przem
Member of the Trade: Shipibo Audio
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2016
- Posts
- 82
- Likes
- 81
Hey guys,
For a while, I've been looking for a Grado headband that'd meet my comfort requirements. When I failed to find one, I decided to sew one myself. After few months of looking for the right materials and tools, figuring out the design, etc. it came to life recently. There it is:
It's a hand-sewn lambskin leather with thick memory foam padding.
Initially I made one with similar width to the stock Grado headband, but while it looked nice, it wasn't enough, so I gave birth to this fat monster above.
First some info on the process (using the example of the first, slim instance). Since I wanted something more delicate and softer than cowhide leather, but still durable and beautiful, I decided to go for a hand-sewn lambskin leather. Initially I experimented with machine sewing, or gluing, but both of those methods didn't give me the level of accuracy I wanted, and additionally glue didn't seem durable enough.
So I went on to learn how to sew by hand, using two needles simultaneously, technique that required a lot of time and atteniton, but finally gave me the effect I was after.
Next challenge was to figure out a way to prevent leather from cramping and keep the headband comfortable, as that was my number one priority.
To achieve that, over the process of trial and error I decided it will be best to partition the memory foam - and the effect of that exceeded my expectations. It now looked like a delicious chocolate bar and leather padded with foam wouldn't cramp.
"Well done me" I thought, and for a few weeks I happily used it with my headphones, and often touched it just because it felt so soft and amazing to squeeze it a bit (top part is also padded with thiner, denser adhesive foam), but despite the fact it was much more comfortable than any other I used, it was still lacking something, and still after few hours of wearing there would be a feeling of discomfort.
So I decided it has to be better, and that meant more leather and more foam. SOFTER, WIDER!
Chanting viking battle hymns and communist worker anthems I designed and crafted a really fat beast, here's how it looks compared to his older brother.
What a pig.
For a moment I was afraid that it might be a bit too much in terms of looks and will overwhelm the headphone, but thankfully it didn't. It looks amazing, and it's even 1 or 2 grams lighter than the stock headband I had. To complete that combo it fully delivered on the matter of comfort - it's like wearing a comfy pillow on your head. So "well done me" this time for real.
Here's how it looks on a pair of fully customized SR325.
One last thing. Even though I love leather, I love animals too, so I wanted to find leather from local source that meets EU laws on animal treatment, instead of ordering it over the internet, and that was probably the hardest part of my research. I managed to do that, and while I was doing it, I decided to have all my materials sourced locally to make it 100% EU made (nearly 100% made in Poland, but couldn't get all my materials/tools inside the country), so now I can sleep calm that no child labor was involved in this and Polish economy will flourish thanks to pumping my few pennies in it.
That's all folks, let me know what you think! Is there a way to make it better?
Cheers!
For a while, I've been looking for a Grado headband that'd meet my comfort requirements. When I failed to find one, I decided to sew one myself. After few months of looking for the right materials and tools, figuring out the design, etc. it came to life recently. There it is:
It's a hand-sewn lambskin leather with thick memory foam padding.
Initially I made one with similar width to the stock Grado headband, but while it looked nice, it wasn't enough, so I gave birth to this fat monster above.
First some info on the process (using the example of the first, slim instance). Since I wanted something more delicate and softer than cowhide leather, but still durable and beautiful, I decided to go for a hand-sewn lambskin leather. Initially I experimented with machine sewing, or gluing, but both of those methods didn't give me the level of accuracy I wanted, and additionally glue didn't seem durable enough.
So I went on to learn how to sew by hand, using two needles simultaneously, technique that required a lot of time and atteniton, but finally gave me the effect I was after.
Next challenge was to figure out a way to prevent leather from cramping and keep the headband comfortable, as that was my number one priority.
To achieve that, over the process of trial and error I decided it will be best to partition the memory foam - and the effect of that exceeded my expectations. It now looked like a delicious chocolate bar and leather padded with foam wouldn't cramp.
"Well done me" I thought, and for a few weeks I happily used it with my headphones, and often touched it just because it felt so soft and amazing to squeeze it a bit (top part is also padded with thiner, denser adhesive foam), but despite the fact it was much more comfortable than any other I used, it was still lacking something, and still after few hours of wearing there would be a feeling of discomfort.
So I decided it has to be better, and that meant more leather and more foam. SOFTER, WIDER!
Chanting viking battle hymns and communist worker anthems I designed and crafted a really fat beast, here's how it looks compared to his older brother.
What a pig.
For a moment I was afraid that it might be a bit too much in terms of looks and will overwhelm the headphone, but thankfully it didn't. It looks amazing, and it's even 1 or 2 grams lighter than the stock headband I had. To complete that combo it fully delivered on the matter of comfort - it's like wearing a comfy pillow on your head. So "well done me" this time for real.
Here's how it looks on a pair of fully customized SR325.
One last thing. Even though I love leather, I love animals too, so I wanted to find leather from local source that meets EU laws on animal treatment, instead of ordering it over the internet, and that was probably the hardest part of my research. I managed to do that, and while I was doing it, I decided to have all my materials sourced locally to make it 100% EU made (nearly 100% made in Poland, but couldn't get all my materials/tools inside the country), so now I can sleep calm that no child labor was involved in this and Polish economy will flourish thanks to pumping my few pennies in it.
That's all folks, let me know what you think! Is there a way to make it better?
Cheers!
