The Armour Archive

Chris Gilman

I just realized you have the bottem board attached to the cut out form. If you make these seperate pieces, it is easier to adjust the leather, and the top can be pressed down after you have the leather pressed in, if you need it at all.

Chris Gilman

Conal, Try cutting your leather closer to the final shape, this will give you less wrinkles. Also, try trimming the leather while wet on you jig. It will be easier to cut and you will get a nice straight cut. This is how I make caps for some of my pottery jars. You may also want to glue a piece of w...

Chris Gilman

Chris Gilman

The Russian armour is mine and it is a replica of 17th armour in the Kremlin Museum. The helmet is not from a historic example. The second appears to be a replica of a style of 16th C. parade armour, perhaps the Parade Harness "Alia Romana" of the Emperor Charles V in Madrid. (More info he...

Chris Gilman

Halvgrimr wrote:
Chris Gilman wrote:Well...They did just find a pouch made from Monitor Lizard skin in a Viking grave.

I wouldnt mind a cite on that if you got one.
Seems exotic even for 'Viking' standards:)

I'm pretty sure it was posted here, with a photo. I will try to find it.

Chris Gilman

I did an episode of "Bones" where they find a Roman Iron Age Skeleton and it was written in the script, "This man was 175 cm, 5' 8", he was tall for his time!" I had just been reading an article about average heights in the world and there was a chart from a study done in th...

Chris Gilman

Yes, I believe it was 2006 because we had a conversation about it at a Viking event in Denmark, and the general coment was, "Don't say it too loud or you won't be able to swing a dead cat without hitting someone with a Monintor Lizard skin pouch."

Chris Gilman

Well...They did just find a pouch made from Monitor Lizard skin in a Viking grave.

Chris Gilman

James,
The pattern is stitched in. This pinches the leather up.

Alex,
One piece. the only seam is the flesh stitched seam on the side (front)
The edging (brown) is also stiched on.

Oh, and the socks are also my wifes work.

Chris Gilman

The helmet is dated to 1620. The armour looks to be about the same era. Chris, You seem to be very definite about that helmet. Can you tell me more of its provenance? Yes, in a book I have about the collection they date the helmet to 1620. It is all in Russian so, that is the most I can give you. A...

Chris Gilman

Donngal suggested I post something on another thread, but I'll put it here. This is my second pair of shoes. My first pair suffered from inexperience and bad material. This pair is based on a Viking pattern and some decoration style I saw on some Finnish shoes. These are all hand sewn. http://www.gl...

Chris Gilman

You know Chris , your stuff really should be on this page. After you started your viking kit it inspired me to re approach some of my thinking, before that I wasnt sure I had it in me to do the earlier period styles of armour. I was pretty happy with the Polish Hussar stuff. So thanks for the inspi...

Chris Gilman

Would this by chance be for a film about Budda?

Chris Gilman

Kaos, sieppolukko, these are very nice. They look very natural and real. Some minor things, but over all Well done. I would love to know the minor details, as I do not yet have an eye for such things. My minor nit-pikâ€™s where not period related, I am not knowable enough of this period to pick out...

Chris Gilman

The helmet is dated to 1620. The armour looks to be about the same era.

Chris Gilman

Kaos, sieppolukko, these are very nice. They look very natural and real. Some minor things, but over all Well done.

Chris Gilman

Baron Alcyoneus wrote:It is a New World crop, so they didn't know it existed until after 1492.

Interestingly so supposedly is cocaine, yet a Polish scientist found traces of cocaine and tobacco/ nicotine in ancient Egyptian mummies. The â€œexpertsâ€

Chris Gilman

Like this?

Chris Gilman

90 degree bends in leather are no problem, even on a curve. You need to make a form. This consists of a plug the shape you want the final piece and a ring with a hole the same shape, but bigger on all sides by slightly less than the thickness of the leather. Make sure the inside of the ring is sande...

Chris Gilman

I'm a Frisbeeterian; it's a southern California religious group, who believes when you die, your sole goes up on a roof and youâ€™ll never get it down. If you have sinned, the dog will get it and chew it up. They throw your shoes up on the roof when you die? Huh. Strange practices abound! Yes, this...

Chris Gilman

Did you know you can purchase tread material (soling sheet))from a shoe supply store?
This way you can cut it to the same shape as your shoe.

Chris Gilman

I read somewhere long ago (30 years) and have no idea what book it was in, of an ancient or I seem to remember it being a Mongol bow that was a compound bow. Like a modern compound bow which uses pulleys, this bow was using horn tips and bone rings for the bow string to criss cross through. This of ...

Chris Gilman

I'm a Frisbeeterian; it's a southern California religious group, who believes when you die, your sole goes up on a roof and youâ€™ll never get it down. If you have sinned, the dog will get it and chew it up.

Chris Gilman

It's interesting folks are on to fabric, because this is the one thing I noticed in most or all of the clothes pictured. The fabric looks wrong. I'm not talking about the pattern of the fabric, (although most of these patterns give me an impression of the 18th C. not the 15th.) its the fabric sits w...

Chris Gilman

Glen K wrote:Ah, the arrogance of "science": it gives us ALL the answers... except for the ones that matter!

What, how to cook the perfect turkey?

Chris Gilman

Anyone want to buy an autographed "Darwin Fish?

Chris Gilman

If you are referring to the leg cast I used on the mail leggings, no. Those came from a full body cast I did years ago for a creature project. That mold was made with plaster bandage, which takes about 4 guys, working fairly quickly and steadily for an hour or two to apply plaster bandage over the f...

Chris Gilman

Alright, enough already, "science fiction" and "fantasy" discussions can start their own thread.

Chris

I was going to read the bible, but I'm waiting for a signed copy...

Chris Gilman

It is going to use a great deal of alginate, which is not cheap. It is also likely you would pull the whole thing out and not get your foot out, but you could perhaps cut it out . But if the mold doesn't work you just trashed about $100 in alginate.

Chris Gilman

I am curious, how are you casting it in "Vulcanized" rubber?

Chris Gilman

Do your calves so you can get a decent set of greaves, too! Nice, job. My thoughts exactly. That requires a wooden 'frankenstein boot' mold, preferably open up the back so the foot can be flat. I don't think a simple pipe would work. Also, I think it would make sense to cast the foot wearing a turn...

Chris Gilman

The second one (Samurai stormtrooper) was made, in my shop by one of my emplyees, Randy Pike. I was just used in a Saturn (for our freinds in Germany) electronics store commercial with Alice Cooper. Although, I don't think you can see it in any of the final shots.

Chris Gilman

Yes. It is primarily used to make molds of teeth for dental work.

Chris Gilman

Jess, I must say, you make a lovely arm were you able to pull your hand back out of the tube, or did you have to make a multi part negative? No need for a 2 part mold, you can pull your limb out if ratio of alginate is correct. Approx. ratios (volume): 1 alginate to 10 to 20 parts water for feet/ c...

Chris Gilman

Is this stuff flexible enough when removing your body part to do a leg casting for cased greaves? If you mix it thin enough. The ratio for dental work is 1 part alginate to 1 part water (volume). This ratio will result in a impression material that will be too thick (dense) and once set to dense to...