The Armour Archive

lorenzo2

I too have used the pitch from Northwest and found it to be excelent and reasonably priced! Delivery was also prompt.

lorenzo2

I have an old jewelry making book at home that shows a comercial microwave furnace for melting precious metals. So, I think in concept the article is "real". However, the home version sounds "real" dangerous. Try telling your insurance company that you burned down your house by disabling the safety ...

lorenzo2

Wow, nice! Can you post some more pics from other angles? I would love to see the inside and top views.

lorenzo2

Really nice! Leather armor is so rarely done right. Around here leather armor usually means Road Warrior or Xena.

lorenzo2

I love the way that came out and the way the curve of the inner part of the brim meets the bowl of the helmet is particularly nice. What sort of stake did you raise the inner rim of the brim against, some type of saddle stake?

lorenzo2

I agree, the article is quite interesting. There are a couple of nice pics of fellows arming up or armed in pre-roman armor that are quite nice also.

lorenzo2

Ren, just tried the instructions on my dress shoes (I'm at work). They work fine. Skip the word "tense" and just use the left hand to make sure that both the over and under that you tied first and the loop you formed with the index and middle fingers stay put. As luck would have it I did fine in boy...

lorenzo2

Black swan, could the osprey title be Armies of the German Peasants War 1524-26 or The Hussite Wars 1419-36? I would like to purchase the book but want to be more certain I am getting the right one.

Cet, interesting that the linen is cut on the bias.

lorenzo2

Another thing to consider is linings. There are several 15th cent italian paintings that show light colored linings on the top portions of both joined and split hosen. The usual interpretation of these is that the upper portion of the hose are lined with linen. Of course since we can't see inside th...

lorenzo2

As I was saying if we can rely on the article. . . I would be illingto believe that the grave goods associated with the body give some evidence that some women were armed in life. However, as Mathew pointed out grave goods alone don't prove even this assertion.

lorenzo2

In the book Stepping Through Time there is a frequency chart of medieval shoe sizes from archeological finds vs modern shoe sizes. The average modern shoe is indeed a bit bigger than the average medieval shoe. However, the bell shaped curve for shoe sizes is not steeply peaked. In other words there ...

lorenzo2

Yes, if we can rely on the facts of the article, remains of women, found associated with arms then we can only conclude that some women were armed. Of course cerimonially armed is not the same thing as being armed for soldiering. As to the gladitorial role, it is my understanding that some roman tex...

lorenzo2

I agree thats coming along nicely. One thing does worry me a bit though. The upper corner of the front arm cut out looks a bit sharp. Hopefully when you make the gorget you will be able to position it so the corner of the cut out does not jab you when you swing.

lorenzo2

Nice progress pics. I would work on raising out the ankle bone areas on each side as well since these will rub painfully when worn. An anealing followed by some cold work should do the trick.

lorenzo2

There is a ragment on display at the Met that has a cover of what appearsto be linen with a fine lozenge pattern woven into it. The current color is a sort of redish. Other fragments are kind of greenish. Not sure what the colors looked like originally. Mr. Justus (??) posted a cloe up some time bac...

lorenzo2

Please explain why this is in the Research and Authenticity forum.

lorenzo2

Brian and James, thanks for the expanation on the compression articulation on the arm. Do you know if that is the only piece of that particular armor that remains?

lorenzo2

The lines look very nice but need better pics to make a more refined critique. Perhaps some pics taken outside would be better lit? Will this be for SCA or something else? Also, it would be nice to see how the pauldrons and armet fit on as well.

lorenzo2

Brian, incredible work, we appreciate it! Some of the stuff is just wild! That arm in pic 1176 is unlike anything I have seen before. What century is it from? If I had seen it in a movie I would have immediately thought Japanese anime, not actual armor. I can't even figure out how the elbow joint wo...

lorenzo2

Over the holiday I had the oportunity to stop by Ugos temporary shop (on shared with a friend). Here are pics of a few items he was working on. Pics 33-39 are some SCA finger gauntlets. 40-42 are arms with compression articulation and rotating cuffs at shoulder and wrist. This arm will be part of th...

lorenzo2

I'm not sure the reply from Thomas on sliding rivets is clear. The common way to do these (both in period and on most reproductions) was sliding rivets for the rear, leathers for the front. Sometimes additional leathers were used in the middle. Some period armors have a line of false rivets in the f...

lorenzo2

Signo, I can't speak to what most people do. However, with most pieces I dish in the area that needs the most dishing, but not to the final depth. Then I curl to come closer to the final shape. Then I dish some more, especially in the areas that were not dished in the first phase. Repeat until the f...

lorenzo2

James, will the client permit a pic of the harness that the gaultlets are to go with to be shown? It would be very interesting to see them in context. Also, is the quality of the etching on the gauntlets better than on the harness? Several original suites I have seen have etching that is certainly n...

lorenzo2

Thomas/Rod, thanks for those interesting pics. Anything at the museum that is mid/late 15th cent? I seem to remember a composite suite with unusual pauldrons and a pointy sallet. . .

lorenzo2

Read through the museum of london book Shoes and Pattens or Stepping Through Time. These books review literally thousands of medieval shoes that have been found. None of these have glued on soles. "Style" is the operative word in what you have been told. What ever the class presented it was almost c...

lorenzo2

Roderick, now I understand, the lames serve the same function as a tulip shaped flare seen on many vambraces

lorenzo2

No worries, spend your time getting better! My kid recently had the flu, Yuk! I sent an E-mail to the address in your profile.

lorenzo2

Ugo, at the West Coast Armor In you mentioned that it might be possible to visit your shop some time when I was in town. I will be in town for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Is there a time over that Weekend that would be convenient?

lorenzo2

Roderick,
I see it now. That is very odd. I don't understand how the extra hinge would articulate given that the vambrace is fixed to the lames of the elbow articulation.
Thanks!

More of these interesting Pics coming?

lorenzo2

Roderick please explain, you mean the rearbrace or vambrace of the arm harness has two lames on the hinged portion? That would be very odd. Or, do you mean the back of the leg harness has two hinged lames, which would be a fairly common italian 15th cent construction.

lorenzo2

Basic armor tutorial including simple helms. Not super historic but a good starting point. Down load may take a while. http://armour.brighthelm.org/Basic-Armouring.pdf

lorenzo2

Roderick, please display the additional arm and leg pics for all. The fan on the arm is particularly interesting.

lorenzo2

check out caswell plating website. They have USA, Canada, and UK distribution outlets. They call the item expanding sander wheel i believe

lorenzo2

Shun! On a previous thread he so angered Chef that Chef threw down th gantlet and insisted on a course of lances to prove before god and the Archive that he was in the Right! The material on the site is proof how a tiny bit of study and a great opinion of one's self can bea dangerous combination.

lorenzo2

Some old time blacksmiths used to wrap chains around the base of the anvil to dampen the ringing. Depending on where the switch is on your grinder a heavy bit of chain wrapped around the base might dampen the vibration sufficiently that you no longer excite the bench to its natural frequency. The ab...

Ugo shop stop

Paging Ugo, Paging Ugo