The Armour Archive

Gaston de Clermont

Sorry, there's not a perfect forum for this, but it's just too odd not to share:
http://bertrand.du.guesclin.free.fr/ber ... ctacle.htm
If you dig through you can find sound clips from it. This guy marshal of France during the Hundred Years War, and folks fight a tournament in his honor every month in California. It's still weird to have a musical.

Gaston de Clermont

I have some good pictures of the sculpture the first picture is based on here on my blog:
http://burgundianhours.blogspot.com/200 ... eorge.html
And I agree, it's a globose breastplate with a lance rest beneath a jupon.

Gaston de Clermont

The knock down as Nissan described it is OK according to customs in some areas. Folks put shields on each other all the time here. It's OK (here) to place a non-striking piece of equipment on an opponent and then push, but not to "strike" with it. The pommel to the armpit isn't substantial...

Gaston de Clermont

spearweasel wrote:Metal is worth the investment. You'll have more self-respect, women will adore you, and you'll live like 50 years longer. It makes you better endowed and more intelligent. Good fortune will follow you all of your days.

This is all true. Metal also thwarts zombie bites.

Gaston de Clermont

I like Fluid Film too. It's fairly effective, it's not harsh to leather and it smells nice. But nothing is going to stop 4130 or 10xx steel from rusting besides a thick coat of something like paint. You might be happier with 410, which is a spring stainless.

Gaston de Clermont

What this thread is telling me, though, is that many of the SCA chiv (there's a LOT) who post, read/lurk here either consider themselves blameless, or are else too wimpy to fess up to their more asinine moments. It's quite possible that there's just not that much to confess. I'm sure I've miss-call...

Gaston de Clermont

Ma voisine,
Have you dug through this web site?
http://www.companie-of-st-george.ch/cms ... he_Company
http://www.companie-of-st-george.ch/cms/?q=en/Dragons
Their focus is a bit later than yours, but many of their reference works will be relevant.

Gaston de Clermont

The Black Prince had a thunderous 'stache which I'm very jealous of. He wore it down in his effigy, over his avantail, rather than out as a handlebar.
You might bug Mac- he concocts his own mustache wax, and he's forgotten more about research than most of us will ever know.

Gaston de Clermont

Jeff- knock yourself out.
Mac- I'm not seeing a surgeon's knot so much here. There'd be an extra little loop on one of the arms that's not there, so we'd be left with a regular square knot. Here's another view of the same sabaton:
http://burgundianhours.blogspot.com/200 ... terns.html

Gaston de Clermont

A good knot close up pic (look down the page for the alabaster sabaton):
http://burgundianhours.blogspot.com/200 ... art-1.html

Gaston de Clermont

I find it a bit easier to form the greave as a cone with a sharper taper than you'd expect to need, then flare the bottom because it's easier to stretch than to compress the steel. I've done it your way too, and it works. It just takes more hammer strokes.

Gaston de Clermont

Guys, I'm going to help her iron this out. I hardly ever look at the classifieds, so PM me with specifics as you understand them.

Gaston de Clermont

Mac wrote: The thing I have done most recently is Galleron's armor. I made the habergeon have sleeves with taylered elbows that stopped just inside the vambraces.

Mac- did you sew the sleeve to a leather strip? Does anything keep it from flopping out when he fights?

Gaston de Clermont

It feels to me that the "stainless finish" isn't as dramatic in fired and well finished piece as many seem to believe. There are some subtle color differences. There are some armourers who leave their work pretty flat and mirror finished which can make it obvious. But a well rounded and ha...

Gaston de Clermont

From what I've seen the wife beater style the Black Prince sports was more common in England, but it wouldn't be freakish on the continent. Bear in mind that the line between English and French lands was fuzzy enough that lots of folks were dying over it in this era. Aquitaine was in English hands m...

Gaston de Clermont

The maile at the Black Prince's ankle is a bit of a puzzle. His effigy is missing a lot of details like hinges and rivets on his arm harness, but there's also no evidence of that ankle being a separate patch. There's maile at the back of the knee going down into the top of his greave, and there's ma...

Gaston de Clermont

Alexis- I've been happier with 410 than I was with 4130 unless you have to weld it. It might be worth playing with a sheet.

Gaston de Clermont

I have a lot of non-14th century buddies I'd like to camp with. But if you have a party or something I'm happy to show up in 14th century gear and bring 14th century meade.

Gaston de Clermont

What is your gender? Male
Do you enjoy melee or singles more? Melee
Are you better at melee or singles? Melee (I'm pretty good at both)
What is your Myers & Briggs personality type? ESTJ

Dunno if it will bias the results at all, but I suspect you'll find more extroverts who like melee more.

Gaston de Clermont

I hope the forecast holds. That would be the best weather we've had at BAM in a couple years.

Gaston de Clermont

You'll be missed at BAM. Guess you've got to pay back some work dues after being king. 12th night's not in the cards for me this year. I'll be running the music at Hell's Gate's Yule on Dec 4th, maybe hitting crown and Coastal Invasion, then of course Gulf. I'd love to chat.

Gaston de Clermont

The advantage of an oxy-acetylene torch is you can cut through really thick stuff. The trouble is it's very difficult to get a smooth cut, so you're going to be grinding some. Where are you? You might have someone near by who would be willing to let you come over and cut some stuff out. You can cut ...

Gaston de Clermont

Rikr, getting classy? This could be interesting. I've played a bit with this pattern to make a King Renee style great bascinet:
http://armourarchive.org/patterns/close_helm/
It's a project I should finish up some time.

Gaston de Clermont

I've found the maile rubs between my bicep and forearm, and between my upper arm and torso. Are there tricks to reduce that?

Gaston de Clermont

You get more awesome all the time, Kiran!

Gaston de Clermont

So Leo, by that same reasoning you should be making your regular swords out of multiple pieces, or starting with thick rattan and tapering them so they look like a slender triangle too, right? And no basket hilts too?

Gaston de Clermont

Ceramic is a great choice. I've started drinking out of glass since I've been doing some glass blowing, and I really like it. You see folks drinking out of glasses A LOT in 14th and 15th century illuminations.

Gaston de Clermont

I'll be getting there Friday. I'm very happy so many folks from out of kingdom are coming.

Gaston de Clermont

Roak- there are a ton of pictures on Facebook. Are you on there? PM me and I'll tag a few of you. Looked like the new hip was working great!
Are you coming to Bryn Gwlad this weekend?

Gaston de Clermont

I'm going. I'll be commanding the red army. We'll have cookies and booze. There will be bacon girls. We should take lots of pictures to make Spearweasel feel worse about missing this. Roak- I got your note about the red side's list. The traffic on it has been very low, so you haven't missed much. He...

Gaston de Clermont

I've blackened maile with vegie oil in my oven at 450F. It seems quite tough, it was cheaper than the gun oil, it's non-toxic and it was straight forward to get an even coat- just submerge it, and let the excess drip off.

Gaston de Clermont

I know half a dozen folks at least who would be willing to buy your video if it was a reasonable price.

Gaston de Clermont

Craig- if you have any class notes I'd love to seen them. Even just an intro to this material is challenging to cover in a couple hours.

Gaston de Clermont

The final effect of a change of the sword is pretty clear, but how do you guys envision it happening? What's the most efficient way that fits with the pictures?

Gaston de Clermont

Mike from Stonekeep chatted with me a bit about spring stainless before he got into that game. So the research behind his work is sound. It's tough to beat his prices. Anshelm is top notch. You might also try North Star Armoury. I do some of their heat treating work. I work in 410 myself (dig throug...

Bertrand du Gueslin- the musical!

I33- change of the sword?