The Armour Archive

Klaus the Red

Oh, stop- if you make my head swell any more (and that's saying something) the damn helmet won't fit me. Actually, I'm still tweaking this project, so maybe when I finish the mk. III liner, have my grill visor back from being welded by Thaddeus, and do a new fingerloop braid for a vervelle cord, it'...

Klaus the Red

5/8" of space all around sounds about right (I have faith in Brian's numbers)- this allows for either a period liner plus airspace or a 1/2" SCA foam liner, and also should give your head a little maneuvering room if you need to tilt the helmet a bit to make it comfortable or adjust the angle of vie...

Klaus the Red

OK, things make a greater amount of sense now, visually speaking... but now it's doubly odd that they didn't display the intact one.

Klaus the Red

I find Home Despot's 1/8-ish thick by 5/8" wide slat stock material make good EXTERNAL splints (and looks startlingly like the splints from several German effigies), whilst 18 ga. CR sheet yields good internal brig plates. Drop me a line at redbarbarian(at)comcast.net- I have some thoughts for you a...

Klaus the Red

Sorry, couldn't help but poke fun at the SCA's shaky armoring past. Thanks for the links.

K

Klaus the Red

That make sense. Are you going to stick with the simulated look, or actually try a set at some point with splints underneath? If so, I might want to go with slightly lighter and more flexible leather than your usual weight, depending on how much area the actual plates will cover. Hefty leather plus ...

Klaus the Red

Does that piece have anything to suggest rivet holes or stitching holes to hold the straps in place? I'm at work and don't have the image handy myself.

Klaus the Red

Do I recall correctly that the tooled leather rerebrace in the British Museum has two strap slits on one side of the opening but only one on the other? That could indicate the configuration you're using.

Klaus the Red

Pretty. My splinted-arms-in-progress are jealous.

Do you have documentation for the y-strap closures, or did it just seem logical?

Klaus

Klaus the Red

The outer layer seems to be cut on the bias to get the bulge of the padding to the outside(?) Possibly- darn clever, if true. It's hard to tell from the photos, but I think it more likely that the panels were cut on the straight, and those quilted channels which spread out at an angle to the grain ...

Klaus the Red

One of the pictures shows TWO jacks in the Holstentor Museum in LÃƒÂ¼beck. The one still on display there is the one that Tobias has posted, the other one must be hiding somewhere in the reserve collection. Funny, you'd think they'd display the nicer-looking one and store the one that looks like it...

Klaus the Red

James, is the bottom example in the black and white image the Stendal piece? I have a hard time reading teeny little type in 72 dpi whilst translating from German at the same time. And do you know offhand what book the page is from, and/or what is your source of documentation? The Lubeck jack also h...

Klaus the Red

Sure, those look like they represent the same kind of texture. (I also like the foot combat in stechhelms!) Parsifal's entire peplum appears to be made of the piled material, though, rather than having it hung off the hem in decorative streamers. Looking at the Lubeck coat(s), it looks as though the...

Klaus the Red

I like that approach- as a technique for reproducing pre-15th century armor, it seems even more authentic than doing a full heat treatment on high-carbon steel. Does his choice have anything to do with the availability of 1050 and similar grades in Europe?

Klaus the Red

Nothing odd? Find me another occurence of foot-long carpet-like fuzzy strips hanging off the bottom of armor.

Klaus the Red

This book page, source unknown, appears to show two more examples in better repair, with more complete "super-fringes." They kind of remind me of the draped rows of washcloth material in drive-through car washes.

Klaus the Red

15th century arming coat (one of three, I believe) in the Holstentormuseum, LÃƒÂ¼beck. Photos from the archives of Tasha McGann. Weird...

Klaus the Red

I don't know their work personally at all, but it looks pretty good at first glance. Is this fellow in Sweden (ie, prices in "Skr" = Swedish kroner)? I tend to use bascinets as my authenticity yardstick, and I think he needs to do a little more research in this area. His bascinet has a nice late bac...

Klaus the Red

Yes, but this is ORIGINAL red velvet and should be treated with greater respect than Bashfordstein's Monster.

Klaus the Red

The left arm is NOT armor, nor is the left leg- they are just leather mockups. The arm design is perfectly authentic to the 14th century and probably worked with leather strap articulation on the inside. And yes, obviously, the brigandine does not match the arm, leg, or gauntlets. These pieces and t...

Klaus the Red

http://cgi.ebay.com/SCA-armor-armour-harbor-frieght-shear_W0QQitemZ6600761348QQcategoryZ1552QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Needs work, apparently, but starting price is cheap.

Klaus the Red

Make one outta cuirboulli.

Klaus the Red

Yah, definitely 15th (or even 16th) century brig. James, Cad's photos are from the catalog of the Chartres treasury, in French, which I picked up when I was there in 2004. I'll check the ISBN no. at home this evening and post it for you.

Klaus

Klaus the Red

My standard vision of a late medieval man-at-arms "stood down" from readiness and lounging about the camp has him dressed in hose, shoes, leg harness and arming coat. With two really fast pages at hand to point on his vambraces and buckle up his cuirass, he can be good to go in about 2 minutes. Anot...

Klaus the Red

...or they will taunt us a second time.

Klaus the Red

Yeah, a lot of what I do is educated guesswork, backdated a few decades- ie, if we can prove that garment X was used in the 15th century by its presence in artwork, etc., and legs and arms are pointed to it, and 14th century arms and legs looks much the same from the outside, we can assume the prese...

Klaus the Red

I'm basing my half-lacing, half-button style off a late 14th/early 15th century statue of St. George (probably familiar to many). This is from his arming coat / lentner but I believe the principle of getting a tight fit around the hips applies to the underlying pourpoint equally if not more so. All ...

Klaus the Red

But, none of this takes one iota of awesomeness away from your work, Klaus, which I happen to think is beautiful and well-designed. I'm just throwing out thoughts and experiences, 'cause I know you like to talk about stuff like that. Much appreciated. I'm still learning new stuff with every coat I ...

Klaus the Red

Pending real soon now. My harness is undergoing a complete purge and rebuild, and I'm working on coat, arms, helmet, and body simultaneously (which explains why I haven't been fighting in a while). Geoffrey the Younger is doing my new legs.

Klaus the Red

I'm also looking at replacing them simi soon.

Murdock, e-mail me off-list if you're interested in a pair of heat treated spaulders.

Klaus

Klaus the Red

Some would say even less padding is actually required. I encourage folks to go with two layers of sturdy cloth and that's about it... Possibly, depending on the type of harness. Wearing a lot of splinted leather myself, I would feel a little naked with only two layers of fabric between my armor and...

Klaus the Red

Yah, detail photos important.

Klaus the Red

A couple more suits and your living room could pass for the armory at Churburg. You are not the only fighter who has asked for minimal padding in this garment, esp. in the arms. This trend and various discussions I've had with armorers and scholars leads me to believe that pourpoints in period proba...

Klaus the Red

Per period brigandine construction, the velvet will be backed with the hemp canvas and the nails will go all the way through both layers. I don't plan to do an inner lining- rustproofing the plates with enamel is enough for me. I will fight in it in some form, but probably restrict this piece to hig...

Klaus the Red

That would work in daylight. For twilight or nighttime shooting that wants high-speed film, a telephoto lens or generally any capability that's beyond the little digitals, perhaps a small period pavilion could be set up in a strategic location as a "duck blind."

Period carpet armor!

Harbor Freight "beverloid" shear on e-bay