The Armour Archive

Owen

Please note that I said "you might be technically correct"; not "right", or that I thought I was wrong. The fact that many of us enjoy "wars" and CA and seige and the like, to me, IS enough reason to continue them.

------------------
Owen
"Death is but a doorway-
Here, let me hold that for you"

Owen

Do what you say.
Say what you mean.
Mean what you do.

------------------
Owen
"Death is but a doorway-
Here, let me hold that for you"

Owen

I've met and spoken with (a couple at length) a number of the people who founded the SCA. Irregardless of what may have been meant by the particular passages in Corpora, these were the kind of people who, if asked if you could be a peasant, would reply, "Sure, whatever". They are also people who wou...

Owen

Fire in forge your friend. Fire in fireplace your friend. Fire in your shorts NOT your friend.

------------------
Owen
"Death is but a doorway-
Here, let me hold that for you"

Owen

I've always taken the bit about "assumed to be members of the nobility" as defining how we treat each other, not requiring that we portray ourselves as such. Play nice, don't snub the "little people", that kind of thing. We do a great many activies that the nobility of the High Middle Ages would not...

Owen

Contubernium- "tent full", 8 men. Literally that, the 8 that shared a single tent. The Legio XX tends to portray one (containing the Optio, second in command of the century), as we only have one tent! Actually, given our ages, we also tend to look like a bunch of Immunis, counting out our time to re...

Owen

Note: early Imperial usage, from Brassey's "Roman Army Wars of the Empire" 80 men to a century, plus Centurion, except for centuries in the First Cohort, which were double strength (160) 6 centuries to a cohort (480 +6 Centurions), except for the First Cohort, which had 5 of the double strength coho...

Owen

more like a sgt. major, but there were lots of grades, so the analogy doesn't really hold up. The Legions' structure was not the nice, neat pyramid of the modern military.

------------------
Owen
"Death is but a doorway-
Here, let me hold that for you"

Owen

Do you mean the Praetorian Guard, that guarded the Emperor? They most likely wore the same sort of equipment as the Legions, but reflecting their higher pay. So, they might have fancier decorations, silvered instead of tinned, etc. Centurions were the non-coms of the Legions; each was in charge of a...

Owen

Archers aren't effective except against massed cavalry? Tell that to Crassus' legions at Carrhae. Massed infantry, all wearing mail. 30,000 killed.

------------------
Owen
"Death is but a doorway-
Here, let me hold that for you"

Owen

And, of course, that second is remarkably effective when you're dealing with an accident/misunderstanding.

------------------
Owen
"Death is but a doorway-
Here, let me hold that for you"

Owen

Hate you. Hate you lots.

------------------
Owen
"Death is but a doorway-
Here, let me hold that for you"

Owen

Quintus is still working on a good repro of the manica; the one he has done is way too small for me, and doesn't move all that well yet. When dealing with armoring parts that the original gear didn't, I'm presented with several options. One way, the one I chose (mostly), is to wear hidden or unobtru...

Owen

Oh, no, they got a FEW things right- Edward I was a right bastard, Ed II was an ineffectual git (and likely wasn't Ed III's dad), ummm...there really are countries called "England" and "Scotland"... ummm...wait, don't tell me... ------------------ Owen "Death is but a doorway- Here, let me hold that...

Owen

Many years ago, the Mid brought a whole slew of those repeating crossbows to Pennsic, for the archery point. Didn't work worth a dam, too low powered to penetrate the target! Clouds of bolts, almost no points. It really was amusing to see, especially after we'd been so worried about them. ----------...

Owen

I wear plain black leather arms; vambrace, elbow cop, and v/small rerebrace. I chose them to be unobtrusive, as 1st C. roman miles didn't wear arm armor at all. I got the from By The Sword. They work well for me. Suggest that he portray a really rich, or really lucky, pict, who "acquired" armor, or ...

Owen

My friends at Thorny Rose may have that stuff in stock, check at rosamund@thornyrose.com . Their website is www.thornyrose.com .

------------------
Owen
"Death is but a doorway-
Here, let me hold that for you"

Owen

I have the Tentsmiths Musseum Wedge. It is 16' long overall, including the 5' bell, and 10' wide. It is taken from a tent in a french museum (hence the name) which is from 1735 or so, so it is not technically period. I don't know if the style was used in period, but it "looks right", was cheaper tha...

Owen

I'm looking for 7 to 9 pennsic badges, from years when they were disks. I am making a combat set of phalarae (awards worn on the chest), and all of mine are mounted to my belt (as the belt plaques). Anybody got some I can buy? ------------------ Owen "Death is but a doorway- Here, let me hold that f...

Owen

Mail is always a good choice.

------------------
Owen
"Death is but a doorway-
Here, let me hold that for you"

Owen

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Plus, SCA defenders tend to be hyper-defense. I think I a lot of people goad them because it?s fun. ?I think thou dost protest to much? comes to mind. </font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE> That works both ways-...

Owen

The best gauntlets I have ever worn are from EGG. They are kydex, and cost $125 for the XL which I wear.

------------------
Owen
"Death is but a doorway-
Here, let me hold that for you"

Owen

Actually, mail was the most common form of body armor for most of the Republican and Imperial periods. Lorica Segmentata appears to have been developed in the late 1st century BCE or very early 1st CE, and was used up to around the middle/late part of the 2nd. Musculata is hard to tell, as there hav...

Owen

A case? How do you fight with 24 rapiers?

------------------
Owen
"Death is but a doorway-
Here, let me hold that for you"

Owen

Btw, this is not to say I consider my kit perfect; I consider not so much "good enough" as "good enough for now". I am still working on a way to wear caligae, but my current project is to make a subarmalis to wear under it, and get the pteruges (not shown in that pic, it's 1 1/2 years old) attached ...

Owen

We are the SCA of Borg, you will be assimilated and wear bargrills and plastic...

------------------
Owen
"Death is but a doorway-
Here, let me hold that for you"

Owen

The EGG gauntlets are the best I have ever worn, superior to any pair of steel I have owned. If I'm going to "fake" the look of caligae, why bother to use turnshoes? I've considered covers to simulate them over the boots, but I haven't come up with one that looks anything but horrible, big and clunk...

Owen

Dmitry- the "white" you see is a reflection from the cheekplate edge. The elbows are leather, not plastic; perhaps you are allowing your prejudices to show? Pull on boots are simply not period for this gear-they didn't exist. Boot-mocs are no better, and, again, do not provide any ankle support. The...

Owen

She was there, Sir Richard, she knows, and we have all had a good laugh about it, then and since. She stepped out to the right when Duke Sir Angus said "Step Left". We stepped left, she stepped right, and a spear from Meridies got her. I have known her for over 20 years, I think I get to tell storie...

Owen

My ankles won't take fighting in pull-on boots, not that they'd be accurate for this gear anyway. What I should be wearing is caligae, which are...laced boots. Ok, open toed, but the marshals'd have a fit. No turnshoes, then. As for the gauntlets, what would you suggest? Metal would look no better, ...

Owen

http://wolveshaven.topcities.com//photos/owen01.jpg

Notice the amazingly obvious plastic bits(hint: there are 5 pieces)

------------------
Owen
"Death is but a doorway-
Here, let me hold that for you"

Owen

Having had the dubious honor of fighting in a Queen's Guard, where said Queen (HRM Sedalia) managed to get out from behind us and BE THE FIRST ONE KILLED, I'll pass on that honor again. We pretty much decided to all die right there, 'cause none of us wanted to go tell HRM Sir Gavin what had happened...

Owen

On the other hand, if they don't look too horrendous, they would be more protective than plain hockey gloves, without badly altering the balance of a sword. Not every suit of armor used gauntlets. What's the difference between using an inaccurate basket hilt, and an inaccurate (in application) set o...

Owen

Well, the Roman form would have been under mail or Lorica Segmentata. There are sculptures showing pteruges on legionaries wearing both.

------------------
Owen
"Death is but a doorway-
Here, let me hold that for you"

Owen

Those are freaking AWESOME! My great sword (nodachi, actually) has a galv. pipe cap, and needs the weight. My gladius has a big orange rubber ball pommel(most of my weapons are balck and orange, for easy identification). ------------------ Owen "Death is but a doorway- Here, let me hold that for you"

Pennsic Badges, yes this is about armor