The Armour Archive

Norman

Cut the zipper out and sew in a leather patch. As to sewing leather -- easiest explanation without knowing how thick or anything -- put holes in first with a punch, then just lace in the thread. ------------------ Norman J. Finkelshteyn Armour of the Silk Road - http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olymp...

Norman

A PERIOD Egyptian would be wearing maile or lamellar, most commonly covered by fabric. An ancient Egyptian (which is really not at all apropriate in the SCA) would commonly be wearing a simple helmet and carrying a big shield. BUt some seem to have worn scale armour. If you want a cool personna you ...

Norman

you WILL eventually hit something with it! When this happens, you really don't want your blade to snap off at the hilt! Well, this is not always true. If you are hitting people with it (people you like) it is preferable that the sword break at the tang rather than the middle -- safest thing if it b...

Norman

It's in the sig. ------------------ Norman J. Finkelshteyn Armour of the Silk Road - http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/3505 The Silk Road Designs Armoury - http://www.enteract.com/~silkroad Jewish Warriors - http://www.geocities.com/jewishwarriors The Red Kaganate - http://www.geocities.com/ka...

Norman

Lodhur, Just visit the Red Kaganate and follow the resource links. That one is from "The Vasnetsov gallery" ------------------ Norman J. Finkelshteyn Armour of the Silk Road - http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/3505 The Silk Road Designs Armoury - http://www.enteract.com/~silkroad Jewish Warrio...

Norman

Yehudah, Why wouldn't they pass a Cervelere under a great helm?? My setup is similar -- a padded cap, a Mizurka (maile-and-plates cap), some padding on the helm, then the helm. So - don't worry! It passed. ------------------ Norman J. Finkelshteyn Armour of the Silk Road - http://www.geocities.com/A...

Norman

I don't know if Krasniy used to mean red at all. It has the added meaning of beautiful (think Prekrasnyi) in stuff that tries to be archaic (like fairy tales). Maybe in the old days all it meant was beautiful? Sasa, Dmitry, your opinion? But today Aliy would be a more specific bright red -- I guess ...

Norman

As for the aforementioned Chinese pancakes, they are called "Oily Scallion Cakes" and are made by ... a bit of lard ...quickly fried in lard. Oy, Ya! Ron, let me recomend you something -- I have Scalion Pancakes all the time in a vegetarian Chinese place -- No Lard! Still good, and won't kill...

Norman

Wellll, if ya wuz asking for my ideas, I'd say do a Eastern European or Central Asian personna -- go to the Red Kaganate http://www.geocities.com/kaganate But, since you already have a basic idea, I'll coment on that -- First off, this would probably get more interesting answers on Authenticity (but...

Norman

But at what other contact -based sporting events do you see people close enough to the action where they get hit by equipment? If there were no glass, would you feel comfortable doing any of the things folks at SCA events do on the sidelines, at a hockey game? That's exactly the point. There ...

Norman

Steel would be the most common material.

I'd make the whole blade in one though -- no point in making the tip separate.

Norman

I want to preface this note with an aside to Donasian -- Two words - "Mitten gauntlets" That said, to address the issue of responsibility and "litigicy". Whatever the jibes against our legal system, face it -- we live in a society of individuals and individualists, a society with a multitude of ethi...

Norman

The side you leave open for fastening will depend on your culture. If you're from an archer culture (Steppes nomads, Japan) you leave the armpit of the forward arm solid and put the straps and buckles under the arm that draws the arrow (in righty normal, that would mean that you buckle the armour on...

Norman

Dmitry, I asked the questions of Petrov. He basically shrugged "I don't know" and thought that I should write the critique article. I agree that it would be nice to see the original article. Just as a note Gorelik's illustration of the presumed Italian knight in "Warriors of Eurasia" shows the greav...

Norman

Vermin, By far a small minority of those around your fighting have seen or signed the waivers. 1) Non-members at events -- mind you, I haven't been to an event in a while, but I don't remember a waiver to get into the event. 2) Open practices - the NYC practice is in the middle of a public park. For...

Norman

Alcyoneous, There's a ton out there on Scythian garb!! You can get the info straight from their art -- very realistic Greek-influenced stuff. Material culture is realy easy -- the hard thing is the social stuff -- I think that pretty much all we have is Greek propaganda. What did they do to their en...

Norman

In the NFL, someone gets NAILED standing on the sidelines.....yeah, it sucks, the player feels bad, BUT- They don't make new rules up for it, no do they make them wear more equipment. Actually, you're dead wrong! ...well, the cases I read had to do with Baseball -- but same idea. The person i...

Norman

This has been going a while, and I'm thinking we're going in circles. Just a few comments therefore -- Epee is a thrusting only weapon. Schlagger was designed as a cutting weapon. NOT a thrusting weapon. Can you imagine what a thrust would do in a real Schlagger game ?!?! Not good at all!!! The main...

Norman

Right of Way in foil and saber -- If an attack is initiated, the other person has to take back the initiative. This can be by a parry but it doesn't have to be. There's something called "prid de faire" - "taking the action" -- its an almost parry, where you take control of the blade, breakng the act...

Norman

Still looking to explain the "skillet fried bread" that the Khazars fed the Agvan representatives on that long ago day in around 627.

Norman

Buckles - I don't know, strikes me that the buckles and straps would be the most fragile thing on the armour and most often repaired. Thus, if the guy is stationed in Azov, he's likely to be getting local repairs -- leading to an eventual replacement of Italian buckles with Tatar ones. Also, it may ...

Norman

Even Triplette's starter kits are now shipping something that at least vaguely looks like a period hilt ... Most of the hilts I see are early 17th C hilts on epees and 16th C hilts on Schlaegers. Looking at the relevant Tripplette page - http://www.triplette.com/Theatrical%20Fencing/sca_guards.htm T...

Norman

Yehudah - You're speaking modern usage. From the research I've done, it is my understanding that bronya and panzir are both originally words for maile and are descendants of germanic words (bernye, panzir). Lati and Dospekhi are the general words for armour. As things develop, the two words for mail...

Norman

Right, the quote I translated from the Russian is in modern Russian -- presumably translated either from Greek or old Russian. In "Slovo", I think they used "Chervniye" for the shields. (that is the word for RUssian right? or am I totaly going wacky?) ------------------ Norman J. Finkelshteyn Armour...

Norman

Expulsion from England was 1290 -- unless I'm completely off my nut. Yehudah, I'd love that article! That house was great! Very inspiring! (someone posted that URL a while back) Like I said Ziad - try and get ahold of Sepharad House, JTS, and Jewish Museum between the three, you'll probably get not ...

Norman

You just aren't answering point by point cause you know you cant http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/biggrin.gif http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/biggrin.gif As for losing touch with the original question -- aint that part of the point? We answered this thread to help Bob with a basic question. He's lo...

Norman

George -- that's it exactly! except -- I understood that flinching would simply result in forfeit and derision as a coward - not a beating. ...also - they protect the neck as well. and in all fairness, it is recounted that one older member mentioned on witnessing a game - "in my day we blocked with ...

Norman

Chainmail was already adressed -- it's redundant. If you're going to be medieval about it, you would use mail, maile, maille and any other variation you can think of -- all in the same sentence !!! Spelling formalisation is either not period or very late (I remember hearing that Shakespeare spelled ...

Norman

In my experience, more SCA fencers are familiar with Silva than DiGrassi. Did you mean Silver? Siver read to me like a winy xenophobe with little to say on actual fencing. ...but maybe I just didn't give him much of a chance. The folks I met (and I mut again note how I've obviously not fenced in wa...

Norman

Some sort of fish? The same bug that Ocean Spray uses in their Cranberry Juice? What is used today? Owen's a big Roman fan - no? What did the ROmans use for the cloth? Didn't the Romans have red shields? What did they use? ------------------ Norman J. Finkelshteyn Armour of the Silk Road - http://ww...

Norman

Dmitry, "Know that there is another tribe of these same Pachinakits that is located near the region of Herson. They trade with the Hersonites and carry out tasks for them, and for Vasilevs, and in Russia, and in Khazaria, and in Zihiya, and in all those areas, receiving, obviously, from the Hersonit...

Norman

Sepharad is Hebrew for Spain. A Sephardi is a Jew who theoretically comes from Spain. Sepharad does NOT refer to areas where the Sephardim left to after being exhiled from Spain. Reconquista is when the Christians took back Moslem areas of Spain. Alcyoneus - you are right -- a mezuza is the scrol at...

Norman

Vinegar,
Like the commandment of the red cow, is a mystery of God's providence and symbol of his ineffable nature.

sorry, nothing useful.

Norman

What we are trying to recreate in SCA fencing is a specific fighting style, not a specific weapon. See, but I don't think that's true either. Although most folks who have looked at period manuals are probably doing DiGrassi. They are not doing it because that's THEE style they want to do. They are ...

Norman

Bacon fat !? Use olive oil, sesame oil. hmn, bacon fat ...barbaric !! Yehudah, Easiest way to clean that pot -- Find your local Chabad, tell them you're thinking of increasing your observance and ask them to Kasher the thing. One of their guys will get at it with a blowtorch till its shiny new. ...c...