DIRTY DOZEN LARGESSE DERBY

Up Date: I did win the Derby.

For my Dirty Dozen Derby Largesse donation/entry I was going to do 12 entreys for 144 total pieces. Master Philippe challenged me to not do that but put my combine ideas together into one really good entry instead. As such I give you my entry of 12 things combined into one. 

 

Leather needle bookwith wool felt page, containing, 

2 penannular brooch (copper)

2 bowfibula (brass)

4 veil pins (steel & glass)

2 hair pins (brass & glass)

And a linen bag. 

I made a leather book by using a awl to poke holes ro sew a peice of wool felt in with sinew though waxed linen would have work as well. I used a soft sided coptic book design that I use to make books with paper in them. I could have made the wool twice as big so that I could have doubled the amount of stuff but with me I would then have wanted to double the amount of stuff. also another page can always be added.

Making the penannular brooches

I used 7 strand naked electical wire that i cut in to 2 1/2" & 3 1/2" leangth 

Using the horn of my anvil i bent the longer peice of wire around to make a full circle

 Here you see the circles and then with the small bended circles on each ends and finaly rebent into a finished circle. I also tapped the whole brooch flat with more force on the ends to help hammer harden the metal

 Making the pins I hammered flat then hand filed one for clean up.

I used the file over the other end of the pin to sharppen the end. I takes about 75 passes with the file to make a sharp pin.

 I bent the flat ends of the pin so that I could use it to hook the frame on and then finish bending the pin around the frame. The back tail of the pin is used to get a better hild on the pinn when using it.

 To make glass headed veil pins i start with store bought pins because they are verry thin and clean and are less likely to mess up the modern fabrics that are used by reenacters.

 I removed the plastic top with the hammer on the anvil

 I have my perscription saftey glasses on with side shields. You always need saftey glasses when working glass in a blow torch.

 Because of their short size you need to use plyers to hold the pins or i used wine corks. But don't use the synthetic ones they melt from the heat. I made 75 and then set them out and matched them up by size in order to make sets that were the same head size. 

                     

Making the  bowfibulars. Using hardened brass wire from the hobby stores train section. I cut 6" leangths. I sharpened the cut end. Again it takes about 75 passes with a hand file.i hammered the other end flat and file it smooth it to a rounded edge. I finger bend 2 at a time to keep them matching. then spinn the spring coil till the leangth of the pin sits at a good location of the clap end. this is about 2 or 3 times. 

Here are the 12 books closed

The 12 books full and open

Close up of one of the books with its contents.

also the hair pins were made with thicker Brass wire they were sharpend befor having the glass added to the other end the end with the glass was roughed up some to better hold the glass I dont work wire after glass is on it. 

I will add a photo of the bags here.