The Armour Archive

Jason Grimes

I raised the bowl of the helmet in my avatar directly on the anvil and hammering it on the inside. I did anneal a lot and used a ball-pein hammer and a long headed hammer to bouge it out. It's doable but it takes a long time and is hard on the equipment. Also I didn't get all of the depth I wanted, ...

Jason Grimes

You can strip the galvanization off pretty quickly with vinegar or lemon juice. That's what I do anyway.

Jason Grimes

Hey Karl, The general view is that the solid links were punched from sheet. The Romans had the technology so it's not much of a stretch for the Vikings to have I think. I don't have the picture, but there is one from a house book that depicts a man with a bow-like device with mail links strung on it...

Jason Grimes

Why does the coif need to be made of linen? Are you allergic to wool? No, I'm not making a coif. I only posted the woodcut because I think that it depicts fully turned and finished slashing. I was just curious about the linen. If you need it made out of linen, I'd recommend using several layers of ...

Jason Grimes

It's all about mass, isn't it.

Jason Grimes

Hi Jason, I've just come back to the AA after being busy with life and a new job, sorry this reply is a bit late... In my experience, one slashing treatment doesn't fit all fabrics. Some fabrics will open up when you slash them, no further adjustment needed, other fabrics need to have their edges t...

Jason Grimes

Here is a few pictures that I have. They were very popular through out the 16th century. Many were lost with time, many more were lost to Victorian sensibilities. I think it was the Philadelphia museum that found several cod pieces when they were updating the display manikins. They had been sewn int...

Jason Grimes

*sigh* I wish I had one tenth of one percent of your skill. The things I could do. Excelent job, very nice.

Jason Grimes

Well, you won't get my anvil from me unless you pry it from my cold dead hands. I blew my tax return on one of these: m probably... 7-8 years ago. Price has gone up by about $300 since then. At the time it was about half what a comparible peddinghaus was. Not a small chunk of cash. But I've never ev...

Jason Grimes

I made a jacket oversleeve for a guy a few years back, and staggering the reductions like what you show above worked quite well on it. As I was knitting it I thought it would look clunky (first sleeve I'd ever done, and first expansions/contractions I'd done with mail hanging open), but it turned o...

Jason Grimes

It's a couple of hours later, and I no longer hold with my theory above. I've thought about it some more. I think that twist thing I was talking about earlier today is only relevant to voiders which are open on the top, so the two edges can be "slipped" with respect to each other. As such...

Jason Grimes

Jason, I'm pretty sure I can see the same thing going on in both sleeves. Have you got a better pic? Mac I sure wish I did, but I don't darn it. I'm mostly going off of the rows. On the top sleeve you can see very definitely that the rows are aligned differently in the gusset area then in the rest ...

Jason Grimes

Mac, that is a good catch on the gusset on the top sleeve in the armpit. The lower one doesn't appear to have one. They are obviously not a matching pair. About reducing two rows at the same time, I was thinking that you might be able to stagger the reductions on each side and only reduce by one row...

Jason Grimes

@ Jason: I've always loved that painting! =D But are we sure that there was maille beneath the plate? A cursory inspection doesn't show any... Incidentally: what is that lip on the inside-back of the rearbrace? I've never noticed its like before. It's hard to see in my copy, but in A&AMK you ca...

Jason Grimes

Hey Charles, Sorry for the confusion, it was my fault, I probably shouldn't have brought up the gusset word. I have heard these mail sleeves called "gussets" because they fill in and protect the holes in plate armour. I don't think that these sleeves have gussets (usually triangular shaped...

Jason Grimes

Here is a painting by Roger Van der Weyden (c.1432)that suggests that the long sleeves are connected to a garment that, in this case, lies over the mail but under the spaulders and cuirass. It's a bit different then the painting under discussion. Maybe this is the last vestige of the surcoat? The pa...

Jason Grimes

Mac wrote:Jason,

That pic shows the tailoring pretty well if you already know what you are looking for. Can you post a link to a higher res. version of it? That would make it easier to discuss.

Mac

No, unfortunately that is all I have.

Jason Grimes

Jason, Your pic CAT60 is the one I have that my note says is from the V&A exhibit. Unfortunately the pic you have is the only one I have of this suite. Darn! Thanks Lorenzo. I found a couple more period art depicting splints in "Landsknechte und Reislaufer: Bilder vom Soldaten" by Mat...

Jason Grimes

Here is a picture of some arm gussets. http://www.frostyfoot.com/images/25126.jpg They are later, 16th century, but you can somewhat see how they were tailored. It looks to me, and I'm just guessing here, that there wasn't much done at the shoulder except for the join at the armpit. The rest of the ...

Jason Grimes

Hollywood notwithstanding, do we know if Elizabeth I wore full harness when she famously addressed her troops, or just body armor over the customary gown? I think I remember reading that all she wore was a breast and back plate. Maybe they included tassets, but I don't know. She might have just wor...

Jason Grimes

Thanks asteeley, that makes sense. I should scan the entire sequence and post it, just because it is such a cool one. The copies I have include all of the original text too, so if there is anyone here who would like to try a translation? Hint, hint.

Jason Grimes

Its a curious topic to be sure, detachable faulds I mean. *wants to play King Missle here* I have several theories ranging from the fact that the anticlastic piece which exists on the Munich cuirass and some brigadines (and surely existed on some exposed cuirasses connecting the fauld and breastpla...

Jason Grimes

Here is the woodcut Karl was talking about: m According to "The German Single-leaf Woodcut 1500-1550" these soldiers are called "Die gmeynenknecht". I'm not sure what that means? My German dictionary does not have "gmeynen" in it, or anything even related. Any German sp...

Jason Grimes

I have a pic of one that was at an exhibition at the victoria and albert museum. The arms look pretty much like the ones at leeds except there is just one simple shoulder plate. Please post the picture if you would, I would love to see them. Here is the pictures that I have: First the pair at Leeds...

Jason Grimes

That is a very unique thumb plate on that gauntlet you posted Wade. Very cool. Where do you find these things?

Jason Grimes

There is also a pair of splints at Leeds but I think they may be cobbled together from several pairs. I know of another pair but I'm not sure where they are preserved at. I have some pictures but it will have to wait until I can get home and post them.

Jason Grimes

Karl Helweg wrote:Jason - I am flying up to Fairbanks in just a few minutes and plan to be there for a Board meeting 9-13 March - I am staying at Pike's Landing if you want to get together one evening (Wed?)

That sounds good, just PM me with the time and place.

Jason Grimes

I think I have that woodcut you are talking about Karl. Let me look for it and scan it in. I like the armour in it very cool stuff, although I don't think that it would have been war spoils. Notice how the guys in armour (dopple soldners) are on the outside to keep the new recruits in line and to he...

Jason Grimes

Thanks Andrew! Many of those pictures I had never seen before. So much Kastenbrusty goodness. The strap and buckle on the kastenbrust is very interesting. I believe it must be about attaching the fauld. The Glasgow kastenbrust has staple inside the breast and a corresponding hole on the upper lame o...

Jason Grimes

Oil based paints pre-date the Van Eycks by some hundreds of years, it is a bit of a long held art history myth that the Van Eycks were the grandads of oil painting. Thanks, I wasn't too sure when the oil based paints came about. re fire gilding, again, Theophilus has a section on amalgam gilding, a...

Jason Grimes

I have found these helmets to be somewhat intimidating, especially the death's-head burgonets. http://www.frostyfoot.com/images/intim/86133985367035456460988307450566200025.jpg http://www.frostyfoot.com/images/intim/169425206803244186746757507470585394365.jpg [img]http://www.frostyfoot.com/images/in...

Jason Grimes

HI Earnest, Sorry to but in, but I saw a couple of things I thought I could add to. What method of paint was used? we know of oil based paints that existed at that time (Theophilus 1170), we also know that oil varnish paints were used to seal metal in later periods, it does not seem to be an innovat...

Jason Grimes

I'm pretty sure I have seen period gauntlet fingers that were fully enclosed. Although I'm also sure that the gauntlets were made for the joust, and it was just limited to the thumb. Also it was just done to the left hand.

Jason Grimes

I think that over time things will get better with armour portrayal. I was surprised to see very realistic mail in Legend of the Seeker. Of course the rest of the armour is pure fantasy, lots of leather, etc. I think that public knowledge and impression of armour has changed. Maybe because of Lord o...

Jason Grimes

I have gotten a response from Judy Peres at Wisconsin Woodchuck LLC , the president actually. She gave me permission to post their price list and a special they are running. The prices look pretty good, still expensive though. They have a fair bit of choices to choose from like flat bar, round bar a...

Re: Fairbanks