The Armour Archive

Thomas Powers

I think that many cheeses today contain added water to make them softer but also negatively effects their longevity compared to the ones that were "designed" for long term storage without refrigeration.

Thomas

Thomas Powers

I think there is some overlap from popular fiction and role playing. I've had several people ask me about garb for theives and get kind of upset when I point out that if your clothing could identify you as such you could be killed on the spot. Also questions about "theives guilds". These can be oppr...

Thomas Powers

The Medieval Criminal Justice Museum in Rothenburg ODT publishes several books with pictures of items in their collection---most tend toward the renaissance as mentioned. Also Amnesty International published a catalog of items form an exhibition they sponsered. My library is still in transit from OH...

Thomas Powers

I'll dig my cite out as soon as my library gets unpacked. The expense of the cross bow is a lot more than elling the villagers they have to practice the long bow...

Can you provide a cite for your reference?

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Be very careful in forging of spring steels not to get too hot or forge too cold, they are much more prone to burning at high temps and cracking at low temps than low carbon steel.

Give some thought to heat treat and how you plan to test the prod *safely*.

Thoms

Thomas Powers

Well mild steel is period for anything after the middle of the 19th century. I can't speak as to when blued armour was fashionable.

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Dan, I was thinking of a picture not a quote; but all my research info is somewhere in a moving truck between OH and NM right now.

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Perhaps the sentance right *after* the one in bold may be what they are referring to.

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Things get a little confusing since some types of clothing in the ancient world (think BCE) are called kilts but are not like the late renaissance scottish kilts at all. Some people have tried to link the two, or even the roman toga and the kilt, shudder; but that seems to be more a case of "victori...

Thomas Powers

For dying cloth woad and later indigo was the common source of blue. (Woad and indigo have the same chemical formula for the "blue", it's just that indigo has around twice as much of it per weight of dyestuff.)

Thomas

Thomas Powers

It is true that different people have different tolerances WRT un-refrigerated food and also for diffgerent *types* of food as anyone who has spent time outside of America and Europe can attest. Your tolerance can also increase with "exposure". I worked as a logging geologist in the o il patch and o...

Thomas Powers

I quite agree that the heaviest draw commonly used crossbows were windlass drawn; but the few very heavy "wall" bows I have seen in person were all cranequin drawn. (and probably *very* expensive to build!) I was reading that the crossbow itself was an "upscale" weapon and that crossbow companies te...

Thomas Powers

May I suggest you look at abebooks.com, if this is the sydney cockerell book they list 48 copies for sale at various prices and conditions, about 1/2 of them under $100 , the cheapest under $70 the most expensive at $225

In general ABE is much better than Amazon for used books.

Thomas

Thomas Powers

I do not believe that *real* rawhide or parchment are very flamable---more like burning leather. I'd be more concerned about the wooden parts. Now for another way out there item how about Mica sheets for the sides, the type known as Muscovite was used and was quite clear---I've read through sections...

Thomas Powers

Eggs will store quite a long time without refrigeration---if they are un-cracked. You can also get dried cured bacon that *is* supposed to be stored without refrigeration. It's a bit tougher on the teeth but the flavour is very very good. Certain sausages can be stored the same way---think hard sala...

Thomas Powers

Are you sure the windlass spanned bows are the most powerfull?

The Met has a 1000#+ bow spanned with a crannequin, 15# on the handle to crank it IIRC.

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Actually a lot of folks who thing they are allergic to wool are really reacting to one or more of the chemical treatments it undergoes during modern wool processing and so have *less* troubles with hand processed wool than commercial stuff---unless you are allergic to lanolin in which case the above...

Thomas Powers

He's right---but ask him if he's rather you'd waste your time on videogames or drinking instead of learning new skills and actually making things!

Thomas

Thomas Powers

You'll have to get some analyses from extant pieces I'd think. One thing to consider is that copper alloys with zinc cannot be used for enamelling so if you run across an enamelled bit you know it's not a zinc alloy. (Don't know if enamelling was used for decoration on armour decoration; but if you ...

Thomas Powers

Well it was often cast into pots and household utiensils; but somehow I feel that your question is directed at another use---care to share it with us?

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Get something done; I have so many projects hanging fire cause they just don't turn out like I wanted that I sometimes have to justy knuckledown and complete something. Once it's done I'm usually *much* happier about it! Start with "baby steps", get small things done, work your way up to larger more...

Thomas Powers

Drawing temperatures are also dependent on *what* *alloy* you are using,
"spring steel" is a class of alloys not a specific one.

Thomas

Thomas Powers

it should, my grandfather cast several tons of sinkers with a set up like that. The only thing I'm not sure off is the ammount of tin you want to melt at one time in it?

Thomas (and I meant tons, he ran a bait store business...)

Thomas Powers

Don't know if they are on-line but IIRC McMasters-Carr carries it.

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Ahhh the "wrought iron fence co" is making their fences from mild steel and not wrought iron. Call them up and ask! Folks call it wrought iron the same way folks call towels and sheets "linens" it *used* to be made from the earlier material and the name stuck when the material changed. If he really ...

Thomas Powers

Most hot rolled steels that armourer's use *are* probably A36 and not a spec'd grade of "mild" steel.

Thomas

Thomas Powers

ROC where are you getting your iron from?

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Actually that seems rather underwhelming in the business world. If you had made something that depended on it being made from what they *said* they were selling you and it failed because it wasn't you might be owning their business now... You're out your time you've wasted on this stuff and the time...

Thomas Powers

10 pounds for a sword???? Way too heavy! Course Arnie liked to show off the Pecs...

Thomas

Thomas Powers

We had a demo on making heavy copper basins and sinks at our smithing club, fellow started with about 1/4" (actually he started with 3" round stock and squished it hot to appx 1/4") then he put it into a "form" consisting of two heavy pieces of steel plate with the the hole size cut out and the edge...

Thomas Powers

Just tell them you're doing what the voices told you to, then look over their shoulder, squint a bit, look up at them and say "They don't like you---they don't like you at all!"

This usually gets them to leave

Thomas---when the going gets weird---the weird turn pro!

Thomas Powers

Marshal---no problem just get someone to baste them on with a needle and thread, this works really well it you are on the run and so "lam-basting" was a common activity amonst the under class.

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Remember that wool for stufingf is not the same as wool for spinning, unless you plan to pre-felt it you will probably want a coarser wool with more spring to it, talk to a local spinning guild about where to get it suitable for your project. If you are near central ohio Mid-West Wool Growers Associ...

Thomas Powers

Raw line flax is not tow. To make it approximate tow you need to chop it into shorter bits.. Tow is the short fibers that are removed during processing flax for the long fibers that are used for spinning into thread for linen cloth. As a waste product it was used for lowgrade uses like "tow sacks" (...

Thomas Powers

Maeryk, I sent you a PM on how I turn period styled whorls using a modern lathe---felt it dealt with un-authentic methods rather than the authentic styled outcomes so didn't post it here. Also rock dust is not nice for you or your lathe so did not want to encourage folk who might not take the proper...