How to Make Leather Helmets

Make your own leather helmet.

Leather is a heat resistant material that's been used for firefighter helmets, aviator helmets and more. Iron workers and construction personnel were first required to wear leather helmets as hard hats during construction of the Hoover Dam. Modern helmets are often made from high-density resin or plastic, but you can still make your own protective leather helmet at home.

Things You'll Need

• Leather panels
• Head-shaped hard plastic mold
• Hammer
• Sharp knife
• Industrial sewing machine or sharp needle and strong thread
• Clamps and weights
• Glue
• Rosin
• Boiler
• Plastic cap
• Nylon cap
• Mallet
• Acetylene torch
• Straps (optional)
• Semi-gloss paint or varnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut two leather panels in long elliptical shapes about 8 inches wide across their short axes, then cut each ellipse in half to yield four identical panels.

2. Sew the four panels together to make the skull of the helmet. Flatten the stitched creases where the panels meet using a hammer or mallet. Reinforce the panels with double stitching at each seam.

3. Soften the leather with water, then stretch over an existing hard plastic mold roughly the size of a human head. Trim excess leather from the ridge-like seams with a sharp knife.

4. Clamp evenly-spaced weights around the bottom of the helmet and leave it overnight so that the leather permanently takes the shape of the rounded helmet.

5. Apply glue to the ridged seams.

6. Heat rosin in a large boiler until it's fully melted. Submerge the helmet in rosin for 55 minutes. Remove the helmet and allow to dry slowly for eight weeks.

7. Tap the plastic cap inside the leather helmet using a mallet. Tap the nylon cap inside as well. These caps will make the helmet comfortable and snug to wear.

8. Soften the leather and burn away any loose threads with an acetylene torch. Attach straps to the interior liners if desired.

Tips & Warnings

• Add an optional brim by cutting a large ellipsoid rounded piece of leather, sewing it to the brim and cutting out the excess leather where the helmet skull meets the brim and in the center of the brim piece.

• Add a fire retardant or other protective liner to the inside of the helmet as desired.

• Paint the helmet with a semi-gloss or fire-retardant paint or clear varnish.

References

• aemt548 (YouTube): How it's made leather firefighter helmets
• Ocean City Fools: History of the Leather Helmet
• Ironworkers Local 373: A History of the Ironworkers Union