Belegarth

Armor and Shield leather bends

Sold by the pound, avg 12-15 lbs each * 14-16 oz
Economy price: $4.99 / lb
Premium price: $9.99 / lb

Never bought leather before, is this even the right stuff to get so I wouldn't have to double up? Is this a decent price or does it go on sale more often?

- Thanks

I am pretty sure this is the thickest stuff you can get from them. It is usually more than 3/16," so I don't usually use it as it is difficult to cut/work with, but the price seems reasonable. Not sure what premium/economy means though. I have bought a side for both prices in the past. I think careful use of your side saves money as much as buying at the right time. Have fun!

Tiberius,

The armor and shield leather bends are overkill. They are crazy expensive, and are hard to work with. From Tandy, what you want to look for is this stuff:

Select Import Saddle Skirting
Item #9047-02

It is often on sale for $80-$120. The trick to buying imported leather, though, is to check each side before you buy. Often, they will have brands and/or stress creases through major areas of the side, or it may be armor grade thickness at the neck, but thins way out at the end. When I go in, I first check the stack. you can quickly identify the thicker sides by viewing them from the edge. Identify 3-4, then have the store guy pull them out so you can check for brands or creases.

If you do get the armor and shield leather bends, I sure hope you have a good scroll saw. That stuff is HARD. I encountered some at the Tandy in Roy earlier this year. The stuff feels more like a thick high-impact plastic than leather. That is probably the kind of armor-making leather you would want for SCA.

Burke's recommendation for "saddle skirting" is by far the most common suggestion I hear about and read on the boards on the subject of making armor for Belegarth. Since you are starting out, I would suggest going with that instead. I get the distinct feeling that the "armor and shield leather" aka. "sole bend" is rarely used for Belegarth armor, even by very experienced armor-makers.

Admittedly, I don't have any personal armoring experience, but I've been around on the grapevine for a few years now.

premium means there should be no scars, marks, or brands

I'll echo the saddle skirting.

That said, the armor bends aren't impossible to deal with, just difficult. And yeah, they're going to be way heavier and thicker than is necessary. Also, IIRC, that's not really a spectacular price on them anyways. I'd hold out for the saddle skirting.

Thank you everyone - especially Burke with your informative graphic.

That thing should be stickied by itself and put on the Wiki.

I'll hold off for saddle skirting.