The Armour Archive

wcallen

http://www.museodiocesanomantova.it/le-armature.html Not to be missed if you like 15th c. 'Milanese' armour. That's where most of the relatively complete harness are. Not many English speakers when I was there in '93. No English speakers there at all when I wandered around in '82. A very small muse...

wcallen

Stibbert.
Bargello.

Stibbert has more armour. But the guided tour is annoying.
Bargello has some nice little bits. Some VERY nice bits.

As I remember the Ufizi has good stuff (not armour).

Venice, Doge's Palace. Not a lot, but some armour.

Wade

wcallen

Minor updates. The 35+ # Hickory Rudder self bow is still shooting fine. I took a break from it over the summer (longer distances) but am back to it for the winter again. I am still shooting what is left of my NWarchery arrows (when you shoot through the sides of dangling wooden arrows, they don't s...

wcallen

This page appears to (depending on your proclivities) give a taste of what will be in the book, or serve as a replacement for this portion of the book: https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/72831/armour-of-henry-prince-of-wales-for-the-field-tourney-tilt-and-barriers and https://www.royalcol...

wcallen

That looks like yet another book I (and most of us) really need to own. If the price and image count are correct, that is less than 30 cents per image. And the text and binding are free... and no worries about slow internet connections. But I both digress and show my age....

Wade

wcallen

The three separate spaulders (two pairs and a single) like this that I have sit nicely when fully extended. One pair shows app. 3/16" gap at the center of motion, one is app. 1/8", and the third doesn't move very far, so it fits more closely as it moves. The main one you are copying is the one which...

wcallen

Note.

These things (at least the upper plate under the main plate) don't move with "minimal gap". They (at least often) seem to just gap.

Make them so they look right and don't worry about the gap.

Wade

wcallen

Using a piece of paper to represent a straight edge that I can bend around things, the bottom edges of the lames I can easily get at appear to have about 1/8" arch over a 6" span. So there is definitely some "arch" in the plates. Not a lot, but just enough to help with that nice taper Mac is looking...

wcallen

I'm fairly certain Blair's reference is to the late 13th century "Pershore Abbey Knight". https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidmxg/1485384990/in/pool-monumentstoday The Tournament at Windsor Park in 1281 also used leather cuiries and helmets to resist the baleen swords. The fact that the mail paunce ...

wcallen

I would "enhance" Mac's comment to say that the 2 barbutes are so very similar in the details that I don't like, that they may have a similar origin.. . and not for the good. I would love to see a couple of barbutes that really looked right and appeared to have the same hand behind them... But we di...

wcallen

Blair identifies a cuirie as a body covering that was (most likely) at least originally made from leather. He points to an effigy (as I remember) that shows a smooth surface buckled thing on the body at about the right time period. I could be more precise, but I don't keep a copy of Blair at work. W...

wcallen

Yea, bookends. The full effect doesn't show up as much in that picture as it does in the one with us standing up. I still have those legs, breastplate, helmet and back. Even the angel wing... and the boots...I haven't worn any of them for years, and the aventail was stripped off for my next helmet. ...

wcallen

oh.. another note. The estimates are a lot lower than I would expect if the auction house were really certain of what they had. That, and the shape, and the "tool marks" .... I didn't notice them before the sales, but I wouldn't have been bidding. I would LOVE to own a real barbute... but not these....

wcallen

I can't prove anything one way or the other. Just my opinion based on looking at the pictures. I don't believe either one of them. Dianni does auction some higher end stuff, but mainly paintings and nautical stuff. I have purchased 2 things from them and they both turned out as expected. As usual, b...

wcallen

Personally, a web cam would be going to far.

Having Mac control what he shares is a fine thing. He can leave out all of the really frustrating things, and repetitive tasks, and all of the time that he is doing what he would rather be doing.

Wade

wcallen

SCA sport armour... I guess we may have actually had an advantage. There was no such thing (really) as SCA armour when we started. There were freon cans. And carpet (sometimes) and hockey gloves... So if you wanted any armour at all, you had to fall back on actual armour. Most people went the other ...

wcallen

Sounds like you are hiding in the bushes Wade ;) I do live in the woods, but I couldn't see Mac's shop from my house even if I stood on top of it. Afar (as everyone could guess) in this case is through the web, not peeking through windows. I know whether Mac's shop has windows that would make for g...

wcallen

Hmm. Dave gets to drop by for lunch. Wouldn't that be nice?
Most of us have to watch from afar.

Wade

wcallen

Sir Johann This topic name "Ancient relic unearthed!" referring to armor in my lifetime, has left me in a quandary. The idea of mine and other older armorer's old armor being called ancient relics makes me feel older than dirt. Yeah, the title was a little inflammatory. :wink: Mainly because I was ...

wcallen

Since you are sketching and including the insides... There would be another leather up the center. And the top of all of the lower lames should have a couple of sweeps in its shape to allow for the sliding rivets and leathers, but minimize the overlap in between. And - the slots are longer than you ...

wcallen

This was a somewhat nicer, and somewhat later one we made (still back in the mid 80's): http://home.earthlink.net/~paencalvus/Albums/Armor/thchourglassgauntlet2.jpg There are some other pictures of things we did around then here: http://home.earthlink.net/~paencalvus/Albums/Armor/index.html This wa...

wcallen

Sir Johann This topic name "Ancient relic unearthed!" referring to armor in my lifetime, has left me in a quandary. The idea of mine and other older armorer's old armor being called ancient relics makes me feel older than dirt. How would you feel if you worked in the shop where it was made? And int...

wcallen

Actually, they were made for a lefty, which made making them easy, since I'm a lefty... We had a little boy last year, so that keeps me busy for all of my "spare" time, hence not much opportunity to lurk on AA. Interesting! Did you shape the R&L differently to work better with a shield in the defen...

wcallen

This was a somewhat nicer, and somewhat later one we made (still back in the mid 80's): http://home.earthlink.net/~paencalvus/Albums/Armor/thchourglassgauntlet2.jpg There are some other pictures of things we did around then here: http://home.earthlink.net/~paencalvus/Albums/Armor/index.html This was...

wcallen

If I am right... that would be a similar age to:

http://www.allenantiques.com/R-30.html
and later than (horrors...)

http://www.allenantiques.com/images/FirstHelm.jpg

Relics of a by-gone era. Ah, the days when "scratch-built" meant something (well, something specific).

Wade

wcallen

If they are the ones I think they are... maybe... Made for Steve Covey or something like that (I should remember his name, Lord Eoin/Ian Blah it was a very welch place at the time...) probably in the first half of the 80's. We should check with Aaron. He (Ian) was "the first fighter" - yes, we only ...

wcallen

I have never known what Valentine's stamp looked like. But that stamp looks identical to the stamp that Valerius used. I remember a pair of gauntlets we made that were sort of like that, but I don't know if they were exactly like that. The pair I remember had sort of squished thumbs. The plates all ...

wcallen

I expect that shortening the piece will help.
Also making the curves in the main plate a little more aggressive will "liven the piece up". There are some spaulders from this period where the transition from shoulder to arm is very pronounced.

Wade

wcallen

To make information easy to find. This thread: http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=157286 is the thread that documents a recreation of the gorget I referenced. There is a lot of detailed information there. Thanks to John who did the work..... Wade Wcallen friend, I will build...

wcallen

If you have questions about my pair of gauntlets, just ask. I can get them out and take pictures, or measure parts of it will help.

Wade

wcallen

Similar comparable pieces (or at least helpful ones):

http://www.allenantiques.com/A-147.html
http://www.allenantiques.com/A-56.html
http://www.allenantiques.com/A-128.html
Be careful with the last one... The spaulders are good, but have been adapted to "fit" the arm in a completely bozo way.

Wade

wcallen

Mine appear to have been shortened. By (probably) a lame, so a copy would be longer. But it still seems slim. Some measurements from one of the originals may help. widest spot - 6 3/8" wide bottom - 4 1/4" wide total length - 10 1/2" long each lame - ~ 1 3/4" tall exposure at the back with the slidi...

wcallen

Examples: http://www.allenantiques.com/A-15.html http://www.allenantiques.com/A-209.html One is 3 1/2 pounds, the other over 16 1/2 pounds. Both have a similar form, both are from a similar date. Both originally rough from the hammer (both still are, but both have been cleaned). And the heavier one ...

wcallen

Who, me? Get all of the 17th c. breastplates? Not possible. I missed out on a breast and back just last year because I didn't want to stay up late enough to bid. I only have... what 3 typical ECW breast plates (and a corresponding number of backs). There is no way that consumes the world supply. :) ...

wcallen

Yes, more pictures and larger pictures would help. There is no reason to expect that they can't be real (so far). And Mac's first guess of a date is spot on. I don't see (so far) any reason to indicate that they would have been re-worked from 17th c. pieces, but we will maybe know more when we see m...

Re: What to see in Florence/Venice

Re: What to see in Florence/Venice

Re: Self bows and wooden arrows - for the lazy

Re: Arms & Armour in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen

Re: Arms & Armour in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen

Re: The making of a 16th century spaulder (Drawing stage)

Re: The making of a 16th century spaulder (Drawing stage)

Re: The making of a 16th century spaulder (Drawing stage)

Re: Document: c.1315 Tournament Rules

Re: Barbute

Re: Document: c.1315 Tournament Rules

Re: Ancient relic unearthed!

Re: Barbute

Re: Barbute

Re: Dusting off the cobwebs

Re: Ancient relic unearthed!

Re: Dusting off the cobwebs

Re: Dusting off the cobwebs

Re: Ancient relic unearthed!

Re: The making of a 16th century spaulder (Drawing stage)

Re: Ancient relic unearthed!

Re: Ancient relic unearthed!

Re: Ancient relic unearthed!

Re: Ancient relic unearthed!

Re: Ancient relic unearthed!

Re: Ancient relic unearthed!

Re: Ancient relic unearthed!

Re: The making of a 16th century spaulder (Drawing stage)

Re: Gothic Armour

Re: Gothic Armour

Re: The making of a 16th century spaulder (Drawing stage)

Re: The making of a 16th century spaulder (Drawing stage)

Re: two very heavy breast plates. real nor what?

Re: two very heavy breast plates. real nor what?

Re: two very heavy breast plates. real nor what?