It's black cowhide, about what you would expect to find on the outside of a genuine leather biking jacket that hasn't been broken in yet. The trouble is, I want to turn the scraps into some good arm guards, It needs to be durable, and it has no reason to flex whatsoever. This seems like a job for some other material, but this is for a costume, so that leather look and feel is important to the design.

Ideas?