(soothing music) - [Narrator] Hello, friends,
and welcome to another tutorial in the fantasy armor series. This time I'll be demonstrating how to make an articulating
leather breastplate and backplate, also known as a cuirass. My typical medium of choice is leather, so that is what I'll
be demonstrating here, but you may adapt this to
other mediums if you prefer. This tutorial is meant to be
beginner friendly with some of the leather-working
techniques being simplified. It will also build upon some
of the previous tutorials, which all demonstrate
slightly different techniques that you can use on
this and future builds. There's more to come,
so be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on future tutorials and project builds. Before we begin, let
me thank Tandy Leather for sponsoring this video. Tandy is an excellent resource for anyone working with leather, even more so for getting started as they are always
knowledgeable and helpful. Recently, they replaced
their pricing system with they are calling
Everyday Honest Prices This eliminates the old
complicated membership tiers and resets prices on everything. Their 100-year anniversary
is just around the corner, so go visit a store near you or click the affiliate
link below to shop online. As always, the first thing is to print and cut out the patterns. One shortcut I can give
you if your patterns print with margins is to trim the areas where the lines will connect so that it is easier to piece
the pages together accurately. (gentle music) I also like to tack the pages together with smaller bits of
tape first in case I need to adjust the alignment
before taping all the seams. See the included document for additional tips and sizing options. A default size should fit
around a 40-inch chest with a decent margin either way, depending on how you set your buckles. I generally suggest making
a mock-up with the patterns before committing to
more expensive materials. You don't wanna commit to materials until you're confident the fit is good. You can always trace the printouts onto poster board like this. It's very quick to do
and can be held together with brass-plated fasteners. Once your mock-up is finished, you'll be able to confirm
the fit more accurately. Also note that the
pattern sides can easily be added to or trimmed as needed. And of course, you can
scale the whole pattern set up or down according to your needs. When you have your patterns ready, you will trace them onto the leather. I'm using a superior oak side of leather around nine ounce from Tandy. Leather can often come with
natural defects and brands that you'll normally want to work around, so you may wanna scrutinize the hide first and mark any blemishes you find to avoid. This pattern requires you to mirror all of the components symmetrically. And for this project, it took approximately 3/5ths of the side. You can use lighter or heavier weight in your projects according to
your preferences and needs. A fine-point marker is ideal for this, and have something solid
and pointy on hand to stab in the reference marks for the holes that you'll need to punch out later. Before I cut out the parts, I will usually use a utility knife to separate the leather
into more manageable pieces. (leather patting) From there, I'll be
using my Craftool Shears to finish cutting the pieces. If you don't have shears, a utility knife also works quite well, as demonstrated in previous tutorials. Since this is a bigger
project with many large pieces that will need to be tooled, I'll be pre-soaking the
leather at this point so that the core will
be adequately saturated when I begin working each piece. I am submerging the leather into warm water and feeding it through so there is about three seconds
of contact with the water. I'll be slightly pre-soaking
the leather at this point so that the core will
be adequately saturated when beginning work with each piece. Quick bonus tip, if you
are trying to use shears but finding it difficult,
you can do this stage first to make it much easier when cutting. Next you can use a stylus
or a ball-point pen to transfer the design features. If you soaked the leather
as described previously, you won't need to dampen the
leather further at this point, just make sure the
surface is now dry enough to avoid soaking through
the paper pattern. As with previous tutorials, I will transfer the barbed design elements and avoid transferring the
longer spans of border. That process is better done
with an adjustable compass to ensure a consistent line. For the outer-most border, I am using a small edge stitch groover which will cut away a strand
from the surface of the leather and leave behind a nice groove, which for our purposes is cosmetic. All it takes is adjusting the blade and applying an even pressure
as you drag it along the edge. As with many processes,
this step is optional and up to your preferences. (gentle music) To commit the design lines to the leather, I will carve them with my swivel knife. As always, start with
a sharp blade and strop a few times so that your
blade glides smoothly. The lines you would be carving
here are broad and sweeping, so it's a good basic practice
to build your muscle memory as we build towards more advanced
techniques in the future. When you carve with a swivel knife, you're making a permanent cut, but you'll usually only go about halfway through,
which will not impair the stronger connective
fibers of the leather. With the piece still damp, I'll be using a number
one Craftool Beveler to trim the edges from the tops and bottoms of all the pieces. This gives the leather edges a
smoother and rounder profile. One extra edge treatment I like to do at this stage is burnishing. I'll dampen the edges a bit
with a sponge and water, then I'll take my slicking tool, which has a rounded groove,
and use friction to compress and burnish the edge
fibers of the leather. This results in a smoother appearance that is more comfortable to the touch. Next I'll be using a rotary hand punch to make the holes for the piece. There are only a few holes in this design that the hand punch can't reach. The rest can be done with
a typical hole punch. Now, as for the tooling for this piece, I decided to go with
smooth beveling stamps all around the borders and design lines. Gives it a slight pillow-embossed look. It's a subtle effect, you could go for a much more attention-grabbing
effect for the same effort, but it's enough to make the
piece stand out as a whole. Again, it comes down to your
own preference as to what, if any, tooling effects you want to do. (tool buzzing) (fly whooshing) (fly smacking) And just to add a little extra decoration, I picked out another tool to decorate the horizontal
banding on the lower plates. Border tooling is a simple way to add a little extra visual
appeal and value to your piece. I would encourage you to
experiment with stamps to come up with interesting
effects for your piece. As for the tooling about
how the distressed effect is achieved, I'm going to
split that technique off into its own video, which
will come soon after this one. So if that's of interest to you, make sure you're subbed and signed up for notifications so you don't miss it. For the coloring of this piece, I know I've already done red and black, but you know what? I like it. (gentle music) For the red and the black I'm
using Fiebing's Pro Oil Dye. I'll start with black using
a piece of sponge and a brush so that I can better control how it is applied along the lines. Then I'll go over the
central area with the red. Next I'll buff out some
of the excess pigment with a paper towel. I'm actually going for a distressed look, so if some of the black
blends a little into the red, it works in my favor here. But for a cleaner look, buff the colors separately
with separate towels. I'll repeat this process
for the remaining pieces. The back pieces I decided
to go with all black. For the finish I'll be using Satin Shene, which is an acrylic product. It has less glossy finish
compared to Super Shene, which will fit this look better. I apply a generous coat
with a sponge on both sides. I want the product to
absorb into the leather to help it firm up and also
to prevent dye from bleeding. (somber inspirational music) The assembly of this project should be fairly straightforward, but before the rivets go in, I would suggest you shape
the pieces a little bit. Ideally, do this while the pieces are still damp from the sheen process. You can also do this before
applying the dye if you prefer as the leather is easier
to work with at this stage. However, you only need a subtle shape to get a good look on this piece. So it's fine to do it
at this stage as well. If you choose not to do any forming, it might be a little tougher
to get the rivets to line up, and it might look a little lumpy. All of the top pieces of the breastplate should have a slight dish added. For the backplate, I'm focusing
more around the shoulders. And for the front, I'm
wanting more of a smooth dome across the whole front. I don't expect everyone to
have a dedicated forming tool like this, but you can get creative. For example, you can use
something like a softball or a bowling ball or find
something cheap online like an acrylic hemispheres. And for the bottom back pieces, you can add a bend
that's in a valley shape to accentuate the spine. Don't go too extreme
with the shape either, you can always tweak the shape more once you finish the assembly. Because this is a shaped piece, to set the rivets, you'll either
have to turn the piece over and set it flat, or if you
wanna use a rivet setter for a more domed rivet appearance, you'll have to elevate your surface with something like this mini anvil or some other striking face. You can either start from the
middle and work your way out, or from the outside and
work your way to the center. Keep in mind that there are many factors that can make a rivet hole misalign. For example, your tooling might
have stretched the leather, or if you formed the leather
too much in the shaping stage, or if you weren't precise enough with your tracing and hole punching. So you might have to wrestle the leather a little bit to coax it into position or even migrate the leather
hole position slightly, preferably on the underside layer to maintain the visible layer's symmetry. (hammer tapping) (gentle uplifting music) To connect all of the components we will be using a retaining strap. This is a simple but highly
underutilized technique which makes the difference
between a usable breastplate and a sad tube of leather. It allows the plates to compress and twist easily with movement. You should use a thin and
supple piece of leather but something that doesn't
have a lot of give or stretch, so most chrome tanned leathers are out. You don't want it stretching
out too much over time. In this example, I'm using
some pre-dyed leather that is around a medium
firmness and weight. Once I finish making the
front and back straps, I'll start to connect all the
components with the rivets. It'll be easiest to start
with the bottom plates. Oh, and always double check your order of components before
committing the rivets. It's pretty easy to mix up the pieces. Now I'll just work my way up, connecting the plates in order. (hammer tapping) Finally, we come to the buckle placement. Buckles are covered completely
in a recent tutorial with accompanying guide and pattern pack, so please reference those resources for making the buckles for this project. I suggest making your buckles from 3/4 inch to one inch in width, and the length will be up to you. Keep in mind that where
you place your buckles will determine how it fits. And you can decide if you want to wear the armor loose or snug, and plan ahead for
wearing additional items like an arming gambeson. I personally don't suggest wearing a breastplate super tight. I think slightly snug is a good goal so the plates can still flex and compress with movement easily. So where do we attach the buckles? If you have a form that is
approximately your size, that is probably the easiest way. You can mark the holes
as demonstrated here. If you don't have that,
the next best thing is to have a friend
help hold the pieces up and get your reference marks from there. If you start with the
top and add the buckles to connect the front and the back, you'll have an easier time
matching up the sides from there. Just make sure they are
even when you mark one side, then you can simply transfer
those marks to the other side with the aid of a paper pattern. (drill whirring) As for the hardware, I was torn between these more decorative Al Stohlman buckles and the darker antique buckles. Since I decided on the distressed look, I went with the darker buckles. The rivets being used here are the medium and long double cap rivets. One additional tip I should mention is if you make the shoulder pauldrons from the previous tutorial, you can add a strap or two
at the top of the breastplate and suspend it from there instead of using the big chest strap. This will improve mobility quite a bit. (hammer tapping) (triumphant inspirational music) One of the goals I have for these videos is to keep improving the production value, which I'm able to do with your support. So I really I appreciate those of you who do buy these patterns, as well as our Patreon supporters. And if you would like to
see some behind the scenes, early access, work in progress content, and access to the latest patterns, I hope you'll consider checking it out at Patreon.com/PrinceArmory. And if you wanna pick up this pattern, head on over to Academy
at PrinceArmory.com. And again, thanks to Tandy Leather for supporting this video. And if you enjoy this
video, please be sure to like, comment, share, and subscribe. Thanks again for watching,
I hope to see you next time. (upbeat music) (air whooshing)
