The Rick Farman Rhombo memorial bracers

[Nighthawk]

I recently lost a very dear friend by the name of Rick Rhombo. He was teaching me leather work. A few days before he passed, he and I were working on the leather cover for my flask, and he showed me this roll of leather that he had gotten. He told me that to his eyes, it looked liked dragon scales, and that he thought it would be really cool to make a pair of dragon scale bracers from it. Well, I thought it was a cool idea, but too much in the realm of fantasy for my taste. I put that leather out of my mind until a few days later, when I got the call that he had died. After that, all I could think of was that leather and those bracers that he had wanted. So I talked to his sister, who was handling the estate, and she was more than willing to give me the leather that I needed, so long as I used it for the bracers, and kept them for myself instead of selling them or whatever. Needless to say, I jumped at that. So here are the results:

The knife sheath. Those are Ricks initials- RFR- in Norse runes. He was after all a Viking reenactor! This is the left arm bracer, designed for a right hand draw.

I decided that a dragon on the right arm would balance out the knife on the left.

This is the patch knife that I made "for a friend." I posted a picture gallery of this knife on my FaceBook page a few weeks ago. Rick was the friend I mentioned in that gallery. His sister was kind enough to give the knife back.

Here they are on my arms.

The thread I use to tie the bracers comes from a project that my friend apparently abandoned. Among the many (and I mean MANY!) things that his sister gave me was a box of remnants. It looks like Rick was making a pair of moccasins and gave up on them. The threads came from those mocs. The chain mail that the bracers are sitting was made b Rick. He was teaching my son to make chain mail. His sister again kindly let my boy take that section of mail. What do you all think- a fitting memorial?

Edited July 30, 2010 by Nighthawk

[Jas. Hook]

Nighthawk -

Most satisfactory!

I think Mr. Rhombo is honored by your rememberance through your skill and crsftsmanship.

"We are never gone... untill we are forgotten."

Jas. Hook

[Nighthawk]

Nighthawk -

Most satisfactory!

I think Mr. Rhombo is honored by your rememberance through your skill and crsftsmanship.

"We are never gone... untill we are forgotten."

Jas. Hook

Why thank you! I wore them to the Colorado Renaissance Festival this weekend and actually had some of the leather vendors wanting to buy them from me! They were a real standout. I wandered in and out of those shops that in years past, I could have spent hundreds of dollars in. This year, I went in and thought "Wow! I can make my own, and do it better! Thank you, Rick!"