The Armour Archive

Marshal

My first thought was "Some sort of big harpoon head".

I'd think that a sword for a statue would have a crossguard that could be discerned as such from a good distance, so unless it had one which has perished I'm thinking it's a piece from some sort of machinery: farming, drilling or industrial.

Marshal

Time period in which region, though? You don't see much Russian or Byzantine from ANY period, for example. And do you mean overall persona concentration? Armour-style concentration?

Marshal

Where does one buy those rectangular black breastplates?

Marshal

He's right about the perspective thing. You can't rely on the distance depicted between the fighters because art of the time pretty much never shows distances between people and objects. Look at the paintings of tournaments where everyone is shown elbow to elbow... But if this is so can we rely on ...

Marshal

On the issue of sharpness, I understand that some blades were given varying degrees of it on different portions. A ricasso wouldn't be sharpened at all, the part that'd be between the hands when at half-sword or that would be used to parry might have a chisel edge, while the area around the COP migh...

Marshal

Actually, it's not that dangerous if you grip it tightly and just try to guide the movements of the blade instead of holding it still. I'd still be wary of doing it if there were another choice, of course.

Marshal

Noe wrote:Parrying? I fight in the vor, baby.

But vich vor? The Hundred Years Vor? The Vor of the Roses? Vich vun do you mean?

Marshal

One point about the colors, lighter doesn't really equal cooler where it counts. Yes, it reflects sunlight better, but several studies of the issue have been done and while temps average a degree or two hotter for dark colors at the surface of the fabric next to the skin they are the same as under l...

Marshal

Yeah, fence posts would probably not be very suitable. Lances were usually made of ash or cornel wood. Not all lumber yards carry them. I was lucky enough to get a 2X10 ash plank from a place that specialized in hardwoods... Do as much of the work as you can with the saw. Rip the stock to a somewhat...

Marshal

Unless it was a peach cobbler, which would do anything to your footwear except make it sticky.

Marshal

knitebee wrote:Thats it, i'm starting a guild for the Peoples Revolutionary Shoe Party. To mantain your membership please to me (The Lord of this thread) on hand made hook and eye for my boots.

"Physician, heel thyself."

Marshal

Or an ash plank. Cut into lengths of, say, 2X2. Shape to rough with drawknife. Continue with a spokeshave. Finish with a rounder ( basically an immense pencil-sharpener, only it cuts to a single diameter instead of to a point ). Sand to taste. Of course, that's for a plain early lance. A 15th centur...

Marshal

Did he wander around demanding his Modulator?

Marshal

Broadway wrote:I'm starting to think interpretations are like assholes...

What, you mean in that we'd be very uncomfortable without 'em?

Marshal

One of my old armour books ( Boutell? ) refers to the leather strips as 'lambrequins'...which is not what the dictionaries say the word means, but sounds Latinate. Can this have been the Roman word for them, or a derivative or it? Or more likely an author's invention?

Marshal

Hmmm, balance and footwork, well, I can see the applications for dance there, though as someone else has said I am dubious that bellydance would be the best choice from among the many types of dance---foot movements seem pretty rudimentary from what I've observed of it, the emphasis seems to be on h...

Marshal

Reinhard wrote:Devil's Advocate:

The pell teaches you zero footwork.

Good point. Has anyone ever used a swinging pell, ie a pole hung from a rafter or tree limb?

Marshal

Sludig wrote:Probably a discussion best argued about in person with much gesticulating rather then grasping at what is meant by different words.

And enjoyable enough for its own sake, besides!

Marshal

I've used hydrogen peroxide as well, and you can also burn it off, but beware the fumes, they are toxic and can make you quite sick, though the effect isn't permanent, apparently. If you use peroxide immerse the mail completely and watch it carefully ( a glass container is ideal ). When the foam tha...

Marshal

There's an excellent picture of a leather glove with mail sewn into it for fencing in "The Academy of the Sword" by Donald LaRocca of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Thanks very much, I've had an interest in these for years, and I'd love to be able to find out more about them. Recapitulation: The e...

Marshal

If you want to wear a brig, and a helm, and possibly some gauntlets, then you should walk a few paces over to the armoured combat field where your armour will fit right in. I'll be there in my early period armour and I'll give you a warm welcome. Or perhaps one could just imagine that one was meeti...

Marshal

For your second question, cuts with a blunted blade are tolerable in a lightly padded doublet, as our current SCA sidesword practitioners have found. Occasional welts and bruises can happen, but no real damage. How many such rebated weapons survive? Would every scholar of the rapier have had both a...

Marshal

Definitely looks to be a Sudanese kaskara. The older ones sometimes had European blades, but this doesn't look like one. The seller seems to be pretty up front and not trying to pass it off as some valuable antique diamond in the rough... Someone in the antique sword forum or mideastern sword forum ...

Marshal

I shall venture to dip a toe once again into these waters, then, only in the limited sense requested. In the sense that it will help your body awareness and general muscle tone, I suppose it would be helpful for a fighter's conditioning. But no more so than yoga, or boxing, or hard rope-jumping, or ...

Marshal

But if I have the option, I can see no advantage to an edge parry. All I see is the possible damage to my blade. Look at the weapons, look at the cuts, look at the guards. There is no reason why an egde parry would be superior. So we all appear to agree that we're not talking about the modern sport...

Marshal

What a great idea! Looks very spiff...

Marshal

Honorable, but not necessary. Practice weapons had a ball of cloth "the size of a tennis ball" wrapped around the button-tip to reduce the risk of injury. No "hidden armour" or mail was needed because the weapons were not sharp. The extant padded fencing doublets would have been suficient to make t...

Marshal

Wow, and without any thumbs, even...

Marshal

in the 17th century they had short beds too. The thing is, they slept sitting up so the bed did not need to be as long. Just curious, are we going on up-close personal observation of beds here, or on references? ( I will NOT step into the primary-secondary quagmire. ) I remember taking a tour of th...

Marshal

And forget not---try to lead him hither!

Marshal

when he said the nonsense about how a "real" man wouldn't drop the subject Said that...where? [edit] Oh, that . You misunderstand it. What I was saying was only this: if you see something you believe to be wrong happening, is it better to say nothing and let wrong have its conquest, or to speak out...

Marshal

I couldn't give two flying duck fucks whether you want to listen or not to me, mareyk or anyone else Marshal. But its very plain and simple. Your not adding anything useful to the discussion. So leave. Imagine my reluctance to decline that eloquent invitation... These boards are for discussion and ...

Marshal

And when you suggest what you mention, you will get exactly what you have gotten here.. told that your myopic view of society is yours alone, and that if you dont like it, leave. And that is your right, just as mine is to speak MY mind about the odiousness ( to me ) of men bellydancing in public. I...

Marshal

Maybe they just wanted to toughen up for when "The Man" eventually came along with his nightstick to break up the sit-in?

Marshal

Not trying to get into an ARMA-anti-ARMA flame war but I would take their dissertations on flat parrying with a grain of salt...and virtually every other WMA scholar comes down on the edge side of the debate. Bear in mind, though, that parries as we think of them---static blocks that "close a line"-...