Garren Jacobsen
Auror
How much would a "suit" of leather armor weight. I am talking for arms, shoulders, torso, and legs. I am asking both out of curiosity and for a couple of WIPs I have in mind.
IDK I say we should try to get as much as we can. This question actually started due to a zombie apocalypse survival discussion.
Is there a reason why you need to know the weight? As someone that wears leather armor regularly (although not a full suit, just various pieces), I can tell you that it's light. Light enough that you barely notice it after you're wearing it for a bit and are used to wearing armor. On the other hand, you never stop noticing the 9872987238947239847 pound steel helmet on your head even when you become accustomed to it. (OK, so maybe the helmet is not 9.9 quintillion pounds...).How much would a "suit" of leather armor weight. I am talking for arms, shoulders, torso, and legs. I am asking both out of curiosity and for a couple of WIPs I have in mind.
Oh, zombies... Can I assume it's a more-or-less modern setting, then?
What ya want to do in that case is find an ex-SCAdian or similar person who has practical knowledge of making old-style armor. The survivalists are all gonna have looted the sources of modern armor -- bulletproof vests and the like -- pretty darn quickly, and you don't want to fight them for their stuff. Besides, after the fall of civilization, there wil be a limited amount of said modern armor and no one to make more because the technology required to make it will be gone, but as long as you have cows, you've got the material to make leather armor. Chainmail is also good (useless against impact damage, but it does deflect a blade well enough if worn over something rigid), but you may not want to use up your wire for that -- it may be needed more for other things, and wire is also something hard to replace. And plate... Too heavy, too hard to move in, and it doesn't do a thing against any powerful piercing-type weapon. (Actual SCAdians in the Middle Kingdom did a test of various armor types versus a boar spear. Conclusion: NOTHING stops a boar spear. They didn't even to put much force behind it. So if you find yourself living in a post-zombie-apocalypse world someday, remember that, once the bullets are used up, you'll want to fight with a boar spear... which is probably pretty good against zombies, too. Quieter than a chainsaw, too.)
Anyway. Leather armor types. You've got some basic categories for construction style: lamelar/little pieces layered and laced together, articulated, solid plates, quilted, a base for metal plates either on top of or between (coat of plates or brigandine)... And you can also categorize by type of leather and whether or not it has been treated to be more rigid (cuir bouilli) or flexible (suede or chrome oil tanned). Is it enhanced with metal bits added on, or not? Is it meant to be worn with thick padding, or minimal, or none at all? (The padding/gambeson does count as part of the armor. Try wearing chainmail by itself in a real fight if you doubt this. Even leather, although it is superior to other materials for absorbing impact, is better with at least a light gambeson. Protects the wearer from getting bruises from the weight of the armor itself, if nothing else, and who wants to worry about the discomfort of armor bruises when fighting zombies? Or angry LARPers, for that matter?)
Um... I can brainstorm/blather about this for pages and pages. Maybe a bit of narrow-down on the question would help? At least a little information on what tech levels/time periods are relevant. (They didn't have Jiffy Rivets in the Middle Ages -- sad but true. For that matter, no one sells Jiffy Rivets around here... Coincidence?)
Is there a reason why you need to know the weight?
The reason why I need to know the weight is mostly for descriptive purposes really and when a survivor stumbles onto the group that is using this he asks about weight and whether the zombie can bite through the leather if it is x weight. He then asks why they don't use plate and mail and weight get's tossed in again.
It really depends on what part of the armor it is. I like wearing cloth under all my armor for comfort reasons, but that's new this year. I used to wear short sleeves and shorts so my legs and arms were directly on the armor I wore on those parts. I wear gloves under my demis, but that's to protect my hands more than for comfort.My belief, utterly without evidence, is that few people would wear leather armor without some sort of padding (that is, something more than just a single layer of cloth). Leather gets hot and damned uncomfortable if worn against bare skin and it's not much better with just a shirt or underwear. I just assume that some sort of linen underneath would be standard--so standard, in fact, that the leather is often sewn right onto it.
Am I just living in some sort of fantasy world?
-= Skip =-
My belief, utterly without evidence, is that few people would wear leather armor without some sort of padding (that is, something more than just a single layer of cloth). Leather gets hot and damned uncomfortable if worn against bare skin and it's not much better with just a shirt or underwear. I just assume that some sort of linen underneath would be standard--so standard, in fact, that the leather is often sewn right onto it.
Am I just living in some sort of fantasy world?
-= Skip =-
The Armourer and His Craft
A quick thing about hardened leather. I have boiled leather before and I know someone who bakes his leather. Hardened leather is sort of shrunk with water and heat, the resulting product being thicker and harder than the original. In fact, his leather shoulders sound like wood when you tap them on a table. They feel as hard as wood too. Hardened leather can be brittle, but it's very light, actually, even with straps and buckles.
Another thing about leather armor, is that it wasn't intended to be worn as a complete set. Modern people have made some really cool sets, but historical armor was very different.
Weight is going to be variable depending on whether you're talking boiled leather breastplate, a leather scale tunic, or whatever.
Water-hardened leather shouldn't be completely rigid; if it is, it will be brittle like you describe. Nor should it shrink up noticably. He's over-cooking it. (I've seen boiled leather that was so brittle that it shattered when dropped on the floor.)