The Armour Archive

Maelgwyn

In addition to this timeline, I think it would be great to build an armour wikipedia. My $.02 Maelgwyn We were hoping to wait a few weeks to put anything out on this... but, it seems as good a time as any. ARS members will be getting a good dose of info on this project with details later this week....

Maelgwyn

Start with a timeline of archetype armours and common variations represented with pictures of effigies, contemporary art, or surviving examples. Then add links from there to LH and SCA interpretations of those same armour types. Links to patterns would also seem possible and desireable. I think this...

Maelgwyn

Did you want a web site where you buy it or a web site that shows how to make it?

See http://www.nacs.net/~pietro/SCAArmorHelmLiner.html and http://www.forth-armoury.com/photo_gall ... _liner.htm for instructions on making quilted helm liners.

Maelgwyn

Full face shield...check. Having recently added a bench grinder and angle grinder to my arsenal, I decided this sounded like good advice and picked one up at Lowe's yesterday. Thanks for the timely advice!

Maelgwyn

InsaneIrish wrote:Try a centergrip heater.

Can you point me to some art sources for those? What range of dates? Any examples in Engalnd or Wales?

Maelgwyn

Still working on the 14th century kit. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to learn to fight with a heater. I don't mind making the new shield, it's learning to fight with a new shield shape that bugs me. Perhaps I should just do sword-and-buckler, longsword and poleaxe for tournaments? Do any center-...

Maelgwyn

Well, I haven't done a shaped and hardened breastplate but I've done a few other leather projects... With a good rabbit glue treatment your 9oz leather should be fine for vambraces or other places where you want some protection but it doesn't need to be truely rigid. A breastplate of this will flex ...

Maelgwyn

Shields were made of wicker covered in bullhide... no, wait... Shields were made of boards pinned together with pegs... no, wait... Shields were made of birch strips laminated together over a form to make a deep dome or saucer shape... no, wait... Shields were made of steel plate and bolted directly...

Maelgwyn

Some things I have tried: 1. 1/2 inch plywood edged with aluminum C channel and soaker hose laced on with nylon cord. Shield lasts forever but the hose and cord need replacing from time to time. Looks moderately ugly. Birch plywood is lighter weight. 2 layers of 1/4 inch birch plywood can be curved ...

Maelgwyn

Ffoulkes does go into this speculation as well, and Gary Gygax cited Ffoulkes as a souce for his armour info in early editions of D&D. Thus the contagion spreads. The illustrations that the Victorians used as a source for "banded mail" are as easily explained as artistic convention. This does nothin...

Maelgwyn

Jolly well done. Nice artwort too. Can you tell us a little about the dishing of leather? I want to make a leather spangen with metal bands. The leather cost $50.00 and I do not wish to mess it up... Hal I made one of those recently but didn't get any pics. I used an egg-shaped plastic hammer to di...

Maelgwyn

When I grow up I wanna have a 6th cent. British kit for warfighting and a 14th cent. Welsh kit for armoured tournaments and a 16th cent. Elizabethan kit for rapier duelling. Fortunately I'm only 43 so I have plenty of time...

Maelgwyn

That looks great! Will you add a matching back-plate and buckles on the sides so they can be seen through the arm-hole of the surcoat just like on a 1300's effigy?

Maelgwyn

Maelgwyn

Do people ever fill in the back of a piece like that to make it more durable after it is finished? I was thinking that filling the back with tin would work. Crazy idea? I have some really soft copper I could experiment with...

Maelgwyn

Maelgwyn

I've seen that book. Fine for inspiration but shaky for re-creation. The best re-creation source I know is hard to find, but worth borrowing on ILL. Don't let the title fool you, the author is the leader of the Britania group and his Arthurian era chapter is excellent. Title: Barbarian warriors : Al...

Maelgwyn

I used this stuff: m "Gamblin Traditional Gesso is a dry mixture of rabbit skin glue, gypsum, marble dust, and titanium dioxide." Basically glue with white powder mixed in. I have not researched whether this is identical to the ingredients in medieval gesso. I wouldn't be surprised if just glue and ...

Maelgwyn

... Ansteorra right now: Centurions of the Sable Star of Ansteorra still Rock. Giotto di Giovanni Louis la Blaireau Liam Gordon. Tarquyn Gateslayer Ysfael Bryndu If Kein's squires Caladin and Esteban keep training like they have lately they will be contending for space on this list (again) soon. I ...

Maelgwyn

My first experiment with this was a pair of ailettes which I have worn in one tournament with minimal dammage. I tooled the leather and hardened it with rabbit glue and baking before applying the gesso, so I had a moderately rigid surface to work with. I used traditional gesso which is essentially r...

Maelgwyn

Thanks, Dan. Can we get a repost of Maelgwyn's instructions? Oh, and I've realized I didn't mention the first time that the breastplate is awesome. It is. Really, really awesome. -Robert I agree, that breastplate looks great. I'd like to see a picture of it on the fighter. My latest hardening instr...

Maelgwyn

I have not tried it, but I'm worried that the oil-based dye might keep the paint from sticking to the leather. Why not use an alcohol dye instead? See http://www.tandyleather.com/products.asp?dept=173 . I have used these with good results.

Maelgwyn

Nope. It is "equivalent". Be sure to make your helm liner more than half an inch thick when worn and if there is still any concern check with your kingdom Earl Marshall.

Maelgwyn

All foam is evil, and should be kept far away from you. Quilted linen stuffed with cotton is cooler, keeps you dryer, is more comfortable, and coincidentally it happens to be what medieval warriors used to pad their helms. For less than $10 in materials and a couple hours with a sewing machine you c...

Maelgwyn

See m and m Linen stuffed with cotton seems to be the best and most accurate material for a helm liner. I made mine from linen stuffed with raw wool and that also works well. I sew the edge of the liner to a leather strip that I then glue into my helm. The historical answer for padding legs is to wr...

Maelgwyn

I use a lightweight fiber matix saturated with a liquid polymer. It can be easily formed and then heat-set to create a tough and rigid composite material. I call it "hardened leather", but if you want to call it "organic plastic" or "sport armour material" that works too. I buy it at the local Tandy...

Maelgwyn

Why not just harden the leather? Cheaper, lighter and easier than adding splints of any kind. Hide-glue hardened 10 oz leather is plenty tough enough for vambraces.

Maelgwyn

Robert de Carruthers wrote:Dan, how would you protect something like that from sweat?

I have not seen any sweat absorbtion or softening with my rabbit-hide-glue-soaked-and-baked leather. I recommend this method highly.

Maelgwyn

In the Philosophy of Chivalry forum I proposed the following a few years ago: a warrior on horseback who is oath-bound to serve a liege lord, supported through land ownership/control and commited in principle (if not always in practice) to a Christian/Aristotelian moral code. I think this definition...

Maelgwyn

Note how, in the original, the leaf and acorn are shaped to take up nearly all of the available space. The artist even added a curled bit of stem to fill in some empty space. The desired look is much like the embellishments in a contemporary illuminated manuscript. Your acorn and leaf are more reali...

Maelgwyn

Painting the background begs the question "what color shall I paint the background" - which I dodged by not painting it Gavin I'd paint the background white and the border green, but then it would match the shinbalds I'm making. My flowers will all be metalic gold and not pretty colors like yours. ...

Maelgwyn

I like it! I would have been tempted to paint the background and the border, but I'm just guessing at the 14th century aesthetic.

Why didn't they carve those stone effigies in color?

Maelgwyn

John Galiano is the designer for Dior, I studied his work along with Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier who were all the "bad boys" of fashion. Galiano did a collection I think in '96 or'97 called the Orient Express- It was incredible, mixing couture with historical fashion. Very...

Maelgwyn

Hmm... Does that rune look like the "swamp" symbol on a map? Marked with a green sharpie? That would be mine. As you say, just another reason to come back for another visit At least I remembered to bring the can of wax home this time, and I resisted the temptation to hide the rabbit glue in some cor...

Maelgwyn

Audax, several of us are already talking about attending the 7th annual WMA workshop up in Lewisville, Texas on Oct. 13-15th. See m I'm sure Brian Price and others will be offering polearm instruction there. Meanwhile there are a few of us at Tuesday practices who would be glad to work with you incl...

Maelgwyn

I must admit I'm curious...what do you envision such a group doing? Public Demo's? Private events? Other than dressing for the period, what activities do you have in mind? PS A bunch of folks, SCA and otherwise, have been asked to put on a "faire" for the teen reading program at Georgetown Public Li...

Maelgwyn

Maelgwyn, I presume you've been over to Master Peter's shop, since I know he's been doing quite a lot in 4130 recently, and he's in your area. Yup, Peter and I go way back. I brought him the information I was getting from Alexis and JP and got his help with my 4130 gauntlets. I think I nudged him t...

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