The Armour Archive

Cat

Any news on the raising hammer and the auto body hammers and stakes? I am still interested in you haven't sold them.

By the way, did you get my email about any raising stakes you might have?

Thanks,
Cat

Cat

Konstatin, Thanks for that description! I guess I thought "live steel" and "rebated steel" were also part of the SCA, although I don't actually know what those terms mean. So SCA is mainly rattan? What about the fencing? Do they use the normal fencing swords or are they modified in some way? I just ...

Cat

Patrick,
Do you know how long he's been using it? What kind of fighting is he using it for? ( I am unfamiliar with ALL types of fighting)

Thanks for your response! This information is very useful!

Cat

Cat

Morristh,
Thank you for the response! I appreciate you taking the time!

Cat

Cat

I certainly second that as well.

You have done all of us a GREAT service, and I appreicate it SO very much!

Thank you!
Cat

Cat

I am getting so many great tips!!! Thanks so much for all of the help and the kind comments! A viking boot is what I was going for, mainly based on a shoe I saw on Armlann's (sp?) site. Of course, I decided on that style AFTER I had already cut out the pieces. I am unfamiliar with the "types" of lea...

Cat

Thanks for the replies so far! Steve, That link is AWESOME!! That is VERY helpful! So, if I am reading the data correctly, 14 gauge 3/8" id is stronger than 16 gauge 1/4"? Which would be lighter? I guess what I'm really looking for here is info from people who fight in butted maille. I'd like to kno...

Cat

Hey guys, I just wanted to ask some questions about the durability of butted maille in the SCA and other types of combat. I posted an ad on the Honor Blade Forum for my website, and someone asked me how well butted maille held up to the rigors of SCA combat. I felt really stupid when I had to answer...

Cat

Here is the side seam I was referring to: [img]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-6/747695/sideseam.JPG[/img] It's overlapped here (maybe by a little too much) instead of them just butting together. Is this ok? Were some period shoes made this way, or were they all butted? I remember something abou...

Cat

Thanks for the comments and tips! Yes, the toe is pretty rounded compared to the examples I have seen. I kinda like the rounded look myself, but I know that's not how it should be. As for the length, it's about an inch and a half short on my foot. Since I didn't do the tunnel stitching, it got way s...

Cat

Maeryk, I actually have some of that stuff. I just bought a few goodies from the leather store. I have the pointy wheel thing and the thing that make a channel to stitch in, plus I have an awl with 4 tips and I have a 4 prong hole punch for pre punching the holes. I also bought a book about hand sti...

Cat

Armorbug, My other foot may get cold, but the one wearing this shoe would become deformed! It's too tight from toe to heel. Maeryk, That actually sounds like it would work really well. I think what I did wrong was not adding extra to the outline of the sole. It fit my foot perfectly until I got it a...

Cat

Whoa! I certainly wasn't expecting this kind of response!! Thank you all very much! My husband thought it looked funny, but since he's not in to all of this, I figured I'd take a chance and post it here to see what you guys thought. Honestly, I figured everyone else would think it looked funny too. ...

Cat

Well, I tried my hand at shoe making this weekend. Now before we get to the pictures, there's a few things ya gotta know before you look. The shoe is somewhat messed up. It's made of the wrong kind/thickness of leather (made of 4 oz. tooling leather) so I wasn't able to do the tunnel stiching on the...

Cat

Horradrick,
I just got a duplicate email of one that you sent me a while back. I sent you a copy of what I originally wrote in case you didn't receive it the first time.

Cat

Ps. Sorry for the hijack.

Cat

Maeryk, Thanks for all of that info and the pattern link! That will give us a few choices so we don't all go around wearing the same design. Tasha, Those pants are a good idea! I will look into those as I doubt I would be any good at making them. Louis, I have a pair of leather flip flop style sanda...

Cat

Fulk, Thanks for that link! I think I can handle that. I just need 15 of them. Unless of course I decide to have the medieval smell to go along with the look, then I just need 5. Hey, they want the most authenticity possible, right? Ingrid, Thanks for the suggestion! I will take a look at the pictur...

Cat

Thanks guys! I've gotten some great info so far!! The garb looks like it may not be as expensive as I thought. I don't have a serger (would be nice though), but I can con my mom into sewing some stuff for me on her machine. (I will just threaten to leave the kids at her house if she doesn't ) Losthe...

Cat

Thanks for the replies so far! Ok, so jeans are ok, as long as we wear a suitable tunic over it and maybe some of those leg wrap things? (I don't know what they are called) Could we wear some of those cotton draw string PJ pants? (no flamingos - I promise ) Is it ok for women/girls to wear "man" clo...

Cat

One more thing - do the tents need to be "period" tents? I looked through the camping section but didn't find the answer to this.

Cat

Cat

Hey guys, I was thinking of going to Pennsic this year as sort of a family vacation. I'm not in the SCA, so I won't be doing any events. The website says you have to wear garb. Does that mean the kids too? Can we wear tennis shoes, or do I have to get period shoes? We are a family of 5, so about how...

Cat

Try Ironmonger Armoury. http://www.ironmongerarmory.com/ Their raising stakes start out at $125 to $135 for the smaller ones, and $150 to $175 for the larger ones. Check Ebay also, as one just sold there a couple of days ago for $140. Search for "tinsmith stake".

Cat

Cat

If the raising hammer and the auto body hammers/stakes are still unclaimed, I will take those.

Email me if they are available and we can get payment taken care of.

Thanks,
Cat

Cat

Ian,
That looks great! I can't wait to see more pics!!

Nice job!
Cat

Cat

How much would you want for the arms?

Cat

Cat

DANG IT!!!!!!! I am getting ready to buy a raising hammer from them (and a kettle stake) and it looks like I just missed out on a great deal. If the others aren't interested, I would like to buy it. I would also be interested in the auto body hammers. Let me know if the others decide they don't want...

Cat

I could make a camail to your specs, but I don't currently make the camail straps or attach the maille to them. I know this isn't exactly the "take it out of the box and install it scenario", but if you are interested let me know. You can click on my web site link in my signature line to see some pi...

Cat

Egfroth,
Thank you very much for that link! It has some very good info on how to measure for the bands. I got this as a kit, so I didn't have to measure for anything and that info will be great to have if I ever make one myself!

Thanks again,
Cat

Cat

Tatsuo, I will give that a try. Thank you for the tips! (And of course I'm right, I'm always right .) Krag, Thanks for that link. I will read through that before I head back out to the shop. Thank you also for the offer of help! I live in Columbus, so that would be quite a hike. I apreciate the offe...

Cat

Egfroth,
Thank you very much for those nice comments and for the information! Hopefully I will be able to get this panel fixed this weekend.

Thanks again,
Cat

Ps. Those are some very nice helms!

Cat

Not a problem. If you need more help, let me know. If you're like me and learn best by LOOKING at something, let me know and I can send you some pictures. I am currently making an aventail and can give you some progress pics to illustrate what I was talking about.

Good luck!
Cat

Cat

Drachus, You will need to expand it some. I expand mine every 6 rows (the 6th row being the expansion row). So to start, you make your initial 3 rows to fit the circumference of your helm, plus about 4" added to that to give the maille some stretch. Then you weave 3 more rows on to that for a total ...

Cat

Actually, it's more like a genetic disorder.

You can take the blonde outta the hair, but ya can't take the blonde outta the girl.

Jason,
Thanks for the tips! I will try to do that with the remaining panels.

Cat

Cat

Migueldz, I understand completely. Thank you very much for that tip, that will help me alot! Otto and Alcyoneus, That is exactly the problem. I'm sorry if my first post was confusing. No, the plate is not hitting the table at all. If I were to tape down the bottom edge instead, then the point would ...

Cat

Otto, Thank you for the tips and advice! It looks like I may have to do a combination of things to get this to fit right. I just get so frustrated. I don't mind at all putting hours and hours into the work, and I love to do it, but I just can't see HOW things need to be done. I can sometimes see wha...

Butted maille in the SCA

I HAVE MADE......a shoe?

Questions about Pennsic - never been there