The Armour Archive

Gaston de Clermont

I like Sean's analogy. I think of it like thin clay, though how springy the piece behind it does make a difference. When you hit the metal with a hammer, the metal will try to conform to the shape of the hammer face to some degree. You notice that William uses a slightly domed hammer face in his tut...

Gaston de Clermont

I've been digging around for good pictures of this piece too. From the shots I've been able to put together it looks as though the scultor took some short cuts on the arms.

http://bp3.blogger.com/_0TGtsjgdrDo/RXW ... nmonmt.jpg

Gaston de Clermont

This little snippet on Jacques Lalaing might be inspirational: "Jacquesâ€™ challenge was officially known as the Passage of the Fountain of Tears, because the pavilion was raised next to a fountain with a statue of a weeping woman. In keeping with this theme, Jacques fought in a white surcoat d...

Gaston de Clermont

A good way to reduce gapping is in your pattern, and is dependent on the depth of dish you're using. Dish your knee cop, then put your best approximation of your card stock lame in the palce where the lame should be in the bend position. Trace the edge of the cop onto the card stock lame. If your fi...

Gaston de Clermont

I agree, 14ga spring would be a great choice. It would essentially be bullet proof, and a decent weight for that design. You could probably make parts of it in lighter metal without much worry. James is SO not kidding about decent a good linen and tow liner. They rock. I'm of two minds on your point...

Gaston de Clermont

I was concerned about spring rusting quickly, but have been pleasantly suprised, even in the very hot and humid climate I'm in. It helps a lot to keep on top of the rust, since it does pop up. I've been pretty happy with a coat of wax. Seighart- there's some very specific language with steel that pr...

Gaston de Clermont

I didn't suspect you had such limitted tools. Considering that you're doing amazing work. Don't give up!

Gaston de Clermont

I've been replacing my old stainless pieces with spring steel, and I've been able to cut the weight of each piece in half by using thinner metal. It seems to protect just as well. I haven't had any issues with denting in part because the spring steel is very resistant to denting, and in part because...

Gaston de Clermont

Mechanically it looks quite good. I might recommend studying a couple original pieces in detail. Try to reproduce them exactly, or at least draw them on paper. It will sharpen your view of exactly what is right about the piece, so you can either make something indistinguishable from the original, or...

Gaston de Clermont

It's weird that one of our guys got cup shot on Saturday of Gulf so hard he nearly hurled. I wonder what the odds of that are. Anyway, I did Johnathan's trick for him, and it seemed to help a bit. I've been thinking of expanding my purge of plastic from my kit to include the cup. I could probably ma...

Gaston de Clermont

Forgot to add- I don't normally use washers at all with roofing nails, and I usually pein on the outside of the piece.

Gaston de Clermont

I use a cross pein, and sometimes a rivet set. The cross pein gives you more control, pushing the metal where you want it. A ball pein works, but it pushes the metal in all directions. You can make a simple cross pein out of a ball pein with a sander or grinder. I learned that little trick from Mast...

Gaston de Clermont

My own feeling is that using vinegar has a few advantages. It's a slow etch, so you have lots of control. You can put your hand in it without worying about it You can buy it at the grocery store You can pour it down the drain without concern You don't need to dilute it You can pour it back into the ...

Gaston de Clermont

Barnet- sweatpants are good for practice, since they're cheap and easy to get. I fought in braies and chauses at gulf war until all my braies got dirty. It's a little tough keeping your whites sparkling white when you're getting overrun by a vast Trimaran horde. Maybe making the braies in earth tone...

Gaston de Clermont

Sir Gideon is in gold and red- you can see him from the back fighting Sir Lex in one of the shots. The guy with the scales on his blue and white shield is Sir Alexis. Both are Ansteorran knights, and yes, they kick much ass.
http://ardal.smugmug.com/gallery/2597042#136930575

Gaston de Clermont

My understanding is that they're rattan weapons, but covered in foam, to reduce injury to the horses. It was amazing to watch.

Gaston de Clermont

If you still want to use this metal you could try to anneal it. Even higher carbon steel will be pretty malleable after you get it bright red hot and cool it slowly. There's no surface coat, like zinc on it though, right? Hot zinc's bad for you.

Gaston de Clermont

You might enjoy this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Woven-into-Earth- ... 326&sr=8-1
It goes into extreme detail about the physical finds in Greenland. It's particularly interesting if you're interested in textiles.

Gaston de Clermont

70 points is probably more than you really need for armour. From what I've read it looks like the original stuff tended to top out around 50. But if you temper it so it's a bit softer, it could clearly work. The spatula spreaders are amazingly durable. I worked for Cutco for a summer in college. It ...

Gaston de Clermont

Lucian, you're from Trimaris, right? Don't worry, you'll be fine. Maybe have a nice big meal, preferably something heavy like turkey and mashed potatoes before every battle. If your body says you really need a nap, listen to it. Seriously, my arms can feel like lead if I haven't fought in a while. I...

Gaston de Clermont

Possibly true. A very large percentage of illuminations of late 14th century armour have fabric covering the body, so it's hard to tell what form the shoulder protection typically took. It's possible that the shoulders were protected with padding, as King Renee suggests ~50 years later, or that ther...

Gaston de Clermont

Is it just too hard to work without the heat, or does it crack?

Gaston de Clermont

Maybe I have an unusually long waist, or saggy cheeks? Maybe I shrank my braes in the wash? I'm not sure, but they just barely fit. Mundane clothes usually fit me without too much hastle.

Gaston de Clermont

Very nice! What did you use to make the letters and lines so dark?

Gaston de Clermont

This is all good advice. I'd probably do it over the edge of a stump for the most part myself. Don't try to do the whole flare all in one pass. Do a little bit at a time.

Gaston de Clermont

What will you be using all this armour for? A gap between the upper cannon and the spaulder isn't uncommon in 14th century armour. The Churburg #13 harness doesn't have associated spaulders, and its rerebrace only comes part way up the arm. It's tough to make the wrist larger, but trimming the end w...

Gaston de Clermont

I'd play with the taper at the top a bit. On my own leg, the outside edge doesn't really curve in much near the knee. It does on the inside like your greave does, though it might mate more smoothly with the demigreave without curving it in quite so much. I think you're on the right track. You might ...

Gaston de Clermont

I have the same short leg issue Murdock has with Gwen's design. I'd also like a longer waist, since I either have to put the draw string really low on my hips or suffer a wedgie. When you're wearing white braies and nothing else, a wedgie can be a dangerous and unslightly thing. I don't mean all thi...

Gaston de Clermont

I only really plan when I'm out of range. When we close I might have an idea of what I'll try first, and maybe an exit strategy depending on my opponent's strengths. But you have to adjust, and be careful about over committing to a strategy that might be forced to change.

Gaston de Clermont

I think we're too subdued as spectators. I'd rather see a little excitement.

Gaston de Clermont

Thanks for the offer, but these designs look simple enoug that I'll probably tackle this myself. I have some walnut that might bend nicely for that funky hook. The other pieces are mostly straight lumber and simple joints.

Gaston de Clermont

I think the knight Irish is talking about is Yngvar the Dismal of Aethelmarc. He's on this board occasionally.

Gaston de Clermont

I've never timed myself, but it's like 5 minutes. I wear steel greaves, cuises, and breastplate, I'm building some nice new steel arms, and have a leather gorget and breastplate. It's all late 14th century style. More often when I get kitted up it's a bit more like what Gavin describes. There's not ...

Gaston de Clermont

Man, Peder, those images rock! That's exactly the kind of stuff I've been looking for. Can you tell me more about the first image? From the illumination style it looks like it might be 14th century, but with the eclesiastic gowns it's much tougher for me to pin down. I was able to sniff around on th...

Gaston de Clermont

All the things we've done as a whole group have been SCA events. I don't think everyone in the group is quite as keen on the 14th century as I am. Any late medieval source would be a help at this point.