JohnSpaceUK
New Member
Hello everyone, I've just finished making these after what feels like weeks of effort. My fingers hurt, but I have to show them off!
I'm going to a party at the weekend, and the theme is movies, so as a guy with long hair, I decided to go as Aragorn! (who takes Boromir's vambraces)
I'm usually in my workshop making robots and electronics and spacesuits, but I love the chance to learn a new skill, so decided do make the costume mostly myself.
I got a bit hung up on vambraces, they are just so damn cool, and after watching a few YT videos, including a short one from Adam Savage who has some from WETA, I decided I just had to make a set.
Are they screen accurate? Nah. Do I care? no way.
The outer is hand carved veg tan leather, on which I hand embossed (and badly painted) the tree of Gondor.
The layer underneath is thinner hide from ebay, both dyed dark brown, and hand sewn together, with the straps hand skived and buckles attached. (so easy to write, but so much effort.
The pads are made from a £10 leather jacket from vinted, sewn on a machine and with eyelets punched in.
All the way through I was not sure how it would turn out, but at the end, when I did up the buckles, and slotted in the pads, they just looked great.
Not the most complicated thing I have ever made (I think that's still my Mars rover), but lots of hand work required, carving, stamping, punching, sewing, skiving, and dyeing.
I'm probably at £100 in materials, (leather is expensive!) and another £50 for the tools and dye etc.
Happy to share my lessons learned with anyone who is thinking about making some.
I'm going to a party at the weekend, and the theme is movies, so as a guy with long hair, I decided to go as Aragorn! (who takes Boromir's vambraces)
I'm usually in my workshop making robots and electronics and spacesuits, but I love the chance to learn a new skill, so decided do make the costume mostly myself.
I got a bit hung up on vambraces, they are just so damn cool, and after watching a few YT videos, including a short one from Adam Savage who has some from WETA, I decided I just had to make a set.
Are they screen accurate? Nah. Do I care? no way.
The outer is hand carved veg tan leather, on which I hand embossed (and badly painted) the tree of Gondor.
The layer underneath is thinner hide from ebay, both dyed dark brown, and hand sewn together, with the straps hand skived and buckles attached. (so easy to write, but so much effort.
The pads are made from a £10 leather jacket from vinted, sewn on a machine and with eyelets punched in.
All the way through I was not sure how it would turn out, but at the end, when I did up the buckles, and slotted in the pads, they just looked great.
Not the most complicated thing I have ever made (I think that's still my Mars rover), but lots of hand work required, carving, stamping, punching, sewing, skiving, and dyeing.
I'm probably at £100 in materials, (leather is expensive!) and another £50 for the tools and dye etc.
Happy to share my lessons learned with anyone who is thinking about making some.
