The Armour Archive

Bob H

Thanks, Alcy!

Bob H

I'd like to make a fiberglass spear I can break down for easier transport. I already have the shaft, and I had to cut it in two to get it here when we moved, but I have no idea where to find suitable material to join the halves together. It would likely have to be an online source as I live in the b...

Bob H

Feathers - <a href="http://www.trueflightfeathers.com/products.htm">Trueflight feathers</a> Shafts - <a href="http://www.arrowwoods.com/">Allegheny Mtn. Arrow Woods</a> Traditional Archery Supplies - <a href="http://www.3riversarchery.com/">Three Rivers Archery</a>

Bob H

Heres some exercises I use alot. Get a wood/metal/rattan rod about 2 feet long. Tie a rope in the center and then tie a small weight (5 pounds is great) to the other end of the rope. Then grip the bar and roll it in your hands. You'll curl the string up around the rod and lift the weight. Once you ...

Bob H

Noe, if you don't use your weight against them then they won't know what to do when someone else does that. In fact, it would help them if you outright bully them from time to time so they can learn how to defeat those tactics.

Kudos to you for being such a concerned teacher!

Bob H

I prefer the Bitzenburger jigs to any other I've used. They are single station, one fletch at a time jigs, but they adjust in many different ways. You can set them for three fletch or two styles of four fletch - using the four fletch setting with a straight clamp and only two feathers should work go...

Bob H

I found and ordered some of this: <a href="http://stores.homestead.com/hstrial-RSchwartz1/-strse-Kens-Kustom-Kar-cln-Fuzzy-Fur/Categories.bok">Ken's Kustom Fuzzy Fur</a> <a href="http://www.showrods.com/acrobat_articles/learning_to_flock.pdf">Learning to Flock</a> I'll try it on some metal scraps fi...

Bob H

Here are some interesting YouTube videos from Hammaborg on round shield fighting. It's steel, not SCA, but there are some neat ideas in them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWSTx0tZHCU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGNBc7ew ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXPujfwQ ... re=related

Bob H

I'm going back to Norse, too, and have been struggling with this and similar issues. I just bought another pair of Andy Ward's gaunts, I'll see what I can do with them when they get here and I have some time to experiment. After reading some of the combat forum threads, I realized that quite a few o...

Bob H

I think the "oar-tent" is glorious. I think this because I've been turning the same idea over in my mind for some time. I had envisioned a striped sail, though, mostly because that invokes "Viking" in peoples' minds. As far as I know, there's no hard support for the idea, but it'...

Bob H

How about making/getting mitten gauntlets and covering them in cloth / fake quilting ? That way you don't need to rely on low profile anything -- you are just wearing mittens It's a good idea, but it's seldom done well. Back when rocks were soft, the modeling stores sold plastic animal kits - squir...

Bob H

Yep, it may be my shape, which is like unto the post of a fence. What's that movie line, "look at the assless man. My man has no ass!" I was thinking about the difficulty of putting on a pair of slick hexpads over a pair of slick compression shorts with cup pocket, and figuring that was to...

Bob H

...This is context of the graveyard, and many have concluded that the chamber graves represent a local upper class with a warrior elite and important connections to the outside world. You've touched on an idea that I question - that we are looking for "pure Norsemen", not influenced by th...

Bob H

i'm doing lamellar over hexpads right now - it's awesome. Not to sound like a broken record, but - which hexpads? They make a shitload of different garments. Right now I'm looking at this for elbows & knees: <a href="http://www.gobros.com/gc/customer/product.php?productid=20487&classM3193=0...

Bob H

I'll cut and paste some of this from another thread: Here's a group of fabric suppliers that mostly cater to the 18thC reenactor community. A lot of the fabrics would work fine for Viking Age, and they should know which colors resemble the results of madder, woad, weld, etc. Bear in mind that wool t...

Bob H

I'd love to have the opportunity to set up a group lending library. It lets beginners get a leg-up on basics without spending all their money on books and having little left for materiel. If they stick, they'll probably buy their own copies. I'd divide the library into two sections. One, the topical...

Bob H

i'm doing lamellar over hexpads right now - it's awesome. Not to sound like a broken record, but - which hexpads? They make a shitload of different garments. Right now I'm looking at this for elbows & knees: <a href="http://www.gobros.com/gc/customer/product.php?productid=20487&classM3193=0...

Bob H

There are wool fabrics that are somewhat bulky (to absorb impact), but have fairly open weaves. Sealed by a tightly woven shell they trap air and are warm, but covered with another open weave fabric they breathe well. If you'll fill in your profile a bit so we at least know what country you're in, w...

Bob H

Beautiful! And, it's going to appeal to a whole lot of people here. I've babied my redware costrel because there are so few good options for events, and I don't know where I'd find a replacement.

Bob H

Why not mail and some Davis hex pads? The mail is obviously early period and the hexpads are fairly unobtrusive under this.. You can get a shirt and the padded biker shorts which have pads on the hips as well as the thigh. If I were in better health I'd chance mail-over-padding, but I have rheumato...

Bob H

Here's a start - Techniques Of Medieval Armour Reproduction: The 14th Century (Medieval & Renaissance) by Brian Price ISBN-13: 978-1581605365 Arms and Armour of The Medieval Knight (Hardcover) by David Edge and John Miles Paddock ISBN-10: 0861244141 Arms and Armour of the Crusading Era, 1050-135...

Bob H

I'm still on my quest to design and build some hidden personal protection for a Viking persona. Ideally it would give good protection and have such a low profile that it can be worn under a tunic and narrow pants without showing. Since it's completely hidden, I have no problem using kydex or similar...

Bob H

While you're waiting for a response (I hate that, don't you?) you might search this forum for posts by "JesseB". He's made some amazing things.

Bob H

Archery: There is the famous story from Njal's Saga of the outlawed Gunnar (or is it Skarp-Hedin?) defending his stead against the "posse" (led by a "Mord") sent to kill him. At first, Gunnar keeps the posse at bay with his bow, until the string breaks and he asks his wife, Hall...

Bob H

Oo, good idea for a thread, Bob. Denewulf, lookin' SHARP!!! Danke! And yes, he does. I really appreciate all the contributions, I've never tried this approach before and the responses help a lot. What would be really nice is if we could see some "before and after" shots, i.e. a pic of the...

Bob H

...I wear a lacrosse harness, a pair of low profile plastic legs, and a pair of leather bazubands to fairly comfortable effect... Could you go into more detail about the lacrosse harness? I looked, and there are dozens if not hundreds of different setups. My legs are Stonekeep fanless stainless kne...

Bob H

Yeah, there've been some posts in the past but most of them are old and scattered all over the archive and there's a lot of dead links in them, so I thought it was worth bringing up again (especially since that's the road I'm going to travel). I've left the 14thC Mafia and am going back to being an ...

Bob H

There isn't a group within two hours of here, but I think one would thrive. Without steering the conversation overmuch by iterating the standard steps, has anyone here gone out as an "army of one" and founded a successful group? If you have, would you guide me? I think fighting would go ov...

Bob H

I have a few items - buckles, belt mounts, etc. - that I'd like to silver or maybe even gold plate. Has anyone used the Caswell kit? Care to comment on the results if you have?

Bob H

Vitus, There's a good drawing of the stitch <a href="http://www.visi.com/~norseman/viking_shoe.html">here</a>. The drawings labeled "a" and "b" are helpful, I'm not sure quite what "c" is showing but I'll probably feel like a dumbass when I finally realize it. And just ...

Bob H

"Country" ham, sides, etc. It's made to store in southern US temps and humidity without spoiling. Salt-cured eggs, they aren't as salty as they sound. A big crock of homemade kraut, only needs to be kept cool, not cold. Use your dehydrator on some cantalope and muskmelon. It ends up a bit ...

Bob H

eljungrande wrote:and i stated that i lost all of that...and that i never stated it as fact.

You know, I think you'd really enjoy our political forum.

Bob H

Donasian wrote:I always liked Grettir snatching spears out of the air while in mid-jump, then throwing them back at their owners.

-Donasian.

He was in a hurry, had to go jump in the bed and cover his head before it got dark.

Bob H

Mine are made by pushing/twisting the cord into the aiglette as far as it will go, then drilling a tiny hole near the big end of the aiglette, inserting an all-brass brad, clipping to length and carefully peening with a tiny hammer. It doesn't take as long as it sounds like it would, and I haven't h...

Bob H

Alric of Drentha wrote:Thanks for the great feedback! I think I'll have to add naalbinding to my list of things to learn in the next few months... some wool stockings would be great.

Try a Google search for "naalbinding video". Lots of help out there, I'm going to have a go at it myself this winter.

Where to find material for breakdown fiberglass spear?

Re: In Conclusion: A Caveat

What's the most comfortable body & hip protection?

Show your hidden armour kits!

Anyone ever start an SCA group on their own?

Anyone used a Caswell plug 'n plate kit?