The Armour Archive

Kilkenny

Well, why exactly is marshalling not allowed? I mean it WAS done in period. I suspect that if you get down to the heart of it, it's because an awful lot of marshalled arms look like a mess and can't be recognized at any distance. Divide a field in half and put on one side an entire piece of heraldi...

Kilkenny

The first thing most people get when joining a group is a belt. The most widely available belt is the 15$ 6 foot "ring belt". (Which doubles as a handy cinch on your horse!). Most people move beyond them eventually. Many of the people I know who have done the "ring belt" thing for years are now mov...

Kilkenny

I think it's a terrific idea to put that kind of decoration on your peascod breastplate if that's what you want to do. I would also think it would be a good idea to be able to tell people who asked about it that the design on your breastplate and the design of your breastplate are both taken from hi...

Kilkenny

I have finally put together a working bronze furnace (took 5 years to get all the bugs out of the system) that can pour up to 50 lbs of bronze. My question to all of you is what would you have on your list of items to cast? Currently I can do most sand cast items that are not terribly complex and w...

Kilkenny

One of the characteristics of "spring" steel is its elasticity. It will deform and spring back. No dent, but it may have deformed every bit as much as the dented piece of mild steel. Gavin This is much more of an issue with larger pieces of armour; smaller pieces (like gauntlet plates, especially f...

Kilkenny

Krieger wrote:I don't care what ANY of you say....

I still think it's real!

It *is* real. It's just not what he said it was. We can't *all* be imagining the same thing...I hope...fervently

Gavin

Kilkenny

IIRC Duke Patrick of Caid used to strap a shield to his back so that it would stand up behind his head, and prevent a lot of side and wrap shots from otherwise hitting him. As a result of his "passive" shield usage, the rules of the list (at least in Caid) were altered to make shields used in this ...

Kilkenny

My gauntlets are properly hardened 20 gauge (1050) spring steel. They have been hit HARD by some of the toughest, meanest, bad-assed guys out there. I have NO dents after ten years . I do have a lame that has popped but that is the mild steel rivet shearing after being hit in the hand by Duke Edmun...

Kilkenny

And the burst through the metal i find really hard to believe, but i dont dout it could happen. Something else i never thought of. . Imagine my shock at practice one night, when I hit a friend in his new helmet with a blow that was only moderate force even for practice and *watched the steel tear* ...

Kilkenny

"Good point, so i have the bad as, -harder to shape -dents easyer Good is -lighter About the less protective, Remember lots of poeple wear Leather armour that has practicaly no mass compared with steel.?? Other than for the helm, mass is not a significant element of the protective quality of armour...

Kilkenny

There's a reason titanium (and other lightweight metals) aren't allowed for helms. Your head needs the additional mass to avoid neck injuries (whiplash). G-- Quite incorrect. The mass is necessary to avoid concussion, not whiplash. No. Both. Whiplash, like concussion, is an acceleration injury. It ...

Kilkenny

Hello all, this is just something i have been thinking about, please add your opinions. My question is why should a person not wear 18ga/20ga mild or if spring then some thing around 22ga (i also mean non-heat treated)? Now i know the first thing people point to is that 20ga in lets say mild will d...

Kilkenny

Animal, for little brass rivets, you can use excrution (sp?) pins. They are basically little brass nails and you can just cut them to whatever length you want. The work well and you can buy them in lots of hardware stores. I think I got me last ones through Lee Valley. But I also think I remember s...

Kilkenny

This is the only know survival of a cuirass designed for a short lived German style of stunt jousting consisting of a course run with twin lances against two opponents simultaneously. The matching rest for the left side is in a private collection. I will be following up with you on this, as I consi...

Kilkenny

I've had plenty of smashed fingers in my decade of SCA combat. Heck, I expect them: I fight in fingered gauntlets. This one was different in that I was struck 'end-on.' It caused my thumb to collapse on itself, into my hand. It pulverised the last bone, and exploded the end of my thumb in a shower ...

Kilkenny

Saddly the number of letters you have behind your name does not mean you have a lot of say at the corperate level of the group, I feel (and I may be wrong) that it is felt that to raise the requirements would increase the force level of the group. If I had my way their would be no allowance for dif...

Kilkenny

I seem to be more "stiff" when I'm standing straight up. When I'm low I'm on my toes, like a fencer or sprinter. Could you clarify your advice a bit? I'm not following it all. In order to step, you have to first move your center of mass over the stationary leg. This is true even in normal walking, ...

Kilkenny

So none of you guys are the "tape it to a popsicle stick and take a week off sort"? I guess the SCA has gotten smarter as an organisation Quick tip - ambesol on unbroken skin does a great job numbing fingertips chuckle.. that crowd just hasn't chimed in. Josh, be patient with the cast and all - it ...

Kilkenny

Fix them to the insideof the pants, maybe? Crafting a wingless knees and elows should not be a problem, just be sure to include some sort of padding under them when you wear. Actually, maybe you can afix them to whatever clothign you wear under yoru mail - if it is something gambeson-like you can s...

Kilkenny

I dont make helmets Ronald, I make knees..... You said you destroy 18 gauge stainless cops. I was wondering how and why... I have never tried to be either a knight or a laurel. My qualifications to talk about armor are simple.. I'v fought for 11 years and I owna company that produces between 300 an...

Kilkenny

I thought a buckle would be more user friendly than laces, and I figured it to be a more secure way of attaching the spaulders since I would guess that it would be more likely that laces would come untied more often than a buckle blowing. I'm not in the SCA though, so I don't have personal experien...

Kilkenny

I got an email stating that: 1) Archer's knees without fans are illegal for use in the middle kingdom. 2) 18 gauge stainless steel cops are illegal in middle kingdom 3) The use of 3/8 inch rivets for articulation are illegal in middle kingdom. I went through the SCA's website to Middle, downloaded ...

Kilkenny

Pole weapons with any kind of padded head (ie, anything but taped rattan sticks) don't hit like swords. They don't feel like swords, they don't sound like swords - even though they can hit at least as hard as swords. The difference is, I believe, rate of energy transfer. The plain rattan stick makes...

Kilkenny

See, this is the reason I have never and will never register my SCA heraldry... Stupid rules like that and the un-needed rule to check heraldry society wide. I guess I don't understand this attitude. I don't understand some heralds' attitudes either (or perhaps more irritatingly, I do understand th...

Kilkenny

See, this is the reason I have never and will never register my SCA heraldry... Stupid rules like that and the un-needed rule to check heraldry society wide. Mine got through first go - I was lucky. A friends bounced because the deer didn't look "deery" enough??? What I don't get is that registered...

Kilkenny

Well crud...I didnt know Richard III had used it.....its what I wanted But of course I shoudl have figured somethign so simple would have been used somewhere..... Im actually quite vexed with trying to come up with a design, it seems that everythign I like is taken! Just a note, to heralds, red is ...

Kilkenny

I personally feel that ransom should never be demanded or asked for unless one is very, very close with the person you are interacting with. However, ransom should be offered to those who take you out of a battle with a particularly amazing feat. I sincerely believe it should be offered, and never ...

Kilkenny

In a period context it happened in a couple of ways. Wound the fellow so he can't effectively continue and you can discuss terms of letting him live. Surround him such that he clearly has no escape option and offer him a choice. I think that pretty well defines the field. In an SCA context, the same...

Kilkenny

Thanks Griffin, I'll definitely have to work with the locals on this, I think. It seems like the safest way to go. I'll add that I'm portraying a German man-at-arms, so do not know how much the Western College of Arms would affect my own. I'll have to check. I was thinking of doing a different styl...

Kilkenny

Yea. What im asking though is if there is any evidence for a helmet that looks like a great bacinet but does not have the integrated gorget. I want to be able to turn my head. I dont want to have to turn my head inside a big iron box. Im asking if this is historically unrealistic. Not neccesaraly i...

Kilkenny

Ok, I realize that I have a few posts up already, but I am having a hard time containing my excitement over my new found plate armour hobby. First, will the circuit board etching stuff (and the resist) from Radio Shack work for etching brass and/or steel? I realize that there is probably something ...

Kilkenny

There is the velvet barbuta with gilt decoration - mid late 15thC - was the velvet original? Also if one has a look at Venus and Mars - Housebook - there are many pics of soldiers wearing actual cloth covering and some where this is less cloth like. Also London import rolls for 1480 mention sallet ...

Kilkenny

Blaine thanks for the input. I have seen a wide range of variation in Kote, and not being familiar with them dont know if one type is better than another. Also prices range from reasonably affordable to prohibitive. I would like to see some in person. Anyone in the East fighting with these? Failing...

Kilkenny

Force = mass X accelearation Inpact = Force divided by surface area a rattan sword will strike on a surface area (call it ) four inches long by 1/1/4 inch wide a steel sword will strike on a surface area four inches long by 1/16 or so wide there is a massive increase in the impact Um... no. What yo...

Kilkenny

Been hit by both, rattan feels much harder than steel. Unless the steel hits exactaly right and actually bites on the edge, then they feel about the same imo. I second this, from personal experience. I mostly fight with steel, and the difference between the Gus Trim backsword I use in class and a r...

Re: Bronze Casting (What would be on your project list?)

Re: Why not 20ga?

Re: Middle Kingdom Armor Standards

Re: acid etching and design choices