The Armour Archive

wcallen

There aren't any illustrations of such a thing that I have seen. There are some illustrations of out-of-date stuff on Biblical figures and there are many cases of 'classical' or partially 'classical' forms illustrated on Biblical or classical scenes. I have seen examples of 'out of date' armour like...

wcallen

Yup, that's a maybe. Right after you wander up to my house and do most of the work. Puttering on weird things in the shop can be fun. Writing it down? Ick.

Wade

wcallen

I don't have any pictures of that gorget. I do have pictures of others. Look here:

http://www.allenantiques.com/Armour-Gor ... ction.html

Click on each picture for more and larger pictures.

Wade

wcallen

Sorry, no book from me. Producing any book similar to Brian's is a massive undertaking. If all of the information were lying around and you didn't have to build anything to use as examples and you didn't have to try to collect pictures from people and you didn't have to try to get rights to publish ...

wcallen

There are probably lots of examples. Early 15th c. Italian - the gauntlets on S18 in Churburg (with integral first segment of the finger protection). Later in the 15th c. Italian many/most gauntlets seem to have covered the first 2 joints with plates and then the finger tips with scales/small plates...

wcallen

We certainly don't know what they did. Mac is right, there is no proof of patterns being 'the way to go' the way that they appear natural to us. You mention consistency. From what I have seen, consistency wasn't one of the things they found to be all that important. Not even all that interesting. If...

wcallen

Tom Justus does lots and lots of brass sand castings. He does buckles, spurs, collars, end plates and all sorts of random other stuff. I would bet it would be reasonable to ask him. I will try to remember to tell him to poke his nose into this thread when I see him next - in about an hour. Wade

wcallen

Hmm. That seems to be going way too far. I built boffers for my kid to play with years ago. We bashed each other all over the place. No armour, no change of clothing, he wears shorts and t-shirt. PVC pipe covered in pipe insulation covered in duct tape (loosely taped, not compressed). No problems at...

wcallen

Probably not a good idea to threaten Toby. He jousts and he has good info that I want and he is basically a nice guy.

Shove? I am to far away. You will have to try, you are closer.

Wade

wcallen

I tried a subtle lean... It didn't go anywhere.

Gather anything you can.

Wade

wcallen

I got the invite from Toby.

I asked straight out if they would record/publish. He answered no.

Which is why I am hoping for some more informal recording of some kind.

I am happy to contribute to the Wallace, just can't spend the time now.

Wade

wcallen

That schedule was good enough that the 8+ hours on the plane each way wasn't a big deal. The plane fare was even something I could live with. I just have to much other stuff going on - some work, some personal - that I can't move to some other time, so I can't get there. Anyone within reach, it real...

wcallen

Eastern NC? I bet if you wanted to talk to someone and could make a trip to the Triangle or Burlington you could get some advice from a couple of people before your next project. Tom and I are usually willing to talk. If you are making one for the kid you can still try to move it up a notch. This on...

wcallen

Yes, very interesting sounding. The web site doesn't seem to have the list of talks. 10.00 Arrival and coffee, Lower Ground Floor Meeting Room 10.25 Welcome, Lecture Theatre 10.30 John Blair, Queens College, University of Oxford:â€˜Claude Blair as a Scholar: a View from the Main Beneficiaryâ€™ 11.05...

wcallen

Tracy has narrowed the dates a little bit - April 2, 23 or 30. This seems like a reasonable set of choices. Anyone actually interested in attending can help us narrow the dates some more. Arms and legs were suggested. As a "seed" for the session here is an initial set of items including ar...

wcallen

Mac? I know he has been pretty inactive due to elbows, but a great armourer. Billy Radford? Been great for years, but we don't hear about him on this side of the pond. Jeff Hedgecock can do some nice stuff. Jeff Wasson - nice stuff there too. He did a lot of Toby's latest. Several of the eastern Eur...

wcallen

We can have a reunion if that is what we end up with. I would think that some new people would want to play too. It really isn't for people who aren't into armour pretty deeply, but we aren't to crazy and it is a chance to really handle real pieces. Pictures are allowed, measurements, sketching, wha...

wcallen

I was proposing April.

I don't have a more specific date. I know that Feb. and March are bad for me and April is basically wide open. It also provides enough time for some people to plan ahead.

Wade

wcallen

His right shoulder opens. Just like the real ones I have seen. The way it works is: A pin in the upper back plate engages a hole in the upper front plate. This secures the upper neck plates together. A keyhole in the front main plate engages a rivet that sits up off the back main plate. This secures...

wcallen

I have a few pieces of black and white armour. In almost every case (not actually all) the bands are raised or recessed. In some cases the black is modern. In some cases the black appears to be old and is a heat oxide. In some cases the black appears to be old and is paint (usually over oxide). The ...

wcallen

I went with blurb because they would let me do custom layouts. For some reason I have insisted on cropping my images so that they include the information I want - but the result is often not an aspect ratio the other sites like. I won't say the result was easy.... but I guess that is mostly my fault...

wcallen

Attendance was a little light last year, but I think those that attended had fun and learned enough to make it worthwhile. We had several armourers including 2 old Laurels and a couple of collectors. A few locals (central NC) and people from other areas. I would be happy to do this again. If there i...

wcallen

Last year when I hosted a study session I built a book illustrating the items in the study session. It was kind of fun to build. If anyone wants a copy it is available here: m I get nothing from any copies sold. They are listed at the cost charged by Blurb. All of the information is available on my ...

wcallen

Inter-Library Loan is your friend then. And FedEx Office... Ashdown's European Arms & Armour isn't as good, is quite inexpensive in the B&N reprint, but doesn't completely suck. Worth a tepid recommendation at least. Flesh out around this old work with, say, some Oakeshott such as European ...

wcallen

We have a funny idea of old in this country. I have several 17th c. books lying around the house. I only have them because I inherited them from my father and they aren't worth anything. Part bibles, commentaries, and the entertaining one is a 1619 Norman Chronicles, Acts of King Stephen, etc. all b...

wcallen

We are derailing things - this is an aventail thread, but... Since it was 1340, just fronts. Not cased. The mail covers the back of the leg for complete coverage below the knee. The greaves are 1050, fully shaped to the leg and with no welds. The mail is 9mm flat main with round rivets. Why fronts? ...

wcallen

Start simple. Read the Primer - Blair, Claude, European Armour c. 1066 to c. 1700. HSMO: London. 1958. Provides a good solid basis for understanding the development of armour in western Europe. It is a pretty quick read and very informative. It is what I gave to one of my son's classmates (6th grade...

wcallen

Almost every one I did I used expansion rings. If you place them more on the sides than in the front and back you will get a nicer lie on the body. We usually just did it symmetrically and it mostly works. The last one I did I was building from scraps so I did it from 2 trapezoids. It worked out ver...

wcallen

Make it out of steel. You know you want to... It really is nicer than the full sized stuff because there is less of it. Plannishing/grinding/buffing are annoying per square foot - fewer is good. Seriously, what do you need? a breastplate and helmet? Not that hard. Tom and James did 2 one day visits ...

wcallen

Nails.

Actually drywall nails work too. Somewhat smaller head that fits into gauntlet fingers nicely. Same idea - a broad thin head.

We used felt for padding.

Wade

wcallen

Several random comments. "Soupcan" is a modern term. I think it came from the very specific knees illustrated on some effigies, brasses and illuminations from the early/mid 14th c. which have several aggressive creases on them and which are very deep and round. They sort of look like the r...

wcallen

My old stuff or my new stuff?

Any time anyone wants to do something non-destructive we can set up a time for a visit. I can't really mail the stuff around, but I am always up for learning something new.

Wade

wcallen

The sabaton/greave transition is pretty rough. The greaves could use some more shape, and I could find other things to pick on. But - This is 410 stainless. If the images are any indication it was formed with a small number of welds and a very small number of tools and no heat except for the casting...

wcallen

I know that I have personally produced a good deal of medium carbon steel armour that was not intentionally hardened or tempered. It is significantly stronger against denting than the equivalent mild. The last time I worked in mild I was shocked at how it worked. It felt like butter even after it wa...

wcallen

I did a pair of these. Mac did a pair (at least). We have discussed them. We agree that the only reasonable way for them to really work right is for the top lames to be secured by leathers so that they can twist and bend in ways that the sliding rivets in the back don't allow. This somewhat negates ...

April 30, 2011 armour study session

Study Session Printed Book - Allen colllection Feb. 2010