The Armour Archive

Josh W

While I understand that the manica was used, it doesn't protect the necessary areas that SCA combat requires. Why not just have a manica made with slight modifications that satisfy SCA safety requirements? That would be far, far less visually jarring than bazubands. Bazubands would look just as out...

Josh W

Kit, I think you should give that backplate another try. That'll be one heck of a sweet-looking suit when it's finished.

Josh W

Yeah, I know. I was indicating the breastplate worn by the second knight; it is a reproduction of an early 15th century piece, labeled S18 at Churburg, but without the backplate attached to the genuine article. I am aware that the upper breastplate from that suit is thought to be much earlier than t...

Josh W

The Churburg S18 breastplate looks odd without a backplate. Is there any evidence to support the idea that that style of breastplate was ever worn without a backplate?

Josh W

I don't need a belt to hold up my leg harness. m It's largely self-supporting, i.e. the cuisse/poleyn rests on the greave-pin, the greve rests on the sabaton, and the sabaton rests on the ground. It fits tightly enough that I can wear them without the sabatons and they still won't slide down and put...

Josh W

Wow, Dan.

That looks better than many steel cuirasses.

Josh W

I'm not sure that the Maffiolo Sforza statue is without greaves. When I look at it, I see a strip of mail depending from the demi-greave and what I'm almost certain is the vertical line of the front of a greave running down his shin. I'm not saying that greaves were always worn at this period, but I...

Josh W

....the huge amount of variables involved I concede that there are plenty of variables to be considered; still, some general conclusions can be drawn. The armor that our good Doctor is using as a standard was made in the 1500's correct? Not necessarily. I recall plenty of analysis done on earlier s...

Josh W

Fair enough. I'm sorry that I presumed that you know less about armour than Dr. WIlliams. You may be an armour genius for all I know. I do think you come across somewhat condescendingly with the "you'll just have to find out for yourself" comments, implying that you have already "found out" and that...

Josh W

I trust it. Dr. Alan Williams has forgotten more about medieval armour and weapons than you and I will ever know. He works at the Wallace Collection and gets to handle the real thing every day. I seriously doubt he tested just one piece and made generalizations based on it. Have you read his "The Kn...

Josh W

I don't doubt that a strong individual can drive the point of a spear a few centimeters through a 1-1.5mm breastplate--maybe even a bit through a 2mm one. What I doubt is that you can drive a spearhead into one deep enough to do more than superficial damage to the wearer. It isn't a swung instrument...

Josh W

I have my doubts that the man who made that illustration was ever an eyewitness to combat. Froissart also doesn't explicitly state that the man was even wearing plate thigh armour. For all we know, it could have been mail or cuir-bouilli. It was the 14th century after all... I'm with Justus here. I ...

Josh W

I still don't think you can drive a spear through a breastplate to a depth significant to cause crippling/fatal injury using only your arms. From the back of a charging horse, sure. But not by hand.

Josh W

Kilkenny wrote: Looks to me rather like they're being struck right through their harness.

But not stuck very deeply.

Josh W

Talk to Tom Justus.

He had a good source for heavy-duty stage-curtain velvet. I got several yards of various colors from him a few years back, from which I have made a few brigandines that have held up pretty well.

Josh W

Those are the gaunts that are displayed with the #S18 suit in Churburg, right?

Josh W

I've been measuring my own harness by the yardstick of the armours of Jeffs Johnson and Hedgecock, and that of Bob Reed for years now. They're what I'm aiming for.

Josh W

My solution has always been to pack my stuff up as tightly as possible, tie the tent shut tight, get drunk, and dance naked in the rain till it stops.

Josh W

Lookin' good, Aaron! I can't wait to see your suit in person!

Josh W

I wrap my elbows twice round with felt, same as with the knees. It meets the requirements.

Josh W

Ita vero. Tu Quoque. No. Drunk, yes. Odo I just thought I'd take your "homo" comment and run with it; you know--"homo"="man" in Latin, so in that sense, it's true. I figure that you are a man, too. As for my being a "homo" in the modern American slang sense of the term, my wife would dispute you on...

Josh W

But the upper breastplate/backplate and the plackart are not riveted to one another. This system affords more mobility than attaching them with rivets would.

Josh W

Ita vero. Tu Quoque.

Josh W

It's still going to happen. Gethin and I spoke about it via Private Message just last week.

Josh W

The sabatons were originally much larger, and were re-sized for me by Patrick Thaden years ago. I see what you mean about the leg straps; they do look like bare flesh. I just haven't gotten around to dyeing a lot of the leather elements that I had to replace after the fire. I think a lot of the roug...

Josh W

What is it specifically about the legs that you think I ought to change, Egfroth?

Josh W

You guys both have awesome kits!

Josh W

I do have the right pauldron reinforce, along with the butt and side tassets. The right pauldron reinforce is detached currently, while I clean up the flute that runs across it.

Josh W

Yes, my armet is CLANG's work.

Josh W

Nope, no wrapper for it yet. I admit that I was reluctant to fight SCA in the long-cuffed gauntlets at first. The left one is almost impossible to do any single-stick work in. However, they're fine for polearm, spear, bastard/greatsword--anything that requires two hands. The right one is more flexib...

Josh W

But I do have a Historic Enterprises arming doublet on.

Josh W

What changes should I make to this harness to make it more accurate?

Josh W

I'm less concerned with how graceful or pretty they look, and more concerned with how closely they come to replicating the look of certain gauntlets from the collection at Mantova. I think they achieve this from some angles, but look clunky from others.

http://josh.mediumaevum.com/Mantova%20122b.jpg

Josh W

Ah. Sorry; I guess I'm not familiar with that phrase. I'm still not sure I'm altogether happy with the gauntlets. The left one is alright, I think, but the right one is iffy. Iin spite of the armourer's marks, only the cuffs are Thaden's work; the rest is mine. The extra-wide finger-scales and the r...

Josh W

Jehan de Pelham wrote:I had never seen close-ups of your gauntlets. They're some rough customers.

"Rough customers?" Is something wrong with them?

Re: looking for bazuband documentation