Someone recently ordered a blue-on-black codpiece, but I also had on hand the pieces cut and stained for the inverse of that color combination. (In the small pile of pieces that got partially prepped before conventions in Jan-Feb.) So I finished up both to be able to show the mismatched pair.

The pieces were cut from different hides of leather, and you can notice a difference in the blue on the two pieces from the slight difference in how the hides absorbed the dye. I then also used a different finish coat on them, to test out a new one I got. The codpiece at left is finished with the general-purpose matte spray acrylic I have been using for a long time, the one on the right used a brush-on acrylic finish that I recently got.

I liked the new finish in terms of ease of use, and it felt possibly nicer. It's formulated specifically for leather, so I'd believe that it might last better on items that see some wear and tear. The thing that bugged me was, it was supposed to be a matte finish, but it's definitely got more gloss to it than I wanted.

What do people think? Do folks like more matte or more glossy? My personal preference is generally towards matte, so that's what I typically go for, but I'd be curious if other people had strong (or even mild) opinions.

Oh right, and codpieces like this are available on my Etsy shop.