The Armour Archive

Adriano

It's standard now in Meridies, but I wouldn't use it, even if ordered to do so by the King. In an open field battle, I may go out with two swords or a greatsword and do some rapid flanking from my line's left end. If I can get up behind the enemy, I use standard engagement rules: get his attention, ...

Adriano

Congratulations on the recognition of your quality. Now both Atlantia and Meridies have a Sir Bryce! Someday, every kingdom will have one.

Adriano

Posted by Grainne: It's a poor intellect that can't distinguish between a factual disagreement and a personal affront. Ah, yes. I see you've met Chef. To be fair, it's not a "poor intellect"; more of an idiosyncrasy. One grows accustomed to it. Incidentally, Grainne, thanks for having raised the av...

Adriano

Let's see... it'd be easier to talk about changes in the past twenty years. (Come to think of it, that's worth a separate thread for us old-timers.) In Meridies, the last five years have seen the introduction of low-profile thrusting tips and DKFB (Declared Kill From Behind). The latter was being tr...

Adriano

I think I understand what he means. What I'm wondering about -- this is another helm of "15 gauge". I never saw a reference to 15 gauge until recently, and now there have been a couple of Ebay items that say that. Can you buy 15 gauge steel? I'm fairly ignorant on the subject; it just seems unusual.

Adriano

Halberds and Owen, thank you both for making me laugh out loud.

Adriano

Let me add my voice: the only thing that's gotten real improvement for me is "helmet time", as much as possible. Whenever you can, fight somebody you've never fought before. If there's somebody you can't seem to beat, or who keeps finding an opening you didn't know you had, that's great because you'...

Adriano

Now that I look at it again... once you'd seen that helmet at an SCA war, you'd never forget it!

Adriano

The gentleman selling this ugly helmet may be a bit clueless, but at least, unlike some of the other Ebay vendors we've seen, he's not being fraudulent. Remember the "genuine Roman chainmail"? That guy was as deceitful as a wagonload of monkeys.

Adriano

Okay, I hope I never face the man wearing that helmet in a tourney, because it's too pretty to hit!

Adriano

Meant to add, whatever method you use on the leather, try it out first with some scrap pieces, so you don't waste your nice scales. I've had moderate success with wood hardener.

Adriano

"Duck" is a sturdy cotton cloth; they can help you out at the fabric store. I'd go for sewing to the fabric backing, and maybe use something like the artificial sinew from Tandy instead of regular thread.

Adriano

I'm a little confused at the talk of 150-lb bows. I thought longbows had a draw weight of about 65-80 pounds. Am I misinterpreting? Wouldn't be the first time.

Adriano

He really took that "Abs of Steel!" video seriously...

That's a good-looking corazzina, though.

Adriano

I don't know about Ren Faires, but my guess is that the SCA market for butted mail will decline because: A) It's something that even a dumb stickjock like myself can make at home; and B) If I were going to spend money to buy mail from an artisan, I'd be inclined to save up and buy rivetted.

Adriano

Make that Saturday Night Live in the 1970s; I remember Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi being involved. They also considered the question: "What if Napoleon had had a fully-loaded B-52 at Waterloo?" Apparently he would have blown up the British army. So, there you have it.

Adriano

This reminds me of a sketch they did on Saturday Night Live back in the 1980s. Kirk Douglas was hosting. The sketch consisted of a very serious PBS-style historical show examining the question: "What if Spartacus had had a Cessna airplane?" Apparently Spartacus would have been amazed at how the Roma...

Adriano

I'm not an expert like some of the guys here are, but the Crusaders definitely had rivetted mail. I think one reason you don't (or very rarely) see butted mail historically is that, in the medieval world, iron was very expensive but labor was cheap. Once you've paid for all that iron wire to be draw...

Adriano

The ancients could build pyramids, walls for cities that couldn't be breached, but they couldn't build a horse-shaped box that could hold 50 guys?

Not without help from the space aliens!

Adriano

After some thought, I'm changing my mind, and going with the Romans. I had to stop and think about how Romans really fought, not what Hollywood has given us.

Adriano

In the recent movie Troy, the Horse looked like it was made out of driftwood; nice touch, actually.

Adriano

If "Romans" means soldiers from the early period of the Roman Empire, then one thing they wouldn't have seen before would be cavalry using stirrups. This would be a bit of a surprise. My money is on the Templars if they have a good commander.

Adriano

I made a COP using heavy nautical vinyl (looks like leather). I used 6d hot-galvanized nails for rivets, with #6 washers, and used nail plates with the corners trimmed off for plates. (The prepunched holes in the nail plates exactly fit the 6d nails.) Worked okay at first, but then the material star...

Adriano

Funny -- I had never looked at Viking Leathercrafts before. Now I see it's run by Frank Ireson, AKA Hagan of Vinland from my old shire, Nant-y-Derwyddon. Excellent! I know Frank has been making quality leather armour for a long time because I used to see it close up when he was beatin' on me. I'll b...

Adriano

Sweet! I can just imagine those on my arms, flashing in the sun as I fight two-sword. Sure, I'd still lose, but I'd look good. Is that stainless? How did you do the successive raisings?

Adriano

Animal, Roderick -- this intrigues me, especially since I usually fight with two cross-hilted swords and steel gauntlets. What are the attachment points for the strap?

Adriano

My two cents -- I find that I do most of my gripping with my pinkie fingers, and their immediate neighbors (and thumbs, of course) and keep a loose grip with my index and middle fingers; this allows more flexibility and speed for fast snaps. On the other hand, your experiment reminds me of the "lock...

Adriano

Yep, a good day like that can bring back all the good feelings that got me into the SCA. Last week I got to fight quite a bit with Duke Orlando, which is always fun. Since I met him at my first event in, back in 1980, I found myself reliving a lot of memories. Just glad I can still get in there with...

Adriano

I guess it would depend on the period and region you're interested in. Lamellar seems to work really well for SCA use; it's lightweight, suitable protection and attractive. Here's an article by Duke Cariadoc about water-hardening leather. Small pieces are easier to harden than large ones. I guess th...

Adriano

I thought a "burning wrap" was the new, spicy item from Taco Bell. I'm right-handed, but can do everything except write with my left hand. In the mid-1980's I messed up my right shoulder and started fighting left-handed, using a kite shield on the right arm. Eventually I dropped the shield altogethe...

Adriano

If you've got a military surplus store nearby, they might be worth checking out, at least for comparison. (Though they tend to run more olive drab than forest green...)

Adriano

I'll second the advice to use a smaller inner diameter than 1/2" if you're using 14 gauge wire. I've made two shirts using 14 gauge galvanized and 3/8" ID. Here's the problem -- weight. Butted mail is a lot heavier than rivetted mail because the wire has to be thick enough to hold its shape. My shir...

Adriano

Greatswords. Don't get to do that very often.

Adriano

I remember back in the 1980's, here in Meridies, a few fighters would use two weapons (swords, etc.) and have two little oblong shields strapped to their forearms. This meant their forearms were simply immune to being hit. Haven't seen those in a long time; the current rules wouldn't allow it. I hav...

Adriano

Somebody mentioned bananas -- good because they contain potassium; make sure you get enough of that because you're more likely to get muscle cramps in the heat. I went to my first hot-weather practice of the year on Sunday, and when I got home I cut some vents in my gambeson and shortened the padded...