The Armour Archive

Kel Rekuta

Charlotte, I have observed many of our students develop from gangly late teens into their early adult physique. I believe you will not be able to "let out" the shoulders and back of any garment sufficiently to cope with the broadening of chest and increased mass of arms and shoulders that ...

Kel Rekuta

I have the skill, tools and material reserves. Just no justification for spending as much valuable time as my armour is worth simply to put it on display. I can sell a chair, chest or cabinet. No way I justify making that...

Kel Rekuta

Could be maybe some one will know for sure. Someone that has access to the Von Trapp edition of the Churburg Armoury catalogue might be able to find out. IIRC, it is assumed someone in the Von Trapp family replaced - repaired the original gauntlets during their working life. As it isn't a public mu...

Kel Rekuta

I've always wanted to make this one. I think its a "Mac" design.

Kel Rekuta

Clicking leather items with rule dies is infinitely more effortless if your dies are lined with medium density foam. The foam rests just below the ground edge. When you press the die, the leather pops back off the die. Saves a lot of repetitive motion when cutting a hundred of the same thing - like ...

Kel Rekuta

Its kinda dated, aside from the taint of the Weasel (TM) that published it. Its a fair view of the state of the HEMA community five to eight years ago. Spend your money on something else, preferably specific to the treatises that interest you. There are so many useful books and even a couple good in...

Kel Rekuta

To the OP: While HG Cariadoc deserves lots of credit for his early work investigating the making of couir bouilli, I really wish his article had never made it onto the internet The information was state of the art 30 years ago, but even then it was apparent that it wasn't really a good answer to th...

Kel Rekuta

Does anyone know how the hollow lances of the 15th century and later were constructed? Did they start with a solid lance, split it, hollow it out and glue it back together, were they built up from staves like a barrel, or was some other method used? IIRC, a display in the Tournament Hall at the Roy...

Kel Rekuta

Then you should buy some and see if they are. The ones I bought three years ago definitely are not. The price back then was something like $17-18 @lb FOB source. I bought both Grooved and Hungarian cone head hobs to resell to the War of 1812 crowd. Considering most shoe nails are $4-6 @lb, it was a ...

Kel Rekuta

so I can basically buy the metal for this for about 20 bucks and the nails directly for about 2 bucks cheaper brand new? The nails Jeff is offering have been tinned . You will never be able to keep grooved hob nails free of rust without first tinning them. This is a good deal if you want to make a ...

Kel Rekuta

Carlo is a good guy. He dropped out of armouring for a while when he joined the military. He was relocated to somewhere in Quebec, I think. He makes simple tough armour suitable for SCA and more importantly, he's never ripped anyone off that I've heard. I suspect it took him time to re-establish a w...

Kel Rekuta

As is their distribution of annual journals paid for three years ago. Other than that, the handful of volunteers that do all the work to make DRM should be complimented for sharing hard to find reference material. I've certainly gained a lot from my membership over the years.

Kel Rekuta

Make a form or last to the shape required. Make your pieces with a trim margin, scribed to make it easy to cut away later. Thoroughly wet the leather in cold water, let it rest covered so the piece is evenly moist. I use plastic bags and leave them for a couple hours or overnight depending on materi...

Kel Rekuta

So the next big step for my 1380s harness is maille chausses. But before I go to the expense of buying them I ask the Community... How does one wear maille chausses? Obviously they have to be pointed to 'something' but is that something the same pourpoint that my 3/4 cuisses are pointed to? Or some...

Kel Rekuta

Capwell, Tobias Emanuel (2004) The English style : armour design in England, 1400-1500. PhD thesis, University of Leeds. Where is this thesis available from? Is it possible to download it from the net? Or, could you share a copy of it, if possible? Tx You might ILL a copy from Leeds University. It ...

Kel Rekuta

The English weren't known for their armouring traditions in the way the Germans and Italians were, so depending on who/what you're trying to represent with your impression, it would be perfectly reasonable to find armour imported from these areas for the particularly wealthy. This is especially tru...

Kel Rekuta

That's not reasonable, that's insanely cheap for fitted spring steel.

Kel Rekuta

Forget the UPS store. Go to the UPS website and punch in the weight & dimensions of the packaged item, both zip/postal codes and it will give you the cost of various levels of service. Print out the shipping paperwork at home. I'll second the cardboard thing. UPS doesn't take packages without so...

Kel Rekuta

Take a day, just one measly little day out of your entire life, to figure out what you want your finished kit to look like BEFORE SPENDING A DIME OF YOUR HARD-EARNED MONEY! Everyone in this game wants to look like a badass from day 1. It most certainly can be done on a budget. Buying generic, unhis...

Kel Rekuta

I was sure I bought some but only the standard could be found. Since I'm about to pick up something else from Ice, I'll order the 1/2lb bag. I'm making pretty much the same project you are, so I'll split it with you. Postage shouldn't be much. Sounds Great! Let me know when and how to pay. I know I...

Kel Rekuta

Tobias Capwell's book on this very topic should be available within the year. It will be a distillation of his 1100 page opus on armour in the English style, which was his PhD dissertation. Its quite a resource if you can your hands on the thesis. The book should be awesome too. What is the title o...

Kel Rekuta

Kel, yes that's me under the Chapel, in the gambeson. I haven't been doing much with WMA since having kids, so I am letting go of some of my extra gear to help pay for a 3D printer (m). I still go out and play from time to time so I'm not getting rid of anything that would keep me from fighting. Go...

Kel Rekuta

Yeah, that'll happen.

I look at Ugo's work and just sigh. Got's to know one's limitations...

Kel Rekuta

Is that Ian Johnson in that blue gambeson?

Kel Rekuta

And there wouldn't have been a HYW without him! Yes, Ed III was a remarkable character. He dragged the reputation of English military might from "two Englishmen are not worth even one wretched Scot" in the span of two decades to dominate France, which had the highest military repute early ...

Kel Rekuta

No just the best parts of the HYW are in the 14th, Edward III's reign actually. RPM Anglo-centric, aren't you? Lots of fun stuff happened elsewhere.... the Northern Crusades, Guelph/Ghibelline warfare between the Italian city states, the campaigns on the Iberian Peninsula, the great revolts of the ...

Kel Rekuta

I don't care if it's an obscene price. I'm gettin' one. Oh, yeah. I'd give up pizza for a year if necessary. And I already have his thesis... The books, in colour, will set a new standard of reference material. Twenty years from now the set will be like getting a copy of Boccia's works today. Belie...

Kel Rekuta

What is the difference between a WMA helm and an SCA one? Occularia. SCAdians find period width occularia impractical. This is understandable because no one will try to shove a steel blade in their eyes nor shoot metal tipped arrows at them. WMA/HEMA rebated steel combat including thrusts would be ...

Kel Rekuta

Chris Gilman wrote:
Sorry Mac, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut on this one.

Chris,

In so many ways, you are my hero.

Keep up the good work.

Kel Rekuta

Zetheros wrote:I always thought that the hearts were really two drill holes adjacent to one another, while the tip is filed out using needle files.

I was lead to believe that the "hearts" were actually linden leaves, a popular German decorative motif. No?

Kel Rekuta

Make the hearts by hand. This is not really long, just repetitive... I made these gauntlets some weeks ago: m m All the decoration has been made with a drill and a lot of files... But then, you are a young genius who has not yet suffered the agony of repetitive strain on your hands and wrists. Enjo...

Kel Rekuta

International shipping comes in overnight/next day air or surface freight. Intercontinental surface freight is... you guessed it - sea freight. I am quite convinced I'd rather pay for air delivery on such a valuable book instead of hoping it doesn't get crushed/mangled/soaked with fruit juice from t...

Kel Rekuta

Thanks for the tip. I found a big raw steel wok in the local Chinatown, dirt cheap to serve as a melting pot. As I'm a brewer I have a couple massive BTU propane burners. I also found a bar of no-lead silver solder at a plumbing supply shop. I think the plan is covered. Just have to get a free night...

Kel Rekuta

Wade is correct. Most of Toby's thesis, like 80% of it, deals with 15thC armour. IIRC the first chapters touch on the development of a distinct style after the mid 14thC. I would have to dig it out and refresh my memory as to anything particularly useful to the OP.

Kel Rekuta

How do they pronounce the names in France? Is pronouncing it as et rather than ay proper linguistically, or is it a matter of how an English Francophobe would prefer to hear it pronounced? I checked with my GF, and this is what she says: In French the "et" combo almost always makes the &q...

Re: Hypothetical question about an arming doublet

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Re: Building a Rule Die - Split from Halbard's "Critique My

Re: Teaching & Interpreting Historical Swordsmanship: Worth

Re: Cuir Bouilli

Re: Hollow Lances: Construction?

Re: "Mild Spring"Brig steel and THE DB GURNEY NAILS!

Re: "Mild Spring"Brig steel and THE DB GURNEY NAILS!

Re: Truehearth Armoury

Re: De Re Militari: The Society for Medieval Military Histor

Re: Dishing Leather

Re: [How to Wear] Maille Chausses

Re: What makes armour "English" in character?

Re: What makes armour "English" in character?

Re: Advice Sought: Looking for good cased greaves (reasonabl

Re: Greiffenclau Shop clearing sale UPDATED 4 Nov MORE

Re: BEGINNER reference pages

Re: Need some 6mm flat rings? Split an order with me?

Re: What makes armour "English" in character?

Re: FS: Chapel de Fer

Re: Tinning steel items

Re: FS: Chapel de Fer

Re: Mafia Members: What's cool about 14th Century?

Re: Mafia Members: What's cool about 14th Century?

Re: What makes armour "English" in character?

Re: WMA beaknosed pigface with sewn in liner and aventail

Re: Getting them on the field and looking good!

Re: Heart Punches

Re: Heart Punches

Re: Carlo Paggiarrino went to Leeds and all I got was...

Re: Tinning steel items

Re: What makes armour "English" in character?

Re: Why do helmet type names end in 'et'?