The Armour Archive

Kilkenny

As to the using the lye from ashes to make a soap substance to wash dishes, would the same be used for laundry or was it to harsh and another method use? Soap is lye and fat. I suppose it's possible to make a version that's heavy on the lye and therefor harsh, but it's also possible to make it so t...

Kilkenny

Have you seen the fire pistons ? There was a guy at the Metalworking Symposium in 2004 that showed a dozen ways to start a fire, and he demonstrated a fire piston. Among other reasons, the primary reason Europeans didn't utilize this system of fire starting was that they had no type of wood that co...

Kilkenny

Very cool, only after one event? wow. I'd love to make a pair but time and skill are lacking somewhat It's worth remembering that shoes were not long lasting items. I particularly like the significance of Icelanders measuring distance in terms of how many pairs of fishskin shoes one goes through tr...

Kilkenny

I'll have to check into it being used as charcloth but was not "cheap" cloth squares found in the cesspit in York that apparently was used as toilet paper? Cloth scraps have been found used as padding in quilted garmets and have been found as caulking in boats from the early middle ages. Cloth rags...

Kilkenny

As I live in a climate that has a lot oh high powered sunlight dealing with bright light without sunglasses is such a problem. In general I use a wide brimmed hat much like you see peasants (and nobles travelling) wear in illuminations from Italy or southern France. For an earlier NE portrayal I wi...

Kilkenny

"A hangover is an authentic situation, and a hood is an authentic (for some times/places) remedy for post inebriated photophobia. It is also cheaper than the modern solution*." A hangover is an authentic condition, the place you have that hangover, a fair where real modern money changes hands is no...

Kilkenny

I would like to start this thread in order so that we can compile lists of how to do things correctly that are not expensive. Mainly as I beleive in many cases doing certain things correctly is not dearer than using say modern materials or processes in many cases actually cheaper. I shall start the...

Kilkenny

asteeley wrote:*Begins beating the dead horse*

Where do you obtain your hide glue?

A

Pearl art stores have the rabbit-hide glue. I have not found it in Michael's.
Of course Dick Blick is available on-line....

Gavin

Kilkenny

Is a lamellar armour supposed to be so rigid that it can stand up alone? I don't know a lot about them, but i believed their were flexible. Yes to both. The pictured example looks a bit on the stiff side to me too, but you do expect lamellar to be able to stand up on its own. The flex comes in the ...

Kilkenny

Hi, What are the typical minimum steel gauge for plate armour. I have found conflicting information while searching the net. Would generally 18 gauge with gauntlets and helm in 16 gauge be suitable. Thanks Need some more information in order to get a useful response. What is the armor for ? Are you...

Kilkenny

I hope by asking no one gets the impression I'm saying metal is bad - again, I think it looks impressive. I was just curious about heat and movement. Tasia Any armor can be hot and heavy and uncomfortable. One of the fundamental "secrets" of armor is that it really needs to be made to fit the perso...

Kilkenny

You mean these fire makers / strike-a-light's were fixed to a pouch? That seems so unpractical because everytime you need to make a fire you have to take off your belt or kneel in an uncomfortable position. Are there any detailed pictures of how these pouches were made and what measurements they ha...

Kilkenny

well, i think that a real camelback doesn't spurt out when it gets compressed. you have to open the little valve thingie on the tube to get the water out. that water bottle story is classic though the little valve thingie will pop right off the end of the tube on a real camelback. And finding it ag...

Kilkenny

Servus!Ã¢â€žÂ¢ At a break in a fighter practice, my friend Barobrand had removed his helmet to have a breather and sat with the rest of us on a bench. Lady Christine was fighting someone and her two-sword techinque was not serving her particularly well. Barobrand stops the bout and begins to show C...

Kilkenny

mordreth wrote:immediately to the left of the snowman

chuckle.. I still can't say that's a bascinet - but I recognized Flieg by his form and stance even without the helmet id.

Can't say I am placing any of the rest of the people in that shot though.

Gavin

Kilkenny

Hello, I'm assuming the reason we don't see hounskull visors in the SCA has to do with people not liking the pointed noses in combat situations... But, are the rules expressely against using hounskull bascinet visors? I can imagine that if the angle of the cone wasn't too sharp, the "no more than 1...

Kilkenny

The shocking part was I didn't hit Anton in the head with the Siloflex/Oak dowel, I hit him across both unarmoured shoulder blades with my offside and he went out. It was scary... until he woke up ......then it was quite funny. Lucan oooowowwwwiiieee...I was "ok" with it being to the head....that's...

Kilkenny

PS the right trapezoid has always been a problem after fighting. I get serious neck cramps/tightness that really never goes away. Hoping to discover some muscle specific stretches to incorporate into my pre/post fighting routine. Do you grind your teeth ? After you fight is your jaw sore too ? I fo...

Kilkenny

Adriano wrote: What hasn't changed is the pure enjoyment of clubbing somebody on the head, and the desire not to hurt anybody. The SCA is one of the few places where those aren't incompatible.

Now *that* put a big smile on my face. Absolutely 100% on target.

Gavin

Kilkenny

Well yes, I'm very familiar with those techniques. The muterien certainly flows from winding, but the duplieren is really just coming off a strong bind to cut behind his sword to the right side of his head after rolling the sword over, no winding involved really. But I get your point (no pun intend...

Kilkenny

"count me in the grateful minority. Some experiences I never want to have, some questions I never want to have answered. Gavin " Welcome to the club, sorry you ended up in it. It sucks. ack.. I said that the opposite of how it was meant to come out... I'm in that grateful Majority who have *not* be...

Kilkenny

Ok, got a new question. How much should the mantle part of the gorget restrict the shoulder? Any at all? A bit? I seem to have a mantle big enough to match the curvature of the breastplate I am matching it to, but I think that it will shorten the range of the shoulders' rotation. Help? Thanks Chris...

Kilkenny

When two guys are holding you in a corner by your shoulders and a third is head butting you and you're head butting him back, it's serious. I'd say I been there. Went to the hospital with a concussion--still conscious, developed it hours later--after the bar crowd decided that they didn't need to s...

Kilkenny

However, it cannot be disputed that if a man can make you (fully armoured) yield with a single-handed sword without cutting you anywhere, you still lose. I maintain that many SCA fighters know how to do this, and most in the WMA community do not. I also would be curious as to how what evidence ther...

Kilkenny

We're rather far from technique vs power, but this is an interesting point. To add to it, I read the results of a study several years ago, done on police officers involved in shooting incidents, looking for factors which correlated with positive outcomes (where positive mostly = officer survives). ...

Kilkenny

I don't know where Gavin/Kilkenny stands on this thread-wise, but he once hit me with a blow that traveled maybe four inches and gave me a headache. It was amazing. Ya know.. I hate when that happens. Seriously. I like to think that I'm playing with my friends out there on the field/in the lists, a...

Kilkenny

Superior technique defeating power ? Can happen, but it's got to be lots superior technique, not much difference in power. Not picking on you Gavin ... but that's an interesting line, and I didn't want to muddy the other topic. When you say technique, do you include timing and measure in there, or ...

Kilkenny

[quote="James B Hello Gavin I would make one missing point here; a real sword at the proper weight will be half or less than half the weight of a rattan stick. Again I point out that unless you land a real blade just right you loose all the force of the blow in the side to side flex of a tempered bl...

Kilkenny

[ I understand, and most of us DO fight! Myself included. I would contest your statement that all martial arts training hides you from the truth. Something like Americanized Tae Kwon Do may, but things like BJJ don't, and WMA certainly doesn't in any manual I've gone through. At worst, some are so ...

Kilkenny

[quote="Doug Confere I like how this thread turned into attacking me because you guys think SCA is more period than period combat I'll be back to defend myself later this evening.[/quote] mmm. No. Not at all what it has done, and an unfortunate indication of a tendency to miss the point in favor of ...

Kilkenny

What sword for the experiment? In my admittedly small experience with steel and rattan, if it were going to be a 14 gauge bascinet (made by say Hedgecock/Justus/Mac ) vs somthing like a gus trim or albion arming sword at period dimensions and weight, I think its likely the sword will snap in half w...

Kilkenny

Rereading my post I realized I left out a point. Doug, you speak of bashing each other with sticks that are more effective for dealing blunt trauma while we remain relatively free from injury. This is false. For one, rattan is an oversized bundle of grass fibers with tremendous flex. I like to slow...

Kilkenny

The number of times I have wished that the Wheel of Fortune had made me about six foot tall and about twenty-five pounds heavier has decreased as time goes on, but it is always there in my mind that Fate did not give me as large a hammer as I would like. Nah, friend, trust me, the muddled middle is...

Kilkenny

i'm making a suit of integrated armour; jack on the bottom torso and brass on the top. i'm at work at this moment so i can't pull my notes to site the effigy it is off of. regardless i have a plate of 3/16 brass (5 or 6 guage i believe). would there be any issue with such a cuisse being sca legal? ...

Kilkenny

well kilkenny i might be stating the words wrong. But remember, a shield is usually a flat roughly even surface... but the one charging into another physically, is not going to charge belly first. He's probably got his shoulder or head or other things coming in first. And as they are small and poin...

Re: Authentic and cheap - or at least not dearer

Re: one question...

Re: Minimum steel gauge

Re: SCA: Hounskull bascinets? Yes/No?

Re: Siloflex & Oak

Re: Kilkenny said (power vs technique)

Re: sca laten question