The Armour Archive

Effingham

Pretty. Very pretty. I swear the lining of the kikkÃƒÂ´ looks like terrycloth.

Suh-WEET.

Effingham

Effingham

Check your e-mail, I have your lace.

Cool! I'll go back and see if I missed the e-mail.

Effingham

Effingham

<christmas story> I triple-dog dare you! </christmas story>

Effingham

Effingham

As for the Uesugi and the Hosokawa, well, its a good thing they were rich. Otherwise they would have been considered "crazy" and not "eccentric." That is indeed the demarcation line between "crazy" and "eccentric." Good point. One family's "crazy uncle Earl" might be -- under another fiscal reality...

Effingham

The reason the lacing goes the wrong way is because he took the picture himself, of himself, in the mirror... (you know I know better than that). Whew! That explains things. I was wondering if the photo might have been reversed, but there was nothing clear enough in the BG to see. It's alced a bit ...

Effingham

Both of those armours (on page 129 and 130) are from the Uesugi family, and they tended to do weird things. I don't know if you've ever seen the Hosokawa armours, for example, but virtually every one of the armours from the Hosokawa family has the left-front kusazuri in a different color (not the la...

Effingham

I just figured out what was bothering me. It's a double whammy of oops-ness. The top lame of the tateage should be laced to the munaita with CROSSLACES. The only reason for using nawame odoshi would be if the tateage was suspended from the munaita on lacing. (The munaita is also a bit too tall, but ...

Effingham

One of the nicest looking barrel armours I've ever seen. The only quibble I have (I *have* to have a quibble, y'know) is that there's something up with the munaita that I just can't make out, and there's no mimi-ito. But it's a damned good looking bit of armour. Bravo!!! If others working with barre...

Effingham

Here's a pile of images of early-style dÃƒÂ´ maru and haramaki. [img]http://www.oningyo.com/tango/rekisi/doumaru.jpg[/img][img]http://www.oningyo.com/tango/rekisi/haramaki.jpg[/img] [img]http://sakyo.web.infoseek.co.jp/collection/postcard1.jpg[/img] [img]http://www12.wind.ne.jp/tomohm/img_2/d.jpg[/i...

Effingham

Re. shiki: I suppose you can use just about anything. I've thought about those little brass strips, too. As to the number -- you can have one (typical) or two (not so common, but done) shiki. The bottom would be default, and you can also have a second in the upper row of the shita garami. And every ...

Effingham

Option one I add a set of lacing that is NOT align with the lacing of the kabuki. Option two, make a net set of tateage large enough to make the lacing align... Tough call. I'd go with option one. For any future armours, though, remember that they should be there, and space *all* the lacing to fit....

Effingham

Yes they do require hidden elbows, but I have a set of tiny ones that are covered perfectly

It strikes me as the perfect use for the non-flanged "crusader" cup shaped cops.

Effingham

Effingham

Not bad. I've always had a thing for red armour. It's got that "dashing" look. Is this leather? Something about the way the light's hiting it and the curves are shaped makes it look that way. The one real criticism I'd have is that you need another set of lacing holes on each end of the tateage. You...

Effingham

Dealing with two posts. First: Oh, well that's somewhat disappointing to hear. Why would they sculpt the plates like that? They want their forearms to look massive? It's NOT that heavily sculpted. It's an optical illusion. Remember that those plates *are* 3D sculpted; the sleeves they're attached to...

Effingham

Something I'd suggest people with budgets consider (and something I'm going to do for a heavy-combat armour): Make the torso of the dÃƒÂ´ solid plates (like an okegawa dÃƒÂ´ or something) and make the kusazuri and tateage out of kozane. It's about a half or third of what you'd need for a full dÃƒÂ´,...

Effingham

Some (I won't say all) dou have the underside of the watagami built up. The original I disassembled had 4 thick layers of rawhide under the thin rawhide and laquer shell. I messed with one once that had about a half-dozen layers of matting -- like the surface for tatami -- sandwiched between the pl...

Effingham

It's exactly what it says -- a kusari katabira.

Seriously, though -- it's just a mail-clad gusokushita, or something intended to be worn under clothing "just in case" (but I doubt the latter, given the obvious collar).

Effingham

Effingham

Thanks for sending the images. Those are just typical tsubo gote (or splinted versions thereof), with very heavily sculpted plates. It's hard to tell from the photos, but they really are just forearm plates, and the elbow plate is around the back where it doesn't show in the photos. Look at the leng...

Effingham

Also, in a book I have, there is a large-plate (tsubo?) fore-arm (shino?) that looks to be extended out to cover the elbow, and even dished. It actually looks like bauzabons (sp?) - combined fore-arm & elbow protection. Is that a drawing or a photo? It sounds like nothing I've ever seen. Effingham

Effingham

And, Excellency, sorry about my striped lacing (I'll fix it when I put in the rest of the holes and go from sugake to kebiki). My example was indeed too late for SCA period. And thanks for saying anything nice about it. LOL! Thanks. Actually, I think that gen.2 suit is nice -- and a great improveme...

Effingham

Look, here's the thing. Okegawa do are possibly the simplest armours to make. There are no LARGE pieces. There is little dishing (mostly only curving). There are virtually no compound curves. The most picky thing is lining up the holes. ANYONE can make a decent okegawa do. (Mykaru's is splendid, but...

Effingham

That's the idea, Ron. That's the whole point. Okegawa dÃƒÂ´ are NOT that hard to make. What it takes is a willingness to really look at the source material and a willingness to take the time to do it right. Mykaru has done that. And by doing so, he's made a work of art. That's what's impressive. He ...

Effingham

Frankly, this dÃƒÂ´ is the final blow to the "all you gotta do is put on craploads of lace and a barrel is fine" school of armouring. All the lacing in the world won't make a barrel look like good Japanese armour. That dÃƒÂ´ is elegant simplicity and, frankly, makes me drool.

Effingham

Effingham

Mykaru, that is seriously one sweet piece of armour porn. I don't think I could have done it any better. Absolutely the best okegawa dÃƒÂ´ I've ever seen for the SCA. Heck, it's beyond SCA -- that piece is officially "recreation" quality. I'd put it up against anything on the market. Effingham

Effingham

Mike; looks real sweet.

Why not grind off the chin and build a new one?

Effingham

Effingham

Rememer my kit is more tha of a ranked Ashigaru, not a samurai.

Yeah, but yours looks better than the kit of most samurai.

Effingham

Effingham

Hiraizumi-dono - got a spare bedroom? I don't have spare WALKING room. There are paths -- literally -- in the floor in the living room and bedroom delineated by boxes of books (earmarked either for moving or storage). You can trace the paths of utility (front door to TV to AC to Desk to Kitchen to ...

Effingham

Actually, I think it was deer. Dog tends to be very thin.

Effingham

Effingham

Well, yeah. There were hundreds of tengu-men produced. But thousands and thousands of "human" men were made. None of them look like this. Let's be honest: what you got is not a Japanese men. Yes, you asked for it -- but it's not Japanese. It detracts from the rest of the helm, which is rather nice (...

Effingham

The finished product looks good -- the shikoro is particularly nice.

But... um... that menpo....

Effingham

Effingham

Heck, why do people play golf? Why do people fish?

I think that, like almost every other hobby in the world, it falls into one of those binary views: either you get it, like it, and do it, or you don't get it, like it, or do it.

Effingham

Effingham

Dang it, I answered this one a couple of days ago, and must have hit "preview" instead of "submit."

Sorry.

There is no one way to write most of those. You'll have to decide which one you want.

Arima: Ã¦Å“â€°Ã©Â¦Â¬

Jinsuke: [size=200]Ã§â€

Effingham

Garf. Sigh.

I got so excited by seeing a ridge height I went briefly blind.

Muchos apo-polly-loggies!

Effingfoob

Effingham

It's nice to know the ridge height -- a lot of people don't mention that.

But it would be nice to know the FOOTPRINT of the geteld. How long is it, and how wide?

Effingham

Effingham

And my nanori, Jinsuke, is also problematic. "-Suke" means "assistant," or "servant," or something along those lines. "Jin," on the other hand, is more problematic. It can mean "man, person, or people," but it can also mean "compassion, virtue, or benevolence." I'm afraid you fell afoul of the dict...