The Armour Archive

wcallen

A quick wander of the web shows me that anvils have become stupidly expensive. If I had any way to justify this, I would get one.. but I don't use the anvils I have now enough to merit owning another one. I have always wanted one of the forged ones... Must be good. Don't need another anvil.... Wade

wcallen

....Also. I would like to see a good side view of the breast with the flank plate in place. I would like to have the pic taken from across the room to minimize the distortion. Without that, it's impossible to see if the waist line does what it should. Mac Hmm. overlaps with what I wanted. The lower...

wcallen

Helpful info here, guys. What's going to be the most low-profile material option for vambraces? Kydex? Steel? Lowest profile. Nothing. Not required, so could go without (at least in most kingdoms, for SCA). Next would be steel, but I am assuming we are looking with low profile for equivalent protec...

wcallen

Those aren't strictly turn shoes, but they have a good profile, vikingleathercraft is good to work with, they are cheap and quick. They are what I wore when playing. Certainly a lot better than any modern shoe.

Wade

wcallen

Shooting the same 55lb spined arrows, when targeting at 40 yards there is a 15ft difference in elevation for the aim point. Are you sure? I have a 45# ELB and at 40 yards I am aiming 15 inches above the desired target, not 15 feet. Draw length, actual poundage at that draw length, material used to ...

wcallen

Good stuff. I just started researching cuisses, so all of your progress pics and commentary are certainly appreciated... There are things that have to be done to get armour to fit the body and work, and then there are style differences as things change over time. When you wander by, both Tom and I ...

wcallen

It would be cool to say hi. Though we are in the same state, it will still take 3 hours to drive between the two places. Probably not quite right for a quick jaunt. Now, we may actually come out that way at some point, and it would be fun to say hi then. And maybe some of the people from out west co...

wcallen

I do understand. Our kid should be going off to college in less than 2 years. That wasn't as intimidating for the finances back when I went to college as it is now. I am hoping that endowments and the enormous student loan debt may cause (at least) a bend in the curve in the rise in costs so that ma...

wcallen

Business is taking me up to Philly next week, so I'm going to pop in and see Mac while I'm at it. :) Hey, that pauldron shape looks vaguely sort of familiar! I'm really looking forward to checking out your collection next month... -Jeremy Say hi - I don't see him as often as I wish I could. I did t...

wcallen

So, who are you going to visit? Might be someone I/we know... You could say hi for us. Just for fun, I kind of have a part of a pauldron that at least sort of applies to what you are making: This is the back: http://www.allenantiques.com/images/mini-A-228.jpg More pictures from different angles: htt...

wcallen

I like the side-by-side pictures. That will help get the right look. Let's see how the pauldrons work with the sliders front and back. I think that they can likely be made to work, at least for some semi-reasonable amount of motion. I did it once on the Kastenbrust-based armour I did for my kid. But...

wcallen

I think the rondel on the outside of the elbow would add to the early 14th c. look of the piece nicely. And it would help keep the marshals happy. Now that we have these vambraces and the recent rerebrace, sounds like time for someone to build a nice germanic looking pair of arms. It would go nicely...

wcallen

You could copy an original. Length 22 cm (8 11/16"). http://www.elpenbeen.nl/vambrace.pdf Dordrecht vambrace.jpg That is just crazy talk Ernst! :lol: Actually looks a bit like the pattern we use. But do as Schreiber says and extend the edges. Especially over the Upper end of the Brachioradialis. It...

wcallen

Let's keep the discussion to natural longbows. I expect several of these later things (Keegan, that is pretty good shooting, I don't think I would characterize any of the results at Nationals in barebow as that good...) are talking about modern recurves. I have wimpy-weight bows. generally 30-45 pou...

wcallen

Thanks for posting them. Not really enough bigger to matter.

I would love a carefully lit picture of the inside of the breastplate. And thickness.

Wade

wcallen

Annoyingly, sketchy provenance can be a very normal thing. People seem unwilling or uninterested in keeping track of history when it is valid, and perfectly happy to make some up when it isn't. A museum refusing to look at something... that happens too. I only tried that once and it didn't go well t...

wcallen

Very interesting. I wish I could see images that weren't shot so close up, the distortion is annoying. And bigger images so I can really see close up. And well-lit inside images of the breastplate itself. And I would love to hear about thickness at various spots in the main breastplate itself. This ...

wcallen

A first quick check, search www.alibris.com to see what people are selling it for.. if you are lucky, you will find the same edition. A quick look for Ivanhoe in "rare" shows a lot at $12.50, and the most expensive offered for sale at $800. Obviously, there is some variety. Normally the really high ...

wcallen

A quick read through the notes indicates that we have the following people signed up: I am on the fence... I'll try to make a decision in the next week. I did just pot up some of my apricot volunteers with the intention of offering them to Tom Justus. Come on down, it will be fun. I expect Tom woul...

wcallen

Back when I fought. ... and built armour... I didn't bother with a pad in the elbow at all. The cop was always deep enough that it didn't contact the point of my elbow when the arm was bent. Problem solved. It also makes the arm move more nicely and avoids that "flailing lame" look that is oh so com...

wcallen

A quick read through the notes indicates that we have the following people signed up: Wade Ibrahim A-Hakim Zanetto Grettir Tom Justus John Cope Jeremy.G Jeremy Jennings (local)? Iain (John's Squire) Vermillion Gruber? Jacob is out.. sorry. Bad timing this year. Any of the other regulars coming in? W...

wcallen

Texas to NC? not so bad on a plane....

Wade

wcallen

Initial list of items: http://www.allenantiques.com/2015StudySession.html I added this link to the first page as well. As we discuss, it will be updated. This first list includes: - the new Italian (Pisan) arms and pauldrons and a gorget and breastplate that fit together pretty well. - the new decor...

wcallen

I never did take a picture of my "cheap and easy armour." And I recently lent most of it out for interior decoration. Maybe someday I will get reasonable and take a picture. I guess not this year. I expect that a pretty decent mid century German guy could be put together with splinted arms, maybe "b...

wcallen

Oct. 24th.

Done. Set in stone.

Now we just need to decide what to do.

Wade

wcallen

Overdo? Yeah, just slightly. I shall now have to call you Father, or Grand Patriarch, or perhaps even Wizened Elder. Faced with an hour drive, most likely two, and working 50 hours a week. Time is short. New wife takes a lot of time...or rather deserves. She even has that new wife smell I like so m...

wcallen

It looks like we are collecting a reasonable crowd of people. So, feel free to make suggestions for items to include in the "base list." Those who have attended before know that additional items come out as necessary to keep the discussion rolling. I will build a starter list over the next few days....

wcallen

Good for you Tom.

That is a piece of modern armour history. Have fun with it.

Wade

wcallen

I don't have "a set". I have one. When Ernst was playing with mail over in the corner at our study session he mentioned in an off-hand way that one of my scraps was actually a gusset. I was very happy to hear that. And, when you play with it, you find that it really is the right shape for that with ...

wcallen

Waiting with great anticipation for Toby's new book.
Wait... Wait.....

It really should be very good to help us round out our knowledge of English armour and how it differs. This has been a very weak point in the literature to date.

Wade

wcallen

A romantic trip to the woods... Yea... My wife has put up with a trip to the Baltimore Arms Fair for our anniversary for years. She is so good to me. I am sure that there are various things to do around here. And if she has any interest in Tsuba, knives, or little metal stuff, we have enough to keep...

wcallen

Don't worry. Bows would be a definite before/after thing, not part of the main study session.

Wade

wcallen

It looks like we are collecting a nice crowd. I don't know if anyone cares, but another thing that appears to be possible to play with is bows. We have short, medium and long (for me at least) ranges now in the yard, a few modern recurves, and 4 hickory self-bows in different weights and shapes. It ...

wcallen

Yes, 1050 is "medium carbon steel". Or in a more sloppy term - "spring steel". It also happens to be somewhere in the range that appears to have been used pretty commonly for good 15th and 16th c. armour. Generally .3-.6% carbon was used. As you go higher from something around .5, things get more an...

wcallen

The really important part of this conversation may have been overlooked. Copper belting rivets come with a burr because they are intended to be used so secure two pieces of leather. What you propose isn't securing two pieces of leather, it is securing one piece of leather to a piece of steel. In eff...

Re: Peddinghaus anvils for cheap -today only-

Re: Globose breastplate with hinged sides

Re: Simple vambrace pattern?

Re: Turnshoes...?

Re: Question to archers, especially longbow archers

Re: A vision of a dream - help me perfect my kit

Re: Study Session 2015

Re: Study Session 2015

Re: Jeremy's harness build.

Re: Jeremy's harness build.

Re: Jeremy's harness build.

Re: Simple vambrace pattern?

Re: Simple vambrace pattern?

Re: Question to archers, especially longbow archers

Re: Globose breastplate with hinged sides

Re: Globose breastplate with hinged sides

Re: Globose breastplate with hinged sides

Re: Off Topic-ish: Antique Books

Re: Study Session 2015

Re: Joint armor for an older fighter?

Re: Study Session 2015

Re: Study Session 2015

Re: Study Session 2015

Re: Rivet-type discussion

Re: Study Session 2015

Re: Rivet-type discussion

Re: Study Session 2015

Re: Craig Nadler brigandine on eBay

Re: Looking for photos of extant mail armpit defenses

Re: raising greaves

Re: Study Session 2015

Re: Study Session 2015

Re: Study Session 2015

Re: 1050 Untempered

Re: Rivet-type discussion