The Armour Archive

mattmaus

James B. wrote: It was also very heavy. It was most unconfortable. I would only recommend one it that is all you can afford. Lets face it too, they don't look nice, they are ugly.

Ever feel like you're talking to bricks?

mattmaus

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... ce&s=video

Looks like amazon does not cary it, but may have it listed used...

But The publisher has them.

http://www.paladin-press.com/SearchResu ... =hrisoulas

mattmaus

Mattmaus, how about my 641 layer knife I forged last September? (20, 40, 80, 160, 320, stuck a piece of file in the center to make the edge---641) Math is perfect... the world sometimes isn't. Since it is an ambiguous term I try to use terms that can't be confused: pattern welded and wootz. Many re...

mattmaus

So how is it going to stand up to combat if I can just bend it with the strength of my arms? Won't my armor get dents easily? Though I'm using foam weapons. Depends. Mostly... leverage. I can bend armor sized peices of 12 gauge steel over the horn of my anvil. I can dent the same with a rattan swor...

mattmaus

Yeah...

well...

it's not a trapper keeper!!!!

Nice work and a cool idea.

mattmaus

I wish some of you guys forging knives and swords would make a video of it and sell for a fair price on the A/A Jim Hrisoulas has a video out on it. It's a 2 vhs set. I thought it was a bit steep/pricey before I ordered it. I've about worn it out, and have yet to get tired of watching it. It's a ne...

mattmaus

Cool...

out of curiosity tho... I'm trying to wrap my head mathematicly around 130 layers....

130/2=65 65/2=32.5 no...can't have a half layer...

130/3= 43.33 Um... nope.. no 3rds of layers either...

I'm confused.

mattmaus

Danke

That's exactly what I needed.

mattmaus

Can any of the Knifemakers who post here direct me to a supplier of 1095 or similar, in sizes and quantities suitable for someone who wants to play at general knife making as well as pattern welding.

Thanks...

mattmaus

The official way to do it according to the manual you'll get with a saw says to clamp it down to plywood, and cut the plywood along with the metal. I can't afford that much plywood. The next best thing is to clamp it down and keep your cut as close to the edge of your cutting bench as possible. Don'...

mattmaus

Oh, everything's right, then! I always thought getting flashed was much more dangerous than that. Thanks for the info, I might buy one now Ever been snow blind? That's probably much more dangerous than welding flash for a few seconds. While you really don't want to stare at the bright light from th...

mattmaus

InsaneIrish wrote:I might still be interested in a Burgonette.

Yes I've got you on my mental list. Yours was the difficult engineering one with removable buffe. I still have your pdf sketches.

mattmaus

I am horrible at keeping track at stuff. Several people from the archive have in the past contacted me ragarding potential comissions (mostly for burgonets). If you're one of those people you got my standard "I'm a flake, I'll get it done some day, don't send money till I'm done" speach. A personal ...

mattmaus

On the other hand, I do have a very good jigsaw with metal cutting blades. That's what I used before I got my shear. But how thick will it cut??? If it really is a good saw, pretty darn thick. My Bosch regularly does 12 gauge and 1/8inch without a complaint. It can be slow.. and eats blades, and ta...

mattmaus

Nozzle dip is your friend, and well worth the $5. on a little welder like you have a shade 10 should be plenty. If you start getting headaches while welding it would be the 3rd thing to change. The first would be, more ventilation, the second would be drink more water. Wear sleeves, even if it's hot...

mattmaus

It is my opinion that both sets of blades tht *I* got for *MY* hf shear were improperly, or incompletely heat treated. They're too brittle. One might suggest tossing them in the oven for a few. Without knowing exactly wht steel they're using I couldn't say for sure. I soffened mine coincidentaly by ...

mattmaus

I pretty much only use brass rivets for decorative purposes. I personaly don't trust them for a lot of things. But I tend to be paranoid and run to the overkill side of the spectrum. If I make a spangen helm for sca use, it's a 2 part bowl, welded inside and out, with spangen bands fitted to the bow...

mattmaus

Commence thread derailment sequence accompianied by minor rant: Is there an e-bay rule that says if I'm going to model mail in a picture for an auction that I have to be nude underneath so everyone can see my flabby man-boobs? WTF? Why the hell does every monkey trying to pawn a chain shirt have to ...

mattmaus

Ceddie wrote:If you had to think about it, the shot was_____________ .
Why?

I dunno... where did it hit me? In general it was probably light. but there are a lot of exceptions to the rule.

Like... my arms. very heavily armored... can't feel anything. If it hits it's good.

mattmaus

So... found this...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 82138&rd=1

I'm not the expert... but looks pretty good. Price seems... steep for buckles... but not terrible for more 'authentic' ones.

Wotcha think?

mattmaus

A picture is worth a thousand words OR a thousand dollars You're absolutely right.... I will not try to sell something online if I do not have a web accessable photo. It's not worth the effort. It's my own shopping habits that determine this. If I don't see a picture, I'm not buying it period. If I...

mattmaus

Halberds wrote:Ps: Planishing a breastplate sucks too.

Why yessir... yessir it does.

Something that made it a LOT easier/faster for me was inverse planishing.

Make sure you're anvil is nice and shiny, then planish from the inside.

mattmaus

I was just thinking of making my arms and legs out of plastic. How do you shape the Plastic? Grendal If it's a barrel, you can spot heat with a heat gun (paint stripper) or heat a whole peice in the oven. 250 for 3-5 minutes. Then hold it till it cools. It's HOT so wear some gloves. In my experienc...

mattmaus

PS Matt, my experience has been 100% different from your statement. Did Sir Haroun use the early (thin) batches of "auk" plates? My "newcastle" plates are quite thick and sturdy. Um... I don't know if they are 'auk' or not. I'm not the guy to ask about lamellar plates They're tiny little buggers th...

mattmaus

Realisticly, the noble plastics lamelar will not be enough to protect you from injury at all. Sir Haroun wears this over heavy leather (not hardened) and at one time said something to me along the lines of "Yeah.. if I got hit as much as some of these other guys, I'd be pissing blood." It simply isn...

mattmaus

According to the description you gave of the helm, you have a lap joint and technically, according to the rules (as specified by: iii. Lap joints, welded or brazed at the edges of both pieces.) it is not legal. Wrong. Read my post again. What the rules state is you can have any kind of seam lap or ...

mattmaus

Got no idea what the holes are for....

looks more like a backplate though.... Maybe I'm nuts.

mattmaus

They look really nice.

I would think that even with heavy grinding/planishing cheat, 16 gauge would be overkill.

mattmaus

Here is the section, from p. 17, Armor Standards, of the Meridies Marshalls Handbook, Helms section: iii. Lap joints, welded or brazed at the edges of both pieces. Is what you're reading, and getting the idea that the weld should be on both sides. ii. Welded with a single bead that extends through ...

mattmaus

I'd just never heard it called that before.

Where I'm at we don't worry bout roo's... it's the deer that jump out in front of ya!

mattmaus

A 'roo' bar? that's funny.

mattmaus

Sheep:
It's obvious that he's using the legs as forming stakes, and the body just makes a convenient base with which to mount them... yeah.... or... maybe not.

Armor:
Am I seeing things funny? or is that a clear plastic brig?

mattmaus

What AB said and was echoed is pretty much the case. There's no such thing as an expiration date on a weld. If your helm were sitting on a shelf for the past 6 years rather than being fought in, there would be no cracks. As it has been fought in, it has had a great deal of stress placed upon it over...

mattmaus

I do have to say it is always embarrasing to go to a demo and watch someone pull sports gear, Ashcraft-Baker or your gear out of a bag for the demo. Why? Because the stuff is ugly, and of non-period appearance. The SCA is a recreation group attempting to recreate the Middle Ages, so when someone wa...

mattmaus

Mattmaus, I don't think that the SCA should be playing any particular game, I just don't think they should call themselves a recreation group if they're not trying to recreate anything. I'm not in the SCA any longer so I don't actually care what or how they play, I was just piping up in the spirit ...

Steel Sources... Attn. Knifemakers

Attempting to maintain a decent name for myself.

Re: (SCA) finish this sentence

More e-bay horror... or... not?

Re: A picture is worth a thousand words or a thousand dollar

Re: Ok, done.