Oven Hardening Leather Armor

This article is in progress.

This is a culmination of what I gleaned from the Armoring forum, and felt a basic tutorial would be helpful. Much of this article is YMMV.

Step 1: Soak your leather for 2-3 hours in room temperature water.

Some folks say an hour, or until the leather stops releasing air bubbles, while others say 4-6 hours or overnight.

Some folks say to use water as hot as your hand can tolerate (this appears to be unneeded, however).

Step 2: Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.

You might want to modify slightly, +/-, depending on your elevation.

Step 3: Shape your leather

Step 4: Place your armor piece on a baking tray.

Step 5: Check your piece every 20-30 minutes.

After the first 20 minutes, reform the leather if needed. (It should be warm enough to hold it's shape, but still cool enough to touch if you're careful.) Keep reforming as needed during the process.

Step 6: Bake until dry.

The longer you leave it, the firmer it will become, but also the more brittle it will be.

Can we get a more specific time frame for this?

Note: If you mess up, you can resoak the leather and begin again, depending on how much you harden the armor.
Sealing should not be necessary; fighting in the rain is not the same as submerging leather for extended periods of time.