The Armour Archive

Jason Grimes

Sorry Wulfe, I will post a short tutorial on how I have been able to get the picts to show up. Like I said it's a bit of a pain, but worth it in the end. I don't have time to put one together tonight, but I will try and post tomorrow.

Jason Grimes

Your question is a little vague. I think you can assume that breastplates were worn with out backplates from when they were first used to well in to the 17th century and probably beyond. In general this was limited to the infantry, but I have seen examples of mounted men wearing breastplates without...

Jason Grimes

When I was doing a lot of research on Kastenbrust armour (1420-1450) I looked into the late 14th and very early 15th centuries to try and find out how the style evolved from earlier styles. What I found for your time period and country (Germany) of interest was that almost always the cuirass was cov...

Jason Grimes

I think it is a plus to coat the inside with something to help keep the rust at bay and it makes regular maintanence much easier. It also helps keep rust stains off any kind of garmet worn under the armour.

Jason Grimes

I have been baking olive oil on the insides of my armour lately. I just coat the piece with olive oil and use a propane torch to "bake" the oil on to the surface. You have to be careful not to over heat it though or you will burn the oil off. Just cook it until it smokes. It appears to hold up reall...

Jason Grimes

Hi Gaston, I'm curious about the use of side tabs instead of the palm strap. Would this be limited to a particular time period or country? I have this picture of a pair of German(?) gauntlets from about the 1540's that have a palm strap. I have no idea if the lining or the straps are origional on th...

Jason Grimes

I have this picture, but I don't know if it is a Stechhelm liner though?

http://www.grimmarmoury.com/armour/helm ... g15_1.jpeg

There is also a picture of a liner in the Kunsthistoresches Museum (that's the one in Vienna right? ) catalog (Waffensammlung I) on page 72. They called it a Harnischhaube in the description.

Jason Grimes

If you want to go the authentic route combining patches appears to be the way to go. I haven't seen an example of historic mail mantle or standard that uses the random expansion links method. I don't think people back then cared any if there are seams, just as long as it fit and didn't have any hole...

Jason Grimes

Hi all,

Karl asked me to post this for him. Here you go Karl.

http://www.grimmarmoury.com/armour/tudor%20shoes.jpg

Jason Grimes

Here is the information on the find in Kempten (AllgÃ¤u). Click on the fig links for the pictures, very cool. They even go into the construction of the shoes too.

http://www.coeln1475.de/mirrors/www.uni ... /shoes.htm

Most are turn shoes, the one that most interested me was:

http://www.coeln1475.de/mirrors/www.uni ... e/abb8.htm

Jason Grimes

As far as the shoes go, cow mouths and the mary-janes both had or did not have, depending, the strap across the ankle. I have seen them depicted both ways. I have also seen the bear-paws.. which just barely have the toes covered, and just a heel counter in the back. I _suspect_ they were stitched t...

Jason Grimes

I don't know if this will help any, it's from Graz and painted in about 1425. The first image is the complete picture you can see the soldier falling off his horse under the horse in front. The second is a close up of the fallen horseman and it has been rotated so he is falling up. [img]http://www.g...

Jason Grimes

Jason, those buckles look good! I have some 16 gauge stuff around, so I could use that. It looks like alot of grinding though, which I am honestly not thrilled about - especially on those inside curves. The outside could be sanded on the belt sander but I bet the inside takes forever. If you have s...

Jason Grimes

Hi Cat,

I just finished making these buckles out of 16 gauge steel. It's not too difficult, all I did was to punch out the inside with a hole punch and then used jewlers files to finish it up. The decoration is stamped with a stamp I made.

http://www.grimmarmoury.com/images/armour/buckle005.jpg

Jason Grimes

I have to agree with Konstantin and Randall, it's not that hard to roll after the vambrace has been formed. It depends though, you could get away with it if the vambrace was a simple gutter shape and you used a wire inside the roll to help support it. If you are making a late 14th century tulip shap...

Jason Grimes

Here are a few. You didn't say which country you are interested in, so I gathered up a number of examples from several. Well at least two anyway (Italy and Germany). First the very nice ones: m m m m m m m m m m m And the others, not closed helmets, but it gives a good idea as to the styles the typi...

Jason Grimes

Do you think it could be that they moved it depending on their job/activity? Certainly in a pike line when they have grounded the pikes it is much easier to hold onto the pike and have a hand on the katzbalger with it slung across the front. I think Dweezle might be correct. I have seen Landsknecht...

Jason Grimes

I really like the mancatcher.

Jason Grimes

I have some loose links (no rivits) from Forth Armoury and some stainless buckles for sale. I have about 1000 9.5mm ID links and about 600 9.5mm ID brass links. I would like to get $30 for the both. The following stainless steel buckles that I have: 1 Helmschmide figure 8 style buckle, finished and ...

Jason Grimes

Ok, here is a link to the picture I was talking about: m And here is the text that goes with it: Paul Guterding Ich bin vom Adel hochgeborn FÃƒÂ¼ht auch mit ehren Messing sporn Noch bleib ich ben frommen Landskenchtn Hilff die gerechtigkeit verfechten Vornen am spitz da wil ich stan Als ein from red...

Jason Grimes

Hey Gordon, At least in the eary 16th century, as far as I have studied, dopplesoldner were simply veteran soldiers who had a lot of experience and who would keep the new recuits in line and help train them. I have seen woodcuts of dopplesoldners using any number of weapons including guns, pikes, zw...

Jason Grimes

Hi Gregory, Those were done in the 19th century, but were mostly copied from period woodcuts. For the most part they are ok, just not so good on the details. I would not put too much trust in the colors they choose. You would have to give us some specifics so we could point out the inaccuracies ther...

Jason Grimes

Well I don't know about that.

I do know that Maximillian didn't like foot combat as much as he liked the joust. That may have had something to do with it. Henry VIII was just the opposite and like foot combat more then the joust.

Jason Grimes

If i'm not misstaken, that suit was made for Maximillian I in about 1508, for foot combat. Gilded suits like this were popular in the early 16th century.

Jason Grimes

Take this with a big grain of salt. I'm just guessing here that the holes, the top one at least, was used to attach a great bascnet. This corazina did have a lance rest as some point so I'm assuming that it could have been used in war and tournament. I have a picture of a painting that depicts knigh...

Jason Grimes

I have it too. I like it although I think he may play a little loose with his dating and some of his conclusions might be a bit suspect. I wish he had more pictures of pikes. The only other thing that suprised me was the book is in a comic book format. Lots of picts and not the usual ones either tho...

Jason Grimes

By 1400 most of the faulds I have seen overlap in both the existing artifacts and in artwork. It appears to me that underlapped faulds are mostly a 14th century item.

Jason Grimes

It looks to me like they are both for the same hand too.

Jason Grimes

The green color of the torso and faulds protection, compared to the white color of the arms and legs, suggest that there is a cloth or leather covering over this part of armour, we see only the rivets that hold the cover and maybe some decorations, it could not be told how the breastplate is made u...

Jason Grimes

Is that Chamberlain Stibor from Hungary? I think so, not sure. Jason, when is this dated...Im thinking around 1440 to 1460? This is from 1425, Graz. A jupon? I found another one from 1420 that depicts another segmented breastplate, but differently: [img]http://www.grimmarmoury.com/images/armour/701...

Jason Grimes

I agree with you, all I'm saying is that some of the examples you show I think are not what you think they are. Your example of plackarts from 1433 are, in my opinion, not plackarts. The picture you posted show straps and buckles to attach the helmets and fluting on the breastplate. Here is another ...

Jason Grimes

A lot of this is typical German Kastenbrust stuff If youll forgive the pun...where do you draw the line? ....between a segmented and a segmented kastenbrust. I wouldnt call either of the two pictures below kastenbrusts unless your speaking of the faulds length on the second. Theyre just globous cui...

Jason Grimes

I thought I would just add my copy of the picture for a little more reference.

[img]http://www.grimmarmoury.com/images/armour/3000013.JPG[/img]

Jason Grimes

http://www.partsandtechnical.com/german4_detail.JPG Dont be too quick to dismiss something you may not have seen entirely. Ive got a lot more photos like this I hope to upload. D I would love to see the images you have of Kastenbrust armour, I can never get enough of them. This one here does not de...

Jason Grimes

A lot of this is typical German Kastenbrust stuff. Scale or mail faulds were common, I have even seen scale helmets. The vertical lines could very well be flutes, at least on the Kastenbrust picts. Very often the breast and back plates were fluted and as Alcyoneus said most of the time they were one...

Riveted mail and buckles for sale