The Armour Archive

Nim

As an additional question...when you're planning on rolling an edge, when's the best time in the process to do it? Will the rolled edge make further planishing and eventual polishing of the piece harder, or is it better to roll early so that you don't mar a finished surface with a slipped strike dur...

Nim

Are you using leather or metal for the tabs? I can see either working.

Nim

Otto von Teich wrote:Irish, Now I know why they call you insane I think a strap with buckle would be much more secure and just as easy to replace.

With two buckles, you mean? A buckle at each anchor point, and the strap between them punched on both ends?

Nim

If you just need a few and don't want to place an order at a rivet supplier...can you use standard brass tacks for this, or are they too thin?

Nim

I think you're missing the opportunity for greater entertainment here, though. See, by claiming in court to be able to collect on debts they say are owed to the Templars, surely they're also rendering themselves liable for debts owed BY the Templars? From the department of 'Keep the box shut, Pandor...

Nim

Do you think it would be practical to point plate directly to the maile, rather than to an underlying garment? Or would the slack on the maile (around the shoulders especially) let the plates move around too much? It would avoid the trouble with fishing the points through.

Nim

Unless (as discussed in another thread right now, I think), you were wearing a few plate components over maile - shoulders, for instance. In which case points from a padded gambesson threaded through the maile to the plate would make sense, yes?

Nim

I think the free ends from both sides are going through the same lock. But wouldn't this make, in effect, a second "chin strap" made of only cord that would dig into you? I would think that one side of the chin strap would be permanently tied in place, and the other side would go from chin strap, u...

Nim

PM sent.

Nim

I like those legs. The 15c legs you posted previously looked too straight to me. It may just be the lighting, but these seem have a bit of 'bow' at the knee that makes them look more natural. You've got some really nice stuff here!

Nim

Jeebus... :roll: *shrug* If you say 'Yes, there are things on the tapestry that look like this, but from other evidence we conclude they were intended to represent this other form of armor, and there's no supporting evidence to confirm the use of woven leather', then people learn something: somethi...

Nim

Hmm. I think the foil might tear if it caught a tip or the edge of a basket hilt, and even if it didn't rip, it could wrinkle. The aluminum sheet, though, might work. Personally, I'd afix it with dome-head rivets or screws as well as the glue, purely for aesthetic reasons (I think it'd look cool), b...

Nim

Steve -SoFC- wrote:In your last picture, shouldn't the free end of the cord pass through a third hole in the chin cup before passing through the cord lock?

As drawn, the cord lock would end up by your ear inside your helm?

Steve

I think the free ends from both sides are going through the same lock.

Nim

Usual disclaimer regarding my being pretty new at all this - but the thumb plates on the mittens look flatter than others I've seen. They seem to sit on top of the thumb, rather than around it. Should they be dished more deeply, or is this a stylistic difference with no functional impact?

Nim

Actually the Bayuex leaves a lot to interpretation, much of the armour looks like it could be woven (distinctive squares and diamonds) while other pictures show rings. Not enough detail to reach an acurate concrete conclusion of what it is or isn't. I'd assumed those figures were depicting quilted ...

Nim

Andrew - sorry, I was unclear. I meant the other end, where the two cords are brought together. I was thinking that with that placement, the loose ends tightened together under the chin might either slide back towards the throat or 'saw' as the head moves and rub the skin raw. Seemed you could avoid...

Nim

I don't know of any examples that are entirely 'inside out', but a Roman arm manica (http://www.legionxxiv.org/loricapage/manicaebent.jpg) had single-direction articulation with no shift at the elbow.

Nim

There are some museum photos in this thread: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1200 which I found linked off of a gallery that looks to be down at the moment. Anyway, one or two of those give views of the closure, though they might be later than your period of interest (one's said to ha...

Nim

The brasswork is sharp. Was that etched? Cast?

Nim

Since the chinstrap is anachronistic anyway, you might as well go with modern materials - if they want 'minimum 1/2 inch wide', use half-inch nylon webbing and the rest of this technique should continue to work with only minor modification.

Nim

I might be picturing this wrong, but it seems like that design might be helped by a third hole on each side. Run the loose ends back through the chin piece before tying them together, so that the knot will rest against the leather rather than sliding back towards your throat, or rubbing skin raw or ...

Nim

stay true to your roots ....... use a nasal helm .... don't let any greekness creep in. Personally, I think this is a good suggestion. Even though a real Varangian might have worn any of a variety of styles of helm, a spangen with a nasal is going to give the strongest clue to what persona you're p...

Nim

I don't have any pics for you, but - if you're interested in carved figures rather than line-art, look at helmets. Carved boar figures were common toppers for helms in that era.

Nim

Drilling them out is an option, but...don't slip

Nim

Given that Constantinople is THE crossroads of the era, you probably have a lot to choose from. He could be using something from the old homeland, or something of local Byzantine construction, or something out of Russia or Hungary, or anything else that could have plausibly made its way there. From ...

Nim

Sure, I'll put $20 on that.

Nim

As for this being a "money changer's purse", I'm wondering if that isn't a generic term to describe the style of pouch, kind of like using the term "tennis shoes" even thought they aren't always worn for playing tennis. I think some of the examples I have seen were certainly used by a money changer...

Nim

There's some discussion and some photos here:
http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=72705

Nim

It's a small thing, but it looks like the final polish on the lames was in a different direction than it was for the shoulder cop, so they catch the light differently and look like they're different colors. Giving the lames one more go to make them match the cop might make the whole thing look more ...

Nim

Attaching to gambeson seems to be most common. Attaching to breastplate and gorget are other options. Are there things that make any of these better or worse? Should also be possible to strap them across the chest to the opposite armpit, but I can't say whether that was a period technique. Should w...

Nim

I've seen shoulders strapped to gorgets before, but I can't speak to how effective it is. I've also seen them hung from the shoulder-straps of a breastplate. However, I suspect that 9 out of 10 people here would tell you 'tie to the arming cote or gambesson with points' (myself included). Will your ...

Nim

What's the rest of your kit like?

Nim

One of the regular pros was singing the praises of his Makita power shear recently. A search will probably turn it up. There was some discussion of the virtues and failings of that and some other power cutters. I tried cutting up some sheet with a jigsaw for the first time this weekend. Went reasona...

Nim

The best advice I can give is what folks don't want to hear. It's work and practice and time *AND* constant study. It's the only route to seeing what it *should* look like. Like Stahlgrim said the development of patterns is part of your development as an armourer. You move past that. I seldom use t...

Nim

There is a constant stream here of complaints about armourers not being professional enough. If money is involved it's a business and you should act like a business. Yet for some reason people think it's ok to ask an armourer for the sweat of their brows (and hands) for free. Don't do business with...

Re: RE: Woven Leather Trellis Coat

Re: RE: Woven Leather Trellis Coat

Re: Am I too wound up about this?