The Armour Archive

Ancelin

So, if the circumference of you cuff is to be larger than the "circumference" of your metacarpal, your could in theory start with a slightly conical cylinder. But perhaps that doesn't matter much. Thanks for the info. I hope to try a project like this one at some point... if and when I manage to get...

Ancelin

Interesting post, thanks! Just one question: how do you determine the radius of the cylinder before you start the raising process? Would it be the final radius you want to have at the wrist (so you are just stretching the cuff and the metacarpal) or do you start with a larger radius and also have to...

Ancelin

If I remember correctly, a member of the Archive had his gambeson (oily for the coating on his maille) catch fire, or at least partialy burn. Can't remember who it was (it was a few years ago). Edit: Christophe posted that info already. I'm glad that my memory is still good, but it looks like I can'...

Ancelin

Aren't these pieces originaly from the Chalcis hoard? In this case this might also be of interest to you. http://tgorod.ru/contentimage/chalcis/liv.jpg

Ancelin

Either they did not go together, or they might be asymmetrical because one plate is meant to overlap the other. You would therefore have to move the rivet line of the plate that goes underneath so that the plates "look" symmetrical once everything is fastened together. Hum... but you are right, look...

Ancelin

That's the best picture I have of those (sadly).

Ancelin

Thanks for the info! So it's basicaly the same technique as the one shown by The Iron Dwarf in a recent post. Adjusting the size to each individual stake is a great idea. I'll need to try that at some point (once I get my workshop back). Thanks again.

Ancelin

Zanetto, nice work indeed! What technique/tool(s) did you use to make and shape the sockets (if you don't mind sharing your secrets)? That always intrigued me.

Ancelin

Wow! Classic armour pr8n! And I really like what you did with the aventail, especially the part going over the mouth of the wearer. If you don't mind me asking, do you have more info on how you made the lining? For instance, is the lining of the aventail attached to the lining of the bascinet? My Er...

Ancelin

Incidentally, let not even the least French-speaking of us confuse "grÃ¢ce," one of whose meanings is mercy, with "gras," a couple of whose meanings are fat, and unctuous. Greasy or slippery too. One hisses, the other doesn't. That's how you can hear if it's a mercy-stroke -- or a greasy one. And j...

Ancelin

Thank you Konstantin, I did see a good number of effigies with similar maille arrangement but I'm not sure this also applies to later 14th century examples, when full plate arm harnesses are "en vogue". On these, you will often see exposed maille at the armpit, underneath the arm and on the inside o...

Ancelin

IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m working on a mid to late 14th Century harness. I purchased a riveted maille hauberk (flat, wedge riveted rings) and IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m in the process of tailoring it to fit me in the best possible way. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve already cut it in half, removed 4 inches from the front and a few inches from the b...

Ancelin

LWCM wrote:Schnazzy! What kind of aventail are you putting on it?

As authentic as I can : 8 or 9 mm ID flat rings (wedge rivet) aventail from Van Sussen, whenever i get it...

Ancelin

Hey, that's my hat! Can't wait to receive it! For those who are wondering about the barred occularia - this helm is to be used for rebated sword combat. I'm with the Ottawa Medieval Sword Guild (http://www.ottawasword.org) and we use armour standards similar to those used by the AEMMA. And to think ...

Ancelin

My super secret leather source : http://www.zelikovitz.com/catalog/index.php

They are located in Ottawa (which is convenient for me) but I believe they do most of their business online.

Cheers,

Ancelin

Maeglin : I have that shear (the JS 1600) and it works great. I've cut a lot of 16 ga with it in the past two years and the blade is only starting to show "some" wear. Each blade actually had 8 usable facets so I don't think I will have to order new ones for a very long time. You should be able to c...

Ancelin

I need to give my armourer an idea of how big I want my bascinet to be. If the liner acts as a suspension system that keeps the metal away from your head I guess that there should be "some" space between the exterior of the liner and the interior of the bascinet. In TOMAR, B. Price suggests that 5/8...

Ancelin

I would be interested to know more about this as well. If voiders and such things were not used, what type of haubergeon was worn under the armour - full sleeves or elbow lenght? Many mid/late 14th century effigies show harnesses with full plate arms - does it make sense to wear full mail sleeves un...

Ancelin

Thanks Eric, I found this interesting webpage with contains a fair amount of information on surviving bascinets and, above all, lots of pictures : http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_spot_bascinet.html). If I am not mistaken, a piece such as this one http://www.myarmoury.com/view.html?features/pic_spot...

Ancelin

Thank you Chef, I didn't mean to say that slotted occularum are not correct. In fact in the images from "Chroniques de France ou de St. Denis" dated late 14th century, most of the bascinets depicted see to have slotted occularum. Of course, we can't extrapolate too much from this single "artistic" s...

Ancelin

I edited the title of this post (Circa 1390 not 1490)

Ancelin

Hi,

IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m commissioning a Ã¢â‚¬Å“pigfaceÃ¢â‚¬Â

Ancelin

Alcyoneus: The velvet does cover some minor imperfections very well. The breastplate, which I've made when I had less experience in working with metal, could have been planished a bit better. I found it hard to make a perfectly regular curve on such a big surface. The next one will be better. I'm al...

Ancelin

Signo: I guess it depends on the fabric you are using. My velvet was fairly stretchy so it was easy. I remember a post about this not long ago. Sean: I'll eventually put a fauld on it but it will likely not be covered. The general idea for this armour is a drawing of an early 15C French? armour that...

Ancelin

It's difficult to say how long it took me. I started the breasplate long ago and it was collecting rust in my shop when I decided to cover it and make a backplate to go with it. For the body armour, it perhaps took me around 20-30 hours in total. Don't know if this is a lot of time for such a projec...

Ancelin

Thanks David: I used 3M Hi-Tack Spray Adhesive (#76). I bought the velvet (100% cotton velveteen really) at a generic local fabric store, in the surplus section and it was dirt cheap. Because is it well glued to the metal I think that it would be fairly resistant to rattan combat but that it will ev...

Ancelin

Two other pictures of the gauntlets. 16ga construction as well. The finger plates are riveted on leather and padded with felt. The turned out fairly well for a first try at gauntlets but are a bit small for me. I decided not to fully rivet the gloves to the cuffs so that the leather protects my skin...

Ancelin

(NOTE: This is the first time I post pictures here so if they are too big or whatever, please let me know) After a Spangenhelm and a gorget, these are my second (gauntlets) and third (covered armour) completed plate projects. I've taken pictures of these pieces before they get trashed in combat (reb...

Ancelin

Thanks for the advice Klaus. I'm looking forward working on my liner. I really look forward to receiving my new hat!

Ancelin

This discussion is interesting, especially as I am in the process of ordering a bascinet and that I will have to make my own liner. My question would be: if the liner is supposed to act as a suspension system rather that only padding, is it better to pattern your liner based on the shape/size of you...

Ancelin

IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m slowly building my kit (OK, IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m mostly thinking about doing it ) and was also trying to decide where to put the buckles on my future COP. One thing to consider could be the type of fighting youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll be doing. The group IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m training with fights with rebated steel and all...

Ancelin

I think I will work on a pair of fingered hourglass gauntlets (similar to those in TOMAR) and I was wondering what type of gloves are best suited for such a project.

Can you recommend good sources for suitable leather gloves (in Canada or the US)?

Thanks!

Ancelin

Disclaimer: IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m not an expert and have not done extensive research on this thick vs thin gambeson issue Anyway, an argument in favour of the thinner gambeson could be weight and, to some extent cost. If you wear your maille defence over a thickly padded garment, this defence needs to be somew...

Ancelin

Padrig, Here you go... ou plutÃƒÂ´t : voilÃƒÂ ! J'ai utilisÃƒÂ© une base de donnÃƒÂ©es terminologiques et linguistiques ÃƒÂ laquelle j'ai accÃƒÂ¨s. Malheureusement, elle est un peu mince du cÃƒÂ´tÃƒÂ© mÃƒÂ©diÃƒÂ©val alors pour les termes propres aux armures... Je t'enverrai d'autres suggestions si ...

Ancelin

Found a link to the exploded drawing:

http://www.keenjunk.com/sketchbk/bb80824a.htm

Long maille sleeves with mid-late 14th cent harness?

Circa 1390 Italian/French Bascinet - Questions on design

Covered Breast and Back and Hourglass Gauntlets

Good sources for leather gloves (hourglass gauntlets)?