The Armour Archive

Kilkenny

I was given a tip that to remove zinc from metal, stick it in a rack over a burning pit and leave. Come back after a while and the zinc fumes will be gone. If this is good or not I don't know, but I don't immagine it would be great for the metal in question... Less harmful for the metal than for an...

Kilkenny

Isn't gesso just glue and plaster? -+G Pretty much, yep. Seems that just how thick you mix it, exactly what besides plaster you put in (and exactly what you are calling "plaster"), how long you let it age, all matter in terms of just what you are trying to do with it. Gesso used to prep a surface f...

Kilkenny

"How about using spray contact cement and gluing a nice red velvet on it?" Tried that they came off "Whats wrong with using Gesso??" Nothing Know where i can pick it up? Or and are their any schulptors armoud willing to work for pretty much free on a shield that will be utterly destroyes in 6-8 mon...

Kilkenny

Schreiber:

Make your own choices. Include in that choosing who to trust.

Personally, I choose not to heat zinc.

Gavin

Kilkenny

Recently I've been getting into hardened leather armor making (have done maille for 5-6 years). I started with bracers, then made some formed greaves and recently tried something new, articulating pauldrons. I'm just doing one shoulder first, to avoid wasting leather incase it doesn't turn out well...

Kilkenny

Sabatons? Do you really need to have leather sabatons for a Visigoth? I would look into what they wore, and then wear that. If it is not enough, hide the rest of the armour. Some people will look bad, others will look amazing. Just keep trying to get more historical, and you will help improve the l...

Kilkenny

to use something like what your talking about with the Durrattan you'll have to get special dispensation to by pass this. vii. a. 11. Rattan shall not be treated in any way that will substantially reduce its flexibility. (e.g. treated with wax, resin, fiberglass etc.) without that permission IE ( e...

Kilkenny

I just used the brass for looks instead of the stainless rivets. Brass rivets can shear off in articulating areas, as the steel/stainless can slowly cut through the shaft, but for this purpose are just fine. Also, the customer will probably remove the grill and add the camail to the helm, the brass...

Kilkenny

but do keep in mind that while spellchecking can fix a word you can't quite remember, it isn't editing. Spellchecking too much relied on can make a tome on military history convert, all unknowing, "martial theorists like Clausewitz" into " marital theorists like Clausewitz." Half -witz. Since we're...

Kilkenny

Minamoto makes a kick-a$$ Musculata, IMHO. I've got a new hero. The "Flesh Armour" is one of the single most inspired concepts I have *ever* seen. Great idea that certainly appears in the pictures to be excellently executed. The "Dragon and Snake" is one that is both inspiring and puts me to shame....

Kilkenny

The only thing that leaves me a bit unsure is the colour. How do you mistake yellow/black for pale red??? Pigment oxidation? The lasses who did the Gokstad color analysis work here at the museum, so I'll ask them the next time I bump into them. erk.. arg.. .. just color me green with envy. Wasn't i...

Kilkenny

Are you still talking about leather? And what sort of cuirass do you have in mind ? I think any of the gentles mentioned in this thread could probably make a satisfactory leather cuirass. I know Dan (house of the wolf) has made musculata, since he's posted pix on the archive. Some of us would have a...

Kilkenny

Well how tall are you? 188lbs dosn't sound too healthy for a fully grown man...I don't think anyways. Maybe you're short, like me. Aaron's a lean body type. I know other fellows of his height built on an even leaner model who start looking pudgie at about 165. Personally, I'm probably somewhere bet...

Kilkenny

According to most height and weight charts a "Large frame" 6'1" dude is supposed to weigh between 168 and 192. I wresteled 185 in highschool and was in the best shape of my life, now... not so much But hey, I've only gained 100 lbs since then. -Justus That's most current charts. They keep revising ...

Kilkenny

When I'm on a step of a project I can get over focused and lost in time. When I'm between steps in a project I suffer from 'Shop ADD". It goes something like this: Need to drill a hole. Need to find the right drill bit. Drill bits are in the car with the batery drill. Go to car to get box of tools....

Kilkenny

Sir Hrothgar of Farley. He makes me feel as though I'm a LARPer living in my mother's basement and playing with plastic shields and freon-can helms. One of the founders of St. Michael, he showed up at our first event dressed in a silk cotte with buttons cast to match his badge, with a hand-cast pla...

Kilkenny

Greetings all, In Jess's sword position/power generation/sheildwork thread, I said I find it counter-intuitive to use a sheild set up for a horseman while fighting on foot. Another archiver sent me a PM asking me to elucidate my thoughts on that and i thought it would make for an interesting discus...

Kilkenny

I've been trying to find a Kettle Helm for like...well, forever and if I do come across it, it ends up costing an arm and a leg.Anyone know where I can get one or where I could get one made? Also, I'm looking for some leather armour, preferably black. Anyone know? Spaulders, knee copts/full leg, fu...

Kilkenny

It will be a protective drape, backed with linen/cotten padding. As far as attaching it to the helmet it will either be rivited to it with a brass etched band covering the top portion, or it will be stitched to a peice of leather under said brass band so at a later point i can attach a maille drap ...

Kilkenny

No. A proper sword would have prevented the injury. Not factually correct. A sword that did not break on impact would *also* have prevented the injury. However, the circumstance was one in which the sword *did* break on impact at which point a hard elbow cop would have prevented the injury. We migh...

Kilkenny

Simple and quick question for you all. What ounce of leather would you use for a leather drape off of a helmet? This is for SCA combat. I have 6 to 8 ounce available, but should i use something a little thinner? thanks for the help. Decorative drape, protective ? How will you be attaching it ? Gavin

Kilkenny

Thanks for the pictures! Beautiful pieces, informative images. I'm curious about the German suit with the sallet and bevor - the helm and bevor look awfully tall, the combination seems off to my eye. Compare it to the Milanese sallet and bevor and the difference is dramatic. The Italian tournament s...

Kilkenny

Welcome and well come, Gallus! 1) Dunno, can't say. 2) I'd do it between steps 3 and 4, after the dyeing. Dying is expiring, dyeing makes colors. As you've doubtless noted, it colors your fingers pretty good too. 3) The darker dye in the stamping (technique rather similar to antiqueing), followed b...

Kilkenny

Greetings! I've been reading around here for a bit now, finally signed up. I've recently started getting into leathersmithing and I'm having a blast (tooling is fun!). As a starter project I'm making a pair of demigauntlets. They're all tooled up now and I'm ready to finish them, but I have a few q...

Kilkenny

I think a one-piece greave could be possible to do. You don't need to open it up wide enough to slip over your leg - only wide enough to slip your foot through the narrowest part. Think putting it on like a boot. That should mean it only needs to flex open a bit near the ankle. I don't know if hard...

Kilkenny

One consideration I would like to pose is this, and I understand that it's already in Atlantia, but could a more southern site be looked at? I know I didn't go because a 10-12 hour drive for a weekend event is to much. How far is it for those in the nether regions of the East kingdom? Having lived ...

Kilkenny

Yes, the weather im september is much more predictable, but one to consider is that this event started as a war practice for both armies for pennsic. Being both competitive kingdoms it became a war. Right now my kingdom needs practice more than war. As to the four hour comment, it is just about tha...

Kilkenny

No. A proper sword would have prevented the injury. Not factually correct. A sword that did not break on impact would *also* have prevented the injury. However, the circumstance was one in which the sword *did* break on impact at which point a hard elbow cop would have prevented the injury. We migh...

Kilkenny

I would be willing to bet $$ that the sword that broke had had a line of seatbelt webbing run around the outside of it per the specs in the old KWH, which enabled it to stay in one piece when it flew off. It then flipped around the shield at the break in the rattan while it was held together by the...

Kilkenny

I disagree. We do not wear any gear that functions when it is broken. None. Any protective nature of the gear is null and void when it breaks, and there is no way to try and legislate against that possibility. I also know that my armour was made to block the blows I missed blocks on, not to protect...

Kilkenny

In my younger days street signs were the perfect shields, hell my first helment was made out of a freon can. I still have one of those in my garage. Which is not as scary as Sir TJ's leather helmet....THAT HE STILL USES. Have you looked at that thing ? I wouldn't recommend any Tom, Dick or Harry go...

Kilkenny

As to Egfroth's query, if it's NOT a byrnie plate, what other use involves attaching one or more metal plates to a clothor leather backing? Particularly when we have contemporary illustrations of coats of scales? How for does doubt extend? Is it totally out of court to try to "reconstruct" a byrnie...

Kilkenny

Its pernounced Kelts as far as the historical group of people. The football team pronounces it Selts. Thank you all for your help with this. Football team ? Which, where ? Now, in Boston Massachusetts there's this Basketball team people might have heard of. Gavin

Kilkenny

Aaron wrote:It's painted armour people.

I'm surprised I'm the first to say, "BLANKENSHIELD!"

It *does* look like *all* the eges are rolled. Must be very safe........

Gavin

Kilkenny

Do you know if Hide glue would allow chrome tanned leather to be hardened? As I understand it, All other methods of hardening leather (Hot water and wax are the two I'm familiar with) do not work on the stuff. I haven't tried the glue techniques on chrome tanned. I don't know how it would respond t...

Re: Leather Pauldron Problem

Re: About those rivets...

Re: SCA sheild strapping conventions

Re: Kettle Helm

Re: Leather drape question

Re: Leather hardening/dying/finishing questions

Re: Celts

Re: Hide Glues and Chrome Tanned leather