The Armour Archive

raito

You don't even really need a ball stake. I've often used a small ball pien hammer in my vise when I need to raise fingertips. I prefer to raise them because I've found when I dish them I have to spend time dishing the rest of the fingertip to smooth out the profile (if you try it, you'll know what I...

raito

In Tournament no one would grab your pole arm, disarm you and smash you. I would.......... Hell, I've seen you do it. Yeah, but Leo is a real man. He often carries a dagger just so he's not helpless when something liek that happens to him. Audax, yeah the choke is cheesy. But we're not allowed the ...

raito

I gotta disagree with the comments about trapping body parts with weapons (not: not weapons with body parts) (and I see that someone's already quoted the relevent parts of the society rules). I would seem silly for there to be a rule saying that you can't put the working part of a weapon against som...

raito

I have certainly spent more on tools than I have on armour. But then, I've made far more of my stuff that I've bought.

raito

The box for the 115 piece set is usually worth the price, but the bits are crap. I know several people who bought the set for the box, then replace the bits they use most with something decent. That leaves them with a way to drill the odd hole, but good bits for what they use most.

raito

Don't know about DFW, but there's boatloads of good people in Austin, Jovian among them.

raito

I only know when I order something specific. Otherwise, I assume it's recycled material of dubious composition.

raito

Amusingly, some sources call Japanese face armour 'bevors'. I guess I can see it with a standard menpo.

raito

Yes. And strangely, his name is Edwin, too. Don't know any details.

raito

A friend just sent this one to me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4A2JJmWi6Y For any who may have doubted the degree of stress inherent in a Japanese blade. Particularly note that the blade is straight before the quench, and that it curves toward the blade before curving toward the back during the ...

raito

Braid is not shoelace, and shoelace is not braid. Braid is flat (ribbon) and one layer, while *most* shoelaces are actually flattened tubes (and thus by volume twice the amount of material you want or need). Shoelaces are perfectly functional as sugake odoshi (and even okay if you're doing kebiki o...

raito

Raito---I make points on nylon lace with a hot exacto knife. After a couple of tries you get the knack of cutting at the correct angle, and fast enough so the knife does not cool. A well cut point can last dozens of holes, and is easy to re-cut if it starts to fray. Mac, Using the stuff from St. Lo...

raito

I don't think that anyone has mentioned so far that when you change grits, change direction. And if you know which direction you want your final pass to be, work your way backward from that to figure out which way to polish for the coarser grits. A true mirror polish is a PITA, and takes nearly fore...

raito

I use stuff from St. Louis Braid, but they're not quite as good as before they were absorbed by some other company. I prefer to not get rolls, because the platic tips are a godsend for lacing.

raito

Nissan Maxima wrote:In 1986 I tore the fuck out of my ACL. They put some dead guy tendon in there to fix it. I don't think they still do that.

Yes, they do.

raito

Even better than an all-scabbard kit -- the all-dagger kit.

Fortunately, the sort of opponents I want are good enough that they don't need that sort of thing.

(editied because my mouse is jumpy today)

raito

Joaquin wrote:Is Armorgeddon still around?

No.

raito

Heh. Looks a lot my my new (unfinished) stuff. Even the odoshi colors are the same, except I fade to white at the waist.

raito

It would seem that from Jeu de la Hache that stricks with the queue of the weapon are not finishing moves, given that many of the plays state or imply that one ought to deliver several said blows in order to drive the opponent backwards.

raito

Polar Bear Forge already has them available, and Jamie is a good guy. That said, don't bother with stainless. If you're going to have to lacquer them anyway, stainless isn't worth the extra material price. As for what I'd pay? Well, I have the resources to make my own... (although that equipment is ...

raito

I have used their product for Japanese mail of the European type. As the links appear welded, it ought to hold up well. I know that my order was filled and in my hands in less than a week. However, the links are way too small, and the wire way too fine for their mail to be taken as a serious interpr...

raito

I use 0.09 6061 T651. They last me about 4 years or so a pair, but I don't fight with shields. Eventually, they get flattened out, and I can only seem to put them back into shape once, then they'll crack the second time. But until then, they work just fine, and I can see the cracks before they becom...

raito

I agree with checking the local laws. For example, I know it's illegal in Madison, WI. Rob, that's 'mostly illegal' (unless they changed the law again). You can do it, but you need a permit every time you shoot. Do you remember that Zig got the ordinance changed on that one so that we could have ou...

raito

Those parts of my harness that are 6061 are T651 and .09 thick. I was able to get some dishing, but you can definitely push it too far, and there's not a lot of room for correction.

raito

I run my forge at less than 5 psi, hardly high pressure. You may find that most of the difference between a forge burner and a grill burner is that the forge burner, either by blower or venturi action, brings in more air, resulting in a hotter flame. Grill burners seem to be optimized more for getti...

raito

I am continually amused by LARP rules that have magical bonuses somehow think that Aluminum is an improper material.

raito

Brother Symon wrote:
sean of the chipendales wrote:Hey!! You got a shot of me!! I am in the hospitaller garb fighting the Bloodguard gentle on his knees.

Sean of the Chipendales

I "think" The "cross of acorns" would make that Roger Stockton in the bloodguard colours.

Squirrel beats acorns every time!

raito

Kydex is fine. Green Kydex is a no-no. Green laces however are great. Look at the Okegawa pattern on Eff's site. Some of the Edo period stuff in the Museo Orientale looks pretty green to me (but you'd have to get the right green.) Now blue on the other hand... (even though you can make blue lacquer...

raito

I find that the best protection comes (ironically) not from the gauntlet, but from the guard of the sword.

Because I use tsuba, my thumb is nicely tucked under the guard, where it seldom gets hit. And if it does, it gets hit straight on, not peeled off.

This may not work for simple cross hilts.

raito

Blaine, even though the shapes appear to be similar, the function is very different. The 'pavise-shaped' shield has more of a central boss shape, where the boss is extended lengthwise. The 'potato-chip' shape is not flat at the edge, but turned up, so that the whole thing has a distinct, but flat, W...

raito

However a lot of customs in the SCA seem a bit archaic and not in a good way. I sometimes get the feeling that the organization is run by the elites of the royalty, and that those elites have a general idea of what they want the SCA to be and at times may limit the amount of personal freedom on and...

raito

Well, my first martial art was savate, so I've seen it. As for the white sticks, I believe that it's Remy Presas who paints his sticks black, but puts a band of neoj yellow tape at the end because he believes that the eye does best at interpreting the position of the stick when the hand and the tip ...

raito

Cuprous (copper-based) metals don't require a quench -- they'll happily anneal with a slow cool, too. But most people quench them because it gets the piece back to being worked much quicker. And I don't bother with sulphuric acid for pickling (there's dozend of recipes). I use half white vinegar and...

raito

At some point in time, Azon spawned off Ringmesh. Now Azon sells the equipment, and Ringmesh the product. I acquired some of their panels without any hassles at all. It took something like a week from when I ordered until I had the stuff. Now, understand that my purpose was to use it for cheap namba...

raito

And make sure that what you buy for stencil material can be run through a printer.

Japanese sword quench

Re: What's the Deal with Combat Archery, ect?