The Armour Archive

raito

I understand Leo's point, and to a some extant I have the same belief. If I am wounded, and you give up a limb, you are making a statement. And that statement is that you do not require that limb to prevail. As I am disagreeable by nature, I disagree with that statement. And I shall do what is right...

raito

In general, look for 'dead soft'. I think that the heat treat designation is -O.

Also consider that just about every die maker out there accounts for spring in the material, and adjusts the die to deal with it.

raito

I'm mostly on the side of guys like Nissan in this, in that it may not be for everyone. But, as you say, you are not used to pain. The bruise you've shown us really isn't that serious in the continuum of bruising. Part of the tolerance of pain is that, like any tolerance, you build it up over time. ...

raito

Bump because I'm almost out the door to go to the site.

raito

I am not suggesting that HW fighters not be able to hit archers with normal amount of force, simply that the archers would not be able to call it light. This should protect the abuse of archers. You are suggesting exactly that. 'Hey, I touched him'. There's many times when a properly powered blow d...

raito

Now, I think that ABUSE of combat archers by HW fighters is unacceptable. I have seen and heard of many accounts where a HW fighter continued hitting a archer beyond the norm. On one case, I heard of a Duke continuing to hit an archer repeatedly calling out something along the lines of, "Bad a...

raito

To be simple, don't have "Fish in a barrel" scenarios. Any battle that locks a force into a single place with very little ability to move or change the tactical presentment toward/with the enemy should not have CA involved. ... I understand the "ravine" battle at Gulf is the sam...

raito

Never had it happen with rivets, but I have used the old blacksmithing method of starting a fire by beating on a piece of iron until it heats up enough to fire some tinder.

raito

18 gauge is fine for everything bar helmets where you need 16 at the very minimum and 14 is preferable. knees and elbows can be done from 16 if your raising them same with gauntlet demi's. For SCA, 16 is no longer an acceptable minimum for helmets. B. Helms 1. Helms shall be constructed from steel ...

raito

When's the last time you went to a USFA tournament? The whole fist-pumping thing I keep seeing in high-level fencing turns me off. Tried watching the fencing in the last Olympics. It wasn't for me. Sure, any 'combat' sport degenerates along lines relating to its rules. That's inevitable, and I don'...

raito

Come on out to Northshield's biggest event, hosted by Northshield's 2 biggest Baronies (I'm one of the Barons). Runs Thurs. through Sun. noon. Fighting all day Fri. and Sat. Armoured, rapier, cut and thrust, archery, thrown weapons, tournaments -- we have it all. Located convenient to Calontir and t...

raito

Not exactly Viking-themed, but there's always the Valhalla tourney if you want your winner to have endurance. It's an all on all melee, except that when you die, you go stand behind the banner of the guy who beat you. If he dies, you go back in. Last one standing wins. Pretty obviously, the guy who ...

raito

Paint is cheap and easy to maintain. But it does require maintenance, and spraying after lacing doesn't always work well. Enamel paint pens are your friend. Haven't tried the contact cement thing. Might be worth trying. Anodizing looks like ass on Japanese stuff. Not remotely like lacquer. It also s...

raito

So that's what you needed the steel for, huh?

raito

Also, hook up with Murdock or Old Bear or justmagnus or any of the Milwaukee boys. It'll really accelerate you up the learning curve.

raito

One of the cooler things about the Stock Pavilion practice is that it's been running long enough (about 35 years, with a break in there while they were renovating) that darned near everyone in the Kingdom (and beyond) knows where it is, when it is, and who will be there. We get a fair bit of out of ...

raito

Forms make it easier, but I've dished on the flat part of an anvil before.

raito

Trystyn,

Not to speak for Lloyd, but seeing as most of the SCA equestrians (or equestriennes) hereabouts are female, I'm guessing that they're the bulk of who's around. I'll bet Bridei is all over this.

Lloyd, which stables is it?

raito

It's good to hear. (Me, I'd have to learn to ride better first)

raito

They are bulkier than bolts, which is sometimes a reason to not use them in certain circumstances. They also require an extra tool to use, which may balance out your problem with losing (one 'o', folks!) the nuts.

raito

Course I had this same experience with a giant Florida cockroach... (and to keep this on topic) I was in a business suit with a briefcase, so I didn't have any weapons to try on it... Briefcase is a weapon, and if it's a quality one, all you'll have to do is wipe it down afterwards. In a business s...

raito

Not coons, but... Last summer we got those damned gophers. Well, not really, gophers, but ground squirrels (it's a twitch of the local dialect that they call them gophers). Little buggers, really, but a bunch of them. Because they breed like, well, rodents. My brilliant idea is to shove the hose dow...

raito

The rubber hammers I've had experience with would not take the place of rawhide mallets well at all. It's not that they're useless, they just react differently. The hardest rubber hammers are closer to metal than rawhide, and the soft ones bounce a lot more.

raito

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uykcM1j3zVE&feature=related Are those pole arms with metal heads? Watch this video and check the pole armers out those guys are flat out cranking people with their shots, I have seen the results of a flanged mace on an SCA legal helm, the result is a heavily dente...

raito

Thats awesome. In the second video right around the 1:40 mark, did anyone notice the guy being gigged just below the eye slot with a spear? Wonder what the injury rate is with these guys? This is what the SCA should aspire to be more like, I think the recruitment issues would be gone when people sa...

raito

edit: And definately get the shirt. It looks like a million bucks, is surprisingly protective (I assumed it would just change the bruise patterns) and not as heavy as I thought it'd be. If you wear mail under everything for your portrayal, you'll feel absolutely invincible. Seriously, you'll feel l...

raito

I think Eff's point is more along the lines of you can make better armour from correct patterns than you can from modern patterns, regardless of material.

raito

Yeah, a Hossfeld is intended to bend cold. I have a similar, though less fancy, jig I use to put eyes on tent stakes (which are usually, 1/2"). It's a piece of 1/2X2" rectangular bar, with 2 holes in it. One is for a piece of 1.25 round and the other is for a piece of 3/4" round. They...

raito

Kilkenny wrote:A couple of decades ago I attended Sea Raids and was made to wear red tape. My helm broke out in little red dots all over.

Same thing happened to me the first time I went to Gulf Wars and had to wear blue.

Seems silly, doesn't it?

raito

Gonna miss this year, too. Is that 2 years in a row I've missed? Missed last year because of pregnancy. Missed the year before because of surgery. Missing this year because either we'll be building anhouse, and I'll need to be there, or we won't be building a house, and we'll be looking for a lot. H...

raito

That's what I liken a good face thrust to, a boxer's jab. Jack Dempsey believed that the jab is a knockout punch. Interestingly, his 4 methods of generating power are all found in period combat manuals. (Kinda OT. But then how many have actually been hit with a boxer's jab with intent? I know of Di...

raito

Iain, the last time someone tried to porn shot me, I leaned sideways out of it, put my weapon underneath his, and blocked the shot upward with great strength. Not my fault he got hit under the cup with his own weapon, now, was it?

raito

Yes, cheese all the way. But my kabuto has a maezashi (like the brim on a kettle-hat for you westerners), so it wouldn't work anyway. If you drop it down from the top, it'll hit the brim. That said, I will arc shots in single-handed. But I make sure they're moving forward when they hit. I don't expe...

raito

Well, all the bouts of the last Crown I won are out there.

(Does that make me vain?

)

raito

There is the further complication that the fighter defending against your move for position is able to simply turn (mostly) while you actually have to move. I was going to mention this, but my post was overlong as it was. Simple physics states that I can turn in a tight circle faster than you can c...

[SCA] Warriors and Warlords in Northshield next weekend.

Re: Touch kills, face thrusts and fiberglass rods