The Armour Archive

Gerhard von Liebau

What kind of middle eastern armor are you interested in? It's as broad a question as asking whether you'd like to learn about armor from 11th century England or 16th century Italy... Lots of variety. If you Google Image search "Turkish armor" then about half of the first 100 images or so are of 15th...

Gerhard von Liebau

That's the general idea of an historic look that you'd want to reproduce using this helmet, Duncan. It's decent for a late 12th century helmet except, as Ernst pointed out, it's got a spangen-construction. That's a bit of an anachronism by that period, but otherwise the general form is good (sans th...

Gerhard von Liebau

Tim was an excellent chap. His spirit is meandering down the stream of time.

Gerhard von Liebau

8oz is going to be on the light side for hardened armor for SCA or other contact sports purposes. Typical veg-tanned leather used for such is of 'saddle' thickness, i.e. 11-13oz. If you're going for splints, I would recommend forgoing the hardening process altogether and focus on some nicely spaced,...

Gerhard von Liebau

Sir Wayland, Depending on the size and quality of your leather, you could probably sell it to someone interested in making something historical like a Greek cuirass or medieval cuir bouilli for about twice the price of comparable vegetable tanned leather, which is the standard for making SCA armor a...

Gerhard von Liebau

Gustovic, Although I've watched carefully I haven't chimed in yet, but just now feel an urge to. It's really nice to see you taking off with a keen interest in historic techniques and tools in your armouring endeavor. I wish you luck with the raising practice, and echo Mac's sentiment to keep the lo...

Gerhard von Liebau

Randall, thanks. Your query has been answered via Facebook! I like both of those, Ernst, and appreciate you sharing them. I haven't seen either before... Is there any further information about the woven piece? I like the pattern on it a lot. Trying to blend the subtle patterns seen on surviving embr...

Gerhard von Liebau

I walked around the area by Yenikapı for a couple of hours just three months ago, Frank. I really liked the feel of the neighborhood just inside the old city. Bustling, but friendly and somehow "small town" compared to much of the rest of Istanbul. Cheers!

-Gerhard

Gerhard von Liebau

Thanks for the compliments, fellows! Mac, it was exactly my intention to make something that I hadn't seen reproduced, yet know is historically plausible - however scant the evidence may be. I've already got a second colored belt in mind, but right now I'm occupying my time with something a bit diff...

Gerhard von Liebau

This is what my pal says:

It says " H ΧΑΡΙΝ ΥΠΑΡΧΟΥΣΑ ΕΠΕΝΙΣΕ ΥΓΙΕΝΟΥΣΑ ΧΡΩ ΚΥΡΑ ΚΑΛΕΙ " . Now for the meaning, I'm not really 100% sure. It probably translates to: " Praise grace when it exists but wish the Lady health"

Cheers!

-Gerhard

Gerhard von Liebau

I've got a Greek friend who's got decent experience with medieval Greek, so I just linked this to him via Facebook. I will let you know what he makes of it (or perhaps he'll chime in, himself). Cheers!

-Gerhard

Gerhard von Liebau

Hey folks! Still kicking and just finished up a couple more projects that I'd like to share. One's a hardened leather archery bracer and the other is a belt with pewter hardware from Billy & Charlie's. Both are based on various 13th-14th century sources. Cheers! https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7500/1...

Gerhard von Liebau

This week I finished up these two projects that have been lying around as raw leather for a while. Pleased with both. Based on various sources from the late 13th and 14th centuries. The archery bracer is hardened and fits me like a ... bracer. Meant for my own use. The belt is particularly interesti...

Gerhard von Liebau

Lookin' good, Cap'n. Thanks for sharing!

-Gerhard

Gerhard von Liebau

It's also pretty obvious that he struck the helmet with the flat of the blade both times.

Gerhard von Liebau

Hello folks,

All three pieces of pottery and both jewelry pieces are available as a lot for $60, and that includes shipping within the US! Gotta' move these things.

-Gerhard

Gerhard von Liebau

i'm not a troll, but your website design is actively doing your work a disservice. We live in a world where squarespace lets you instantly generate swanky looking webpages with secure ecommerce baked in, for pennies a month, and if you don't take advantage of that, people who can afford your prices...

Gerhard von Liebau

Indeed. Those people aren't trolls. They had a right to be concerned based on the poor presentation in the first post and the fact that you are a new user. We get a lot of SPAM here on the Armour Archive, and sometimes links are not work friendly, etc. It's always important to be cautious - yes, som...

Gerhard von Liebau

Hey Corey, I had a PM before you posted asking about the chess set, but it wasn't clear which one. If the fellow wants that one I'll have to give it to him (unless he changes his mind) since he got to me first. If it's about the Shatranj set, then that's good and I'll PM you. Will let you know ASAP....

Gerhard von Liebau

I missed the horse lamps the first time around. Absolutely amazing. What was the casting technique used for these?

http://www.makestreasure.com/Pics/horse_lamp01.jpg

Gerhard von Liebau

What is the purpose of using a low quality breastplate when your wealth can easily buy you a small nation? How can you call it "low quality" based on photos? Perhaps it's made from some of the finest steel available at the time... And who made it? It could have been forged by the likes of Negroli h...

Gerhard von Liebau

Bump! Prices are dropped! Everything's a steal, guys. Take this stuff off my hands!

-Gerhard

Gerhard von Liebau

A majority of Italian parade armor that I've seen was made to high standards of quality not only aesthetically, but also functionally. Don't see any reason why mounting the scales to steel is unreasonable. It'd probably be easier to find/make a steel one in that day in age than try to mimic the shap...

Gerhard von Liebau

I avoided clicking the link earlier based on the posts that were made right off, but am glad to come back and see that others have obviously, and confidently explored the webpage (hard to know when a page will be virus-ridden, these days). I love your work and am glad you've shared it with us. Most ...

Gerhard von Liebau

Hey Nathan, Quite a bump, indeed. I spent the last couple of months wandering aimlessly around northern Greece and Turkey, so you'll have to excuse me! The spearhead probably wouldn't fit in any flat rate box that would cost more than if I bundled it nicely in a homemade box, reckoning about $10 for...

Gerhard von Liebau

Bump! Prices adjusted and items added from other threads that I had floating around. Everything must sellll! Make offers - especially if you want multiple items! Cheers.

-Gerhard

Gerhard von Liebau

Bump! Fabric needs to goooo!

Gerhard von Liebau

In my mind, aquamanilia are among the most beautiful representations of Medieval artistry.

Gerhard von Liebau

Getting it right means no edging on a heater, but instead covering the entire surface in parchment/leather. No historical heaters survive with separate edging from their overall facing (which, as far as can be told, is almost always parchment of some sort).

Gerhard von Liebau

Looks like a great time, Frye! I spent a few hours at the Castello di Amorosa a while back. A lovely spot, and I'm sure appropriate for the event.

Gerhard von Liebau

The time and skill required to craft mail that dense should also be considered in its relationship with scale, which may have been more affordable protection despite being heavier.

-Gerhard

Gerhard von Liebau

Bump, bump! $50 for all, shipped within the continental US! Thanks to Swete for catching a typo for me earlier.

Gerhard von Liebau

I know that Craig typically has a ridiculously long back-log (think in years) but it's been a while since I checked. He also charges a good deal for his work, and is located in Australia so shipping is also high. Might want to contact them to see if it's even worth the bother. By the look of things,...

Gerhard von Liebau

Glad to read that they meet with your approval, Yojimbo. Cheers!

-Gerhard

Gerhard von Liebau

All sold except for the large spear still shown at top!

Re: middle eastern armour

Re: what to wear with this helm

Re: Re-examining Modern Viking Reenactor Beliefs

Re: Hardening Alum-tanned leather?

Re: Hardening Alum-tanned leather?

Re: The start of a Journey: professional armouring

Re: 14th C. Belt and Cuir Archer's Bracer

Re: Wooden sandal, Latin/Greek translation needed

Re: 14th C. Belt and Cuir Archer's Bracer

Re: Wooden sandal, Latin/Greek translation needed

Re: Wooden sandal, Latin/Greek translation needed

Re: Gerhard's Fineries (Updated 10-29-13)

14th C. Belt and Cuir Archer's Bracer

Re: Longship Company Photo of the Week

Re: Well, someone finally went and made damascus armor.

Re: FS: Greek Pottery and jewelry ($60 for all!)

Re: ----Makes Treasure---- scroll past the trolls

Re: ----Makes Treasure---- scroll past the trolls

Re: FS: Many nice medieval goods! Price Drop 10-13

Re: ----Makes Treasure----

Re: Armor a la Romana

Re: FS: Many nice medieval goods! Price Drop 10-13

Re: Armor a la Romana

Re: ----Makes Treasure----

Re: FS: Many nice medieval goods! ALL MUST GO!

Re: FS: Many nice medieval goods! ALL MUST GO!

Re: FS: Lot of nice linen and wool fabric! $50

Re: Aquamanile

Re: Rawhide or leather shield edging?

Re: SLO Jousting, July 2014

Re: scalemail time period

Re: FS: Lot of nice linen and wool fabric! $50

Re: Anyone have review of Manning Imperial pourpoint?

Re: FS: Nice Large Spearhead! $40

Re: FS: Nice Large Spearhead! $40