They say accessorization is an art, and like most other artforms in my life, I've mostly ignored it. Other than my Casio and freshly healed facial piercings I am distinctly lacking any accessorization in my outfit.

But as reflect on my look, I've been thinking its due for some updates - and as I refuse to give up my plain black shirts and stonewashed Wranglers, I think its high time to add some accessorization into the mix.

So, with the help of some local surplus and punk shops, I am going to step foot into the world of shiny metal accessorization with some DIY spiked bracelets.

(Imagine spikes here, wouldn't that be sick) ->

The materials & tools I used for this project were:

Bracelets - I used these black cotton belt things, each about 2 feet long with drop jaw buckles I found for $0.50 each at Ax-Man Surplus

Spikes - 1in/25mm metal cone spikes from Extreme Noise Records, at $0.60 each

Awl - The awl I used was great since it had a taper that allowed the hole to get large enough for the spike screw, but all you need is some sort of spike that will pierce whatever bracelet material you use.

Screwdriver - Making sure the spikes dont come loose is a priority (my bracelets come out to be about 9in/23cm long)

Assembly was easy - after cutting the belts down to fit my wrist and taping off the end, I marked off the area I wanted the spikes to be (do this while its on your wrist). After taking it off, I marked where I wanted each spike to be in the area with a distance between of 1in. After double checking there will be no spikes where the bracelet interacts with the buckle, it was as simple as jamming the awl into where I marked, inserting the screw into the hole, and screwing on the spike.

In my case I was lucky enough to find premade bracelets that worked perfectly, but you might not have the luxury of a local surplus store for your crafting materials. If theres one takeaway I got from this project, its that you can add spikes to anything you can get a hole into, so you can manage this with most materials - old belts, a cut up pair of jeans, an old cargo strap you found on the side of the road, anything. If you get a little creative with it, you can make some sick spiky shit.

In this project I got reminded of how grateful I am that I live near so many sick local shops. Instead of spending extra money on shipping to get parts I had never seen in person, I got to go out in person and talk to real people (with sick tattoos), see the parts up close, and use them that same day. Shoutout my local community, I couldn't do it without you.

Also, now that I know how easy it is to stick these spikes on stuff, I have so many options - the first thing that jumps to mind are my chucks I've been trying to keep from falling apart.