Witcher Costume | Real Leather Armor

A Witcher shows you how he gets dressed on the morning of his hunt. See you on the path. Costume takes inspiration from the Witcher 3 Ursine Armor set, though with my own personal modifications. Though I call it a costume, it is designed to be fully functional, the armor is hardened leather, made by me.
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/ livinganachronism
My Sword: Darksword Armory Knight's Bastard Sword (non affiliate): tinyurl.com/yform53z
Faux-Suade Pants (non affiliate): www.medievalcollectibles.com/...
Not made in affiliation with Andrzej Sapkowski, CD Project Red, or Netflix's The Witcher. This is a fan made piece with homage paid to the owners of this property.
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Music Taken from the Witcher 3 Wild Hunt OST. "Go For It", "Kaer Morhen", "Ciri's Battle Theme" by Percival Marcin Przybyłowicz.

[@VosperCDN]

The full kit looks amazing, and so (relatively) simple to do, any man-at-arms could fit themselves out like our famous Witcher(s).

[@SeleneSalvatore]

And easy to repair with some tread, needle and some scrap material especially gambeson parts. Also some parts can be added when needed like studded arm protectors.

[@markfergerson2145]

"My gambeson... it's thin, but so am I" Literal LOL on that one! The overall effect is quite convincing to my 21st century eye and is about as period-accurate as any fantasy-based leather armor can be. One question- you went with cord strap retainers instead of loops of leather as on a modern belt. Simpler and easier to make and likely entirely adequate for the purpose. Is that a historical detail I'm just ignorant of?

[@LivingAnachronism]

The strap retainers are leather strips, and it might very well be historical, but in this case it was simply because I didn't have the room or the right length rivets to add a leather strap retainer. I thought it might work, and it did :)

[@roffels11-gamingandhistory69]

Historical sources (paintings in manuscripts and effegies in churches) show few leather strips and more cords ("Nesteln" or "Nestelbänder") used to hold armor pieces in place. So in theory both methods are correct, but using cords was the common way. 🤗

[@cameronalexander5195]

The armour actually looks good with the burn mark, makes it look like you've seen some fights

[@Blondie42]

Clearly stabbing him in the back didn't work. 😉

[@ChBrahm]

Some rogue witcher tried to igni him from the back

[@jeffreyfitchett3197]

The costume looks great and I want to say that the writing for this episode was absolutely perfect! A really good mimicry of Geralt's mannerisms.

[@LivingAnachronism]

Thank you, very much

[@Blondie42]

That burn mark looks like battle damage. Technically not so good for brand new armor, but in the long run, it looks like you either survived an attack or killed a baddie to claim it. 💪🗡

[@LivingAnachronism]

Psychologically it;s good for me, because if it was pristine, I'd never want to use it for fear of ruining it. Now that it already looks like it's had a life, I don't mind using it as it is supposed to be used. As armor, not art, haha!

[@Leubast]

People have been trying to burn him, be he knows his fans will protect him.

[@roffels11-gamingandhistory69]

Despite me not being a fan of the witcher in general, I have to say: good work! This is a cosplay I like: leather and steel instead of plastic. I don't want to depreciate "standard" cosplay here, because molding and painting plastic takes lots of work, but leather and steel looks just like... well leather and steel, which are materials I like better than plastic. ;D

[@medievaltexan]

The armor came out really well, it looks great with the rest of the outfit! 😯

[@Bb24138]

Kramer I wanted to let you know that I tried baking leather I had great results at 200° F for about forty minutes and I used a aluminum sheet below the leather to make sure no grill marks appeared and of course I checked on it every five or ten minutes. I'll also take this moment to say your armor looks great, good job man!!

[@anska7475]

Pouches, you can‘t have too many. So true. The whole outfit looks amazing, but I especially like the gambeson. Very dashing. Thank you for sharing.

[@bigbadwolfstudios1]

Man, that armor and costume setup looks amazing...now all you need is a Shabbard!

[@darthnihilusthebestsith]

I think we all spent the last minute thinking about how a shabbard would fit perfectly

[@Centaur255]

I was a bit surprised that you put the satchel on before putting on the armor, belt, etc., but once you explained it everything made so much sense! Love this idea, will imitate it. Great work!

[@WMfin]

Looks good! Saw first episode of season 2 yesterday and they were traveling during winter in SHIRTS! I wish hollywood people would try and spend one night around small fire in t-shirts for them to stop such madness

[@LivingAnachronism]

That was odd. Geralt seemed to have nothing but the clothes on his back after he escaped prison in Cintra, so that might be why he wasn't wearing anything else until after he gets to Kaer Morhen, but I agree, it struck me as odd

[@patrickgagnon1019]

I wish fabric wasn't so expensive, I'd make myself so many gambesons of different styles and colors, gambesons are my favorite armors and they can work with so many characters, from a rogue to a knight. Also, I like the idea of the buttons of the sleeve to attach armor, I might do that in the futur.

[@LivingAnachronism]

I suppose in this regard we are similar to the soldiers of old then. We can afford one gambeson for now, and we cherish it and use it till we are forced to buy another.

[@juniormushu]

You recovered the leather nicely. It looks good man

[@tishie42]

"it's thin, but so am I" The internet has been won for me! I'm still peeved that the algorithm brought me here late in the game but oh so happy it finally did! You're legit bro, thank you for being you! ✨

[@workingmothercatlover6699]

I went to my first Renaissance Faire a couple of weeks ago. I wore men's joggers in a natural color, a shirt close to the same color, black boots, my best sword (out of 2 swords) and a Jedi cloak I bought at Disneyland. I added a fancy hook closure to it. I added a belt pouch I bought there. A very simple costume and I got so many compliments on it. Mostly the cloak. My look is still a work in progress.

[@IodoDwarvenRanger]

Total AWESOMENESS!!! Love it :) and that thing you did with the sword at 0:19 was EPIC!

[@andyknightwarden9746]

Ah yes, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Master Witcher Kraemer of Rivia.

[@nanettesage1112]

When does the “Blooper” reel come out? Gotta love those moments where things go wrong but you can’t help but laugh (and share with us so we can laugh with you).

[@LivingAnachronism]

I'll see what I can do. Many are not so entertaining haha

[@DornXeon]

You are the reason I even know how to properly build my medieval kit.

[@LivingAnachronism]

Awesome to hear!

[@4dragons632]

Utterly fantastic work on the armour, and the video was delivered with even more rugged charm than expected.

[@andreasolsson4539]

The Geralt voice you did was spot on. And the chest plate looks awesome. Great work.

[@LivingAnachronism]

Thank you

[@qg786]

Nice. I'm glad Shad recommended your channel been subscribed since the shout out, every video is interesting and informative to watch. 👍

[@douglascolquhoun8502]

Good job all around. You saved the baked leather excellently. On a personal note I loved the "...but so am I" and "...pouches. I have too few" lines. Well played, Sir, well played indeed.

[@zentierra7803]

LOVED this! The narration..all of it. Got some "Aiden" vibes there with the coloring scheme sort of matching the School of the Cat 'feline' armor from Witcher 3. Likewise, got some very cool Eskel sword-holding vibes at 3:10 (a la "Eskel vs Caranthir" fight scene from the game). Great video! And love how the chest plate turned out too. ♥

[@stupidYoutube]

Wow, great work! I completely forgot you scotched your armor until I saw someone mention it in the comments. It came together beautifully!

[@joshbingham212]

Such a cool video! The cinematography and voice over were top notch!

[@robertmiller6817]

This is awesome man, thanks for making this video. Great to see the pieces you used

[@Stefannice]

Very good introduction to your gear! I like it very much, also the summer/winter details. :)

[@christopherfisher128]

That is really well thought out and put together. Good job. Looks excellent & I like that you kept truly functional in mind even though the chances of running into drowners these days is slim.

[@dreadsleeper]

Outfit looks great! I love the Witcher games and you did a great job keeping within the spirit and esthetic while making a relatively simple kit.

[@julianperfetti3464]

Excellent work Cramer! The armor looks great!, the burn is hardly noticeable, and it all looks practical and realistic! That twirl outro at 0:18 was pretty sick. Your witcher voice was pretty good!

[@thenerdfaraway]

Love the funny quippy things all said in character. Nicely done!

[@grantw8526]

Keep up the good work the outfit looks amazing!

[@devinmeacham8747]

Looks great man!!! Well worth the wait.

[@galengraziano7127]

Great video! Looking forward to watching more!

[@haruhideki]

This style with the layering, but still looks practical to wear, is the kind of way I would like to dress up for normal everyday stuff. The little details also help like the brooch, key chain rope thing from the pants. Maybe you just got some items through time, but it would be cool to know where to get items like this like the pants, shirt, or shift. The gambeson looks so much more fun to wear then a more modern jacket with how it has the detachable parts to it.

[@haruhideki]

I had seen the end recommended video with DIY and starting out. It has good and simple advice.

[@tamaiofthesea]

Love the look!

[@manahtar]

Awesome job, worth the wait to see the final result of all the videos combined ;)

[@obliviousthunder]

cool presentation! for a costume it seems very comfortable. your convincing me to start working on a kit. keep up the good work!

[@LivingAnachronism]

Awesome! Hope you do start your own kit!

[@c03evans]

Sweet armor! Nice swordsmanship too.

[@justwritenaomi4792]

Would love to see Shadiversity do a review on this!! Yes, a bit on historical relevance, would these items of clothing be paired together or were they used at different times in history? What other historical clothing choices would he suggest? But mostly (since Witcher is fantasy) how effective would this get up be? From my woefully uneducated opinion, protection is lacking around the leg and pelvis area, it just looks really open to atttack. 100% for style and an engaging video with interesting topic - i watched it 3 times

[@LivingAnachronism]

Thank you! I'm glad it was entertaining. I may add lower armor as time goes on. If one day Shad wants to do a review or something on practical fantasy leather armor, it would be awesome to be part of. My breast plate is based off of designs I've seen for steel breastplates from around the 15th century.

[@journeyman7189]

Excellent video. Really like how your clothes have detachable sleeves for versatility and breathability. How did you make the pattern for them? Nate

[@LivingAnachronism]

Hi Nate, a family member is a seamstress, so for the gambeson, she took all of my measurements and I just said how I wanted it to look. I'd like to do a tutorial one day, for now, I have no better answer. Sorry

[@jeydex5348]

That's a really nice costume design, I really like it, great job mate)

[@LivingAnachronism]

Thank you!

[@mansfieldtime]

This was both funny and cool. Love how you did the whole thing.

[@mansfieldtime]

And the pouch, belt thing, never would have thought of that. NICE.

[@Danatrid]

Finally had a chance to catch up and watch the last few videos. amazing work as always! I cant wait to see what you do next, honestly, I'm inspired enough to think about filming my own videos, or get back into voice-over work.

[@LivingAnachronism]

Awesome to hear man, can't wait to see what you do!

[@jonahsimmons3645]

damn that was good. love this format

[@marcokik677]

This was very enjoyable. didnt know i would like this so much 👍

[@saturnscore3059]

Goo video. I love the monologue while getting dress 😂

[@mandragoradravgis]

Very nice, I particularly like how your armor was customized to take advantage of a (presumably?) completely ordinary shirt. also, shout-out to your cameraman. Just a little appreciation for the volunteers who help make videos a bit better :)

[@samuelleask1132]

Dude this is insanely cool

[@Killerkorn666]

Dude love your videos, binged after shad recommended your channel.

[@LivingAnachronism]

Thank you

[@chasechaney3055]

Dang boy! Love the gambeson! The leather armor turned out great!

[@LivingAnachronism]

thank you

[@MarieCrossbow]

Very cool, looks great

[@beowulfshaeffer8444]

This is an awesome way to frame such advise :)

[@samwise5486]

Love these videos man

[@LivingAnachronism]

Thank you

[@flaminraymon]

ahh so immersive! very nice my friend

[@bladeandrifle838]

Your gear turned out great brother. I look forward to your next video. Merry Christmas

[@LivingAnachronism]

Thanks, Blade! Merry Christmas

[@arianhaber5525]

didnt expect this to be fully voiced by geralt.. a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one

[@The-Enthusiast47]

Definitely gonna use this for inspiration for my larp look

[@1HankDaTank1]

looking good man

[@VelaiciaCreator]

I'm loving every moment since I subbed. Here's a toast to the future!

[@neoaliphant]

Awesome!!!

[@ryuus2]

Ya know, the burn mark makes it look like you survived a fireball to the back. Guess that makes it a happy accident?

[@OlcayEskici]

Congrats man, this is so cool! I hope when we find the schematics for this armor, there will be an addition of gauntlets, boots, potion pouches and pauldrons! Might be a great upgrade. Ahhh annnd you need a medallion too. :)

[@theMindwalker]

Nice man. Real nice.

[@JustDadThings-GenX]

Love it. Adventure on.

[@FarronOfHouseFarron]

Love the whole look! Would love to find a gambeson like yours as well.

[@LivingAnachronism]

I'm on the look out for something I can test and then share with the community. The one I have is one of a kind

[@Taylor1989s]

10/10 well done.

[@hasumeokaasan6533]

One small error: the shift is the layer of kit that goes against your skin and sometimes also functions as sleepwear and is basically your underwear. What you (in the video) called a shift would likely be called a tunic or surcoat/surcote. I would love to see you upgrade your kit with a brigandine!

[@SeleneSalvatore]

Amazing job. Simple, practical, easy to repair on road. Witchers live like vagabonds on roads, have dangerous work in constantly changing weather conditions. Your attention to details that work for this type character are on point. That's why also love Aragon clothes in LOTR the same principle was in costume designer mind and actor mind for this character as a Ranger.

[@godDIEmanLIVE]

This was amazing.

[@LivingAnachronism]

Thanks!

[@martinmoser4473]

Amazing 👌🔥

[@ReasonAboveEverything]

The leather turned out well.

[@brandonfigueroa7399]

very cool.

[@showercurtaintowel]

Super coool!!!

[@LWolf12]

Welp, I watched everything, I think. And I have to say, your stuff is pretty good.

[@LivingAnachronism]

Thanks, I try

[@whankinswh]

Dope

[@arx3516]

It looks much more believable than the costume used for Geralt in the Netflix show.

[@jerrywalton8140]

Suggested add on would be a sash under the belt for additional abdominal protection and putties as lower leg guards. Just a thought

[@diamondslashranch]

You look amazing!

[@abuutbutt2579]

NICE

[@thomredlich4257]

Man.. Your voice.. It's amazing, your voice sounded like a lighter, soft and higher voice from Geralt... and you can do an ASMR with that voice, it's a pleasure to listen. And much better told, you can better doing a whole ASMR storytel. Also I believed your story and it was like Geralt told the story, you did the lines and scriptions well. Keep up the good work dude.

[@LivingAnachronism]

Thank you very much, what a compliment!

[@thomredlich4257]

You're welcome 😁

[@wyldetimesreviews]

That chest piece is *chef kiss* so nice 👌

[@kevincronmiller2643]

Where did you get the linen shirt from if you don't mind me asking? I have trouble finding linen shirts in america that aren't either expensive men's dress wear or dead accurate reenactment garb with boxy sleeves and very long shirt tails. Love the outfit by the way, very cool!

[@anonymous_hulk]

That's actually very close to the armor from the school of the bear!

[@quickplaya]

Seriously WTF man.. you are amazing! You should be more popular.

[@joedan5366]

Let's go

[@wateremerald]

Hi Kramer. I was just wondering where you got those boots from? I’ve been looking for something short but flared for a while and those look perfect! Amazing video. Keep doing what you do best.

[@LivingAnachronism]

At a thrift store 😂, they were in pretty bad condition and they have since been retired (soles came off)

[@emilythequeen1]

This is a cool video! Thank you! I’m wondering where you got the pattern for your knitted shift?

[@LivingAnachronism]

The knitted piece (I called it a shift, but it's really a cardigan) was actually something I bought from wish! I didn't make it, sadly. Looks the part though, right?

[@valkyrieseventeenseventysi7884]

Lol I love this so much 😭

[@user-yo1fb1kg4omykehiggs]

Love it, love it, LOVE IT! Only the tiniest criticism, your leather armour (though brilliant) looks rather short, mine comes down to my waist, with faulds to my upper thighs, but, mine is based on English 14th/15th century armour, plus I don't know anything about "The Witcher" ! Anyway bloody good job!!

[@LivingAnachronism]

As I also based my breast plate on 14th and 15th century breastplate designs, I believe at least some breastplates only covered the ribcage. As I understand it, there is a separate piece called the plackart which covers the stomach and goes up over the chest plate. I'll be discussing my design process soon, curious to know your thoughts are!

[@SeleneSalvatore]

And also leather will not protect your abdomen if some monster badly wants gutt you up. Chainmail could help with that but also is costly add weight and need conservation.

[@barbaragordon7381]

Can you please tell us how your sword spins are so cool

[@LivingAnachronism]

Practice, spatial awareness and good wrist mobility

[@AltanBlu]

Okay I need to know where you got that gambeson cause wow it looks amazing with everything

[@LivingAnachronism]

One of a kind, made by a family member, I am afraid

[@bullzebub]

thats a awesome kit! although i would have made the chest piece longer since the belly is really important to protect... :-)

[@rlh766]

Going to have to try putting my sword belt over my satchel.

[@yiannimigias4024]

Do you have a tutorial for making the gambeson? It's perfect for Ren Faire

[@Sawtooth44]

you could use the mistake from heat treating it to say an enemy snuck up on you and hit you with a firebolt or something

[@trirex4]

Cool armor design did a great job , but where did u get your gambeson i coudnt find it anywhere or if u already talked about it in some video please point me to the direction

[@LivingAnachronism]

This gambeson was custom made for me by a family member. Poke around in Steel Mastery, they have a custom gambeson maker, you should be able to design something similar. Warning though, it might not be cheap.

[@MacAttack001]

Looks great! I am curious as to where you got the suede pants?

[@LivingAnachronism]

These are the Wanderer Pants sold on Medieval Collectibles. I'll put a link in the description. I'm doing a review on them as well

[@MacAttack001]

@@LivingAnachronism Much thanks! Keep up the great work!