Leather Arm Guard

Hello fellow Makers!

Not so long ago my old and trusty arm guard broke. My old arm guard was the first thing I made out of leather, so this was a good opportunity to see how much better I have become at leathercrafting. Much better is the answer.

Step 1: Tools and Materials

So for this project you'll need:

A mallet
A knife
A cutting board
D-rings
A leather chisel
An edge slicker (optional)
Leather lace
A lacing needle
And of course leather

Step 2: Cutting

For once I actually didn't plan anything beforehand and just started by measuring my wrist and forearm. However, I tought that a single piece of leather would look too plain and boring so I decided to make some nice looking edges.

The main piece is 12cm (4.7") wide at the wrist, 20cm (7.9") at the start of my forearm and 22cm (8.7") long. Remember to take measurements after your proportions. The edges are 3cm (1.2") wide, just don't do what I did, make them too wide...
Luckly it was a quick fix with the knife.

When you have cut the pieces you can burnish the edges to make them look nicer.

(As you might notice I used pre-dyed leather)

(Also ignore the bluish tint the leather has on the second picture. The leather is black/bark brown)

Step 3: Punching Holes and Lacing

Now the hammering can start. Punch out the holes for the lacing to go through and make sure they line up.

After making the neighbours yell at you for making a noise you can start with the lacing. You'll need a thread that's about 4-5 times the lenght of the seam. Start from the backside so the "tail" won't be visible. Sew through the holes and always make sure that you have the same side of the lace thread upwards. When you pull the thread through from the backside push the "tail" behind the thread so it stays in place under the loop. Keep on doing it until the "tail" is completly covered. When you reach the end of the seam push the needle through the loops on the backside and cut the thread.

Step 4: Adding the Rings

Now you have a large leather patch without much use, so now we add the rings. Measure out four spots with an equal distance between eachother on one side and three spots with equal distance between eachother on the other side. Make sure that the holes where the rings will go doesn't meet up with the holes on the other side (see the last picture) or else you might be unable to tighten the arm guard.

When you sew the rings in place use the same method as before, and pull tight so the rings won't move around.

Step 5: Finishing Touches

Now you're almost done!
I used paracord as lacing between the rings and I also cut out a small piece of leather to use as a "lock" for the paracord. In the fifth picture I have the arm guard facing the wrong direction, I just couldn't turn my arm 180 degree to take the picture from the right side.

Now you can hunt in the forest without the need to worry about your forearm.

OutdoorEnthusiast out!