The Armour Archive

Mykaru

Well as I mentioned it isn't done yet. The sode WILL have kohaze. They were tied on in this case for the photos only. The mistake I mentioned before is the lack of holes for the loops to go underneath. That means I have to drill powder-coated metal then reseal it (probably with black fingernail poli...

Mykaru

Thanks for all the kind words. Unfortunately Eff, I know there's lots of places where it really isn't up to snuff for recreation. I DID try try for a step above lots of the stuff at Matsushita-san's shop, but Katsu is really turning me into a snob. Actually this is the dillema and addresses some poi...

Mykaru

Well, as I noted before, it`s not quite finished. I have to do kohaze (buy from Toraba) for the sode and do the kikko for the collar and shoulders. I AM upset in that I realized I made a mistake in the holes for the suspensory lace for the sode. The cords are all shoelace and yes the watagami are st...

Mykaru

Well here it is. Almost finished. I'll have to complete it in Japan. Note it's a little big on me as Gustav is wider and shorter.

http://home.armourarchive.org/members/mykaru/Back2a.jpg
http://home.armourarchive.org/members/mykaru/Side1a.jpg
http://home.armourarchive.org/members/mykaru/Lsde1a.jpg

Here's a couple of Evil-Merlin's Dou as well.
http://home.armourarchive.org/members/mykaru/EMback.jpg
http://home.armourarchive.org/members/m ... Mfront.jpg
http://home.armourarchive.org/members/m ... frnt1a.jpg

Enjoy !

Mykaru

You *could* do your pieces in steel. Take them to your local plating shop and have them electroplated in brass.

Mykaru

Yes. Normally a layer of kokuso is built up under the laquer to simulate scales. Not an option here hence the fluting.

Mykaru

1) I'm away from my resources now and 2) the ieji on many "period" may well be from a later restoration, BUT IIRC the majority of my pics show an ivory or cream base with gold patterns OR something that matches the ito. (Example: a dark blue with gold patterns on armour with kon-ito). Remember, silk...

Mykaru

If at all possible I punch holes. I use a large whitney bench-mount punch btw. Holes are punched after shaping. Most traditional armourers in Japan punch (or drill ) before shaping. I don't for 2 reasons. First, SCA thickness metal does have an affect on hole shifting. Far greater than encountered o...

Mykaru

I've got pics of 2. 1 belonged to Ieyaesu and is in the Tokugawa Fine Arts Museum. The owner of the other escapes me now (I'm not with my books).

Hell, now that they are doing some culling of Black bears in the Northeast, you might be able to get the right materials

.

Mykaru

Corrius,

It would indeed be Avalon's Lord Gustav (AKA Iwao Kenichi). If you want to come down to Tsukuba, you're welcome of course. I don't have a shop set up in Japan (yet) however. I'm currently in my old shop in Thailand (9 more days, helluva time crunch).

Mykaru

Eff is right about looking of course. I was contemplating this today actually. On any armour it's important to look at the overall line or shape. Unfortunately, we often get hung up on the beautiful little details and lose the overall picture. Japanese armour is SO detailed that it makes the problem...

Mykaru

The lames are welded for about 3 inches on the ends. I didn't full length weld because the rivits are plenty strong. One nice thing about using high carbon is it does weld much easier. The Kabuto for Eff will be welded of course. This steel is not fully hardened, however it resists deformation (and ...

Mykaru

Well for a prototype I'm pretty pleased with it. There are a few problems but they are reasonable. It's at the powdercoater's now. It comes out Wednesday ( and Evil-Merlin's goes in {fingers crossed}). Then the lacing starts. ( Oh Boy!)

I need to post pics of the kata for Eff's kabuto as well.

Mykaru

More progress pics on Gustav's Ogekawa dou so I decided to share here (saves me from overloading his e-mail too)

http://home.armourarchive.org/members/m ... ekawa1.jpg
http://home.armourarchive.org/members/m ... ekawa2.jpg
http://home.armourarchive.org/members/m ... ekawa3.jpg

Note: these are pretty big pics(about 3/4 meg each). Dial-ups be warned.

Mykaru

Lestat, Plastic is acceptable, but pickle barrel is not. So cost really isn't a consideration (steel is cheaper than ABS). Do your pattern. Do it again in posterboard. Assemble, tweak, repeat. Search for a local armourer. Most will help, have open shop nights etc. You can probably exchange shop monk...

Mykaru

Hmmm. The big order from the laser cutter just arrived. Parts for Evil-Merlin's Ogekawa dou, Eff's 16 kan hachi, and my Nuinobe dou (with kiritsuzane kusazuri!!). Looks like I have lost all sleeping options for the next 2 weeks.

Mykaru

Well, one of my customers asked for progress picson his Ogekawa dou so I decided to share here (saves me from overloading his e-mail too

)

http://home.armourarchive.org/members/m ... gDouF1.jpg
http://home.armourarchive.org/members/m ... gDouB1.jpg
http://home.armourarchive.org/members/m ... gDouB2.jpg

(No Bill it's not yours, It's bigger than yours. It's for Iwao-san. The gentleman who bought the sweet oki tenugui kabuto from Clang)

Mykaru

Valstarr,

Thanks although I don't get to make as much anymore.

Mykaru

Got one. Needs a bargrill and powdercoating. I'll finish it up this week. Who's interested?

Mykaru

Mik,

Hold on a couple of weeks. I'm working on a kabuto for Eff and it will have a hineno-jikoro. When I finish, I'll post the pattern. (I don't like posting patterns but, you've already shown you're serious about learning so THIS time.)

Mykaru

Pretty good for a first kabuto. (You should see my first one.... no, wait, no-one should EVER see it). Critiques. The size of the lace isn't really the problem, it's the spacing of the holes. The holes should be much closer together so you get a small square instead of a cross. The dome is too or no...

Mykaru

Electrostatically charged powder is put on the piece. It is then baked to melt/bond the powder. It makes an extremely durable finish. Which reminds me. Hey Eff! Do you want this thing Powder-coated or russetted? Hineno-jikoro deshoo? I WANTED to go with 16 ga. High carbon, but it's unavailable. I CO...

Mykaru

Yoshinobu,

Joined, made a post and disappeared. No info in the profile. It's a troll, not actually anyone who might have an opinion worth listening to.

Mykaru

Corrius, IIRC, MOST things that are not period in an A&S project are ok if you document the originals and why you chose not to use them. (i.e. this dou is for SCA combat and laquer won't hold up so I chose to powder-coat). Powder-coating kusari won't work (been there tried that). If you go to your l...

Mykaru

Yep. Sorry, I've been gone a while but all the comments here have rung true. Lord Dork-a-lot wants to be seen as knowledgeable so he "explains" to the crowd. Sir Fighting-is-Great stays on the field fighting until he pukes in his helm, rather than go save the crowd from Lord Dork-a-lot. Scantily cla...

Mykaru

Wearing them myself I would A) wear a half guant CUFF with a basket-hilt or B) make a set of WTF!!? guantlets to wear over the tekko. (halfbreed guantlets that don't cover the back of the hand.) C) mini-bucklers (I think Guillaume has some already)

Mykaru

8 days and counting. Three things I miss the most. My wife, my daughter, and my shop (in no particular order ). It will be a busy summer. 2 okegawa dou, 1 nuinobe dou, various replacement pieces for the nuinobe I'm restoring, 1 combat kabuto (for Eff so it's got to be PERFECT) and 1 dress kabuto to ...

Mykaru

Guillaume, Glad you're happy. The kusari are of course larger than period. I don't think the tiny stuff will hold up well enough for SCA combat. When I make another set (I suppose it's *when* although I feel more like if) the leather edging will be thinner and deerhide. That's all hand sewn and it w...

Mykaru

Limited research (1 book so far). Laces over the shoulder(flat OR round) knotted.

Mykaru

Garrett, Considering the quality of work, experience and reputation of said armourer, and the hacked out laoner I saw you post earlier I suspect it would be in your best interest to buy said helmet. Studying it might teach you a few things. Am I being harsh? Possibly, but until you show yourself to ...

Mykaru

Mykaru is an ancient attempt to trick name butchering heralds into pronouncing Maikaru correctly (Japanese pronunciation of Michael). Of course my inkan hasÃ£â‚¬â‚¬Ã¨Ë†Å¾Ã©Å“Å¾Ã¦ÂµÂ

Mykaru

Both, although I prefer the round.

Mykaru

Stephen, I see your point. The main gist of this idea is *I think* getting Armourworks out of a jam. The problems MOST people seem to have had is with munitions grade armour. Well within the range of many of the hobbiests out there. People have problems. When I knew Olaf, he seemed a pretty stand up...

Mykaru

Corrius, Do you plan on using this for combat? You know that laquer will NOT hold up right? Most of the period stuff was about 1mm. There are some references to forge welding a high carbon face to a softer iron back. I saw a reference from (IIRC) Ian Bottomley where he had tested two seperate armour...

Mykaru

Eff,

Nah, that one is from Kinokuniya Katchu. Katsu's wife works at the one in Ginza now. They did have a really nice 16 kan sendai style suji-kabuto that I want. It's prolly gone now though.

Almost complete Dou pics

More Dou pics.

Dou Progress