The Armour Archive

Konstantin the Red

That, and remember that silver is soft stuff, especially in comparison to steel. The steel raising technique described here is also described in TOMAR, which tells us that the silversmiths' fluted-cone raising method works just fine on ductile silver, but not so well on steel, which just never gets ...

Konstantin the Red

I'd argue that the very considerable slope of a bascinet skull makes the roof-peak shape of a crest or crease unnecessary -- that hat is all glancing surface. Bascinets aren't all that easy to hit well if the angle of your sword blow is just a little bit off.

Konstantin the Red

I just used a plain ole hunk of wire -- looks to have been brazing rod -- pushed through the vervelles. The wire's stiffness has held it there for years.

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"The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone..."

Konstantin the Red

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by toweyb: The iron filings oxidize to rust, and if you add aluminum filings, you will slowly build up a little pile of THERMITE on the back of your workbench. And, there you are ...

Konstantin the Red

If you are going to pop away at 14 gauge, there are two tools that will really get the job done if you don't mind >< style cuts: 150mm/8 inch mini bolt cutters, which will do well, or 350mm/14" small bolt cutters, which will do it handily, though with either, watch out for the nuts backing off of th...

Konstantin the Red

That looks pretty darn good, Richard. It fits close the way an arming-coat should, and if it gives complete and easy arm movement throughout the arm's nude-body mobility range with absolutely no binding, then you've got yourself a good one. You should be proud. Me, I went for a great plenitude of bu...

Konstantin the Red

Le chalumeau = blowlamp, blowtorch. Interestingly, most of its other meanings have to do with flutes or panpipes. I think a blowlamp would work well, with its intense but controlled flame. I would sit the stump on its side with its face to be dished being vertical. I'd also roll the stump between e...

Konstantin the Red

I'd suggest a separate nasal that attaches with a pattern of rivets (say, three of 'em). Unless you form and sculpt the bejayzus out of it, a nasal in the form of an extension of a spangen's cross strap just always looks ignorant and structurally feeble to me, like a junior high school metal-shop fi...

Konstantin the Red

Your scheme sounds very good as far as the fabric goes. I wouldn't think that I had to stop at X number of layers of fabric; just stuff the liner as required, it's the adaptor between the contours of your head and those of the helmet anyway. The people who have used cotton like it; the people who ha...

Konstantin the Red

Ashcraft-Baker is what you wanted.

http://www.ashcraftbaker.com/index.htm

Konstantin the Red

Ah oui, il me faut crier "TouchÃ©!" "Doux," il est.

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"The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone..."

Konstantin the Red

Ces "dollies [1 dolly, 2 ou plus, dollies]" sont des enclumettes.

Konstantin the Red

Lostie, could you PLEASE proofread your posts more carefully? Phrases like "only 4 tools so it can relay use full to invest in the set up" are going to be completely impenetrable to a young kid whose first language is French and whose English is, let's face it, quite shaky. It was almost impenetrabl...

Konstantin the Red

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by lestat: Sorry, I'm pretty much a newbie. I was just curious where one would go to get rattan? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Online? I suppose you were in a hurry, but see bel...

Konstantin the Red

Keep the skin on, and if you plane your rattan down, keep it on the striking edges like Ulfbjorn does. Spirally wound filament tape also helps, I believe. Ask for "yellow rattan."

Konstantin the Red

You might prefer to use the exact term for pointy armor shoes: sollerets. Sabatons are of later date and feature broad or normal toes; sollerets come to a point, either natural or exaggerated.

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"The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone..."

Konstantin the Red

Or the heavy thread supplied in leatherworking places for stitching awls. You might want a stitching awl anyway; it stabs through thin leather on its own pretty well.

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"The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone..."

Konstantin the Red

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Cailean:
Good Crystoll ... Crystoll good nice Crystoll ...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

fisssh for Crystoll?

Konstantin the Red

Wot Sirmarc sed... and I'll re-state it: do not succumb to negative thinking. You know what your problems and obstacles are right now -- now that you know them, forget them and concentrate on ways to solve the problems and get around the obstacles. Concentrate solely upon that. Your first step is to...

Konstantin the Red

Roland, sinking is dishing. Raising, now... there's another beast altogether. The metal's periphery thickens very slightly, and it may be done hot or cold. My one try at raising was pretty successful, using the soft hammer with hard anvil method, in which you encourage the metal to form around the s...

Konstantin the Red

Two hammers: one ball pein 16 oz-24 oz; one 32-oz or bigger crosspein or singlejack 2 pr vise-grips, one large one small 1 dishing block/dishing stump/dishing anything. A tightly packed sandback will do. 1 powerdrill or R-W punch. Get the drill first, but the Roper-Whitney makes your life soooo much...

Konstantin the Red

For securing the voiders, you might try sewing them down with large stitches using stitching-awl thread: swift, sturdy, semi-permanent, and likely trouble free.

Konstantin the Red

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Gith: How would one modify a Corinthian helm to be SCA Legal? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Here's how I'd do it: the nasal would get a couple of short bars connecting nasal to chee...

Konstantin the Red

And give the no-prize to Cedric! That's exactly what happens -- the pretty suits attract the attention, so you kinda bat at them a lot with your sword a lot. Did I say a lot a lot? I think I've used up my allot-ment.

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"The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone..."

Konstantin the Red

In the SCA, the gaunts are going to be mitts anyway. The lames will bridge over your fingers and ground out, or almost so, on either side of your hand upon the haft. If there is anything thicker than 16 gauge on the entire gaunt, it should be the knuckle plate, and that really only for quite deep di...

Konstantin the Red

That will work, but if you want to telescope the manufacturing steps some, get yourself a stitching awl, sometimes brandnamed "Awl-for-All. It has a sturdy, sharp needle, and will punch through light to medium-weight leather without having to pre-punch anything. There is also a leather stitchers' gi...

Konstantin the Red

Scott, the reason I said "only for butted" is because, what will you have to do when your camail strap as in your first paragraph becomes so torn up and deteriorated that it isn't holding your camail up very well any more? You'd replace it with a stitched camail strap, meseems. Besides which, I'd fi...

Konstantin the Red

Ewan, here's the rattan furniture shop method of straightening or bending rattan. While it does not give you the opportunity to get nice and shiny clean meanwhile, it also doesn't require fooling around with hot water either. Have one (1) stout workbench, to which you stoutly nail one each 4" diamet...

Konstantin the Red

I'm with Halvgrim there, Lost. You're a dedicated student of armour, and you've got a full measure of heart and brain, but oh boy does your spelling need therapy just to cut the drag it places on communicating concepts from your brain to mine! Here's what I think would help: lay hold of a phonics co...

Konstantin the Red

Try the so-called "Tombs of the Kings" on Iona. Some few of the grave slabs there show what is known for 14th-c. Scottish Highlands fighting outfits: a long, stout, vertically quilted beltless aketon/gambeson that seems to be the sole defensive garment. It narrows slightly to the waist, flares out a...

Konstantin the Red

Pas mauvais, pas mauvais du tout. C'est vous, sous le chapel-de-fer? Ce n'est pas un heaume. <{;) = souriret a` chapel-de-fer

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"The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone..."

[This message has been edited by Konstantin the Red (edited 12-12-2002).]

Konstantin the Red

And like Hank Hill, the poor man in the pic has no... tushie.

Seriously, though, this is armourcake.

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"The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone..."

Konstantin the Red

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Richard de Scolay: I've seen what looks like holes in the strap that the top row of rings passes through directly, but the pictures weren't good enough to know for sure. The...

Konstantin the Red

You want weight, strap the edges with leather or webbing. Leather's the heavier.

Konstantin the Red

Concentrate on strap repair and ways of fixing blown rivets -- they are usually what fail.