Leather costs - caligae and balteus, maybe kits?

[JasonNovak]

I'm looking into making my own caligae and balteus. I found the nice tutorials and hardware made by Robert Norton, but have some questions on leather costs. I don't really know what good prices are, but this site was recommended in the suppliers I found this site: www.twleather.com/sides.htm which seems to have the lowest prices, but at 3.50 a square foot, 20+ per piece its a bit pricey, since I'd need two weights. Are they typical prices? Are there cuts thats better suited, especially for the belt? A kit would be nice, I remember seeing one for caligae on rlqm.com, I asked for more details and some pictures but never really heard back, and now I see they're gone from the site. Are there any other kits available? <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

I bought a hide of 6-7 oz Veg tan leather hide from Texas Leather and a 2 inch wide leather strap (belt). Also bought 2 of the bellies in 10-12 oz for caligae bottoms all for $ 101 American. So for 100 bucks you should have all your basic kit leather needs taken care off. Give them a call, sometimes they have stuff that isn't listed on the website (Like the bellies). You just have to get your leather working supplies and hobnails. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p200.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=jsantell@romanarmytalk>jsantell</A> at: 10/5/04 5:26 pm<br></i>