DIY Components and Materials

Raw components for people who would rather build than buy. Lacquered scales (kozane) by the hundred, silk and synthetic lacing cord by the metre, chainmail sheet, brass and copper fittings, rivets, leather edging, backing fabric, and the plates that make up a cuirass before anyone has laced them together.

Two kinds of customer end up here. The first is restoring or modifying something — replacing a faded cord run, swapping fittings, rebuilding a section that was assembled badly. The second is building a suit from scratch, which is a genuinely large undertaking and one of the most rewarding things you can do in this field.

Be clear-eyed about what lacing involves. A full kebiki cuirass runs to several hundred metres of cord and a great many hours, and doing it evenly is a skill that takes practice on something small first. Start with a single skirt panel.

Cord is sold by length and matched to our standard colourways, so a repair years from now will still match. If you need a specific colour matched to an existing suit, send a photograph and a sample if you can.

Our lacing and assembly guides are free to read in the Journal, whether or not you buy the parts here.