The Armour Archive

Signo

Don't worry Mac, probably even master armourers of old had the same problem, I think that is the real reason for them to travel all across europe to open new shops! The occasional view of their first pieces in town was simply unbearable.

Signo

Sometimes they come back.

Signo

It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock&roll.... but it seems you are on the right highway..... to hell.

Signo

Gloves, especially those thick leather gloves perfect for holding the piece you are beating, make you lose all your sensitivity and precision, so you end holding the hammer too strong or the hammer will keep to offset in your hands at each blow. I decided that hammers and swords should be handled th...

Signo

Have you considered the idea to shrink the point more , cut it shorter, then close the hole that you would have from the cut?

Signo

Very nice craftmanship, but I feel that the skull shapes are a bit caricatural. Don't know if this can describe how I perceive it.

Signo

Clean it and use it for the purpose it was made for, both of you will be happy.

Signo

But the question is : those illuminations depict an actual kind of training, or maybe some sort of allegorical figure or a simple and plain humorous joke?
How could we know?

Signo

Me want too.

Signo

With cast I was meaning more about the molten state of the steel that it's carbon content. Blast furnaces appear to have been able to melt cast iron and then decarburize it before pouring.

Signo

I think it depend on when they were produced and the kind of stake, because forged bloomery iron would be an obvious choice for the XIII century, but I think cast iron could have been a possibility for XV° century, for larger items.

Signo

In sweden there should be some shop that produce it. It's quite expensive, I remember years ago someone mentioned this shop that made steel with traditional techniques. In Italy is almost impossible to get plain carbon steel in sheets, so I don't even dare to ask if someone know wrought iron. Somewh...

Signo

The most important "feature" is slag content, much more than carbon or other elements. It's the slag content that from one side will make cold working an hassle and at the same time allow for easier forgewelds, allowing to take several shortcuts in the production process.

Signo

Ciao Augusto. I would suggest you to think very well what you plan to do. Obviously you are young, and have options that most don't have, so you have space to make plenty of errors in your life. So you should really think if it's more important to do what please you, or make it for a living. I "live...

Signo

Gustovic, sell that shit as it is and go for some serious stuff built from some serious armourers. You already paid too much for something that is worth no more than 300 euros. More than this, you don't want to partecipate in a serious combat with a faceplate that is just bend metal over the knee. I...

Signo

Maybe the Chartres arms work because a child has different proportions than an adult, so, the problem is much less an issue.

Signo

I am glad that I am not obliged to try to explain it in Swedish. My hat is off to anyone who can communicate in something other than their native tongue. We English-speakers are spoiled. Mac Consider it a small effort compared to the chance to be able to get in touch with people like you (and many ...

Signo

If I understand the strap problem, there should be a sweet spot where the straps need to remail the same length for all the motion travel, put the strap behind, and it will bend on itself when your arm is straight, put them ahead of the sweet spot and the same will occur when the arm is bent. The pr...

Signo

Wow, how long does it took once the cone was fixed to the stake to obtain the final shape?

Signo

WOW! The wiki article has this picture:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... 8-2%29.jpg

Signo

The purpose of those mail drape that you see from time to time hanging from demigreaves, has always puzzled armour students. Fashion? Function? Both? Probably the issue won't be solved today, but I had this idea. http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/263/PreviewComp/SuperStock_263-438.jpg http://...

Signo

Rings are too big for that application.

Signo

Instead of spinning a flat sheet of metal, what about spinning a pipe section closed? The overall amount of work needed in much smaller, and the hole at the top can easily vanish if the process is done right with a very small welding point. Something like that, just bigger http://www.t-drill.com/tmp...

Signo

This is very interesting, I often try to "think out of the box" with stuff like that, but I've never seen this concept applied this way.
I know there are several ways to unwrap a 3D volume in a flat surface, it is a very fascinating mental exercise.

Signo

Spiffy! The problem is that you can probably make a decent armour out of toilet paper.

This doesn't mean we could too.

Signo

Amazing, Mac, and wcallen, how do you think they shaped those little plates? Do you think they stamped them or what ?

Signo

Tom, maybe I didn't understood well, but the sole you posted, is of the type I was referring to. The stitches protude only on the upper side. You can see that it's the upper side, because the stitches pulled the sole edge upward under the tension of the now missing vamp. So, in this piece, the stitc...

Signo

Tom, maybe I didn't understood well, but the sole you posted, is of the type I was referring to. The stitches protude only on the upper side. You can see that it's the upper side, because the stitches pulled the sole edge upward under the tension of the now missing vamp. So, in this piece, the stitc...

Signo

So, when on miniatures we see all those golden armour parts, we can think it's bronze and not gold plating ?

Signo

Mac, how do you avoid that the round head rivets cut through the leather? I suppose the leather should not pull on the heads to avoid this. How do you evaluate if the risk is there and how you counter it?
Thanks

Signo

From the shape of the picture, it look like the front of the shoe, this look like a right foot sole, what doesn't fit my idea of medieval shoemaking is the stitching. I think at the time they used to sew in the thickness of the sole and not through it.

Signo

Wow That's some freaking leverage!

Signo

Thanks, I can still hope to not lose my bet then.

Signo

I bet not, "all leather articulation" make fitting sloppy and cheap.

Signo

Eric , do you have the chance to post such page?

Re: Resurrecting old armor

Re: Resurrecting old armor

Re: The start of a Journey: professional armouring

Re: what is the right way to hold your hammer?

Re: Onion Style Bascinet with progresspics(many) FOR SALE

Re: Onion Style Bascinet with progresspics(many) FOR SALE

Re: The start of a Journey: professional armouring

Re: Wooden Training horse for jousting?

Re: Gas forges/torches

Re: The start of a Journey: professional armouring

Re: The start of a Journey: professional armouring

Re: The start of a Journey: professional armouring

Re: The start of a Journey: professional armouring

Re: The start of a Journey: professional armouring

Re: Summer Project Madness: Resizing my Bascinet!!

Re: Planning 16th century arms

Re: Planning 16th century arms

Re: Planning 16th century arms

Re: Bascinet prototype and "can" or "house" construction

Re: Forging deep vessels

Maile drape in demigreaves

Re: Indian made riveted mail collar

Re: Spun tops as helmet blanks?

Re: Bascinet prototype

Re: Bascinet prototype

Re: Hourglass gauntlet finger

Re: Evidence for hobnails on shoes in 15th century

Re: Evidence for hobnails on shoes in 15th century

Re: Hourglass gauntlet finger

Re: Dusting off the cobwebs

Re: Evidence for hobnails on shoes in 15th century

Re: Forging deep vessels

Re: Dusting off the cobwebs

Re: Dusting off the cobwebs

Re: Forging deep vessels