dragondaddy

Okay, y'all have seen my first two attempts at the hemp sword belts which are now sitting up on my etsy site waiting for good homes. Now those two were both made with natural un-dyed polished hemp cord. I used 1mm 20 pound test Hungarian hemp, which is the stuff you find at Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby, and most general craft stores. I've mentioned before that I've been wanting to get some better quality materials to start working with. Well, a little while back a Sword Buyers Guide forum member named Sirtre ordered a custom hemp belt. I had to special order the supplies from Fire Mountain Gems, and wait for them to arrive.

Yesterday, the supplies got here for me to start working with:




So here's what we have: three skeins of 1mm 20 pound test black Chinese hemp cord, 25 mm horn rings for decoration(sorry animal lovers but those are real animal horn), the dark chrome colored d-rings in 1-1/2 inch and 1 inch sizes (I've decided to start using these as my standard), and two bars of pure beeswax to coat the final product with for the preservation of the cord.

I started work on the body of the belt Yesterday and have the buckle rings attached and the fist 15 inches of the main belt done. This reflects about a half hour of work that I did before bed. So, these don't actually take that long to do, but still about a good solid day's worth of work which is usually broken down into various working sessions over two to three days with my internet and errand running breaks throughout the day. The ring decorations will start being attached about 18" away from the buckle ring to allow plenty of adjustment room for my belt-loop and ring frog system. This post will be updated with the finished product pics when they are ready.

Okay, since the first hemp sword belt turned out well. I made a second attempt. While I used "found" components for the first model, this one has bought matching rings. I again used the 20# hemp cord from Hobbly Lobby (I really need to upgrade my materials) with the goal of making this belt a bit thinner, longer and more adjustable than the "fixed ring" construction of this first.

W.I.P. pic #1 showing the thinner width of the new belt

W.I.P. pic #2 again showing the start of the belt section

W.I.P pic #3 showing the "Loop and Ring" suspension system

W.I.P. pic #4 finished belt section

Sword Belt Take Two Finished Components Pic #1

Sword Belt Take Two Finished Components Pic #2

Sword Belt Take Two w/ Wooden Dao Blade

Sword Belt Take Two w/ Wooden Jian Sword

Okay, so far I've gotten positive feedback on the Hemp fiber sword belt. The first one, was very much a prototype, although I have offered it up for sale.

So, here is the second take on this project. This belt is going to be just a bit thinner, and quite a bit longer (60" as opposed to the 48" of the original). Rather than a modern buckle, I'm using a double d-ring closure to bring the excess belt length to the opposite side from where the sword will be carried. This suspension sis not going to use fixed rings but a sliding loop and d-ring system so this belt will be more adjustable overall. The "raw" edges of the last belt are actually going to be covered by some black trim. The sliding Loop system should also make this very quickly reversible for those who are left-handed.

Hemp Sword Belt #2 W.I.P. Pic #1:


Hemp Sword Belt #2 W.I.P Pic #2:


Hemp Sword Belt #2 W.I.P. Pic #3 showing "loop and ring" suspension:


Hemp Sword Belt #2 W.I.P. Pic #4 showing "loop and ring" suspension:



The example is made in Taupe scrap hemp that I had laying around. The actual belt components will be made with the same cord as the belt.

Okay, here's the latest project from the Happyhippiebilly the hemp fiber sword belt. I'm actually kinda proud of how it turned out, but I would love to get some honest feedback from other folks.

Here's the website description:
"Hand crocheted with 1mm 20lb test hemp jewelry cord. app 48 inch over all length, 1-3/4 inch width, suspension strap is 2-1/2 inches long, and scabbard strap are 1x6 inches. Initial retaining ring is 4 inches back from the buckle and the suspension rings and strap are just over 2 inches back from the retaining ring to hold the blade at a comfortable angle. Natural hemp color with contrasting suspension strap in a lighter natural tone. Faux bronze fittings with dark-chrome d-rings on the scabbard straps. Hemp textile fragments (cord and cloth) have been found that date as early as 8000 BCE. So this very well may have historical precedent in the peasant armies of both Europe and Asia. Designed with a modern buckle for convenience this is a must have for any modern swordsman."

Hemp Sword Belt with Wooden Dao:


Hemp Sword Belt with Wooden Jian:


Hemp Sword Belt as Worn:


Hemp Sword Belt Suspension System Detail:



Really, I'm not trying to advertise here - I would actually like honest feedback about this project. What you guys like or don't like about it. This took one full ball of 20# hemp cord (about $5), and I used some found components from an old belt that had been given to me by a co-worker some years back. I did have to by the d-rings for the retaining straps (about $2), and it probably took a good full day's worth of work. I am also interested in what anybody might think something like this is worth. Any feedback positive or negative is appreciated. If negative, what improvements or changes would you like to see made?

I'm actually starting to get pretty discouraged with the etsy site. I started listing products back in September and I haven't made a single sale. I'm about to get the site shut down for unpaid listing fees, so I really need to make a sale. I need honest feedback. Is there a problem with what I'm making, is the problem that a person has to sign up for etsy in order to shop there? Do I need better pictures and descriptions? Are my prices too high or too low? Or, do just need to abandon this endeavor altogether? I really need some honest answers to these questions, and that is what I feel like I'm not getting.

Okay, this is how the "HippieBilly" hat came about.  While we were living in FL I had started doing some weed clearing at the lake that was behind our house.  I wanted to give us a clear path to the water for swimming and fishing because I was tired of my wife and I getting surprised by snakes when we went down to the water.  I found myself in need of a sun hat and living as far out in the boonies as we did back then, I couldn't just go to a store and buy one.  I attempted to free form something with hemp Jewlery cord but that didn't work out so well, plus I quickly discovered it takes a prohibitive amount of hemp cord to try and make something like a hat.  Then my wife found the following free pattern online:  www.lionbrand.com/patterns/cchs-hatAdult.html  I found a basis to start.  After a few attempts I made my first hat out of a lighter camoflage color (Red Heart's "Amazon") with a vented band section done in black.  I had already modified the pattern in several ways even on that first hat.  First, I dropped the "daisy" motif to make the hat unisex - Second, I added the venting by using lattice stich in the first three rows of the body - Third, instead of using single crochet in the body of the hat I used leaf stich so that the hat would have larger gaps between stiches for more ventilation - Lastly, I extended the brim of the hat to make it more effective for keeping the sun out of my eyes.  Despite being made out of acrylic, the hat proved to be quite comfortable in hot weather, even when I was bicycling back and forth to work.  I was actually called upon to make a few hats for co-workers and expirimented with some different color combinations.  While looking through the yarn selection at that evil mega-chain retailer (the great blue market demon) I discovered Red Heart's "Mexicana" color blend I love the brilliance of the rainbow colors in this blend, I just (these days) wish I could obtain it in a better material than the cheap acrylic.  Thus the Rainbow banded hat was born, the originals were camoflage with rainbow bands.  Upon returning to Louisville from Florida, I began using black for my hats rather than the "Amazon" camoflage that I had been using in FL.  There you have the evolution of the "HippieBilly" hats. 

As for the name:  when my wife and I were living out in the woods with the Rainbow Family we noticed that crochet and knit hats were a staple wardrobe item among the woods hippies.  The floppy brimmed round hat is to my opinion a staple of the "hillbilly' wardrobe.  So upon combining the two, what else could i call them but "HippyBilly" - half hippie, half hillbilly and unique unto themselves.