The Armour Archive

Tibbie Croser

For the GirlsClub forum for SCA female fighters, I'd like to compile links to images of pre-1600 art showing women in armor. They can be historical figures (such as Joan of Arc) or mythological (such as Amazons). So far, I found a wonderful 15th-century manuscript illustration of mounted Amazons def...

Tibbie Croser

What are opinions on cotton damask as a non-acetate substitute for silk damask? Obviously it's inferior to silk, but would it breathe better than synthetic damask (provided it's not treated with stain repellent or something)?

Tibbie Croser

Dansknecht, England from anytime in the 16th century is my interest. I'd prefer 1500 to 1550. At least I now have a term for what I want, "roundhose." I'm interested in making unpaned roundhose for SCA rapier fighting, as panes tend to catch blades. I'm interested also in the transitions o...

Tibbie Croser

Karen, thanks, the Standebuch pictures are helpful. They show some unpaned trunkhose, although many fewer than paned trunkhose. Some of the unpaned ones seem to be on people doing outdoor labor, e.g., miners and hunters. Few of them seem to be on fashionably dressed tradesmen working indoors.

Tibbie Croser

I'm looking for examples of full, poofy short upper hosen (what some people call pumpkin pants) that are neither paned nor slashed nor pinked. Maybe gathered or pleated. Shorter than knee-length. In what books I have, the poofy short hose are paned, slashed, or pinked. Note that I'm using "alwa...

Tibbie Croser

Does anyone know of examples of trunkhose/slops that were *not* paned? (Other than Venetian hose, of course.)

Tibbie Croser

What was the range of lengths on the Elizabethan cassock? Were any longer than hip length? Were there male overcoats in the late 16th century that were not cassocks?

Tibbie Croser

So the hood under discussion may be a possible ancestor of the French hood or gable hood. Fascinating, especially if the fashion moved from lower to upper class. It's ironic that by the 16th century the wool hood seems to disappear for lower-class women, being replaced by linen headcovers of a varie...

Tibbie Croser

Blackbow, have you looked at the Schmitthenner Armory site? He has leather armor for women that, while not historical, does look practical and flattering. One of my favorite examples of female armor (though not SCA) is the redhaired jouster on the Black Diamond Metal Arts website wearing 16th-centur...

Tibbie Croser

Foils may still be legal in Atlantia, but I haven't actually seen one. Epees are disappearing, too, except for youth rapier.

Tibbie Croser

I can recommend Zen Warrior Armory for newbie gear. Very good masks in a range of sizes (the stainless steel ones hold up very well). They have all the other gear a new fencer requires. The weapons are sturdy, though not as well regarded as Darkwood Armory rapiers. (If your friend has money and is c...

Tibbie Croser

This one may have been done that way for SCA purposes, to give the required back-of-the-head protection.

Tibbie Croser

Charlotte, I see the Clothiers' Guild as perhaps a way of meeting people and finding a potential mentor. I wouldn't expect to get much advice at the meetings themselves. As far as Live Journal and other online communities, I already spend too much time online. Local SCA sewing nights are another opt...

Tibbie Croser

OK, I see the points about the benefits of a "master class" forum that's open to public viewing. That would be the ideal. I would enjoy reading such a forum. But it would require fairly heavy moderation.

Tibbie Croser

This brings up a point. Posting a lukewarm or negative review of an armorer on the Archive can have repercussions for the reviewer. If you don't make armor yourself, you're dependent on people who do. If you want something custom or in an unusual size or an unpopular style or in a lower price range,...

Tibbie Croser

Well, I too like to learn and ask questions. But nobody has an obligation to teach on a message board. People making armor as a livelihood are not obligated to use their valuable time to answer questions on a message board. It's gracious of them to do so, and we appreciate it. But putting up tutoria...

Tibbie Croser

As a rapier fighter who will be attending her first Pennsic next year, I'd strongly agree with starting *all* battles on time. Heavy battles starting and ending late can mean rapier battles starting late, from what I understand. Feeding stragglers into battles as mixed units of reserves sounds like ...

Tibbie Croser

Chris, have you read my post with suggestions on your idea on p. 8 of the "inaccuracies" thread? I don't think your suggestion would work on the AA because of the free-for-all atmosphere here. JT believes in minimal moderation, and a number of denizens strongly oppose any moderation or any...

Tibbie Croser

I *think* there's an Osprey book on the Italian condottieri, 1300-1500. That's different from militia, of course, but it might discuss Italian military kit of the 15th century, which the Italian militia book might not.

Tibbie Croser

Duke Icefalcon, I've been meaning to ask some questiosn about your Lightweight Fencing Helm: Does the faceplate extend under the chin? Does the faceplate flip up? How do you size your helms? Do you offer the fencing helm strictly in stainless, or would you be willing to do one in 16-gauge mild (for ...

Tibbie Croser

Charlotte, when you say "I think so," do you mean you think that wool jersey performs better than woven wool, or that woven wool can perform equally well or better? HE doesn't seem to have the woven joined hosen on the site now, just the boiled wool jersey.

Tibbie Croser

Chris, wouldn't a non-SCA site like MyArmoury or the Arms and Armour board be a better site for your idea? You're talking about historical reproduction armor, not fantasy or SCA-specific armor, correct? I mean, there'd be no point in asking Mac to critique bargrills or leather armor except in the ve...

Tibbie Croser

I looked at the Historic Enterprises website again. It looks like the "superhosen" mentioned here are the 15th-century joined hosen of boiled wool jersey. Does that mean that wool jersey is superior in performance to woven wool for hosen? Is there a way to get the same performance out of w...

Tibbie Croser

How feasible would it be for an armorer to offer a basic skull cap or "secret" as a starter helm for either heavy or C&T? The cap would need extra steel plates for the bottom and sides of the head, of course. If the extra plates were painted flat black, they wouldn't stand out so much....

Tibbie Croser

Mattmaus, that's a beautiful helm. Is that for reenactment? (The eyeholes look too big for SCA combat.) I shouldn't have been snippy. I get frustrated because many of the Archive armorers make gorgeous early-period helms and few do Renaissance helms. But armorers have the right to make what they wan...

Tibbie Croser

Get a rapier marshal to look at your rattan gorget and other gear to see if it's rapier legal. If you have a dog-collar gorget, you might need to add protection at the base of the throat. What's your rattan persona? You're not required to go 16th century for rapier, though it's customary. Your curre...

Tibbie Croser

Mattmaus, I may not have been altogether clear. If I commissioned a custom rapier helm from someone, I'd pay happily for what's important to me---correct shape and lines. But yes, I understand why SCA armorers might feel that a making a good reproduction of a Renaissance "munitions" helmet...

Tibbie Croser

Shamrock, where in Atlantia are you (since your website still says Tennessee)? I have a question for armorers. Would you feel insulted if a customer wanted options that *reduce* the cost of materials and reduce shop time? I mean things like mild steel rather than stainless, fewer articulated parts, ...

Tibbie Croser

Point taken about the superiority of stainless for rust resistance. In which case, how does blackened mild steel compare to untreated mild steel for rust resistance? (Cost is more important to me than rust resistance; I have to take care of my steel rapier, dagger, and buckler anyway. Stainless is s...

Tibbie Croser

Does blackened mild steel have as much rust resistance as nonblackened stainless steel? Does rust resistance vary with the blackening method? What's the closest modern equivalent to the techniques used for blackening munitions armor in the 16th century? (I ask because I'm thinking of factors involve...

Tibbie Croser

I know a store that *does* cater to reenactors: Needle and Thread outside Gettysburg, PA. Pretty decent prices on wool and linen, though not as cheap as online. Prices at G Street vary widely, depending on sales and what type and amount of fabric you're buying. The 25%-off sales that they have aroun...

Tibbie Croser

Check out Wade Allen's site, allenantiques.com, for 16th-century orignal and reproduction armor pictures. He has a number of antique burgonets, which often have built-in neck protection. Icefalcon has a couple of SCA burgonets with bargrills which would seem to offer good neck protection. However, w...

Tibbie Croser

That's G Street Fabrics, in Rockville. They have lots of wool and linen (and silk). They often have good sales on the fabrics. They also have remnant racks. I get too much stuff there.

Tibbie Croser

Is the hosen pattern designed to work with an athletic cup? Do you need to make the codpiece bigger to go over the cup?

Tibbie Croser

I think Lorenzo has the right of it. Detachable sleeves and tassets of brigandine construction mounted on a plain elkskin vest of later make. That description matches the photo in the book. Thank you all for the information. I suppose the sleeves and tassets would have been attached to the wearer's ...

Armored women in pre-1600 art?

Were 16th-c. slops/trunkhose always paned?

Elizabethan cassocks/men's coats: length?

Rust resistance of blackened mild vs regular stainless?