The Armour Archive

Johann ColdIron

I use a shallow baking tin with 1/2" of linseed oil to soak my hammer heads in after snugging them up. The idea is to let them soak a week or so and make the wood no longer subject to humidity swings. Soaking them in water tightens them up for a short while and then they get looser due to wood crus...

Johann ColdIron

It's tax season it may be a good idea to look at repairing/replaceing tools, doing maintenance, inspecting things, and cleaning the shop. Just haveing a bad day in the shop. a wheel work its way loose on my bench grinder and disintegrating. Chunks of abrasive all over. A hammer handle failed with t...

Johann ColdIron

I've already GOT one...it's verrrrry nice. I keep a cup that was left at an event in one of my event set up boxes for that inevitable Oh crap moment when someone realizes that they forgot their cup and can't fight. I call it the "Cup of Bravery". Cause if you are brave enough to use a cup that isn't...

Johann ColdIron

Eric Dube wrote:No no no… the bracer is a left over from my heavy metal days… and it looks cool

Makes sense with your good taste in music!

Johann ColdIron

Great as always, why do you use a bracer in the left arm? There was a topic somewhere here in D&C about this called something like "Why Eric Dube wearing bracer" and in the first sentence "tomorrow I will make one for myself" It is a protection from burns (sometimes long gloves is not enough). Afte...

Johann ColdIron

Most of the people I know that have had knee problems were wearing cleats when they hurt themselves. I think it something to do with the twisting motion of throwing blows. Add in uneven terrain and you can get too much traction which translates into too much motion in the knee joint. I slip a bit in...

Johann ColdIron

The Barony of Rivenstar (Lafayette, IN) has had such a club at Purdue for over 30 years as well, possibly 40 now. And has roughly the same requirements you listed, although I don't think they get the payment. They have a weekly meeting in the Student Union and a fighter/fencing practice in the ROTC...

Johann ColdIron

Blackening/blueing is usually a biproduct of the tempering process. Color dependent on temp it was brought to and quench composition.

If your professionally heat treated buckler came back in the white I'd think they removed the oxidation layer in some way.

Johann ColdIron

Interesting. Seems kinda time consuming to do it that way. Is there any particular merit for it? Does it hold up better to roping? nothing is done on armour just because... I was really surprised at how rigid it made the neck opening. Much more resistant to movement than a wired roll where the wire...

Johann ColdIron

Jelly roll? I've done hollow, never wired, but I get the idea. What's the jelly roll method? Rolled up into itself to fully fill the interior. It's in my thread about the 1560 Augsburg Gorget. http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=157286&hilit=1560+augsburg About halfway down o...

Johann ColdIron

Not a squire but my device does have red in it. Now a red belt would look good as part of my fighting kit (especially with the new rigs and surcoats I am having made) but I won't as it basically flies in the face of tradition here. It's not like I would be confused as a squire by anyone who knew me...

Johann ColdIron

There are many schools of thought when making armour. One I used to subscribe to is to use the thinnest possible metal for the application and planish it so that as little grinding as possible is neccesary to come to your finished surface. I think this was mainly because I didn't have a good setup t...

Johann ColdIron

@Johann, One of the pictures looks like there's a little bit of rusty brown debris inside the roll. Perhaps some form of wire was used, like we did on mine? I squinted some more at the pics and it sure could be. They did them wired, hollow and jelly roll. I was basing my thoughts on the closure sid...

Johann ColdIron

Very similar to Wades except for the provisions for munions or shoulder caps. One thing I would call out from my experience making the one I posted here is the notches in the underlapping portion of the intergral hinge. I ran into a similar concern when articulating mine. The leathers ran into the s...

Johann ColdIron

The other detail that would help is- "what time period and location?". Many here have tightly focused knowledge that will help home in on that is appropriate. It helps you avoid doing it again later to fit a specific persona.

Johann ColdIron

Good progress Rev!

Johann ColdIron

CTrumbore wrote:Here's his photobucket..

http://s21.photobucket.com/user/Zekk1/library/

Why no rank in his uniform pics? Hmmmmmm

Johann ColdIron

This is very true, Sean. Many things get ruined at the last minute by unpracticed decoration. Projects that fail their original goal and are somehow unsuited to further work can always be used for testing decoration and finish techniques. I am sure you remember the motley castoffs in my "box of sha...

Johann ColdIron

http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a552/fisharmor/IMG_20131214_132804_zpsfdb208a6.jpg?t=1387066390 Here's the end result, plus some ridiculously long chips. Note how it's clamped down: always clamp down what you're drilling. In this case, it's not even possible to hang on to a piece on this drill ...

Johann ColdIron

johan1212 wrote:tomorrow is my birthday so for tomorrow only 12/12/13 550.00+shipping I take paypal pm me

Happy Birthday you old Coot!

The gaunts looks great. I always loved that pattern. I agree about spring. It's worth the effort.

Johann ColdIron

With Joe/Gawin headed up there I have asked him to grab anything off the list below that he is willing and capable to carry back to Raleigh for shop use on Armour Night (tm) here in Nimenefeld. Provided it is not spoken for. ;) - A crapload of mild steel in even more varied thicknesses. Nothing thin...

Johann ColdIron

To all who are helping with pointers thank you. I sewed in the leather arming points and marked out the place i need to tailor on the cop not just to figure out how to sew it with my sewing machine with all the plates. Good on moving the attachment points higher up on your trapezius muscles . If th...

Johann ColdIron

I'll take the stainless voiders.

Sending PM

Johann ColdIron

You using a thin abrasive cutting wheel in a 4.5" angle grinder, correct? Put blocks under the steel to support the weight. Leave what you want to cut off hanging off unsupported. Score cut a straight line to get a groove going. Then use the grinder to deepen it until you can flex and waggle the cut...

Johann ColdIron

The shot hit too hard, but I blame the weapon. Yes it was a fiberglass tip. The force was concentrated in too small an area. Who knows what was going on inside the tip? Those three inch tips are ugly as hell, but I have never been injured by one. Just another anecdotal data point against those mand...

Johann ColdIron

Johann, you're probably thinking of a civilian rig. Armoured samurai frequently kept daggers of various sorts on their person.. My understanding of Japanese personae is limited to Kurisawa movies so you are probably right. :lol: Do armoured Samurai only carry a single sword? Or the more sterotypica...

Johann ColdIron

The usual Samurai rig includes the short sword not dagger, if I remember correctly. That would give you the ability to throw blows and stab or at least the threat of it. I've done it but I prefer the reach of a full length sword in my second hand for range and equal threat. To close on a S&S guy wit...

Johann ColdIron

I'm surprised we have not had more go under bar grills as the interface between gorget and helm a hard one to consistantly keep within standards. Gorget covers larynx, check! Grill 1" below chin, check! That's pretty much it for the "rules", right? So I can have a grill that is 1 foot away from my ...

Johann ColdIron

John - I was speaking in generalities. If someone is being a jerk on the field, consitently hitting beyond the accepted convention, etc., most marshal's are savvy enough to know. If they didn't, people wouldn't get ever their cards pulled. It just takes someone in charge ot tell the guy "Look - tha...

Johann ColdIron

How about we just control our weapons, bounce people who seem unable to do so, take blows so our opponent doesn't feel obliged to SERIOSULY ramp up, and keep our weaponry in good repair? It won't fix or prevent EVERY problem, but it would help... a lot. . The powers that be would need to define "co...

Johann ColdIron

I think a lot of the re-tweaking was a result of my not putting the original patterns into the computer accurately enough. The imprecision of the original patterns was actually good in this case. Putting them into CAD made them precisely wrong. :) Steve I find putting my patterns into steel more te...

Johann ColdIron

Ever taken a thrust to an armpit? How armored are you there? Good point. How about cup thrusts? :shock: Blunted unpadded weapons used in thrusting would likely cause a host of other armour standard concerns. Ribs and other bones close to the surface would be more likely to get injured do to force c...

Johann ColdIron

So absolutely no comments (except mine) on Sir Scott's suggestion of 1.25 inch thrusting tips with just leather (therefore no give and no safety errors into helms)? He is not the first ( or probably last) to suggest it. Sir Falcone (Apollonian here) tried to get us to tape golf balls on the ends of...

Johann ColdIron

Christophe de Frisselle wrote:Oh, just do it like gym class. We all line up and the two royals take turn picking teams.

That would take FOREVER! We wait on the baking field enough as it is

Johann ColdIron

John: Enjoy being known as Odin hereafter. Actually his name is Johnny One-Shot, Spear Catcher Extrordinaire. :D :shock: And it was a black tip, for whoever asked earlier. Uric I'm tired of being the fall guy for improperly maintained spears.. Uric, were you at Turf Wars this year when the other fo...

Re: PSA tool safety reminder.

Re: PSA tool safety reminder.

Re: FS: Cup

Re: New video on raising a Sallet with visor.

Re: New video on raising a Sallet whit visor.

Re: Knee Injuries

Re: Armoured Combat in a University Club?

Re: Risk of damaging temper when blackening 4130?

Re: Gorget Article

Re: Gorget Article

Re: Squire's Belts

Re: How acceptable are unplanished/minorly planished items

Re: Gorget Article

Re: Gorget Article

Re: Reauesting instructions From knowledgable persons.

Re: Center hinge visor circa 1400

Re: Epic Holiday Email Conversation

Re: low profile Maximillian close helm

Re: My HF Bead Roller Rebuild

Re: johan blau 1050 heat treated gauntlets(price drop12/12/1

Re: Wash DC-sheet steel, tools & armour available for pickup

Re: Critique My SCA Kit

Re: Christmas armor cleanout! Helms and much more!

Re: A problem...Steel cutting

Re: 2" Mandrake tips suck and you all know it

Re: Sword and dagger in SCA heavy

Re: Sword and dagger in SCA heavy

Re: 2" Mandrake tips suck and you all know it

Re: 2" Mandrake tips suck and you all know it

Re: 2" Mandrake tips suck and you all know it

Re: Finally got the Wisby thumb patterns tweaked out right.

Re: 2" Mandrake tips suck and you all know it

Re: 2" Mandrake tips suck and you all know it

Re: So who won Pennsic 43?

Re: 2" Mandrake tips suck and you all know it