The Armour Archive

Tibbie Croser

You should bump this early next week after people return from Pennsic.

Tibbie Croser

I wonder if that helmet is an Icefalcon burgonet. (Yes, it's more like an early 1500s close helm, but Icefalcon sells it as a burgonet. I believe the vertical grills occur in some 16th-century tournament helms?) I've seen the gentle at Storvik practice and seen him with his family at events. They lo...

Tibbie Croser

Suzerain, please forgive the painfully obvious questions/suggestions that follow. Have you asked the people putting on the event about the kit standards they expect? Do they have sources, suggestions, recommendations, loaner kit for you? Have you looked at the "I Want To Be...." forum on t...

Tibbie Croser

Thanks for the reassurance on the authenticity of dirt stains. However, while grimy clothing might be authentic, I'm not sure it's appropriate for all occasions. I suspect even peasants tried to wear their cleanest clothes for church, fairs, festivals, and other public occasions and saved the dirtie...

Tibbie Croser

My rapier tunic has pale blue wool gabardine as the outer layer. At a recent event with heavy rain, I was trying to clean rust off my rapier, dagger, and buckler. The rust, plus general grime from wet tents and dayshades, got on my tunic. A run through the washer with ordinary detergent didn't remov...

Tibbie Croser

Johno, are you saying that you want someone other than you to take the idea of mandating tube/tennis ball ammo to the Society Earl Marshal? I trust you are aware that stating your position repeatedly on the Archive will *not* change any rules. Further, if you want specific kingdoms to allow tube and...

Tibbie Croser

Johno, your recommendation for tennis balls and tubes has no real chance of being put into practice unless you take your effort to the Society Earl Marshal, the Society Combat Archery Marshal, and perhaps the BOD. I'm sure Calontir and other kingdoms with tube-and-tennis ball ammo would help you in ...

Tibbie Croser

I'm glad you agree on the quality of the masks. As for swords, opinons vary so much from person to person, although Darkwood is generally highly esteemed. I have the T03 rapier blade (35") from Zen Warrior. I had no previous fencing or other sword experience when I started SCA two years ago. I ...

Tibbie Croser

There seem to be mixed opinions on Hanwei blades: some like them, some don't. I've had a 35" rapier from Zen Warrior for close to 2 years now, and it seems fine to me as a beginner weapon. It's definitely sturdy. I'm also very happy with my top-end mask from Zen. I get hit in the face frequentl...

Tibbie Croser

I second the Bauer protector. It can be worn over your underwear. I have another pelvic protector (from McDavid?) that consists of a pair of cotton panties with a pocket for the actual jill. It's quite comfortable, but not as easily removable as the Bauer one. Schmitthenner Armory sells leather jill...

Tibbie Croser

Can tennis ball/tube ammo be shot from a standard longbow, or only from a special longbow? (I gather it can be shot from a crossbow, but some people would prefer to get rid of both shafted ammo and crossbows.)

Tibbie Croser

Johno, you said above that when you were a king you allowed combat archers on your side, with restrictions. What were your reasons for allowing something you strongly disliked? Why did you not suspend CA in your kingdom during your reign? Were your knights and other Peers not willing to support you ...

Tibbie Croser

Has anyone used cotton (or wool) rag rugs for padding a gambeson or anything else? What are your opinions on weight, protectiveness, and breathability?

Tibbie Croser

The Cut/Thrust sallet looks intriguing. Do you have gorgets or bevors that work with that to cover up any gaps at the neck? How are the perforated faceplates attached to the rest of the helmet on the sallet and your other C/T helms?

Tibbie Croser

I suppose one interpretation of Baron Alejandro's words might be that full-time armoring could lead to repetitive stress injuries, which could hinder fighting and thus make it harder to gain knighthood. Audax, do you have any thoughts of targeting the female market for armor? Pieces shaped and sized...

Tibbie Croser

Sir Alfred, great post. Also, even though knights did not (or only rarely) use bows in combat, they were responsible for bringing a certain number of trained archers to the muster. (The websites for La Belle Compagnie and Lord Grey's Retinue, two LH groups in the Washington, DC, area, give more deta...

Tibbie Croser

Was the rewrite of the Marshal's Handbook (now including Combat Archery rules) part of the change resulting from your efforts? The new CA rules are not acceptable to you, but perhaps further effort would produce further change? Also, multiple attempts may be necessary. The "new peerage" th...

Tibbie Croser

Johno and the others who feel passionately about CA: why not take your arguments to the Board of Directors, the Society Earl Marshal, and the Society Combat Archery Marshal? They're the ones who can effect change. If the people who wanted a new peerage were able to run a poll and get a proposal befo...

Tibbie Croser

Frau Hirsch, you also play in the Adrian Empire, correct? Do they have combat archery? How do they handle it? Do the same conflicts come up as in the SCA?

What about Markland/Acre/Empire of Chivalry and other rattan or steel groups?

Tibbie Croser

To state something painfully obvious, major change won't come from discussions here. Something like mandating a single type of projectile throughout the SCA would have to happen at the level of the BOD, the Society Earl Marshal, and the Society Combat Archery Marshal. So who here will lobby those pe...

Tibbie Croser

Would any knight/duke/king who asks his subordinates to use a bow care to defend that request? If you ask those in fealty to you to use a controversial weapon, shouldn't you support them when they're reviled for doing what you asked? Conversely, if you're a king who opposes combat archery, shouldn't...

Tibbie Croser

For any reenactment folk still reading, I've started a thread in Interpretive Re-creation asking about combat archery in reenactment and the safety rules used. Ogedei, I believe the Marshal's Handbook for heavy fighting and combat archery was completely revised and that the new, combined version was...

Tibbie Croser

How is combat archery used in reenactment battles, especially large-scale things like Hastings in the UK? How is risk of injury reduced for reenactors and spectators?

What do reenactors like/dislike about archery in reenactment?

Tibbie Croser

Johno, that's a good, illuminating answer. However, the BOD and kingdoms have made rule changes based on safety. Is that why Sir Richard seemed to imply that a ban on CA, at the kingdom or Society level, is feasible?

Tibbie Croser

I intended no offense, Steve. You certainly know the rank structure better than I do. But as a novice with no awards or titles, I have difficulty seeing anyone with a shiny hat as a "nobody," even if that person can't change rules on the Society level. Kings can change kingdom rules, howev...

Tibbie Croser

A former king isn't a "nobody." He's a count or duke. If the archers that he ticked off are an unpopular minority in his kingdom, what does he have to lose? Surely he'd have the support of any of his kingdom's chivalry who oppose CA, which would outweigh the ill will of the archers.

Tibbie Croser

If a kingdom may legally ban CA, have any done so? If not, why? If a king can legally suspend CA for the duration of his reign, have any done so? If not, why? Why is it difficult to ban CA on a kingdom-by-kingdom basis? If the archers are truly an unpopular minority, shouldn't it be easy to ban CA?

Tibbie Croser

Do any of you armorers use written contracts, as some mundane businesspeople do? I know they're hard to use with e-mail or phone orders.

Tibbie Croser

Your Majesty Logan, I'm not a heavy fighter (I fence), but I'm curious about the "no hips" technique. Does your technique differ from that of Duke Paul? I've seen female fighters encouraged to learn Duke Paul's techniques because they utilize more lower-body strength (if I understand corre...

Tibbie Croser

A question. Why do you need/want weapons and manuals of arms in a tailor's shop? I suppose you might be a member of a civilian militia such as a trained band, but then you might keep your military gear in your living quarters, not your shop. A civilian rapier and dagger would be as much as you would...

Tibbie Croser

The issue of falling headfirst in a heavy helmet came up on another thread. How dangerous is it, and how does one make it safer? I know some jousters/armored equestrians on the AA have fallen off horses while wearing armor and been well protected by heavy helmets. Would that have any bearing on fall...

Tibbie Croser

Glen, for my part, I'm doing the SCA, so it's certainly not LH or reenactment. Chef had mentioned women in his group who were dressing as men. I initially thought he meant that they were modern women playing medieval men, but he indicated that they were modern women playing medieval women disguised ...

Tibbie Croser

What time and place are you doing?

If solid color trim is appropriate, then woodedhamlet.com and wmboothdraper.com have solid trims in wool and cotton. The wool trim fits well around curves, like necklines.

Tibbie Croser

Audax, you haven't heard of them because they make swords and helmets for fencers, not stuff for armored fighters. They have been mentioned on the Archive occasionally, though they're not as well known as Darkwood and Zen Warrior Armory. Their name turns up more often on fencing lists. For the OP, I...

Tibbie Croser

Thanks for the replies. Women portraying women disguised as men---that makes sense. Yes, the gowns would hide much. For my period, early to mid-16th century, I'm using thigh-length jerkins or long-sleeved thigh-length peasant "coats" (or were they called tunics?). Male gowns in the early 1...

Getting grime/rust stains out of wool?

Cotton rag rugs for padding?

Combat archery in reenactment: safety rules?

Falling safely in heavy helmets?