The Armour Archive

Sean Powell

A shaped leather case such as those used for carrying wax tablets is perfectly period for her and there are surviving examples in the Met. Thanks for the lead. the term "Cuir bouilli" found a bunch including at least 1 that was labeled 14th century rather then 15. No closer dating however. That cov...

Sean Powell

The only way I know of is with a V shaped swadge block. You might carefully turn a round into a hexagon but there needs to be something on the other side to take the impact.

Profesionally they would probably roll it but I don't know any sources for triangular stock.

Good luck!
Sean

Sean Powell

I'll need to get details on persona but I believe she portrays merchant class, something in the wool processing, spinning, dying and weaving profesion. A girdle book wouldn't be inappropriate (I think). Drawstring purses and baskets with a little loose cloth thrown on top are already in use. I think...

Sean Powell

How good are those XRF guns? Do they distinguish all the elements? What sort of accuracy can you expect? Will the guy at the local scrap yard have a good one?....or is going to have a cheapy that barely tells brass from bronze? Do any or you guys have any personal experiences of them? Thanks! Mac N...

Sean Powell

Hello, A good friend is at least as much of a stickler for time period and documentation for kit as I am. She has seen a really nice girgle book that is actually a disguise for a cell-phone. As a parent it is some times necessary to 'gently remind' kids to come back to camp or similar. She would lik...

Sean Powell

Some discussion parallel to ours at a Landsknecht Forum Also here is a zoomable version of Moroni's Knight Nice! Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to grab up the image to crop up a detail. http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t239/Eliz-Rivenstar/Seans%20Shop/MoronisKnightZoom_zps6bfac804.png It l...

Sean Powell

Some discussion parallel to ours at a Landsknecht Forum Also here is a zoomable version of Moroni's Knight Nice! Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to grab up the image to crop up a detail. It looks to me like he is wearing a sleeveless vest-like garment with the mail pointed to it. The medial e...

Sean Powell

Sorry. Horn = horn of anvil.

I was curious what tools you used to shape the steel over.

I am very impressed with the brass you are very patient. I would hire someone with a laser to cut it for me as I am lazy.

Sean

Sean Powell

:) One of the things I'm jealous of if my wife and womens access to period shoes. Every couple of months some fashion designer out there will be inspired by or re-invision (Copy and rip-off are so pedantic) some time period and duplicate the shoes. It's usually 18th - 19th century but my wife has fo...

Sean Powell

I appreciate any armorer who photographs his work next to a glass of red wine instead of a can of soda. :) It has a very nice anticlastic shape. Do you mind showing us the horn or tool you shape this over? Is it custom for vamplates or is it just a straight pipe? Also, where did you find such beauti...

Sean Powell

Flute after, always after. The flutes will set the shape and make rolling nearly impossible. If it's riveted shut then the flutes can't open it up... also if the flutes go in hot they won't open it up either.

You need and offset stake, think dog-leg but with a chisel top rather then a ball.

Sean

Sean Powell

I liked Schreiber's lame idea. This is my first pass at the pattern. It's sort of like sabatons but they bend the other way. Perhaps some strips across the knuckle joints like Wades? I put a strip around the wrist to help rivet it together and hide the sins. It will probably take several more attem...

Sean Powell

He wants a round faced bascinet 1410ish. Cool. The images he sent me are off tapestries that look cartoony, not much detail. Gruber, Let's see those tapestries, cartoony or not. If anyone has any good examples, original or recently built, Unfortunately, very little has survived from 1410(ish), but,...

Sean Powell

Send Freeman a post through the archive. I don't know where in Germany he is but he can give some great suggestions. My "trick" for dealing with jetlag was the 36 hour day. I'd nap an hour or 2 on the plane then hit the ground running 6am Swiss time and push all day and go to sleep on their schedule...

Sean Powell

Let me see what I can find at home. They are deceptively complex, especially in the 'flyer'. The wheel itself is simple by comparison. There are lots of wheel styles from modern to historic. The most historic ones are walking wheels where you manipulate the great wheel with one hand and control the ...

Sean Powell

The integral hinges have 4 knuckles, 2 per side and what appear to be 2 flush rivet heads visible on the inside in line with the notches (not the knuckle as I would have guessed) but from the outside I can't find a hint or trace of them. Are these rivets or the shadow of some other feature. If rivet...

Sean Powell

River hell. It’s an ANVIL! It’s not even a crappy cast-iron ASO from China, it’s a dedicated armorers anvil. Do you know how many tools I had to buy to equal the functionality of this tool? I must have already spent 4-5 times as much on multiple tools because something like this wasn’t available. It...

Sean Powell

Suspended from the lower fauld lame. Look at several of the images here: http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=21152 We get a little surviving mail and a lot of faulds with a line of rivets along the bottom edge. Wade WOW! Much appreciated. I need to go through those imaages on a better mon...

Sean Powell

Hal, Congratulations! If you hardened the flat section and softened the edge of the rolling groove you will have re-invented the anvil... with an anticlastic horn. Honestly I love it. No use for it but I love it.

Sean Powell

Tom, I am pretty sure that the normal thing is for the second layer to be attached to the lower edge of the fauld. A mail skirt plus a fringe of mail on the fauld gives us the usual two layers. Mac Lower edge of the fauld or lower edge of the BP where the rivets for the mounting strip would be hidd...

Sean Powell

The harder it is to work the better it is to wear. What you wanted to fight in plastic and alluminum?

S~

Sean Powell

I went to a treadle hammer 35 years ago. plans are available through ABNA. johan, can you tell me more about it? What is ABNA? I am not sure, I could manage to build such a machine, but I would like to think about it. Best Regards, Grischa I believe he means AB A NA. Artist-Blacksmith's Association...

Sean Powell

B3 is overkill except for experienced armorers who work hot or have access to heavy trip-hammers. It will cut the thinner stuff but not in intricate shapes like a smaller shear will. That means it's for production of ACL helms and breastplates but a poor choice for gauntlets. I found one on craigsli...

Sean Powell

Azmreece, Welcome to the archive. I'm sure everyone who has made armor and many who have not all have an opinion about what makes the best patterns. Then again opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and they all stink. :) The best advice is to cut some steel and play with it. It's hard to math...

Sean Powell

I'm going to recommend picking a project and buying or building just enough tools to do that project. Yes it's good to keep an open mind and not buy a 16ga max tool when you expect to do 12ga in the future but if you are making spaulders (a good first project) then you don't necessarily need long-ne...

Sean Powell

I'm having trouble following what you are doing mathematically with the Marine, but camera distortion is certainly an issue. As far as I can tell, the camera is about level with his chin and bout 8 feet away. That's going to make a difference in the torso proportion, and absolutely bollocks the leg...

Sean Powell

No, Elbows aren’t accurate. It’s not just the Clavicle but that the shoulder is a ball and plane joint rather than a ball in socket like the hip. Using the picture of the marine I printed, his left shoulder is 1/8 higher than his right which sets his left elbow 1/8 higher in response. Given the asym...

Sean Powell

There is less vaqriation in arm length to torso length then you might think. There is more variation in location of belly button. Start at your elbow and find your lowest rib. You have minimal flex in the Thorasic region of your spine (ribs) so everything above the lowest floating rib should be rigi...

Sean Powell

Bacinate or Kettle: http://armourinart.com/115/155/ http://armourinart.com/8/11/ http://armourinart.com/2/4/ (with simple shoulder cops and maybe some spaulders) http://armourinart.com/138/199/ (and some simpler spaulders in this one) http://armourinart.com/19/23/ Be careful with some of these. Wha...

Sean Powell

Sean, that's a good point. I was thinking it might be a garment made for baton use. No need to change the male to female button hole direction. When did that start, I wonder? I'll check with my wife in the morning but I believe that the reversed buttons @ holes for ladies dress is very modern, circ...

Sean Powell

@Sean, Do you have notes that say which sleeve had the rivet points in, and which had them out? Mac Sorry, I do not. I am also not close enough to Philly to check the display if it is on display again. Concerning speculation that this may be for fencing because the left rear panel is unpadded imply...

Sean Powell

And/or attached to the maile or to the same anchoring points as the maile. Do we know that the maile braise were pointed up vs belted?

Sean

Sean Powell

rom Jay Travis's FB page: 9 hours ago: He is conscious, alert, and talking. He is in ICU for tonight and will be moved to a normal room in the morning. 1 hour ago: Feral had a blood clot on his brain they performed surgery to drain the clot. He is resting. Far as we know he did not have a stroke. Sean

Sean Powell

I recall that one sleeve had the rivet points in and one the rivet points out. That caused some speculation about if there was a proper orientation. Points out might protect the fabric better but no one attending that day had any solid evidence, just speculation. Piere Terjan (sp?) did not imply tha...

Sean Powell

I like having my hand very close to the shield for balance. My sport shield uses a hockey glove with all the padding over the meta-carpals and half the wrist removed. 1 layer of leather between me and the aluminum. Stings occasional but better performance. My hand protection for demos is a partial l...

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