The Armour Archive

Derian le Breton

I'm sure one of the TV/movie prop maker folks could do it... What's it from?

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

It looks like his SCA name is spelled: Idanthrysus Araxes

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

I have taken a class and bought some tools from him. He is (obviously) an extremely skilled craftsman. He's honest, and his products are beautiful works of art and very safe.

If you have the money, I'd highly recommend becoming his customer.

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

I really need to make a good setup for photographing my coins. The lighting is so problematic!

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

Style/fashion?

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

Great. I'll happily do a detailed comparison, but not until after May 19th (I'm preparing for a conference.) Here are the main thoughts that pop up when I see the images: The groats generally look pretty good. The lettering is generally well done, though it looks like some of the shape choices are i...

Derian le Breton

Jehan - is your die cutter interested in constructive criticism?

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

Neat!

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

Murdock wrote:since April 1 i've broken 11 sticks

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

So everything will still be in the folders organized by museum, but if you want to see just one "subject" there'll be separate folders with all the photos there as well. I hope that makes sense... lol. It is rather late here. If it were me, I'd make extensive use of tags. That way you can...

Derian le Breton

Donasian, that's a beauty of a leaf! Was it simply an exercise, or is it part of a larger project? What's the metal, and what gauge? Always admired repousse' work... haven't ever tried any. Thanks! It was mostly so I could learn the technique, but I think I'll give it a patina and make it a stealth...

Derian le Breton

I learned how to do repoussÃ© today!

<IMG SRC="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3263/2463728986_de3cac0fc6.jpg">

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

Well he's not actually buried there, but yeah.

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

I've been told that the Medieval world was a place were materials were expensive and labor was cheap and in some areas today it's labor expensive and materials cheap. I hear this all the time in the SCA, and while I think it's a decent starting point to get someone out of the modern mindset, it's r...

Derian le Breton

I just added a whole bunch of photos from the arms and armour exhibit at Topkapı palace. Several suits of 15th-16th century Turkish, Persian, and Mamluk armour, and lots of weapons (including the sword of Mehmed II, conqueror of Constantinople.)

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

CillÃ©ne mac Conghalaigh wrote:I would not have thought fresh meat would have been included as it would have to be preserved I would think.

I imagine fresh meat might be available immediately after visiting a port, but generally not.

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

I would be willing to bet (although I haven't researched it) that the tanning industry was neither as advanced nor as concerned with deterioration as our current tanning industry is. Cloth was probably preferred over leather because you could make a prettier finish and it just didn't stink like rot...

Derian le Breton

One thing is for certain. The nobility were obscenely wealthy in relation to the common man. Just as the super-rich are of a completely different plane in their economic dealings than your average Joe are these days. QFT. Within the various social classes there was quite a bit of stratification as ...

Derian le Breton

I want to know where I can get a gallon of ale for $4. Local brewpubs out here often have specials where half gallons go for about that. Not quite as cheap, but it's on the same order of magnitude. Jehan's right, this is very interesting stuff, but be careful. I think it's hard to draw concrete con...

Derian le Breton

i started to become skeptical of the A&S 50 when i realized that the "depth" challenge could be attained in about 3 hours. It's a self defining challenge. If you want it to be that easy, that's fine. Most people will make it harder, though. I can strike 50 coins in about 20 minutes, b...

Derian le Breton

An hour learning from an experienced person can do more than a dozen with a book.

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

Got a link? I'm sure people will be thrilled to look at stuff as you upload it.

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

Nice work guys, especially for your first blades.

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

If I ever have any real money (and not talking about winning the lottery), and I had 20 acres or more, I would put up a small hamlet of a couple of houses, and a half-dozen sheds, with a barn. They should (for tax purposes) count as sheds, as they would have sills and not cellars, for the walls to ...

Derian le Breton

Sounds like a blast! I hope a good time will be had by all.

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

Donasian, didn't you guys get a snow storm last weekend or something? I wouldn't call it a storm, but snow did fall. It didn't stick though. This year has been extremely abnormal - it has snowed about half a dozen times, and stuck three! Our long term average is one snowfall every three years. -Don...

Derian le Breton

I don't think you guys can compare your rain fall to ours; the steady rain out there is nothing like the few inches an hour dumps we get here. It is like comparing a shower system to a fire hose . We end up with deep mud and flooding. Not to mention the lighting we had on and off for over 24 hours....

Derian le Breton

Remind me to never be smug again when DC cancels school because of a one inch ice storm... Smug? I'm just entertained. As I'm sure you are when ice and snow shut down the roads out here (even though there are very good reasons for that, just like canceling this event due to rain.) -Donasian.

Derian le Breton

a) There were tornadoes not far from the event site. As I understand it, most Seattle rain isnâ€™t accompanied by tornadoes? Nope. We very rarely get lightening either. Rain is extremely frequent, though, so people have learned that they don't melt in the rain. b) The site does not make money on da...

Derian le Breton

Seriously cool.

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

Effingham has it right - deleting your posts is a major disservice to other members of the board. It will be hard for all of us to find this thread in the future now, if we desire to mine the knowledge deposited in it.

I'd urge you to restore your posts, if you can.

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

Looks like fun!

Though a longboat on a lake in the middle of a continent is a bit strange.

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

Wait, you cancel due to <i>rain</i>???

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

Nine posts later, the truth comes out!

-Donasian.

Derian le Breton

I've seen several helms like that in action out this-a-way.

-Donasian.