The Armour Archive

Alcyoneus

That is very nice for a first helm, very nice.

They called him the Vilnius Armormaster...

Sorry, bad joke, just had to come out.

Alcyoneus

What is the source of the photo, is it from The Landzughaus? in Styria?

You could call it Der Grossarschflaut...

Alcyoneus

Morgan wrote:"heavy" refers to the fact that the armour for rattan combat in the SCA is HEAVIER than the armour for rapier combat. You must CHOOSE to be offended by the term.

Heavy armor, light armor. Heavy weapons, light weapons.

Whatever.

Alcyoneus

On occasion when I'm fencing, I enjoy taking a dagger out against rapier.

They think they have the advantage.

Armored? They probably do.

Alcyoneus

What is it? I could 'store' it for you...

Dust, a little rust, and say "I've had this for years, I just pulled it out of the closet..."

Alcyoneus

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/bookse ... 5314&itm=1

I just picked this book up, and it is pretty good. It has translated excerpts from a number of the early descriptions of tournaments and is heavily footnoted.

It is a fun book to read, as well.

Alcyoneus

It is a short kite.

I'd classify that website (http://www.levantia.com.au) as very accurate.

Alcyoneus

You know, it really looks like the guy only has 4 toes on his left foot...

Alcyoneus

I think it looks pretty decent so far.

Alcyoneus

You can go to sengokudaimyo.com for the Japanese parts (75% of that pic), the torso is a sort of anima, but it would be fantasy based rather than historical, with the way it is drawn. You would probably have to make your own pattern for that, I don't think there are any online.

Alcyoneus

Since the SCA operates on a "presumed armor" standard, I'd make it a blanket targetting restriction vs. armored fighters and armored archers: only a shot to the face is considered telling. Against archers who are not armored sufficiently to participate as armored combatants, the entire SC...

Alcyoneus

Signo wrote:I own the Trajan Column, I can make a special AA members price!

I'll trade the Brooklyn Bridge for it, I'm not currently using it.

Alcyoneus

You aren't from Rome, right? Does that mean you can sell it since you aren't a local?

I'd like the Trajan Column, btw.

Alcyoneus

I've worked in tooling with plaster molds. (787 tail parts, among other things) Generally, we made plaster casts, then laid up high temp fiberglass molds ontop of these, and then low temp trim molds on those. It was very labor intensive. We would cook the plaster in ovens at about 160-180 to get the...

Alcyoneus

Surprisingly, there are a number of greathelms that have nearly identical breath patterns, in Curtiss' 2500 Years of European Helmets. I'm not sure if that means they were copied one from another, as the style spread, or if it means they came from the same workshop. Or, some are modern copies, and i...

Alcyoneus

You can make some fancy garments to go over it (lentner, jupon, etc), or put brass borders with engraving onto the steel.

Alcyoneus

There is also a woodcut (c1590?) of a man with a strapped round, he is one of the people that would be first through a breach in a wall. His belly is either really hairy, or...something.

Alcyoneus

Well Mordreth, there are only two ways to attone for that shame.

One is Sepuku.

The other is to send those unwanted books to me.

Oh, if you go the first route, can I have your books?

Alcyoneus

When I was in tooling, we cooked plaster at about 160-180 for several hours to get rid of the extra moisture after letting it sit at room temp. for about a day.

Alcyoneus

Tim, it's not just one possible historical scenario, the ignoble nature of archery in warfare is well documented in the middle ages. I'm sure the anti-archery bandwagon is busy now digging up as much historical evidence to the Crossbow and Bow being unchivalrous and unKnightly weapons...so let's se...

Alcyoneus

How likely would it have been for a combatant to have had two helmets?

Alcyoneus

It better be one long assed fuse, because I'm walking to the gate and killing them all.

Alcyoneus

I was just going to pm you about that...

How is/did the BBC thing go?

Alcyoneus

Here is the pic posted by Igor of Maguar: http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j264/chevalion/Musee%20de%20larmee/LesinvalidesArmourmart5.jpg And the comment by James Arlen Gillespie: Those black painted items on the bottom shelf are on the 'Shelf of Shame' as one of us christened it - notorious fakes ...

Alcyoneus

Maybe their reputation is worth 25-35,000 Euros. The second one isn't as obiously bad as the first, imo. The top looks like some sort of tinsmiths exaust hood, and I'm not sure it is any more legit, but it doesn't scream as loudly as the original one does. The shape of the base is wrong, unless it i...

Alcyoneus

You cannot legally drop your crossbow on the field. Drop in your wagon, yes. Like them, hate them, whatever. What information is this statement based on? Thanks in advance! My backup would be my 9'spear, or my GS. It is based on reducing my effectiveness, and protecting you from bruises. I've heard...

Alcyoneus

Oswyn, there are books on medieval artifacts, and books on medieval jewelry/Byzantine art, etc. Much of what gets published is the higher-class stuff, not what was most common. I have a book on Romanian jewelry, much of which was 15-18thC, and it looks quite a bit like 500BC Greek artifacts. Post so...

Alcyoneus

How do you know that they weren't lying about the carbon dating? Or fudging it? They are giving you 130 years to work with, when the standard is +/-30. The earliest date is still later than the supposed date of the helmet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiocarbon_dating

Alcyoneus

I think that you will find external hinges more common once they start decorating the steel itself with piercings, etc (mid-late 15thC). Until that point I think they would have been thought of as boring structural details. External hinges are also more likely to catch things like sword blades, and ...

Alcyoneus

Barbutes would work just fine.

Alcyoneus

Yes, the armorer that concocted this rode 'the short horse'.

Here is a question for those that want to believe it is authentic:

What leads you to that conclusion?

Alcyoneus

Oswyn_de_Wulferton wrote:but is the stuff you get hunting really good for armour? Most of what we use is veg-tan (not something you can get while hunting). I have never heard of the rawhide part of it though.

You won't find tanned hides on anything you hunt, or raise. That takes work after you empty the hides out.

Alcyoneus

I can see it vaguely resembling some helmets in pre 1325 manuscripts, maybe... But what I see here is a helmet that is poorly shaped to protect or fit a man's head. I think there is probably 6+" of space above the wearer's eyes, if not more. Plus, the extension below the heartshape would probab...

Alcyoneus

Yes, there is a bias against any kind of artillery that looks like it is powder powered. Email Kaz, and I'm sure he can give you a dissertation on the subject.

Alcyoneus

No, no magic could happen to me...Then I saw her, I couldn't believe it...

Tournament-David Crouch