Warskirt

How often I find myself thinking 'yeah, this could work' and then discovering that it doesn't.

meh

I do need to take measurements of the rivets that I want to use for securing the 0.6mm steel plates onto the leather backing... once I've decided what sort of leather I want to use as backing.

I did spend a little bit of time, in between rain showers, cutting metal plates for Seppa's warskirt.

Gathering the tools...

I tried to use the Dremel, and had rubbish luck with it, but admittedly, my Dremel is a jewellery/small hobby version, rather than the giant, heavy-powered versions of the Dremel.

0.6mm gauge steel, and 3-in-1 oil for lubricant.

I'm impatient, though I did try cutting the steel with my Dremel for nearly an hour, I gave up and dug out my tin snips, which I'd never before used. I'm grateful I still have some grip strength.

Might not be visible, but it aches.

However, I did give myself a blister. Yes, I wore gloves, I didn't want to add lacerations and real blood to my costume, thanks.

Thanks, Father-in-law, for leaving us your tools.

To explain the above image, for those who don't automatically understand what it represents, is some of the process I gave the plates.

Left: warped plate cut from the sheet with tin snips. I used a fat-tipped marker to make the length lines, then eyeballed the sizes to give it that random effect when I cut them with the tin snips. This is why the three plates are varying lengths, but the widths are similar.

Middle: I snipped off the corners to make the plates LARP-safer. I then used my father-in-law's hammer to bash flat the metal plate where it rested on paving stones; I used both the hammer's flat and ball-peen heads to texture the surface a little bit. I might experiment more with the hammer, with striking harder or on other surfaces than paving stones. 

Right: almost, if not complete, metal plate. I used the coarsest wheel on the Dremel to blunt the sides and corners to help make the plates safer for LARP. I also used the Dremel to drill the holes. The Dremel struggled to make the holes, so I might turn to my big IKEA drill, assuming I can use such fine drill bits with it, to power through the steel plates to make the holes. Again, I eyeballed the placement of the holes.

I managed to cut about twenty plates before the weather interrupted and my hand blistered, so I have several days' worth of work before the plates are completed and ready for mounting. Weather and health permitting...

I'm intending to use the self-isolation.

I unfortunately couldn't make it to the Symposium, as my throat went sore on Thursday, and so I had to cancel my place. I felt sorta ok Saturday, but I don't want to accidentally harm others. Isolation it is.

I'm not so hardcore as to think it would be good to wear a full latex mask with a streaming nose and eyes.

Emotions

My father-in-law's hammer and tools; using them felt good, and made me think of him. He'd have known what to do, and how to do it, and probably would have had the right tools to do the job. I miss you; thank you for leaving us some of your tools.

LARPCon 2020

What to say about LARPCon 2020?

Firstly, I arrived in a bit of a tizzy, but the old kit seemed to draw attention, and some of it sold, and on their way to new lives and purposes.

I found some leather skins that're ideal for the warskirt project, so whatever I made from selling off the old kit went to getting new bits.

I bought some of Steph's beautiful art and got to talk a bit with her and Alex, to smooth some of my anxieties.

Later, to quote Steph:

"...How cool is that to have something that you've gained actual worth on adventures."

I was writing about the brass chainmail rings that I acquired from Armchair Armoury and wanted to add said brass rings to an anchor wire chainmail collar an ex made for me about thirty years ago.

I thought at the time that she meant that I ought to wait on decorating Seppa and gain worthy things in play at Anvil.

Yet writing it now, I wonder if she meant that my thirty year old chainmail was an authentic relic of worth.

'Tis something to think about.

My haul

A black goatskin, some hairless sheepskins with felt very nice, even though they're greyish-brown/soil colour, and two brown remnants. They're destined for the warskirt, if I can figure it out.

Chainmail on old suede leather.

I found the photo I recently took of the chainmail collar. Perhaps once it's remounted onto something better, I can use it for the neck cover.

The brass rings, a Wintermark Rune, and a pin from Steph.

I have yet to try the brass rings with the galvanised anchor wire. I will need to remount the collar onto something a bit better, as the suede is a bit stiff and showing its age.

The Wintermark Rune is 'Sular' the rune of discovery and is affiliated with the Day realm.

Yes, that pin is inspired by Studio Ghibli and Princess Mononoke.

Other stuff

I'm continuing my sewing efforts with Seppa's panel coat. I'll discuss it in another post.

Warskirts

Warskirt

I've been unsuccessfully tossing ideas back and forth for months, with no leads, no brilliant ideas, nothing. Then, a few weeks ago, someone else asked about them and someone else posted a picture of a section of their warskirt.

*heavy breathing intensifies*

This thing, this right here...

Inspiration! Not my picture, not my warskirt.

I asked them about the metal and how they did it. Tin snips and sheet metal and a drill for the holes.

I feel like a fool, they make it sound so...obvious.

Fast forward to the past seven days or so, and I've picked up some sheet metal, got some new sheet metal cutting attachments for my Dremel, because my grip strength just isn't what it once was, and a workbench that's awaiting construction... yeah, side note on that, the manufacturer didn't tap the holes used for the tightening screws, so said holes are stripping the screws as I attempt to install them. *grump*

But I'm hoping that once we get the workbench sorted out, that I can clamp the metal onto it and play with the Dremel attachments, and hey, if I don't cut straight, it's ok, it'll add character to the plates. Bonus is that I learn how to do it for myself, and if some future moment, that I do need to cut straight, I'll be better equipped than just going at it cold.

Plans:

Bash the cut pieces to dent them, also grind off the rough and raw edges, gouge the plates a little, then stain with some corrosion agent and maybe a wash of nearly-black paint, then rivet or stitch to a piece of cow leather.

What's Your Game?

I attended this kit fair, and Armchair Armoury was there, I did get ten of those half-circle plates from them. Shortly after that, Galla showed me how I might layer them. So I might have two pieces of plates to wear; one for the belt, the other might end up on a shin or forearm.

Remember these?

We'll see what happens.