Huntersforge
Well-Known Member
I’ll keep an eye out for your advert . Get an order in
HF
HF
Any demand for bespoke buffalo leather bikini lens protectors?
- Thread starter Cottis
- Start date
I'd be happy to pay extra for the leather strap. I think it looks beautiful. Bespoke items can't be made cheaply. That's just the nature of the beast. I love quality gear, and I don't mind spending money on it if it's something I really want. Sure, plastic and rubber covers work just the same, but there's just something extra special about bespoke gear
The way the traditional covers work is to have an overlong strap that the user tensions by rotating the covers in opposite directions.
Here's an original 1920s set. If you can make a replica, and something similar for a couple of other classic scopes, I daresay I wouldn't be the only person in here with a taste for classic rifles that's interested.
Elastic bikini straps, not so much.
HonestJohn
Well-Known Member
I agree on above
Interesting. I've personally never used them. Do they stay put then? I would need to make one from some measurements given to me by someone who is prepared to pay more for the extra materials and work. Maybe a bit less than it would normally be as they were being a guinea pig as such but it would make more sense to have someone with existing experience of that design. I think i would prefer elastic in terms of ease of use but for someone who wants the entire thing to suit their existing classic optic as much as possible, your example makes good sense.
Traditional ones have the advantage that they do not get lost in the field.
Last light eats stalking gear. Knives the wrong colour (black), scope covers that are not otherwise attached, the list of what stalkers have lost must be an interesting one.
Yes. The inner faces of the cups and straps are sueded (probably not the right term), which creates enough friction to keep them from slipping.
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I'll happily send you some measurements for the set I have and for the scopes I would like to have covers for.
Fosbery Holster
Well-Known Member
Cottis, an unusual set of lens caps l have on the original scope you may want to look at from the 1940’s, l don’t need any so don’t panic, l just thought they might interest you.
Obviously it’s the bottom set.
Obviously it’s the bottom set.
Ok, let me try and use you as a guinea pig as you will know the best way, design wise, for them to work well.
The suede bit is the flesh side of the leather (the bit on the inside of the animal rather than the external, top grain, part of the hide which faces the sun) The leather I am using is actually too thick for the cylinder part of the lens covers, so I split it to thin the gauge to make it work better. This results in basically a more "suedey" type of material on the inside of the cylinder, so that might help. I suspect though that the fit is more reliant on a friction type of fit. If you put the leather cap on the end of your ocular or objective bell, does it fit snuggly or is it loose? I mean on its own, not with the twisted leather strap involved.
I have made a few of these now and I use a very accurate disc cutter to cut the circular end cap which forms the end of the cylinder that effectively sits ahead of the scope. The diameter dimension of that piece of leather is basically the foundation of the inner diameter of the cylinder. I am guessing it would be better to err on the side of it being too snug rather than too loose, whereas using the elastic it doesn't really matter and might even be more convenient for the user to have it marginally too loose, as the elastic will hold it in situ and it might be preferable not to have to slightly force the end cap on.
So I suggest me trying to make you a test version with a very precise measurement that exactly fits the objective and ocular bell.
What I need from you is:
The exact outer diameter of the ocular and objective bell housings on the scope you want me to try first. Can I have it in millimeters please and decimals to 1/10 of a mm is fine. Calipers would be best.
Strap wise, what gauge do you think would be best in terms of allowing enough twist but retaining strength. The leather in its basic form is between 3.8-4mm in thickness. I am guessing something like 2.5-3mm would be about right. This leather is strong and not overly supple, so don't worry about that sounding thin. It will hold for years. And what about width of the straps? 8mm sound about right? Less or more?
Next is the overall length of your scope and how that relates to how long you want/need the straps to be. I have no idea how many times you twist them round the scope, so let me know the optimum length of the straps between each cap when stretched out straight.
And what about thread colour. I have quickly done a few examples for contrast against the leather so you can see what would suit your application best.
Top row left to right is lime green, grey, orange
Bottom row left to right is royal blue, light brown, dark brown.
The orange does not look very orange and I quite like it but bear in mind that leather is a natural item and there is absolutely no uniformity in skin patterns. Parts of this hide are fairly brown and not too marbled with others having lots of figure. It just so happens that the piece of scrap I have used to provide thread colour examples, is quite figured.
So let me know answers to above and I will make something over the weekend and let you have some pics etc when complete so you can judge etc. There is no obligation to buy or anything like that. It sounds like a few people would prefer/benefit from the design you have, so it makes sense to see what can be done.
Cheers.
That's fantastic. Very kind of you to accept me as your guinea pig.
I'll PM you the details tomorrow.
They're for sale now:
* For Sale: - Bespoke leather scope lens caps
I don't have a need for them, but have brought lots from @Cottis before, everything has been made to a really high standard with lots of discussion to ensure I understood what I was getting and received what I expected.
So I can't see anyone being disappointed, particularly with the bargain price.
* For Sale: - Bespoke leather scope lens caps
I don't have a need for them, but have brought lots from @Cottis before, everything has been made to a really high standard with lots of discussion to ensure I understood what I was getting and received what I expected.
So I can't see anyone being disappointed, particularly with the bargain price.
Cottis kindly knocked these up in short order and exactly what I wanted…. I asked for one version with tabs to give a few strap options which work equally well. Both on old Leupold 6.5-20x50. Look good,silent and a very fair price for handwork, what’s not to like!
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Martiniblack577
Well-Known Member
Would welcome some for a couple of classic scopes but sans elastic as well
A strapped version has been made and accepted as good quality but there are some difficulties with making them remotely whereby the fit is snug enough to resist a lack of friction (resulting potential for strap to untwist) but without being so snug it won't fit and also not being too loose that it lacks functionality.
I am going to make another one based on my own scopes to further test and see which side of the dimensions I need to err on to ensure good fit.
The long and short of it is that I will end up offering leather strapped variants but not for a week or so and they will be more expensive due to the extra materials, prep time of the strap and more stitching etc.
Will probably put up a separate advert when ready as there definitely seems to be 2 camps of people for each variant.
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