The Armour Archive

Jacob

I play with it and like it, but I haven't picked up the new books on the subject. My flow and ward decisions need work. I don't win much, either, but that has nothing to do with the weapons form. There is a I.33 tourny at pennsic that encourages using correct style. I felt there was a general improv...

Jacob

I've heard magnesium, too. It also really heats up the blade.

Jacob

The arm project helped me realize some of the areas I still need to practice. The compound curve in the vambrace (saddle shape) was a real pain and I dont have any saddle shaped stakes to clean it up on. I need practice making round rolls over curved edges. These aren't much better than simply being...

Jacob

My persona is mid 13th century. I wear armour based on the maciejowski bible with the addition of rigid knees and elbows. I use a wooden heater shield which should be more triangular or round buckler. I will probably also work on authorizing with a spear in this rig. On the light weapons field, I we...

Jacob

The battle at Wisby was in 1361 and the armour was probably not up to date. The breastplate I've seen dates for in the 80's and 90's, potentially earlier. Either way, they are from very different locations and for a very different class. The coat of plates was falling out of favor but it depends on ...

Jacob

The center of the fan was stretched out by hammering and creased into a V. The edge was filed out to a scalloped shape like the original. I think I'll do a bit more filing on them, though. The proportions are my best guesses from the pictures I had. There are a number of things I know I need to work...

Jacob

I made the trip down to my shop this weekend (about 5 hours away) and here's what I came back with. None of the projects are finished, but here are some progress pictures. m The arm is mainly what I'd like feedback on. It's my first arm, built this Saturday, based on the churburg 13 suit. I hadn't b...

Jacob

Russ, I am very interested in what research you have on the Avant suit and the details you come back with. I'm collecting references on it currently and starting to look for 1050 sheet steel sources. If you have a list of articles and publications that it has been discussed in, I'd like to find som...

Jacob

I used a section of log with dishes carved into either end. Sand/shot bags also work. Metal dishes can be bought or made if you do hot work. A round hammer to the inside while your piece is on the anvil will bump out the big dents pretty quickly. I've got pictures of my CH S13 breastplate on my webs...

Jacob

14 ga 1/8" ID?

wow

That thing must be solid! low price for the work, though.

Good luck!

Jacob

About directly linking photos:

Make a webpage that shows only the photo or the photo with a caption. Link to the webpage (.htm) not the picture (.jpg etc).

Jacob

And here I thought you had a question on making hammers... As far as documentation goes, it depends. For early medieval items it's easier to get away with a 50 year gap between your time and the artifact because there may not be any in between. Try to find references before and after. If it turns in...

Jacob

oops! Sorry, I was thinking about the original anvil being cast with a face in the side in cast iron and needing a hard top. Like you said, that'd be a pain and it might as well be cast in steel and heat treated. It'd be a cool demo anvil for later medieval or just hobby demos, but a hardie hole wo...

Jacob

I suspect how you let the billet cool after hammering it into a sheet will play a significant role. Perhaps moreso than hammering v. rolling. Here is my vote, hard to soft: Hardened (either) tempered (either) work hardened by significant cold hammering cold rolled hot rolled or normalized after hamm...

Jacob

Oops, that's picture number 14. It's from the CH T20 suit, though, as stated in the caption.

14 is the solid breastplate from the same time period as the segmented one.

Jacob

Jacob

Oooo... cheap, too. It's tempting. I have a 110 lb anvil that looks like their "Bulgar" anvil. It's fairly portable for an anvil, but overkill for maille. The anvil I want is the one at the top of this page: m If anyone is interested in steel casting and heat treating, let me know. I'm sure there wo...

Jacob

I suspect that by dishing the bottom of the cuisse, as was done in the CH s12 set, you could get around the same mobility as with a seperate lame. I haven't tried it, yet, though. You would get the benefit of motion with one less moving part and fewer rivets. I suspect the idea was abandoned when th...

Jacob

I'm looking at this picture: CH S12 m I'm building a kit based on Churburg 13. I'm wondering if I should try this articulation with no lames on the top and one on the bottom. Some from the same era have one on the top and bottom. The kit will be my best attempt at munitions grade in the medieval sen...

Jacob

There are a number of pictures of early cauldrons and a few later ones in this thread: m There is also a link to a paper on the subject that I wrote. I have a 1750's cast iron cauldron, sand cast in 8 pieces, pictured at the bottom of the article. It's one gallon and probably approximately what you'...

Jacob

There's a book called Fashion in the Age of the Black Prince, I don't know how good it is. Amazon has a number of bio's on him, too.

It looks like there are quite a few books just on him.

Jacob

Jacob

This: m plus recent additions that I have not yet put into the spreadsheet. My lady also has a ton of books that are now mixed with mine on similar topics including cooking and costume references. The spreadsheet makes it easier to keep track of them and I can cut and paste into bibliographies when ...

Jacob

Check out anime's for later segmented breastplates. They, however, articulate vertically instead of horizontally. Coats of plates, corizonas, and brigs could also be considered segmented breastplates, but they have the metal on the inside. The rolled edges, lance rest (or just staples) and stop rib ...

Jacob

What websites or books have pictures of this type of arm? I'm planning on building some soon and I'm looking at historical references. The Churburg book shows a couple from the 14th century, but no complete shots of the arms with the #13 harness. The Mantova book only briefly shows anything from the...

Jacob

Segmented: Covers more, novel idea/construction, weighs more, more difficult to make, more expensive, unique piece Solid: More typical, multiple existing versions, used for a long timeframe, recreated relatively infrequently I say go with the solid breastplate unless you want the novelty of building...

Jacob

There are lots of grammatical issues. Don't capitalize maille, lorica, etc. You have not listed any of your sources which makes a number of your comments seem like personal opinions that are not necessarily backed by others. I can't comment on the Roman U-shaped thingy, because I don't know about it...

Jacob

Spaulders are common in England, but Italy and Germany do not seem to use them much. A good article is on Arador. It's the best info I've found online on the subject. Examples from the 70's and 80's are good, too. I've seen a range of dates for the breastplate going back that far. Here's an example ...

Jacob

I recently made a segmented breastplate based off of the Churburg suit and I would like to build the rest of the suit. I'm looking for images and references for Italian armour in the 1390's or so to fill in the gaps. Spaulders with lames seem to be out, but I'm thinking of simply using the top dishe...

Jacob

A seller has 3 of these kilns on ebay: m Large enough for breastplates and room to spare, digital control, and not a bad price. You'd probably want a different one for helms and individual pieces, but if you're willing to deal with top loading, these look good. Heck, some swords would fit in there i...

Jacob

Halvgrim,

Nice collection of pictures. A number of them I couldn't find when I was writing a paper on the subject. I'll have to look them over more and maybe update it.

My cauldron/cast iron essay is here:
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/jselmer/cauldrons.htm

Jacob

Jacob

Incededntly you can cast lead in tin foil.

Use AL or steel foil. Tin will melt. If it's only a tin coating, like tin cans, then it will just take the tin off and add it to your alloy. Most foil is AL anyway.

Jacob

Jacob

Why not just buy a small sheet from your local metal supplier or order from mcmaster.com and attach it to your apron? A dished cup would be fairly easy to make, and there should be no need for annealing, but why start working lead while trying to have children? Lead is only harmful to developing chi...

Jacob

m There are also a number of good books on Roman equipment. Look through those to see what may be apropriate. I've seen some nice ones by Bishop, but it's not an area I've focused on. I think it'd be cooler to slightly modify something apropriate than to use something 15 centuries out of place. Good...

Jacob

Here is the helmet, based off of pictures in the Maciejowski Bible: [img]http://filebox.vt.edu/users/jselmer/images/Fighter_pics/Buckler1.jpg[/img] It's shown in other places on my site, although some pictures are from before I painted the cross white. It's the first helmet I made. I'm also wearing ...

Jacob

I just updated my website, particularly the reference section. m New articles include: Early coats-of-plates and my reproduction based on St. Maurice This article looks at references and sources to early coats-of-plates, generally in the 13th century. My reproduction is based off of the 1250 statue ...

Jacob

The whole set is a pretty good deal. I'll send you an email. I've been meaning to get most of these anyway (except the 19th c drawing one. I know it sucks, I have it

)

Jacob

Feedback on this weekend's armouring projects

Knee articulation on 14th c legs

Late 14th century Italian shoulder armour?

Kilns on ebay

St. Maurice COP article and site update