The Armour Archive

Josh W

Adam is right, I've owned a couple of armets in the past. One was way too big for me, and the other was reclaimed by the armourer because he was embarrassed of it. I will probably borrow Siggy's sallet, if he'll let me. I share your boredom with them, Adam, believe me, but if it's all I can come up ...

Josh W

White Spirit?

Josh W

What's wrong with the knee-wraps? It's bits of wool blanket... Tom Justus made most of the cuirass, but it didn't fit me quite right when it arrived, and I had Patrick Thaden adjust it and replace a few elements, as well as add a few decorative enhancements... Flonzy, I've never had any problems wha...

Josh W

30 pounds? This? m No Way! Good God, dude! Open an armour book! I think 65 pounds is only *slightly* too heavy. The harness of Galeazzo D'Aarco in Churburg weighs around 63 or so, and it's missing its right arm and has no side or rear tassets. The 'Avant' Harness in Glasgow is what? 58 pounds? How a...

Josh W

Thanks for the comments, guys. Keep 'em coming...

I do have a helmet, and while it looks very nice, it's an SCA helmet, and I don't want to cut the bargrill off of it.

I will have mail voyders and skirt by May, even if I have to cut up my Indian riveted shirt for it...

Josh W

I made the pauldrons and armharness, except for the couters. Tom Justus, Patrick Thaden, and Scott Martin did the rest.

Josh W

The only pieces I made are the rerebraces, vambraces, and pauldrons. The rest of the harness is mostly Patrick Thaden, Tom Justus, and Illusion. I *do* have side and butt tassets, but notice that one of the rear straps is broken, thus no butt-tasset in these photos. Pity, since it is a very nice but...

Josh W

I'd like my harness critiqued for authenticity, especially by those who plan to attend the Retreat to Calais event in May. I plan to wear this very harness there, with only minor changes, unless somebody says there's something wrong with it. Please be thorough in your scrutiny, and blunt in your cri...

Josh W

Here are a couple of photos of my harness as it is just now. I apologize for the rust; I attended an event and got rained on last week, and it's difficult to get all the rust off... I intend to wear this harness, with only minor changes (different clothes underneath, new gauntlets, finished pauldron...

Josh W

In my humble opinion, any of the senior AEMMA guys would trounce most any SCA fighter. Those guys do it for real...

Josh W

I use 20ga for the scales on my fingers. Under the lames of my mitten gauntlets, however.

Josh W

I regularly fight in a nice Milanese harness in the SCA. Sabatons, cased greaves, huge overlapping pauldrons, the whole deal. I just returned from a tournament last weekend in which I fought in it, in fact. I didn't do terribly badly at all. It weighs right at about 65 pounds, and I had little troub...

Josh W

The French *were* the wellspring from which Chivalry flowed. Those ancient Frenchmen are long in their graves now, and their ideological descendants dwell no more in that benighted land. The French Revolution (and remember that the modern government of France is still the child of that same bloody r...

Josh W

How about lacing them to the shoulders of your arming doublet?

Josh W

BF, I think you need the latest edition of Robert Hardy's "Longbow". Good luck with your obstinate Father in Law...

Josh W

I want to know where you read that samurai didn't armour their backs, Witched....

Josh W

Don't forget backplates. They probably defended their backs with something more substantial than just mail by 1415.

Josh W

As much as it pains me to recommend it, I'd say go with Dagorhir. Their armour rules suck, but not as badly as their archery rules (the archer gets to decide whether or not he hit you and you die). Plus, the guy who runs their internet discussion forum is a dick. And the game is overrun by teenagers...

Josh W

Is there mail on your back? I can't tell in the photo. I'd hope you'd defend the back of your torso with something...

Josh W

Why is it always the 14th century? Will we never see a well-done 15th century war film?

Josh W

I think some of you take SCA concepts of fealty and loyalty WAY too seriously. Grow up.

Josh W

As much as I think you're an ass, Owen, that *is* a nice-looking kit.

Josh W

I wear a custom-made cuirass and fauld in the style of mid-fifteenth century Milan. I like the 'ball-and-socket' movement that this style of cuirass permits.

However, as far as SCA combat is concerned, I think 14th century coats of plate are the 'most competitive' style of torso defense.

Josh W

You're going to wear this with the 14th century plate limb defenses? I think you'll look kinda Scandinavian or Russian. Neat.

Josh W

You guys are cool. How big are those elbows?

Josh W

Why can't you get sheet metal in Iceland? Seems kinda silly...

Josh W

Nice!

Were barbutes really fitted with visors like this in period? If so, then I know exactly what I'm going to do with my barbute....

Josh W

Here goes: Talon Armoury Barbute: $280 c.1460 Milanese cuirass w/ fauld, culet, and tassets from Tom Justus: $1800 additional work on cuirass by Patrick Thaden: $500 couters from Patrick Thaden: $250 vambraces, rerebraces, and big, overlapping C15th "angelwing" pauldrons: my own work, but approx. $5...

Josh W

Woo Hoo! I've already requested the time off at work. I'm driving all the way from Kansas. This should be fun!

Josh W

I'm sorry, but I thought the armour in this film wasn't terribly accurate. What were those Jewish Temple Guardsmen wearing? As for the Romans... It appears to me that most of them are wearing what is supposed to be leather lorica segmentata, with a few that might be intended to appear as being bronz...

Josh W

Thorstenn, your hatchet might go through steel that is set up on a stump or something and has a solid backing. I doubt you can hack through even 18ga mild steel on a moving, soft human being. Totally different game.

Josh W

Does AZON have a website?

Josh W

I'm disappointed. I had always thought the Adrian Empire's fighters would look better than the average SCAzzball. What a let-down to learn that they look worse, in fact.

At least they appear to be engaging in grappling...

Josh W

No way the SCA is the only venue for full-speed, full-force, full-contact medieval combat simulation. Go look at what the AEMMA is doing. They even get to grapple. The SCA is stick-tag by comparison. That said, until the AEMMA opens a branch near me, I must content myself with the SCA, in all its er...

Josh W

If I wanted a "Mithril" mail shirt, I'd go to Master Knuut and have him make one of those welded-link Ti shirts he does. In a small-ring, thick-gauge dense weave. Heck, yeah...

My Harness...

My Harness