The Armour Archive

horsefriend

I got MM #43 (the Italian stuff) and then modified it to conform a little closer to the info. in "The Medieval Taylor's Assistant" The MM pattern give you a nice starting point if you don't have a lot of experience drafting your own patterns or are just lazy.

alail/scott

horsefriend

I'm pretty sure that it's a lot older than a windlass SLO. The patina looks genuine in the photos and the hammer marks showing through the worn leather of the ricasso don't say Indian mass-produced c#*p! to me. The scrollwork is more delicate and shows a higher level of craftsmanship than is usual w...

horsefriend

I get 6-cord natural linen for $12 an 800 meter spool. Add $6 a pound for beeswax and I think it's a good deal. Does anyone have documentation for the use of coloured linen thread?, what research I've done always indicates undyed thread.

alail/scott

horsefriend

Russ,

Kind of fuzzy brained this morning, but why not lamellar? You can cover a lot of a body with it, leather is documented, and if you add Avar greaves and vambrae, you've got a very comprehensive harness.

alail/scott

horsefriend

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Jean Paul de Sens: The short answer is, it depends on where you are and who is there. I know that Puck and Mary will be moving out to California (UC-Davis? mebbe) soon, and I'l...

horsefriend

Wes,

If your over Wensday, I've got a number you can look at.

alail/scott

horsefriend

Works fine, just use a quality caster with a grease fitting, or preferrably , nice sealed bearings.

alail/scott

horsefriend

Wes, Locally, we're better than Flonzy suggests; most combatants fight in the round, a few who were strip fencers originally have trouble moving off the line, but that's their problem. Push cuts are frequently used, tip cuts are also, but with mutual agreement only. Full body targeting has always be...

horsefriend

There are literally hundreds of colours producable with period dyestuffs, many quite bright. A friend of mine has compiled a sample library of several THOUSAND different shades from vegetable dyes, dependent on the fabric, season of harvest, mordant, etc. The library will never be completed as she r...

horsefriend

It was '66 and a birthday party;

but DVA is essentially correct.

alail/scott

horsefriend

Wes, Use caution when identifying yoursef as a "pirate";1) pirates in the West Kingdom are their own subculture with a LOT of negative conotations for the serious re-enactor; 2) Do you want to portray a persona that is about as low socially as you can get in Elizabeth's dominions. The Irish with soc...

horsefriend

Wade,

Is it "Armourer's Marks, being a conpendium ot the Known Marks of Armourers, Swordsmiths, and Gunsmiths" by Dudley S. Hawtrey Gyngell?

alail/scott

horsefriend

3 points, one safety and one not, one ?: 1. I find that the "inherint elasticity" of HDPE is a bad thing for important joints, equally for knees as for hands. I have yet to see a plastic knee that provided, IMHO, what I considered to be suffuicient protection against a blow on the side of the knee, ...

horsefriend

I personally use an old Necchi; and an old Ferry Morse, which will happily sew your fingers to anything, including each other!

alail/scott

horsefriend

Wes & Ideval, I'm in Sac, drop me a line. I've done the SCA for nearly 25 years. I'm an armourer, costumer,fencer, and have done damn near everything you can do legally or otherwise in the SCA. I also do 1830-40's re-enactment at Sutter's Fort and am active in the local ECW groups. (Wes, look for th...

horsefriend

You could do so, just keep it a private club, always use private property, avoid the ASPCA like the plague, and God(s) save you if ANYONE ever decides to sue.
Most of the rules of the SCA evolved from CYA, a necessary instinct in the USA's litiginous society.

alail/scott

horsefriend

Mane and Tail is still available, I use it every night, on my hair. Buy it at a feed store, it's MUCH cheaper, and it's the original formulation. (they changed the formula when they started marketing to humans)

alail/scott

horsefriend

And I was expecting something new with , . . . sheep??

alail/scott

horsefriend

I use a 2 part ncr form to take ANY order, customer gets one as receipt. Also, every order goes on a whiteboard that is prominently displayed in the shop, with due date and room for comments, progress, etc. As I like to work on 6-8 different things at a time, I get an update on what, when, and who e...

horsefriend

A B-2 is all you need for armouring, I used a B-1 for 22+ years! The B-3 does a poor job of curves and is generally a beast all around. 'course, if you want to cut a lot of 10 ga. SS go for it. Seriously, buy the B-2, and if you are going to be working mostly with 18 ga., buy a B-1, and use the rest...

horsefriend

D@#m!, glad I make my own lampblack. (used for inleting locks and barrels)

alail/scott

horsefriend

e-mailed you.

alail/scott

horsefriend

Yehuda,

Black powder is much more my speed.

Odd, the 3rd degree at the chem wharehouse, and nary a question when I buy the same amount at the jewlery supply.

alail/scott

horsefriend

A cheap "Sterilite" 12 gallon storage tub is a great upgrade over the cardboard box and IIRC, will set you back an additional whopping $4.95.

Alail/Scott

horsefriend

I get my nitric from both a chemical supply warehouse and a jewelry supply place, and will probably only use the jewelry place in the future; lastr time I went in for a couple of quarts of nitric, the chem dealer made me fill out about 6000 pages of documents as to intended use, transportation, etc;...

horsefriend

Aqua Regia is very nasty stuff!!!. When I nedd quick, precise etching I use nitric (HNO3) , for slower or cheaper etching, muriatic; "swimming pool acid" works great. For spot areas, such as a medallion on the breast od a breastplate I've successfully used the metod in which you build a little wall ...

horsefriend

3 burners!?!, I use a single RR style mongo in a 6" dia, 10" longer cylindrical forge and I can incinerate 1'2 bar in about 8 minutes. There is one problem I have encountered with these burners that sounds similar to yours. After ignition, the burner putters and threobs (a LOT like a V-1 motor) and ...

horsefriend

e-mailed.

alail/scott

horsefriend

jester, It would be very easy for the Crown to determine that it is "combat related"; at least for their reign, if you ruffle to many feathers. Talk to your marshallate in advance to avoid confrontation, there has been a similar problem here, when "practice of historical technique" involves ANY cont...

horsefriend

D@#m, tool ghouls!

Le tme gewt the B-2 mounted, and I'll figure if I'm wanting the B-1 to go to a new home me. Send me an e-mail if you're really interested so I won't have to find the thread ina a week or 2.

alail/scott

horsefriend

My first shirt was 3/8 id. did NOT hold up well for combat, even under a wisby and then a breast and back w/fauld. 1/4 id. holds up reasonably but will still require a fair amopunt of maintenance.

alail/scott

horsefriend

Bid on a B-2 a couple of weeks ago and won (E-bay) Not only did I get a very nice shear for $350, I got a newly sharpened xtra set of blades as part of the deal. The real nice part is that they sent me a second! xtra set of blades, still in its decades old cosmoline soaked paper, never even opened.:...

horsefriend

I hope it's not the same B&D knockoff that Habor Frieght sells, they rate theirs to 18 ga, I've seen one cut 16 SS though I wouldn't do it often. Problem is, HF sells theirs for $39.99 (pg 32, latest catalog)

alail/scott

horsefriend

Try Eastwood, prices are good and I've been happy with everything I've bought from them. www.eastwoodcompany.com

alail/scott

horsefriend

Hugo,

I've got a similar caliper I forged from 1/2" stainless. It gives me such joy to see the look on a client's face when I pull it out and go for their temples.

alail/scott

MY turn, Happy dance