The Armour Archive

Maelgwyn

Metal helmets are not recommended due to possible damage to the youth's skeletal structure? Jehan, squire of Sir Vitus Metal helmets are highly recommended, just not in adult SCA combat gauges. 18 gauge mild steel should be plenty. An 18 gauge spangen with leather panels and slats would be "way coo...

Maelgwyn

If the Norse use of lamellar comes from Roman or Byzantine models then the term for the padded garment worn under the armour is "subarmalis" or "thoracomachus". See m for more about this garment. Some reenactors use felt instead of quilted padding based on different selection and interpretation of s...

Maelgwyn

Bran, I would still call it lamellar if the pieces are linked to each other with wire instead of cord. It becomes scale when the pieces are attached to a backing of fabric or leather instead of attaching to each other, as I understand it. I know of two finds of Roman iron lamellar in Britain, one in...

Maelgwyn

Many of the dyes used for cloth would work for leather as well. Woad provides blue or green and Tassilos' example of red madder is one way to get red. The Cives Britanni group has a good discussion of colours in their kit guide at m, and the Vicus group has some additional articles at m that may be ...

Maelgwyn

Primary: early 6th century Britain

Secondary: Late 16th century England

Maelgwyn

Yes, Matthew, I have mined the Legio XX site extensively. Thanks for all your good work! Now, if we do up a kit guide and plan an Arthurian event, would you want to attend?

Maelgwyn

What LH or reenactment group has the best organized, most informative online kit guide? I'm considering creating one for Arthurian (5th-6th century British) reenactment and I don't want to re-invent the wheel in terms of structure and layout.

Maelgwyn

Please read this thread before you wax leather for use in armour. I encourage you to consider using rabbit glue instead of wax. Someday I predict waxed leather armour will join overweight mild steel armour, heavy butted mail, polyester gambesons & surcoats, foam insulation padding and freon can helm...

Maelgwyn

I agree with eveything T-Bob says, except the wax. Remember that since leather is much thicker than metal it would be wise to use wider lamellae with less total overlap than is typical for metal lamellae. My current project uses roughly 2.5x3.5 inch pieces. I advise you to select a lamellae design, ...

Maelgwyn

I think that the key to doing this well is an illustrated, footnoted kit guide. It looks to me like any such group is going to be geographically dispersed so we need to be able to share ideas, standards and research sources without a lot of face-to-face communication. The available information is sp...

Maelgwyn

Can anyone tell me if warp weighted looms were in use in Dal Riada or Ireland in the 400CE? In the decades leading up to 400 AD the Dal Riadans from Ireland raided and over-ran much of what is now northern Wales with alarming frequency and success. This would give them access to warp-weighted looms...

Maelgwyn

I'm doing early 6th century (currently 504 AD) Britain within the SCA. I'd be very interested in an occasional LH event. Heck, even if I couldn't attend events I'd be interested in helping with the research, kit guides, etc. This is not something I'd want to do all the time but if there were, say, a...

Maelgwyn

If you ram-pack the stuffing too tight it will transmit too much force to your head, just as if you had used foam that was too dense. If you use too little padding then the resilience will "bottom out" too quickly, just as if you had used foam that was too squishy. "Just right" is somewhere in the m...

Maelgwyn

http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/37256//Location/DBBC Excavations at Dura Europos: Final Report VII: Arms and Armour and other Military Equipment by Simon James ISBN 0714122483. Hardback. Price US $170.0 You could try interlibrary loan. Well, the publisher's site still shows it as "Not yet...

Maelgwyn

Foam is a high-tech product designed to keep heat and moisture from passing through. If you want to trap heat and sweat against your head, foam will do this very effectively. If this is not your goal, make a linen liner stuffed with natural fibers such as raw wool, cotton, flax, or horsehair. Wadded...

Maelgwyn

see also: Master Iolo at New World Arbalest, http://www.crossbows.net/

Maelgwyn

While the Dura Europos find confirms it for 3rd cent. Roman armour, I'd consider it very likely for Sassanid Persian and Sarmatian gear as well. The Romans probably learned to make it from one of these sources. The Chinese seem to have gotten the idea for lamellar from the Sarmatians too, so the Chi...

Maelgwyn

A 14 gage mild steel Norse spangenhelm should give excellent head protection, dent resistance and appearance. I would not suggest 12 gage for a spangen due to the added weight of the overlapping metal. If you are worried about denting then creased bands may help. I think Norse helms with slat backs,...

Maelgwyn

Huzzah! Congratulations Sir Bryce! It is good to learn that the Atlantean crown and chivalry are not blind to the presence of a man who will make such an exemplary knight living amongst them. By the thoughts you have shared and the accounts of your deeds told in this forum I had long since marked yo...

Maelgwyn

My suggestion for what it's worth: Laminate linen onto a birch shield with rabbit glue. Add gesso on the front before painting. That should weigh a lot less than 6oz leather. If you must use leather, consider garment-weight goatskin.

Maelgwyn

I've actually read that there is little evidence for a massive invasion of Gaels, and that there was likely a small Gaelic population in Scotland as long as there have been in Ireland. I'm more familiar with the Welsh history than the Scottish. Massive raiding and invasion if resistance was weak se...

Maelgwyn

As for your impression about clothing, my impression matches your impression but we both need to remember that vague impressions and scant evidence are all we have. Southern "Scotland" circa 500 AD would be peopled by non-Romanized or little-Romanized British tribes including the Votadini also calle...

Maelgwyn

See http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/clothing2.html for women in a Romanized setting. For fabrics and colors see http://www.ad500.org.uk/article/kitguide/colour.html You might also review this post which covers the topic in some depth.

Maelgwyn

Rabbit glue is available here.

Maelgwyn

Perhaps the weight added with rabbit glue is offset by moisture removed in the baking process - I cannot detect any added weight. Rabbit glue is available here which makes it as accessible to me as most wax. I ordered one box and it will be enough for dozens of projects. 1) Protection and functional...

Maelgwyn

In my experience wax hardening is not the best choice for armour. Wax adds weight along with rigidity, it softens in heat, it prevents painting which was known to be done to historical leather armour, and it makes the leather more rather than less vulnerable to cutting with sharp blades. I find wax ...

Maelgwyn

You may want to see http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/aelfwyn/bede.html or the Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England . Most AS names appear as given names only but a few epithet or place names are recorded. My understanding is that your name would be "Aelfric" but that you might be known as "Aelfric of ...

Maelgwyn

I'm working on a new shield (2 layers of 1/4" birch plywood glued together and curved in a press) with 1/2" aluminum c-channel to spread out the force of impacts, 1/2" braided nylon rope for resilience and to help keep the aluminum corners from shearing through the outer covering and opponents sword...

Maelgwyn

Vendal culture is more likely to show Roman cultural influences than Russian, but lamellar armour would seem to remain a possibility either way.

Maelgwyn

Weight comparisons to mild steel armour are pretty worthless. If you can determine what the original armour you are recreating weighed then that will give you a good target. Meanwhile, most mild steel armour in the SCA is unreasonably heavy and plastic, hardened leather, or carbon steel are more lik...

Maelgwyn

I recently started using a center-grip oval and I like it a lot. I use a 1" dowel for a grip, bolted to the shield with the top and bottom bolts that hold the shield boss on. I then add a piece of 1/4" dowel taped to the handle so that I have a better grip and can control the angle of my shield. I u...

Maelgwyn

I think Maeryk has the right diagnosis: You are likely trying to move your hand in an arc or a "j" path. In a wrap shot your sword hand should move in a straight line with a sudden stop at the end or a small amount of return motion up the same line. The sword path is controlled with the hand and wri...

Maelgwyn

The blue chair isn't mine but I did leave a can of wax...I'll come back and get it when I have some gauntlets ready for hardening.

Maelgwyn

Thanks Hal! Did anyone get pictures of the hot forge, orange glowing armour pieces, and the quenching? THAT was awesome. I'm looking for a plastic-headed hammer like the yellow one everyone liked so much at the armour-in. Anyone have an online source? Edit: Found it at http://www.eastwoodco.com/shop...

Maelgwyn

I use Johnson's paste wax. Some folks like Johnson's airplane wax which may be a bit harder and more durable. Clean your armour, wax it, then store it. For items used frequently you may want to re-wax monthly or so.

Best organized kit guide?

Re: Warp Weighted Loom