The Armour Archive

Effingham

Hi Effie.. Long time since Oldenfeld

Ya! They were the interesting old days.

Effingham

Effingham

Thanks, Fraygod.

For the record, a multiplate is much easier to make than a zunari. More plates, I know, but much easier to dish 'em (for that reason) and they can fit with less fiddling required.

I hate making zunari. I've done two, and never plan to make another.

Effingham

Effingham

and the pics on it are unfortunately both out of date and of poor quality.

Due, you're a businessman!!

Put up current and good pics. You don't see last year's Lexus in the Lexus ads.

Effingham

Effingham

Any news?

Effingham

Effingham

Well, Owen, you can always point to that late-period addiction for classically inspired parade armours. Heck, I'm pretty sure I recall seeing some molded boots somewhere that gave the impression of bare feet in sandals, so even your spiffy boots have precedence in the late renaissance.

Effingham

Effingham

You'd have a problem. With your height, you should use a yon-sun nobi or maybe even a roku-sun nobi bow (that is, four or six inches longer than standard length). I'm only 5'9 and I have to use a ni-sun nobi. Ni-sun are commonly made, but I think yon and roku would be custom orders, and would cost m...

Effingham

If Romans are OK then Musketteers should be allowed. The Cut off debate is so fricking lame. Romans and Vikings are ok in a tournament but Musketteers are not, oh please. Mayhaps you will note that there is a POST cutoff date (1601) but no PRE cutoff date? They may not be in the spirit of medieval,...

Effingham

You can't. There are two -- count 'em, two -- people in North America I know of qualified to make Japanese bows. Both were trained by famous bowyers in Japan. Japanese bows are incredibly complex things. They're not simple yew longbows. If you want to get a "relatively" inexpensive yumi, look into k...

Effingham

Why would you want to use a pattern that isn't accurate and produces a bad SCA version of a Japanese helmet?

I have a real eight-plate kabuto pattern on my website, y'know.

Effingham

Effingham

would it be totally wrong to make a spacial "harness" that you put on before the Do to carry the flag? The short -- and blunt -- answer is, "yes." If you want to wear a sashimono, you'll have to make a sei-ita (aka "coward's plate"). This is a segment of armour that is made like a miniature back-pi...

Effingham

Thanks, Alcy, but the armour manual will be more useful than the Miscellany.

The URL for my homepage, linking the armour manual, is in my sig.

Effingham

Effingham

On your page Eff you talked abouth the vest(I can remeber the name...gahh!), but besides that is there any padding at all historicly? That was the manchira (from the Portuguese "mantilla")-- it's a wrapping thingie that covers the shoulders and chest. Think of a half-length vest. Historically there...

Effingham

I know by experience that before I make an armor I must design what will go under it, in order not to be too tight fit So, again for SCA combat, would you recomment Hitatare & Hakama or Gusokushita ? They're different concepts. In the sengoku period, you didn't wear a hitatare unless you were impor...

Effingham

I'm sorry I was not clear on this one. I was looking to make the do of lame not Kozanes, and I meant 16 ga not 14 ga. So have you ever made a dÃ´ from the new style Yokohago DÃ´ pattern out of 16 ga steel. And do you think it could be done as mentioned with one layer of leather over a layer of 18 g...

Effingham

Effingham, You mentioned : "If your weight fluctuates, you might prefer a haramaki variant, a haraate, a roku-mai dÃ´, or a ryÃ´-awase dÃ´." Why is it ? Does these allow an overlap at closure that permit this ? I'm really glad you ask questions like that. It helps me pinpoint parts in the manual wh...

Effingham

The size of the plates depends on the period and style of brigandine.

What are you trying to do?

Effingham

Effingham

Odd, I thought I pointed out that later period armours were primarily metal rather than leather -- so metal scales would be obvious. Seriously, though, all those comments about plastic were as regards using the stuff for SCA combat. Frankly, you can use just about anything you want, but dealing with...

Effingham

There were two types of haidate made of kozane: the very first ones, and a group during the Edo period. The first ones, in the 14th C., were actually just kozane hanging from fabric panels. The later ones -- which are post period for the SCA -- are kozane that are put together pretty much in the nor...

Effingham

It seems to me that making a larger size would be the standard; since it opens up the front, people with narrower waists could cut more from the center.

Effingham

Effingham

Noe, old buddy, I feel your pain. I can't tell you how many times my English copy was amended by the PR folk at companies I was writing for because they knew English better than I. I've had the same problems you've experienced with Japanese translations. I know a few folks who write their own Japane...

Effingham

As for Laquer, well it might be my translation from english to french but I can't make the difference between lacquer and laquer The only laquer I know is the one I usually use on wood... We generally have the same problem here in the US where we have "lacquer" used for a whole group of finishing m...

Effingham

Dammit!

I just went to the new website and e-mailed him -- using the address on that site -- about my order. The e-mail came back undeliverable as "no such address."

Grr.

Effingham

Effingham

I'll echo the "I'll pony up" thing.

Heck, even if I'm still too chubby to wear it, it'll be a good incentive.

Effingham

Effingham

The pages though look suspect to me. Too white, no fading in the ink.

That's because it's probably parchment, not paper. And if the book stays closed, the ink isn't exposed to light.

Effingham

Effingham

I did read that, but I ubderstood (maybe I was wrong) that you said that cuir bouilli or waxed would be too brittle but that unthreated leather would do but would not protect much. No, the point was that cuir bouilli kozane will, after time, soften or take on warps from being hit. And un-treated le...

Effingham

I was looking at the kozane that noble is gearing up for, and it looks a little thin for combat armour. Remember that each kozane overlaps the next a full half its width, so that's a total of twice that thickness all around. And a lame of kozane overlaps the next lame by about a third, so 2/3 of yo...

Effingham

1)The Do that have very elaborated lacing, ie you almost see only laces of differents colors, can these be made of lamellar (Kozane?)... That can be done either with kozane or with solid lames. Later period usage had quite a few done that way with solid lames. The only problem is all those holes yo...

Effingham

Ld. Thomas wrote: He wants to use leather for the plates, and paint the mail blue to match the rest of his armor. The question I have is this: what is the best way to go about this? There is no good way to paint Japanese armour blue . But I've never tried to marry metal mail with leather plates in t...

Effingham

Check out my armour manual on my webpage. It covers most of that.

http://www.sengokudaimyo.com

Effingham

Effingham

The reward comes when you're doing a demo, and the kids are looking at your armour, and call you "Sir __________" without even thinking. Or when new recruits tell you they want armour like yours, and "...can you show me how you did it?". The reward comes when you can hold your own on an SCA battlef...

Effingham

If you hear from him, let me know. I'm still looking for arms and legs from last Pennsic.

Effingham

Effingham

Drop dead sexy. Mmmm.

Effingham

Effingham

The scorpion's Or.

Effingham

Effingham

Good Cousin Gaston --

I'd be interested in one of those "upper plate set" set thingies.

About what size person do they fit?

Effingham

Effingham

Oh, fine. Rub it in, Hanzo.

Effingham