| Water Hardened Leather Gorget | ||
| Hardened leather plates on this gorget were made using 5-6 oz leather water hardened which brought the thickness to 5-6 mm thick and feels almost wooden with no flex at all. I tested some of the scraps later and was unable to soften it even after a week long soak, broke a knife trying to stab through another piece, and another piece shattered when hit with a hammer on a concrete floor. I have since started to work on a much more involved hardening process with a final hardening with wax which results in plates that are strong and rigid but not brittle. | ||
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| Side View | Front View | Back View |
| Wax Hardened Leather Gorget | ||
| The plates on this gorget were made using 12-13oz leather soaked in melted wax for long enough to be sure it is completely saturated. Although at normal room temperature it is fairly rigid, unfortunately the plates can become rather soft in hot weather. Also any bending that does occur such as being smashed in your gear bag mostly negates the hardening. It can be restored by heating it for a few minutes to about 150°F then letting it cool. To compensate for these issues I wedged in 22 gauge steel plates between the hardened leather and the base. Across the required rigid area in front there are 2 layers of steel plates. I only one with only wax before I started working on a combination water/wax method. | ||
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| Side View | Front View | Back View |
| Metal Gorget | ||
| Plates were cut from a black enameled panel of ~16 gauge steel that I picked up somewhere years ago. All edges were ground and smoothed to avoid and sharp edges or burrs. | ||
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| Side View | Front View | Back View |
