GDFB padded cuisses

[Sir Wolf]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2095/2322702010_94b516cf71_o.jpg

here are the new get dressed for battle padded cuisses.  the one on the right is the stock item, the one on the left shoes the starting of my "updates" to them.  I plan on sewing mine together.  i was going to cut down the leather to make a smaller dia. circle, but they used a heavy needle in the material so it poked large holes. you would be able to see this if I made it smaller.  I would have the one down, but the thread I started with was too fine and I took it back apart (better now then it ripes out on the field   will show more progress later.

[Sir Brian]

Those are sweet. Funny thing with the picture though is the one on the
left actually looks bigger than the original stock one! - Must be the angle
the picture was taken.

The padding looks more than adequate. Are they pretty densely packed?
I would've gone with them but they didn't cover the shins. 

Please post picts of the finished "modifications"! 

[Sir Edward]

Yeah, they're actually pretty dense. They used thick layers of linen over the padding, so these are actually armor-grade, and not just costuming. The matching gambeson is a beast.

They also made them fairly large in circumference. I think most of the time they were meant to be worn over mail chauses, so the size might be OK if I remove the flaps on mine and wear them together like that.

[Sir Wolf]

ya these are for the thighs. typically they would have worn them over mail chauses and then had metal gutter greave. i know there are a few guys in the Mac Bible that look like they have full padded legs i think, but they are poorer and wouldn't have all the other goodies i don't think.

[Sir Edward]

I started pulling off those leather flaps on mine too. I'm using a stitch remover. It looks like the leather trim underneath is stitched on separately, so it seems to work pretty well. Did you do the same thing or are you cutting the leather?

I bought some small eyelets from Micheal's, and they're too small... the diameter is small, but the depth is the real problem since the padding is thick, even near the stitches. I'm thinking 1/2" grommets might be nice, but Michael's didn't have anything bigger. I seem to recall getting huge ones for ropes and the like over at Home Depot. Know where to get something like that? Think I should try Home Depot again?

[Sir Wolf]

look at wal mart in the camping section. they have the large grommets with riveting tool.

i took mine off like you did. but now i'm up against how to sew them together. i think I may just take 1 leather side off the other leg and sew the opposite side down to it. if it works its means i'll have to sew 1 of the leathers back on to the leg that both are off of ehhehe