Leather Supplies for LARP Crafting

When creating a character costume, there is no better way to achieve the desired look than to create your own gear. Leather working is a skill you can easily polish at home, and once you get comfortable with the tools and materials, you can eventually create completely unique pieces of equipment, from leather armors to accessories like pouches and belts.

In this blog, we are going to identify the basic leather supplies you need at home to explore the craft and make your own medieval gear.

➸ Basic Leatherworking Tools

• ❧ Punch Set

  This tool set is the most versatile way to punch holes into your leather for rivets, eyelets, or lacing. It can be used anywhere on a leather piece, may it be on the edges or right in the middle, which isn't the case with more complex punch tools. This makes this simple punch the first thing any leatherworker should acquire, and a tool that remains useful both for casual or specialist uses.

• ❧ Rivet Setter

  When working with leather, you will eventually have to attach pieces together, and for that task, rivets are often the easiest and most effective way to proceed. This simple tool allows you to set rivets in place in their holes without flattening them with your hammer. It's a convenient and inexpensive tool that keeps your rivets symmetrical and round for a more pleasing finish.

• ❧ Eyelet Setter

  While you can set a rivet in place with nothing but a hammer and a hard surface, eyelets are more delicate in their nature, and cannot be set reliably without this specialized tool that will make sure the eyelet closes adequately. Eyelets are extremely important to make a more durable leather accessory, as they reinforce holes that will suffer more stress, like belts, armor straps, or corset lacing.

• ❧ Edge Beveler

  Finish is often overlooked, but forgetting about the edge beveler tool would be of great disservice to your craft. This unassuming knife cuts the sharp acute edges of leather pieces, allowing you to wear them with improved comfort, and also providing a more natural and authentic finish. The difference may seem subtle, but there is a reason this is the only finishing tool on this list. Going without it would be a significant oversight.

• ❧ Utility Knife

  When you begin your crafting journey, you will find that leather is a tough material. General-purpose cutting knives or leather scissors can manage thinner hides or limited cuts but, if you are serious about cutting leather, nothing works as well as this utility knife. Your hands and wrists will thank you for picking one of these utility knife paired with a cutting board. Trust our artisans on this, they tried the other options, and this is the best tool.

➸ Supplies

You can also find various crafting supplies and materials in our store. Here is a list of the most basic ones you may need when you begin working with leather and crafting your own LARP gear.

• ⤕ Buffalo Leather (Thin, Flexible, or Thick) - already dyed and treated
• ⤕ Pre-made strap sets
• ⤕ Rivets (Posts and heads)
• ⤕ Eyelets
• ⤕ Leather laces
• ⤕ Linen thread

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If you ever want to explore more complex leather crafting projects, don't hesitate to come in store and ask us your questions. We can guide your first steps with more intricate processes like working with unprocessed vegetable leather, dyes, stamping tools, and engraving.