Best products from r/steampunk

Alright, well, after more than ten hours of searching, I came to the conclusion that what I'm looking for doesn't exist. In case someone finds this post while on the same search I'm on, here are my findings:

The goggles I ended up using were the Hot Max 25031 50mm lens welding goggles - these were one of the few goggles I couldn't find that weren't the US Forge brand goggles, a pair of which I also purchased. The latter are very uncomfortable, but the strap is fantastic. The Hot Max goggles were notably more comfortable and durable, but the strap is uncomfortably rigid and pops out of the goggles. So, I swapped the straps.

Now, unsurprisingly, neither are really made for comfort or long-term use. I ended up using quick-set superglue and a sheet of thin black foam from hobby lobby to add a small amount of padding around the bridge, and now they're very comfortable.

Welding goggles come with a shade 5 lens by default, which is far too dark for clear vision in normal daylight. Remembering this from my childhood (my dad was an engineer), I purchased 50mm shade 4 lenses in the same order. They are typically sold individually, and not as a pair. Be sure to keep that in mind when ordering.

Welding goggles seemingly universally have interchangeable lenses. Both the US Forge and the Hot Max goggles accomplish this the same way - the eye caps unscrew. Both goggles came with a glass lens (which is UV 400) and a polymer tinted lens. The Hot Max goggles came with a rubber washer to prevent the lenses from touching, which the other lacked.

So, basically, buy a pair of both (less than 20 bucks) so you can swap out parts and have backups, get a sheet of thin foam from a craft store and make them comfortable via superglue, and buy some shade 4 lenses. You're looking at roughly 30 bucks total for entirely functional and comfortable goggles.

I work with leather as a hobby and I'd be happy to tell you about the tools I use. Others may have different opinions of course.

Where should I buy my leather?
I get all my leather from Tandy Leather Factory. Link The prices are great, and they have a huge selection of quality, thickness, and sizes. Of course there may not be one near you.

If you have to buy from a craft store then you're going to be paying a lot, but that may be your only option. You should lookup "Saddle Supply" for your area too. The tools and materials are all the same.

What tools are a must-have?

• Rotary Leather Punch : This punches different size holes for different rivets, eyelets, or laces. The only downside to this rotary type, as opposed to this type is that you have to be within 2 inches of the edge of leather. But I find that is rarely a problem for me.
  
• Utility Knife AKA Box Cutter : DO NOT USE SCISSORS TO CUT LEATHER. If you ignore everything else, this is the one thing you should remember. Using scissors will bend the edge of leather all to hell. A new blade on a utility knife like this will cut through leather like butter. I use two, a regular size one and a small compact one for tight turns.
  
• 4 Prong Chisel : You'll use this to punch holes along the edge of the leather to sew it together. I use the 4 prong, but they also come in 1, 6, and 8.
  
• Rubber/Wood Mallet : For hitting the chisel. You'll probably say, I have a hammer I'll just use that. Don't, it'll mushroom your chisel and be loud, and destroy whatever you have under the leather you're punching through. Get a mallet form Walmart.
  
• Stitching Needles : For stitching leather together of course.
  
• Wax Thread : For stitching leather together. If you opt to use the hole punch and leather cording to bind your leather together it's going to look like a Boy Scout made it at camp. Trust me, take the time to stitch your stuff nicely.
  
• Rivets : These come in different colors, materials, types, and sizes.
  
• Rivet Setter : for striking rivets of course.
  
  Leather
  
• I use a 9oz leather for my goggles. It's thick and stiff (that's what she said) and is almost like balsa wood in hardness.
  
• For cuffs I'll recommend an 8oz leather. It's thick enough to be stiff, but will bend to a nice curve. Here are the cuffs I make. For the Straps I use about a 4-5oz leather. It's thin enough to bend easy, but thick enough to be strong. Of course, if you end up making something like bracers that need some extra strength you can go to a 6-7oz leather instead.
  
  Here is a project I'm currently working on that uses a mix of all the tools above. http://imgur.com/xEvP3
  
  Also, there are many many other tools you can add, but I think these are the basic must haves.

Ah, now with this I got some more ideas :D

Hope you don't mind if I sprinkle in a liiitle bit of cliche things!

For an explorer type character I would use a tropical hat as headgear like this:

https://www.amazon.de/Mil-Tec-16687000-franz-Tropenhelm-khaki/dp/B005MYB3UK/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&keywords=tropenhelm&qid=1566891114&s=gateway&sr=8-2

or this:

https://www.amazon.de/Mil-Tec-16686000-Brit-Tropenhelm-Khaki/dp/B005MYB35K/ref=sr_1_3?__mk_de_DE=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&keywords=tropenhelm&qid=1566891114&s=gateway&sr=8-3

perhaps add a light ontop or in front of the helmet (If you don't mind damaging/remodelling the helmet)

for the torso you could perhaps use something similar to this:

https://www.amazon.com/First-Class-Short-Sleeve-Uniform-Shirt/dp/B00E1SEJA4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=uniform+shirt+tan&qid=1566891269&s=gateway&sr=8-1

If you want to go with a more militaristic/tropical explorer kind of vibe.

I would also recommend using leatherpouches for belts and a leatherpouch for a canteen since it makes you look like you're always om a trip.

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So now for the most fun and steampunky bits of this costume :D

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If you're an explorer you may want to choose how and what exactly you explore from the world. Maybe your character is a timetraveler (classic in Steampunk but still nice to see different takes on it) and always carries a backpack like device on his back that helps him to shift between timezones. With machines like this you can go crazy with your imagination :D perhaps add a clock to it, use some gears in logical places like inside the machine or somewhere where the mehcanism is exposed. Add some LED lights to the inside so it glows out of the machine etc. etc. I think you got the idea.

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I have to admit, my idea here is also somewhat of a cliche but I dig the tropical explorer kind of look. But in the end it's up to you what you want to make. Hope this helped! Looking forward to your finished work \^\^

I enjoyed The Strange Affair of Springheeled Jackby Mark Hodder. He has at least two other books featuring the same lead characters, but I haven't picked them up yet.

Steampunk Prime: A Vintage Steampunk Reader edited by Mike Ashley was quite good. He includes a blurb about the original authors' history and information about the original publication dates before each short story.

Mike Resnick's The Buntline Special: A Weird West Tale was really good. Apparently he's got another one out that I have yet to buy.

I've also got Tim Akers' The Horns of Ruin sitting on my shelf, but I haven't made the time to read through it. The summary on the back interesting enough for me to actually buy it.

Steampunk is speculative fiction set in an alternate early industrial age in which the sophistication and power of machinery is fantastically exaggerated, often with the conceit that outmoded or disproven scientific theories (aether, phlogistion, hollow Earth/lost worlds, alchemical medicine, life on Mars, etc.) turned out to be true. "Hard science fiction" steampunk typically supposes that the early mechanical computers had been successfully realized and adopted by society, so that the Industrial Revolution and the Information Age arrived in the same moment, rather than an approximate century apart.

The best get-you-up-to-speed steampunk book is the short fiction anthology simply titled Steampunk, edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer.

The best hard-SF steampunk is Gibson & Sterling's The Difference Engine.

Arguably the most popular steampunk "light reads" are the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger -- basically paranormal romantic comedy in a steampunk setting.

The most imaginative steampunk, in my opinion, is Jay Lake's Clockwork Earth series.

I'll just reply to my original post with this additional info. Someone in /r/DIY asked how I made the ship. While I don't have any pictures of the process, here's roughly what I did

Mostly, it was just me spending a few hours here and there kitbashing it together...here's a general overview though. I kind of just put together what I thought looked best at the time

Hull: I picked up a cheap, appropriately sized ship as the base. I knew I was going to be heavily modifying it, so it just needed to have the right shape, I could remove and add pieces as I went. Here's where I started http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005F0N6CE/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Artillery/Weapons: Someone in the /r/steampunk sub-reddit correctly guessed the weapons on the ship. I went to Hobby Lobby and sitting on the clearance rack was a model of the U.S.S. Maine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Maine_(BB-10)). I took various pieces of it's artillery, mounting them as I saw fit. As it stands, there are 5 weapons on board. The 2 you can see that are on a swivel, one on the very front of the ship (visible in this picture) and then two that are mounted on the left-side, one being barely visible in this picture

Propeller/lower copper assembly: A few items I got mostly locally from hardware stores and hobby shops

1. Copper toilet float bulb - unused
   
2. PEX Manifold - 4 port, unused :)
   
3. Copper acorn nuts
   
4. R/C Airplane Propeller
   
   Balloon/Envelope:
   
5. I found the copper-ish looking ends at a thrift shop, originally they were joined with 4 other sections to make some crazy sort of lamp/ash-tray. I ran a threaded rod between them and put nuts on the inside, with acorn nuts on the outside (visible) ends.
   
   
6. "wood" strips: Thin balsa wood from a local hobby shop. I got them a bit wet and clamped them down against a curve. Once dry, I trimmed them to length and secured to the copper ends with brass bolts + some nuts on the inside
   
   
7. Balloon fabric: I got some thin burlap-like material from a hobby shop or sewing store. I cut the fabric into 4 rectangles (with a slight convex curve to the long edge) and hot-glued them onto the backside of the wood. In hindsight, I could have mounted them much better, but it worked ok
   
   Engine (mounted on deck) / Pump: Converted the existing ship's captains quarters into the engine with a few pieces from the USS Maine above. Bought some thin copper tubing (doing a bad job of bending it) and attached it from the engine to the envelope.
   
   Lines: Simple hemp twine. I used the original eyelets for the ship's mast, relocating them on the ship's hull and epoxying them in place. I tied very secure knots in all of the lines and reinforced each knot with super glue. This thing is going to be hanging from the ceiling after all. While not directly located over our son's crib, I went overboard on this part.
   
   Paint and Weathering: Rub n buff I used mainly this stuff, in the Grecian gold and Antique gold colors, to apply much of the coloring you see, especially on the ship hull. I did use some copper/brass spray paint on the artillery however. Rub n buff is great to work with if you are looking for a copper/brass/gold sort of finish, and a little goes a long, long, long way. I've used it several times and have barely made a dent in the tiny tubes
   
   Any particular parts of the ship I didn't touch on, let me know and I'll be happy to answer!

I would suggest approaching it in the same manner one would approach any new thing. Learn everything you can about it. There is some great material out there to help you learn about the culture and origins of steampunk. If you haven't already, check out "The Steampunk Bible." It is something I read and learned a lot from, and I recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about the culture, origins, fashion, or Steampunk in general. There is also bound to be communities in your area of like minded people. You just have to look for them. And most of all, have fun and be creative!

Edit: I accidentally a letter. And some minor wording changes.

Not exactly a Novel, but The Steampunk Bible is my go to book for inspiration. A truly amazing book.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Steampunk-Bible-Illustrated-Scientists/dp/0810989581

Anti Ice by Stephan Baxter is awesome (19th century England gets its hands on antimatter), as is his The Time Ships which is basically a sequel to H.G. Wells' The Time Machine.

I really enjoyed Lindsay Buroker's Flash Gold series about an inventor in the Yukon, and Michael Coorlim's And They Called Her Spider was also quite fun (an assassin is on the loose in London).

Finally, I'll hock my own steampunk short story, To Rescue General Gordon which is about 3 British soldiers who steal an airship to rescue General Charles "Chinese" Gordon in the Sudan.

Once my interest was piqued I read this book and found it a great starting point. Also look for steampunk meetups and groups in your area. Most of all, have fun!

• The Strange Affair of Springed Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder
  
• The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man also by Mark Hodder
  
  Great books and superb covers.

I would recommend "A Clockwork Looking Glass" by Michael Rigg. It also started an actual play podcast for his steampunk universe, which is really nice to listen to.


https://www.amazon.com/Clockwork-Looking-Glass-Heart-Bronze/dp/1503317625/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=a+clockwork+looking+glass&qid=1550559174&s=gateway&sr=8-1

"What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist-the Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England"

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It's a reference book of all the mundane info you need to write a living, breathing world. You need to know the rules before you cnasteampunk them.

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This review describes it nicely: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R15YUTEEGOWF7V/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0671882368

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https://www.amazon.com/Austen-Charles-Dickens-Whist-Nineteenth-Century/dp/0671882368

For small areas, rub-n-buff works really well. finish seems to hold up decently too.

They are 20 bucks on amazon with 2 day delivery.

https://www.amazon.com/Collection-Cigarette-Refillable-Ultra-thin-adjustable/dp/B07THF8BXC/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=jifeng+lighter&qid=1570402108&sr=8-10

you need a pith helmet https://www.amazon.com/French-Tropical-Helmet-British-Khaki/dp/B005MYB3UK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475091716&sr=8-1&keywords=pith+helmet

Try this. Alternate history London.
https://www.amazon.com/Strange-Affair-Spring-Swinburne-Adventure/dp/1616142405