The Armour Archive

wcallen

Carlo (as usual) is in every way correct. This is not a catalogue of the armour in the Royal Armouries, it is a catalogue of the armour in the "Collection of her majesty the queen" - which primarily seems to turn into "armour in Windsor Castle." In many ways this is very useful, since this collectio...

wcallen

I'd like to emphasize what Wade said about taper. Some years ago, I had the opportunity to handle a 17th C (?) pike at the Royal Armouries, and was surprised at how much effect the taper had on the way the pike felt. I remarked about the taper to the fellow who was showing us around, (I can't recal...

wcallen

Of course, if you link directly to an image on someone else's sever, some people complain that you are stealing their bandwidth. And given how often sites vanish or restructure themselves and break links, I have given up on linking to images on other people's servers from my blog, except as suggest...

wcallen

At least they do say where they got the pictures.

Mildly annoying that they copied them instead of linking, but this is by no means the worst thing that happens on the web.

Wade

wcallen

have no proof of this at all, but my initial impression of the leathers was "ah, replaced by some 19th c. owner"... Ex Churburg... less messed with than many pieces, but it doesn't mean that it couldn't have been done in a cleaning. Yes, it would have to be a pretty deep cleaning. Disassemble and re...

wcallen

It showed empty for me yesterday, but it now displays the images. Try again.

So, you asked for information on weight/thickness.

After playing with it, do you have anything you can share about thickness?

Nice assortment of pictures, by the way.

Wade

wcallen

Ernst wrote:Pretty cunning, don'cha think? Man walks down the street in that hat, people know he's not afraid of anything.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tne50bE-ips

Yes!

Wade

wcallen

Thanks, I can't come close to any other 14th c. thing, but I do have a relatively early halbard: http://www.allenantiques.com/W-22.html If someone is willing to put in the work to make a properly tapered set of shafts, I could probably drag one down and perform some more detailed measurements at var...

wcallen

I don't know if you care about this extra detail... The person who bought the pikes and resold them was Greg Walter who runs http://www.antiqueweaponstore.com/ I have 6 of them in my collection. Somewhere I also have one separate head. The pikes he had were all around 15' in length with a little var...

wcallen

It was supposed to be out March 15. Now May 15.

Anyone have connections with the RA that could help confirm when it might actually be available?

Wade

wcallen

I should check to be sure, but I am pretty certain that I have "Make All Sure". It has been a while since I looked it over, but if I am right it wasn't as illuminating as I had hoped when I bought it.

Wade

wcallen

I did say "many" and "most"..... It is good to have examples with more armour associated. Cool. Got anymore? Normally we can start inferring at least how much else was there from the edge treatments and straps/buckles/loops that could be used to suspend things. A finished edge on the lower breastpla...

wcallen

Mac,

Yup, dinner as usual. I look forward to it.

Everyone,

I don't have any requests for items to play with....

Wade

wcallen

Many of them are relatively light, and could easily have been worn with relatively little other armour. The decorated lower edges and no provision for suspension of fauld/tassets definitely imply that they probably ended at the waist. There isn't any reason that you couldn't put normal armour with s...

wcallen

These pauldrons are later, but they illustrate the point Mac is making - front lower than the back:

http://www.allenantiques.com/A-108.html

This one is missing lots of parts, but it is also a little closer in period and shows the same thing:
http://www.allenantiques.com/A-228.html

Wade

wcallen

This is early 17th c. too, but it is a style of gorget that was definitely worn without other body armour: http://www.allenantiques.com/images/mini-A-261.jpg I expect that you are looking for something more like this: http://www.allenantiques.com/images/mini-A-201.jpg or maybe the more Italian style...

wcallen

I don't know when you will finish up, or what plans there may be for the evening there, but a few people usually go out to dinner Saturday night....

If you are interested, drop me an email and I will get you my cell number.

Wadde

wcallen

That is actually pretty clearly described (for those in the know, I guess). They are claiming that there is a chance that the helmet bowl itself might be 16th c. and they are sure the rest is 19th c. If you haven't read enough descriptions to pick up on that, you definitely shouldn't be buying stuff...

wcallen

I got a little distracted with work and forgot to mention that John will be there with me. He should have his gorget and buckler and test pieces.

Wade

wcallen

Once again, the Baltimore Arms Fair is coming up soon. As usual, I will be there all weekend at table J-29 and would be happy to talk to people who can come by. This year it is March 19-20. http://baltimoreshow.com/ I don't know what I am dragging along, but if you plan to show up and want to see so...

wcallen

Yes, beverly shears are a very common cause of over-cuts right at the wing junction. The result is pretty horrible for a lot of people. That is why I punch there, or intentionally don't go to the corner. There are a lot of things we can do to minimize cracking. Annoyingly, they didn't seem to care. ...

wcallen

Yes, people get attached to their prized items. The more they pay, the less they are willing to accept comments. A critical eye is always important. I expect that if you asked the Higgins whether that is an original unfinished visor they would have a different opinion than Mr. Fagan. I further think...

wcallen

Generally munition stuff does seem to be thinner than the nicer stuff, but there are overlaps. I added measurements from this piece over the weekend: http://www.allenantiques.com/A-212.html Summary - breast .090 down to .050 and back .070 down to .040 mostly .050-.060. A generally 14g breast and 18-...

wcallen

Well, you seem to have a reasonably detailed thickness and dimension section on the breast and back I tried on last weekend. http://allenantiques.com/A-114b.html "Backplate - varies between .022 in. and .060 in. Most of the area is .030 in. to .040 in. Thickness is much more variable. It does not s...

wcallen

Personally I would start with .07x for the breast and probably .06x for the back if I were to go for a "thin" piece, but I am a nut. Wade I've been using .042" for backs, but .050" might be more convenient; .060" just seems a bit heavy for a normal sort back. Mac First, I said I was a nut. Right th...

wcallen

I personally prefer my armour to "feel like armour" and I also prefer to be able to grind where I feel like it, so I tend to stay away from the bleeding edge of thin. Back in the day my breastplates were 14g (mild). We did a 14g. 1050 one. It needed some thinning at the edges, but otherwise had a ni...

wcallen

You will get entirely different answers depending on the question: 1. How thick should the pieces be in order to have a reasonable chance of reflecting a high end armour of the time? 2. How thick do we think we can get away with to have a medium/low end armour of the time (If Toby is right, a real "...

wcallen

Armadillo - yup, that's the one.

A nice helmet actually. It could be a good basis for SCA stuff.

That is early 16th c.

Wade

wcallen

Zack White is where I go these days (well, when I care, I bought a lot last time). But they are right down the road from me, so I can go visit and pick out what I want. I don't know that I would enjoy mail order on leather. No two hides are identical, and something that could be "a cool feature" for...

wcallen

That is a particularly English helmet. There aren't many of them that survive. The ones I have seen (or partial ones) do have the point. So what you are really asking (with your modifications) - I think - is "is there a time in the 15th or 16th c. when an Italian could have worn something with a rou...

wcallen

True, they may question it even in a checked in suitcase. Given what I have put on planes, I think you could get through security just fine. But cutting steel small enough to fit in luggage without any idea of the size piece you will need will likely lead to frustration. An easy thing to avoid. On ...

wcallen

If it takes as long to get volume II out as it did to get volume I, I will be dead.
They are certainly indicating that this doesn't cover all of Her Majesty's stuff.

Wade

wcallen

coreythompsonhm wrote:I will bring it with me. I will also bring 1050 with me as well if we get the itch to play with some hammers.

1050, in sheet form, on a plane? Wow....
I have plenty for gorget sized projects lying around. Cut and formed pieces are a lot more fun on a plane than random sized sheets.

Wade

wcallen

That gorget is easily accessible. Sitting on the specimen case, ready to play with. John has some deep insights into that gorget on his thread. He spent more time than most studying a specific piece, and working on copying it. It didn't hurt that the original fit him so nicely. I have gorgets with 1...

wcallen

Italians and tourists. But seriously, I wouldn't agree with Wade about there being "not a lot" at the Doge's Palace... From what I've seen in the photo collections of others, there's a dynamic collection of armament there that's worth taking a proper look at. https://www.flickr.com/photos/98015679@...

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