the leather on a
sheet of aluminum foil or a big pan, and pour a good quantity of wax
over the leather, trying to get even coverage. NOTE: Pour the leather
on the 'wrong' side of the leather, _not_ the smooth flesh side. Let
the leather sit in the oven for a few minutes (5-10) so the wax can
soak through. Repeat pouring the wax. Do this until the leather looks
evenly saturated, which will probably take 1-2 times for every sq.ft.
of the piece. Then remove the item and allow to cool, making sure it
cools in whatever shape you want it to remain in. Then, go use it.

I'm sure there are other gentles with other varied and more intruiging
methods, and I'd love to see their methods or thoughts posted as
well..

-Tracker, always curious..

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 93 17:06:22 GMT

Greetings from Balderik,

gleason at scf16.scf.loral.com (Robert Gleason) writes:
|> I've noticed that the comments always say to use vegetable tanned leather.
|> Why not chrome tanned leather? What are the differences between the two
|> processes?
|> 
|> Lord Parlan MacGillivray
|> --
|>   Robert Gleason  
|>   >> gleason at scf28.scf.loral.com 

The short answer is 'It don't work with Chrome tanned leather'.
I don't know the details of the chemistry off by heart.  The best source
I've got, Reid's 'Ancient Skins, Parchments, and Leathers' gets into some
of the details, but it's at home.  I'll try to give a 'readers digest' version,
which should be taken with a grain of salt:
Basically, one of the characteristics of Chrome Tanned leather is temperature
stability.  Something about the way the chromium sulphate binds to the pelt
fibres stabilizes them. With veg tanned leather
on the other hand, something about the way the various tannins bind to the
pelt fibres allows a peculiar polymerization reaction to take place above
a certain temperature.  The cuir bouilli is distinctly different structurally,
and chemically (?) from the leather you began with, apart from any wax/hardener
you may have added in the process.  I've hardened vegetable tanned leather
without using wax at all, and only added wax afterwards to enhance the effect
by making the leather denser and more waterproof. 
You can bake/wax chrome tanned leather, but it won't undergo any dramatic
increase in rigidity (as far as I know).

Although most people don't care, chrome tanning is not period.  Whether or
not modern vegetable tanned leathers resemble their period equivalents is
beyond my knowledge, but I believe there are some distinct differences in the
production methods. 

Cheers, Balderik

From: dloyer at zacson4.EBay.Sun.COM (Dennis Loyer)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Waxed Leather
Date: 8 Jul 1993 21:45:09 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Greetings,

     After reading most of the posts on this subject, including the warnings on the flamability of wax, I'm surprised I didn't have an accident this last weekend when I made my leg and arm armor out of waxed leather.  For the original poster on this subject, if he's still interested, I used a recipe I found in the new edition of the  Fighter's Handbook, unfortunately I do not remember who the original author is and  cannot give proper credit where credit is due.  If memory serves, since I don't happen  to have the Handbook handy, the recipe is as follows:

     1 lb parrafin
     3/4 lb bee's wax
     1/4 cup Neet's Foot Oil
     1 teaspoon  Alum (check the spice rack at your local grocery store)

     (I will check my handbook tonight after work and if the recipe is incorrect, or if there are any other glaringly obvious errors, I will post a follow-up to this, correcting such errors)

This are the basic proportions,  I had to increase it by a factor of 4 to do both upper and lowere arms, and both upper and lower legs ( upper legs ar hinged and cover front, back, inside and outside to protect my fair skin from those nasty wraps everyone likes to throw).  The procedure I followed was to take one of those cheap roasting  pans you find in the grocery store, place the wax in the pan, and put it in the oven at 200 degrees.  once the wax has melted competely (about 1/2 and hour) I poured in the oil and the alum, and mixed completely.  I then turned the oven up to about 275.

Now comes the fun, and incredibly smelly part.  Once the oven has come up to the  correct heat, take about 8 - 9 scrap pieces of leather about an inch on a side and  place them in the wax,  after 5 minutes remove one piece and place on some newspaper to cool (cover the newspaper with brown wrapping paper, or old paper bags to keep the leather from picking up the print of the newspaper). remove another piece every 2 minutes after that.  This will tell you how long you need to boil your leather. The Handbook's instructions said that you would probably only need to boil your leather for about 8 to 10 minutes, he must have been using a much lighter piece of leather, My leather was 14 oz. and needed to be kept in the wax for about 25 minutes total.

Another thing, you may not want to dye your leather first,  I started out with my leather undyed, and still it's natural color, when finished, the leather was a warm dark brown color.  Another tip is to cut out your leather pieces first, however you may want to make the pieces slightly oversized by about 1/8 inch a side in case of  shrinking, though I didn't seem to have much problem with this.

All in all, other than the odor, it was rather easy to do, and if you're careful, doesn't leave much of a mess, and I personally am very pleased with the results.

Denis d'Loyer 

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: v081lu33 at ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu (Ken Mondschein)
Subject: Ciour Bouilli'd armor
Organization: University at Buffalo
Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1993 22:48:00 GMT

I've been told that leather should be boiled in paraffin, not
beeswax. It has a higher melting point, for starters. However, it *will* mess
up your oven.
On the other hand, it's cheap-- in period, you had to off a whale. Now,
it comes from petroleum. My armor is all leather, and I love it. No problems.
	
Tristan

From: sherman at trln.lib.unc.edu (dennis r. sherman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Ciour Bouilli'd armor
Date: 6 Oct 1993 12:55:40 GMT
Organization: Triangle Research Libraries Network"

Greetings to the Rialto from Robyyan.

Tristan writes: 
>	I've been told that leather should be boiled in paraffin, not
>beeswax. It has a higher melting point, for starters. However, it *will* mess
>up your oven.

And if you fight outdoors in cold weather, paraffin also has a higher 
*cracking* point -- meaning if your leather armor gets hit while cold 
enough, it will crack.  And "cold enough" is a warmer temperature for 
paraffin than beeswax.  I use a mix, myself -- about half and half 
beeswax and paraffin.

>	On the other hand, it's cheap-- in period, you had to off a whale. Now,
>it comes from petroleum. My armor is all leather, and I love it. No problems.

I believe this statement is in error.  Not the one about you loving 
your armor, the one about the source of paraffin... :-)

I haven't got my sources here to check, but while researching candles 
and lighting, I got the definite impression that paraffin has always 
been a petroleum product, developed in the 19th century.  The wax you 
may be thinking of is spermaceti, which is from whales.  But it wasn't 
used (at least for candles) until sometime in the 17th century, as I 
recall.
--
  Robyyan Torr d'Elandris  Kapellenberg, Windmaster's Hill  Atlantia
  Dennis R. Sherman              Triangle Research Libraries Network
  dennis_sherman at unc.edu       Univ. of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

From: heide861 at crow.csrv.uidaho.edu (William D. Heideman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Ciour Bouilli'd armor
Date: 7 Oct 1993 22:09:54 GMT
Organization: University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho

dennis r. sherman (sherman at trln.lib.unc.edu) wrote:
: Greetings to the Rialto from Robyyan.

<< lines about parafin, beeswax etc.  deleted >>

: I haven't got my sources here to check, but while researching candles 
: and lighting, I got the definite impression that paraffin has always 
: been a petroleum product, developed in the 19th century.  The wax you 
: may be thinking of is spermaceti, which is from whales.  But it wasn't 

a minor correction: spermaceti is a rather light OIL, not a WAX.  A very
significant viscosity difference there.

: used (at least for candles) until sometime in the 17th century, as I 
: recall.
: --
:   Robyyan Torr d'Elandris  Kapellenberg, Windmaster's Hill  Atlantia
:   Dennis R. Sherman       Triangle Research Libraries Network
:   dennis_sherman at unc.edu       Univ. of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Interjecting a point very much off the subject, but I felt the need to
make this correction
 --
William D. Heideman
heide861 at crow.csrv.uidaho.edu

From: DDF2 at cornell.edu (David Friedman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Leather Armor
Date: 11 Nov 1993 05:20:02 GMT
Organization: Cornell Law School

Johann asks about leather armor. My suggested rules of thumb:

Consider the following classification of places you may be hit:

A: elbows, knees, and any other equally vulnerable places. These generally
have a requirement of rigid protection.

B. Areas you would like well protected, because you are likely to get hit
hard there with some frequency. An example would be the ribs under the arms
for someone fighting bastard or two sword.

C. Everywhere else.

Armor is usually labelled by ounces per square foot; one ounce corresponds
to 1/64". For A, I think anything less than about 12 ounce hardened leather
is unsafe--although 8 oz might arguably meet the legal requirements. For B,
I would recommend at least 12 ounce hardened leather, but could survive
with 8 ounce. For C I would recommend 8  ounce.

> I figure I can purchase shoe sole/cobblers leather, (about a 1/4"
> thick, I can't find anything much thicker), doubled up in some 
> places (like the breast and arms) for extra protection. (Extra 
> padding in all the appropriate spots) Does this sound 
> correct/acceptable? 

What I usually use is vegetable tanned leather, often sold as "saddle
skirting," available up to about 14 ounce. The Leather Factory, which is a
chain, seems to have it at somewhat better prices than Tandy, especially
during their frequent sales. 1/4" leather, the thickness you mention, would
be 16 ounce. Hardened, that should do for anything short of a helm--and
maybe even unhardened. On the other hand, leather that thick may be hard to
shape. Doubling it seems like more protection than anyone needs.
Incidentally, the breast (for a man) is not a particularly vulnerable spot,
except perhaps if your fighting is mostly spear against spear. Nor, in my
experience, are the arms--they can get hit, but they also move when they
are hit much more than the body, which reduces the damage.

Some, perhaps all, sole leather has been compressed, so that 1/4" is even
heavier and harder than ordinary 16 ounce leather.

> Also, regarding 'boiling' leather: Do you use water or oil?
> Do you leave it for a while, cooking?

You immerse it in liquid beeswax for long enough to saturate it. The
easiest way is in an oven at about 230 degrees. See my T.I. article. The
piece is shaped before it is hardened by soaking in water, shaping, then
drying.

David/Cariadoc
DDF2 at Cornell.Edu

From: Dan Butler-Ehle <dwbutler at mtu.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Leather Armor
Date: 16 Nov 1993 07:29:31 GMT
Organization: CCLI, Michigan Tech University

Greetings to all from Ulfin of Wyrmgeard!

In article <1993Nov9.220644.26647 at accint.com> Jason R. Pascucci,
jrp at accint.com writes:
>Also, regarding 'boiling' leather: Do you use water or oil?
>Do you leave it for a while, cooking?

Water.  Boiling it in oil will scorch it too much.  Practice 
alot at different temperatures and durations until you get 
good results.  Every piece of leather is different, so it's hard 
give a recipe for using this method.  You want it hard like 
wood, but not so brittle that it will crack and break.  Also, 
boiling in water will distort the shape and cause it to shrink 
a LOT.  The usual material is vegetable-tanned leather.

However, I believe that really thick rawhide would be ideal
if you could find it.  It's incredibly lightweight, but you'd 
have to coat it to keep it from softening when it gets wet.  
(I'm speaking of real rawhide, not latigo-tanned leather 
which is also often called "rawhide".)  

The common SCA method is to harden the leather by impreg-
nating it with wax.  There are no examples of period leather 
armor that have any wax in them, so it is not believed to 
have been a period practice. (I must admit that although I
have heard this several times, I've never seen any docu-
mentation on this--can anyone confirm it?)  It is, however,
a more practical method (at least for SCA purposes).  It is 
also heavier, but has a few advantages over water curing:
  *The leather resists cracking
  *You can shape it while it sets
  *It can be reset by heating if it loses its shape
  *It doesn't shrink or deform from the hardening process
   (This also means that it will not destroy the pretty 
   designs you tooled into the leather)

Many in SCA recommend beeswax, although I find it is way 
too soft for hardening leather, costs a fortune, and makes 
the armor sticky.  On the other hand, it smells wonderful.  
(By the way--I recommend that every medievilist keep a 
supply of beeswax on hand.  It's wonderfully useful stuff.)  
Oh yeah, there is more than one kind of beeswax.  Cappings 
wax is light colored.  Cell wax can be anywhere from yellow 
to dark brown and is generally cheaper than cappings.  It's
usually available from apiaries (bee farms).

Ideally, you would use a hard wax.  Carnauba wax is a natural 
wax that's pretty hard but costs even more than beeswax.  
The color is pretty dark (at least the stuff I tried was).  I no 
longer have a source for it--anyone know where to get it?

What I usually use is regular old parafin and add stearene 
(stearic acid) to harden it.  Parafin is available everywhere,
although I have at times found that it's cheaper at the
supermarket (it's with the canning supplies) than at the
craft store.  Parafin is really nice 'cuz it's colorless; this 
is important to me because I usually dye my leather.  
  
Stearene is with the candlemaking supplies at the craft 
store.  The amount of hardener needed must be determined 
by trial; your preferences probably differ from mine.  
Consider where you'll be using it.  If the leather can handle 
a swordblow without cracking on a 40 degree day, it would 
probably be too soft for fighting in the sun on an 85 degree 
day.
  
If you want to dye your leather, use dyes that are much 
lighter than your desired finished color. The wax darkens 
the leather quite a bit, and any dark colors will come out 
almost black.  This may not be so much of a problem if you 
use the watercuring method, but I've never used that method
on dyed leather.

The only leathers I have found to be acceptable for hardening
by wax impregnation are vegetable-tanned (tooling) 
leathers.  (Yes, I have tried chrome-tanned and oil-tanned
leathers -- they just won't harden up enough.) Vegetable-
tanned is the that Tandy and other leathercraft companies 
sell for making belts and saddles and key fobs and other 
things that have patterns tooled into them.  

You don't need the top-quality, unblemished stuff (you want 
it for beating on with sticks, remember?).  Get some really 
ugly grade C if you can find it.  By the way--leather costs 
more than steel.  You should use 8-ounce leather at the very 
minimum; it's not cheap.  I prefer 10- to 14-ounce for most 
parts.  With a little engineering and a few well-placed rivits, 
you can make a rock-solid breastplate using overlapping 
sections of 8-ounce leather.  (An "ounce" for leather isn't a
measure of weight; it's a measure of thickness.  One ounce
equals 1/32 of an inch.)  

The stiffness of hardened leather seems to increase geo-
metrically with the thickness.  I find that no amount of
hardener can stiffen 6-ounce adequately, and that hardened
10-ounce is about twice as stiff as hardened 8-ounce.

If you want compound curves in your leather, you'll have to
curve it before you harden it.  Set it in warm water for a
couple days.  It should become a little bit stretchable.
Pull and push and yank and curse until you get it stretched 
over a form.  Secure it with tacks or nails (most metals
will turn leather black, so put the tacks in an area you 
plan to cut off).  Allow it to dry completely (this usually
takes days).  When it's done, cut it to the shape you want.

Tool and dye (oops...didn't intend the pun) the pieces.  I have
not had any problem with the wax deforming the leather, 
so I put my lace and rivit holes in before I harden it.  If you 
choose to do it afterward, you will probably need to use a 
drill.

Melt the wax in a double boiler (wax can explode if it gets
too hot).   Do not allow any water in the wax pot; if the
leather touches water droplets in the pot, it will shrivel
up like a potato chip.  For the same reason, your leather
must be completely dry before hardening.  If your pieces 
are small enough, just drop them into the wax.  If not,
you can paint the melted wax on with a brush and put
the piece in a warm (not hot) oven; repeat this process
until the piece is saturated.  It usually only takes about
twenty seconds for pieces in the pot to soak up the wax.
If they're still sending up tiny air bubbles, leave them in 
a little longer.  It can vary a bit with thickness and also 
from one leather specimen to another.

Remove the piece from the wax pot or oven.  Bend it into
the desired shape and hold it in a bucket of cold water.
It can help to have something in the water over which
to form the piece.   If you wish to reshape the piece, be
very careful to remove all the water droplets before
putting it back in the hot wax or oven.

When the piece is cool, remove excess wax from the
holes and polish it.   If there is too much excess wax on
the surface, a Scotchbrite pad or somesuch may be helpful.
Assemble the armor.  Keep it prettty by trying not to get
hit too much (i.e. avoid taking up arms against the Middle).

Gee, I didn't intend for this posting to be a treatise on the
subject.  Hope I didn't give away too many of the secrets
I've been hoarding all these years.

    In service to the Dream, 
       and enslaved to the Machine,
             Ulfin of Wyrmgeard

Dan Butler-Ehle               Canton of Mistig Waetru
<dwbutler at mtu.edu>        Kingdom of the Middle

From: Dan Butler-Ehle <dwbutler at mtu.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Leather Armor
Date: 16 Nov 1993 07:48:45 GMT
Organization: CCLI, Michigan Tech University

Greetings from Ulfin-who-doesn't-always-proofread!

In article <2c9vgr$j4o at mtu.edu> Dan Butler-Ehle, dwbutler at mtu.edu (me)
writes:
>sections of 8-ounce leather.  (An "ounce" for leather isn't a
>measure of weight; it's a measure of thickness.  One ounce
>equals 1/32 of an inch.)  
        ^^^^
It's 1/64 of an inch.  Sorry.

    In service to the Dream, 
       and enslaved to the Machine,
             Ulfin of Wyrmgeard

Dan Butler-Ehle               Canton of Mistig Waetru
<dwbutler at mtu.edu>        Kingdom of the Middle

From: DDF2 at cornell.edu (David Friedman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Leather Armor
Date: 16 Nov 1993 14:36:27 GMT
Organization: Cornell Law School

In article <2c9vgr$j4o at mtu.edu>, Dan Butler-Ehle <dwbutler at mtu.edu> wrote
(about hardened leather):

> However, I believe that really thick rawhide would be ideal
> if you could find it.  It's incredibly lightweight, but you'd 
> have to coat it to keep it from softening when it gets wet. 

Impregnating rawhide with beeswax (as in hardening leather) seems to do it.

> The common SCA method is to harden the leather by impreg-
> nating it with wax.  There are no examples of period leather 
> armor that have any wax in them, so it is not believed to 
> have been a period practice. (I must admit that although I
> have heard this several times, I've never seen any docu-
> mentation on this--can anyone confirm it?) 

So far as I can make out, nobody really knows how period courbouilli was
made. I gather from your comments that you are simply repeating what others
have told you, and that you (like me) have no real evidence one way or the
other. One person I know has done it by soaking leather in water, tieing it
to suitable forms, then drying it slowly in an oven at a low setting.

> Many in SCA recommend beeswax, although I find it is way 
> too soft for hardening leather, costs a fortune, and makes 
> the armor sticky.  On the other hand, it smells wonderful.  

Two to three dollars a pound is a fortune? It takes about half a pound of
beeswax for a pound of leather, so a klibanion requires something between
ten and twenty dollars worth of wax. I have not had any problem with armor
being either sticky or soft. I have been told that armor hardened with wax
gets soft if you fight in very hot weather--but on the basis of my
experience so far, if it is too hot for my armor it is probably too hot for
me.

> Consider where you'll be using it.  If the leather can handle 
> a swordblow without cracking on a 40 degree day, it would 
> probably be too soft for fighting in the sun on an 85 degree 
> day.

My (beeswax hardened) leather armor manages that temperature range with no
problems.
  
> If you want to dye your leather, use dyes that are much 
> lighter than your desired finished color. The wax darkens 
> the leather quite a bit, and any dark colors will come out 
> almost black.  This may not be so much of a problem if you 
> use the watercuring method, but I've never used that method
> on dyed leather.

In my experience, any colors come out something between dark brown and
black after hardening--is this a difference between using parafin and using
beeswax? Can you get light colors with your method?
 
> sections of 8-ounce leather.  (An "ounce" for leather isn't a
> measure of weight; it's a measure of thickness.  One ounce
> equals 1/32 of an inch.)  

I believe one ounce is 1/64th of an inch.
-- 
David/Cariadoc
DDF2 at Cornell.Edu

From: cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Leather Armor
Date: 16 Nov 1993 15:40:19 GMT
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.

Ulfin of Wyrmgeard posted a very comprehensive and informative
missive on cuir bouilli.

In an attempt to answer a couple of his questions:

Ancient Skins, Parchments, and Leathers by R.Reed (Reid?).  THE most
comprehensive book on leather science, tanning etc. that I've ever
come across.  According to Reed, the cuir bouilli effect will only
occur with vegetable tanned leathers (and he give a brief description
as to why, in chemical terms).  He asserts that it was achieved in 
period by very briefly dipping the leather in boiling water.  Unfortunately,
it is only a passing mention, so he doesn't get into his sources.

Leather and the Warrior by J.W. Waterer
Waterer more or less concurs with Reed.  According to Waterer, the
only piece of Cuir bouilli armour that has survived is the cruper
from a horse armour (this info may be dated).  As I recall, he doesn't
mention whether or not it is waxed.

Source of Carnauba wax:
Although I haven't searched for it, so I don't know if there are
other sources, I have seen it in the 'Lee Valley' Tool catalogue (
a Canadian mail order/catalogue store chain that specializes in
woodworking tools).  They will do mailorder to the U.S.  Even if
you order nothing, the catalogue is great for leafing thru and
fantasizing on cold lonely nights (and I'm not a woodworker).
All sorts of wonderfully obscure and beautiful tools/supplies.
Someone once posted a cuir bouilli recipe that only required
a small percentage of carnauba (bulk was parafin or beeswax).

Cheers, Balderik

From: David Friedman <ddfr at best.com>
To: markh at risc.sps.mot.com
Date: Wed, 04 Sep 1996 20:28:00 +0000
Subject: Hardening leather

I noticed a post of yours on hardening leather, in which you quoted me 
describing wax hardening. That is the method I used to use, but my 
current opinion is that, although it works well for SCA armor and may 
have been used for other purposes, it was probably not how period 
cuirbouilli armor was made, since waxed leather cuts fairly easily. If 
you check my web page, you will find a preliminary discussion of my 
current water hardening method; a longer description is in the new 
edition of the Miscellany, which Alban was selling for me at war this 
year.

David/Cariadoc

Subject: Re: ANST - Info Request
Date: Thu, 11 Jun 98 14:16:49 MST
From: LannCathal at data-garden.com
To: ansteorra at Ansteorra.ORG

> >   I have another request. I could use some information on cuirre boille
> >armor (quite possible mispelled). I am recently back in after a couple
> >of periods in high school and college an increasing number of years ago.
> >I am trying to use the 'boiled' heavy leather to round off my armor, or
> >at least until I can have some metal (a lot!) shaped into the elbows and
> >knees.
> >   I would appreciate your help/advice/pointers.
> >
> >   Valstarr

My armor, save for the helm, is made entirely from leather. The elbows, knees and kidney belt are hardened with wax. Here is how I did it. Materials required: Wax(parafin or bee's wax) Leather(obviously) Large towel or other thick cloth aluminum foil An Iron (That thingy you use to make wrinkles in clothes go away) a cover cloth for work area

Place the leather to be hardened on the cover cloth over your flat workspace. Cover the leather with a layer of aluminum foil and your cover cloth and iron it until it gets hot enough to melt wax then take your wax( I used a rather large chunk) and rub it over the heated area. When the wax stops melting, replace the foil and cloth and iron some more, then apply more wax. Continue until wax starts to seep though the other side of the leather. Once the leather is entirely impregnated with wax, iron once more to get it soft, then form it to shape and insert rivets or other hardware to connect it all. I was able to make two knees, two elbows and a rather large and overly thick kidney belt in about four hours. I precut the leather to shape, but waited til after waxing to cut holes  for rivets.

I would be happy to answer any further questions about this as well as hear alternatives as I am preparing to make myself a new set of all leather armor (save for the helm). 

Lann Cathal,
House WolfStar,
Barony of Elfsea,
Kingdom of Ansteorra

Subject: [medieval-leather] Cour Boulli 
Date: Sat, 06 Mar 1999 10:04:20 -0800
From: Bob & Tricia Le Pine <bashful at lightspeed.bc.ca>
To: medieval-leather at egroups.com

Here Is another point of view for all of you desiring to craft hardened
leather armor.

This has been used / play tested now for over 14 years or so in the Kingdom
of An Tir.

First cut out all your patterns in such weight leather that you deem
suitable,  (I use sole leather or saddle skirting.) then drill what
stitch holes you need and bevel the edges of the cut out pieces.

Then soak your leather pieces in water hot enough to be just able to put
your hands in for seconds with out burning yourself (Approx. 110  to 120
degrees 'F') or use BBQ tongs to fish them out like I do.

Let the leather soak till all of it's thickness is saturated ( wet all the
way through )

Stitch any seams ( I tend to " abutt ' the edges of the Seam line then
stitch a ' cover plate ' of leather over the stitched seam which adds
strength and can be decorative if you cut out the cover plate in various
shapes. ) then form the wet leather to the shape that is desired...... then
let it completely dry ! ! !

NOTE: Add the wet cover plate to a completely dry main piece and drill out
the stitch holes in the cover plate only at first. Place the cover plate at
one end of the dry seam it will cover then drill several holes into the dry
piece using the existing cover plate stitch holes as a guide.

Once the one end is locked down with a stitch or two then shape / mold the
plate to the shape of the dry piece, drill several more holes then stitch
them. this cycle continues until the whole thing is sewn down.

This method allows for accurate stitching together of two complex shapes
with little fuss or bother.

Let the wet cover plate completely dry before waxing.

Trying to wax wet leather can cause micro 'steam' explosions that spray
hot wax all over. Having liquid bee's wax on the skin is uncomfortable
enough but having it in your eyes is a big 'not to be desired'.

Please be careful with the hot wax.

Now drying can be done two ways.

One in a warm (not hot) oven set to about 150 degrees, or air dried at
room temperature.

I strongly recommend the air drying method personally as I have seen too
many pieces shrivel up or become so brittle from the heat that they are
useless.

This is a waste of hours of labor ( I'm lazy :-} ) is extremely
frustrating, and is very costly in cash as this weight of leather is
expensive.

The soaking in water leeches out much of the oils that make the leather
flexible and the air dried piece will be quite hard.

To wax this I use the following method:

1:      Melt a small pot of plain bee's wax( I use an old percolator coffee pot
with a self heating electrical element that has a variable rheostat (A
dial to adjust the temp. in the pot. ) to hold my wax.

This is great as it's ready to go in minutes and I can control the heat so
as to keep the wax at a liquid temp. without having to worry about
overheating it to it's ' flash ' point where it will cause  a fire.

.......Whatever method you use to melt bee's wax please be careful of this
fire danger!!....

2:      Using a natural bristle brush ( Nylon or plastic bristles melt in hot
wax :-} ) paint your air dried piece in this order.  Edges first, then the
back/inside/flesh side and last the front or face of the piece. This is
done so that when you lay the piece down, on layered newspaper, to do another
piece any grit or dust will adhere to the back side of the waxed leather
leaving a pristine face.

Oh yes be aware that the waxed piece will look ugly as the hot wax hits
the cool leather it congeals and is lumpy and horrible looking........ this
is normal and will disappear with the next stage of the process.

By the way any carving or tooling is done after the air drying process and
also any dyeing.

The wax will penetrate LN dyes and only coat COVA or acrylic paints but
will still provide the waterproofing that is desired

3:      Next I use a ' paint stripper ' gun held about 4 to 6 inches from the
leather to heat the leather which opens the pores as well as liquify the
wax which is then drawn into the open pores and creates a thin but all
encasing coat of bee's wax about the piece.

Be very careful not to over heat the leather or it will fry and shrivel.
Excess wax is 'blotted' off the leather with crumpled paper towel (more
'thin edge' surfaces to absorb the wax ) and then the gun is applied
again until the surface of the leather appears dry.

4:      This is the stage where holes are punched / drilled and strapping and
buckles can be installed. Do not wax the straps as they want to be flexible.

Tandy style 'two part' rivets are only used to attach the buckle into
the buckle strap. all other strap or plate attachments are done with copper
'belt / harness' rivets As a suit of armor in the middle ages was called
a 'harness' these rivets seem appropriate.

NOTE; I have found 5/8 th inch buckles and straps work best in the suits I
build. Make the straps of 6 to 8 oz. leather for that weight / thickness
seems to work the best and needs the least replacement. Use 'cast' 5/8 th
roller buckles even though they are more expensive as they last longer and
break / bend less.

The above is, of course, only one persons opinion but it is one that has
worked for many years.

I hope that it is of some help / use to the folk on this list. Do feel free
to pass it around to who ever can use it. I happily grant permission for
its use. The more folk in armor on the field the more tar... I mean the
more friends we have to play with.  :-}

Yours for safe combat,

Aaron
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                 Aaron of the Black Mountains,
                        An avowed member of the
         *Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem*

From: Fiora Soranzo and Mahir al'Asuad <nivisecond at gmail.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Mediaeval Things to Do with Old Oil?
Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 04:02:12 GMT

On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 00:19:55 GMT, "finndo" <finndo at sc.rr.com> wrote:

>Wow you learn something new every day...
>
>Pretty Cool
>
>> So far as I can tell, the idea that leather was hardened by heating in
>> oil is a myth. Cuirboulli seems to have been made using water, which is
>> usually available at low cost.
>> -- 
>> David/Cariadoc
>> www.daviddfriedman.com 

http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Articles/Perfect_Armor_Improved.htm

A link I was given on how to make boiled leather. I found it quite
interesting, and I thought maybe you would too. :)

Fiora

<the end>

Edited by Mark S. Harris	armor-leather-msg