The Armour Archive

lorenzo2

The metal moves in the direction perpendicular to the long axis of the hammer face. What is shown on the age of armour site is all done cold so the metal only moves a short way. If you want the metal to move more you will need heat.

lorenzo2

Kase, those are the inside of ball valves. I have got a 2" and a 3" made into stakes. They work great but are a bit louder than solid balls. Best place to find them is at junk yards. If they will let you just take them apart at the yard so you don't have to pay for the parts you don't want.

lorenzo2

I find this barbute intimidating in aspect, yet elegant in form. It's on display at the Met. When I saw this it was love at first sight. Someday I will make this helm.

http://home.armourarchive.org/members/l ... rinth2.jpg

lorenzo2

Wcallen, you said "Just to be more interesting, the cut out you see on the ends of middle and main plates are there so that the plates can be set up as a series of rings and still bend. If you don't notch the top corner of the plate, the plate inside it prevents it from opening." So, to be...

lorenzo2

Thanks Wcallen for being so generous with those pics. They are most instructive

lorenzo2

Thanks James, interesting pics!

lorenzo2

For a classical name you would do alot better to go to a source like Thucydides (SP?) history of the peleponesian wars. This source is full of good names with interesting stories attached. You will also see the same name repeated often for different people giving you some idea of how common certain ...

lorenzo2

Well said Sir Gaston, ignorance is the enemy. There are manylegitamate reasons for diverging from authentic practices, such as safety. However, does not change one's obligation to know as much as possible about the medieval pieces so the divergences are small and deliberate, not large and haphazard.

lorenzo2

Interesting, thanks!

lorenzo2

Chef; here is the part of the Rene text I was refering to. Over this they put on vambraces and rerebraces of cuir boulli, reinforced with five or six small rods the thickness of a finger, glued on, that run the length of the arm just to the joints. This is not the part that references the picture of...

lorenzo2

Wow! What a project. Will there be a breastplate to go with it?

lorenzo2

Looking at the unfinished ones it appears your pattern has a smooth curve where the fan joins the elbow and you latter trim this to a 90 degree angle after you are done shapping the fan. I have had problems with cracking at the join because my pattern has the ninety degree angle that the finished p...

lorenzo2

The 15th century Rene de Anjou refers to splinted tournament armor for the arms and has some shown in illustrations. However, what is shown here does not look like what is shown or described by Rene. I do think that fashion is part of answer here, IE decoration added to what is likely a solid piece ...

lorenzo2

Chef,

If you recall last year you and Peder suggested I do more reading on medieval topics, not just armour. So, I did

lorenzo2

In any case, the numbers, while interesting, are really besides the point. Whether the numbers were large or small, production methods were what they were. Evidence of demand is not evidence of production methods.

lorenzo2

I believe the pic represents the ages of man, child, youth, adult, and old. This is a common theme in several medieval texts and I have seen several similar illuminations in other sources. As to the splint vs covered armour I think it is more likely decorated or covered plate. Splint often seems to ...

lorenzo2

I like it a lot although I can see what you mean about the visor. Its nice but not as nice as the rest.

lorenzo2

Nice work on the mockup. Can't wait to see more progress pics.

lorenzo2

Alcy; There are numerous helmets in the Chalcis find that are on display at athens that are of multiple pieces. Ive seen them. The question is were there bascinets with two piece tops. If there were it does not appear that any survive. Some illustrations look like they might be two piece. They also ...

lorenzo2

That is cool. I have seen some pics of medieval diving suits as well. Can't remember the web site though.

edited
http://www.middelaldercentret.dk/projectindex.htm

lorenzo2

Cannon, those are nice images but rather late for the timeline requested.

lorenzo2

http://www.primitiveways.com/processing_sharkskin.html

Edited, looks like someone beat me to it.

lorenzo2

This is the steel they are talking about. http://www.suppliersonline.com/propertypages/4130.asp

It is used in repairs of aircraft and is often available from companies that supply aircraft components to those working on private airplanes. I just bought some from aircraft spruce. Haven't had a chance to experiment with it yet though.

lorenzo2

I think these came out pretty well. If I understand correctly you are using leather articulation throughout? You may wish to consider sliding rivets for the rear articulation and leather in front and middle. There are a number of historical pieces that use this and it also looks very nice.

lorenzo2

Nice project! Have you considered making the rest of the suite seen in "Wrath" to make a matching set?

lorenzo2

If the grips are positioned such that the hand is within the hollow shaped by the bump then the shield is carried from a location closer to its center of gravity. Carrying an object from its center of gravity makes it easier to tip it in a desired direction. This may not be an advantage with the lar...

lorenzo2

For 1976 those are astonishing!

lorenzo2

Zaneto,

Thanks, gives me some things to think about when designing my own.

lorenzo2

Dura,

Is there an inside pic of the 16th cent cop? Did you examine it and where is the weld? Also, are we sure it was welded and not brazed? There are several we documented german suites with brazed cops.

lorenzo2

So the burner shield touches the piece to hold it in place if the piece will not balance on its own?

lorenzo2

Dura, I think there are two questions here. The first is could they have done it? The data and theories you are adressing all revolve around this question. There is certainly enough data both in the existing helms and in the various theories you have on technique to answer that as yes. However, the ...

lorenzo2

That is a nice solution to a problem we all have. Question, is there any problem with holding the piece in place while heating? How do you do it when the piece does not want to stay put on the base plate? Please keep us posted on your experiments with smaller diameter heating. That is a problem I ha...

lorenzo2

Is anyone able to view the forge pics? I can't.

lorenzo2

Someone pointed out to me that there are some existing norwegian spangen kettle hats that appear to be either 13th or 14th century. Not evidence of spangen bacinets but at least some armorers were using the technique on less expensive pieces.

lorenzo2

I like the piece a lot. Have you started on the back yet? What welding techniques did you use?