The Armour Archive

Adriano

As time goes on, how I regret the hours I spent making my 30-pound butted shirt that I never wear because it's so heavy. Soon as I publish that best-seller, I'll be ordering from Forth Castle. I guess it's possible to make butted mail as strong as a rivetted mail, but it would have to be a lot heavi...

Adriano

This confuses me a bit. Just single-handed swords, not greatswords? Being able to halfsword with a single-handed sword means you're out there with a single sword and nothing in your other hand. Seems a bit odd.

Adriano

Now if it were real, full-out, fighting for my life with real weapons against guys in armour, no way would I go for two swords. Of the choices offered, I guess I'd take a good stout spear. (Though I'd prefer a pollaxe.) And there'd definitely be below-the-knee action going on. But for SCA fighting, ...

Adriano

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally posted by Adriano: My habit is to use two rattan swords, where I REALLY hit the guy, without havin...

Adriano

My habit is to use two rattan swords, where I REALLY hit the guy, without having to pull blows or avoid hitting him in the head!

That is, if I don't know what I'm facing. My favorite fight is matched greatswords or bastard swords.

Adriano

I'll be damned; I never heard of this before. "Originally the Venetian bridge fights were waged with sharpened sticks or robust cane, known as canne d'India, from local lagoons. The sticks were customarily hardened at the point by repeated soaking it in boiling oil. Interestingly they were employed ...

Adriano

I don't know about the marshalls where you live, but they probably won't mind, as long as the helm is secure on your head, and the grill doesn't touch your nose when they press on it. I just use a stout leather strap with a slit cut in it that my chin fits into. I've seen some guys use modern athlet...

Adriano

Froissart did his work on the mid-late 15th century but is depicting the 100 years war . So it is 14th century history done with 15th century art. Possibly there's some confusion between the writer and the illustrating artist. Froissart lived from the 133...

Adriano

I'd also recommend checking out www.pantherprimitives.com .

Adriano

The Lion in Winter ? I can understand that a fine play may be made into a movie more than once, as so many Shakespeare plays have been... but surely the 1968 movie is the definitive version. I truly don't see how it could be improved. More elaborate sets, I suppose, fancier camerawork, etc., but yo...

Adriano

After 20 years of fighting, I'm only now trying thrusting tips on my swords. (The deciding factor was the Meridian rules change allowing "low profile" tips.) I recommend gaining a fair level of competency without the tip, then adding it but never relying on the thrust as your main attack; save it fo...

Adriano

Gwyneth, m'lady, I'm 43 years old and 40 pounds overweight. I can strap on armour and defeat anyone in the known world, and so can you if you so desire. It's all about believing you deserve to. Just remember: every time somebody bonks you on the noggin, that there is just a little reminder that you'...

Adriano

Eleven years ago, I was at Gatalop. That's held at a Civil War-era fort on Dauphin Island in Mobile Bay. Two stupid things. One: the two sides were chosen up by a ridiculously complicated process intended to replicate the game of Risk. Took almost an hour. Two: after we fought through the main gate ...

Adriano

Let's see -- Duke John the Mad Celt is great for working on fighting as a science. Great guy in general.

Sir Malachi Halfdan Brightskull -- it always seemed we were well matched, and could just jump in there and brawl.

Sir Harald Bodvarsson -- tricky bastard (in a good way).

Adriano

I am just not so sure that "thug" is a word that anyone should be proud of. Pick something else for God's sake. From DWolfHunter's description, the word "grunt" sounds more apt to me (assuming you want to use modern slang rather than something period).

Adriano

Mail looks great, and I love to see it on the field. But I'd have to distinguish between butted and rivetted; I used to fight in a gambeson, kidney belt and my heavy butted haubergeon. But one hot, humid day as I was going for armour inspection at a melee event, it occurred to me that as far as the ...

Adriano

i got it all figured out so i dont look *much* like a fool. just bend all the way over and shake and pull it off. let the weight do the work. I've seen a 14th century picture of a guy doing exactly that, so I'd say your bending over qualifies as living hi...

Adriano

I also have absolute fits with my squire brother Jon the Tall. He has so much range that I literally have to run him down to do anything - and I hate to run. Hey, I met Jon the Tall at Fighters Collegium. We were fighting greatsword, and I was doing miser...

Adriano

That's easy -- Duke John the Mad Celt. He's developed an almost perfect defense, using a long coffin-shaped shield. He's also very good at reading an opponent's body language and anticipating one's moves, and he'll wait for the right moment. I tend to get impatient, which is my downfall. There was a...

Adriano

Two swords. I've struggled with this predilection as if it were an addiction, because I know it's not authentic. But it just feels right to me. I also love greatsword, but the SCA conventions put that style at a serious disadvantage.

Adriano

I've also got a nice sword blade, with no furniture. I thought I'd make the grip by getting some nice wood laminating pieces and building it up, cutting the inner layers to match the shape of the tang (as tightly as possible), then gluing the grip together, shaping it and perhaps covering it with le...

Adriano

Crap! I'm leaving from work to go to Castle Wars, and I forgot to put a lanyard on my new sword. (You never know, they might be enforcing that rule.) Think I've got some shoelaces in my tool bag. I wear full gauntlets, and even though I put a lanyard on the sword, I usually don't actually put my han...

Adriano

A company called Malco makes a product that fits on a regular drill and turns it into a power shear: http://www.malcotools.com/products/snips/ts1.htm . But the ad only says 20 gauge, and I don't know how much it costs.

Adriano

Now that I've thought about it, I'm withdrawing my objections. Y'all may continue to use the thrust. You're welcome.

(If we can have 5th Century Byzantines fighting Landsknechts, I guess we can have thrusting as well.)

Adriano

Those whalebone swords covered with parchment -- I'm pretty sure those weren't used in battle. That would be silly.

There were some specialized items used in judicial duels that were probably not in military use.

Adriano

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>personally I'd be happy if they were banned in tourneys." Why?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Just a personal feeling; I don't have a detailed argument to back it up. I know that thrusting was, historicall...

Adriano

I used to use two rattan swords, essentially doing saber fencing with either hand. I gave it up because it just doesn't make sense in a milieu of armoured combat. Never did use thrusting tips, and personally I'd be happy if they were banned in tourneys.

Adriano

It might look good to have a plastron covering the belly over the brigandine; then you could just have brigandine plates covering the chest. Anyway, it looks good in the pictures I've seen.

Adriano

Congratulations, Lyonnete; I'm sure you look great in a red belt.

Adriano

I've also read that in Outremere, both the Crusaders and their adversaries did their campaigning in winter as much as possible, and did their best to wait out the summer in the shade. I'll second the cotton or linen gambeson advice; makes a real difference. When the gambeson gets soaked with sweat (...

Adriano

I was guilty of something like this, last weekend at Red Tower. I was using two axes; my opponent had sword and shield. He legged me, then stepped in with a blow that came down on my right shoulder as I stabbed him in the chest with my left-hand axe. It was something called a "speed tourney", and I ...

Adriano

In a small melee once, I thought an opponent was coming up behind me. I spun around and snapped a blow right into a tree. Then I pretended I hadn't done that.

Adriano

I wear steel-toed workboots. Obviously, not authentic, but very protective and provide excellent ankle support and traction. But after seeing some of the nice period boots at Red Tower last weekend, I'm thinking about going that way. ------------------ "Come, winds! Blow, wrack! At least we'll die w...

Adriano

I made a COP using nautical vinyl, and using 6d hot galvanized nails for rivets. Seemed to work pretty well. Obviously, not an authentic material.

Adriano

Okay, let's hope this thread stays up. I used two swords for years, but finally became dissatisfied because it seemed too inauthentic. I don't use a shield, so I've been using great weapons for a while, which is fun, but I missed having a weapon in each hand. So I just recently made an axe and a mac...