The Armour Archive

Russ Mitchell

As I look at those images, the fighters appear to be on their toes, which seems rather unlikely. Oh darn, Bob asked me to rant. Okay, let me edit this post... http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/wink.gif Just as an aside, in my art, if our heels touch the ...

Russ Mitchell

It is very hard to do a "volta stabile" (turning 180 degrees without moving the feet) when your soles are gripping like terrier teeth Bob and I discussed this at length some time ago, because the savate lineage in which I train (and which, in at least s...

Russ Mitchell

Would make for a neat addition to a Carolingian infantry unit, for people with big shields and small swords...

Thanks the the advice re: looping. This is just one of those gotta-try items...

Russ Mitchell

Though with the recurve bow, getting a "standard" will be psychotically hard. You can't tell visually a weak bow from a strong one, unless it's at extremes, as what makes the difference is the thickness of the horn used... you can easily make something that looks like a toy, yet would baffle Odysseu...

Russ Mitchell

About three years ago I tried to design an armour that would support its own body weight. The legs were a piece of cake, but I could never get the required pintle joint at the hip to quite mesh up with how I wanted the spinal bands to behave. But styling aside, I'd be happy to toss you out some idea...

Russ Mitchell

Don't go on your knees against munchkins... it's totally unfair. YOu've so much extra reach against them that it totally obliterates any chance they might have...

Russ Mitchell

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Otto von Teich: You have to keep in mind that all armour wasnt of equal thickness. Arm and leg harness and backplates were paper thin,and even though hardened by heat or hammer...

Russ Mitchell

I'd like to just thank Steve for popping otu the information. It's an odd set of questions that have to be asked: in some quarters, such as the well-known English sources, archery is only somewhat effective. In others cases, for example, the Angevin-Hungarian punitive campaigns in Italy in the mid-l...

Russ Mitchell

They are listed on my web site.

Hadn't caught the thread dates. I have wifely approval and will be harassing you shortly, as soon as work allows.

Russ Mitchell

Janos and I are awaiting said list as well... starting to drool, actually, since 80% of my garb is done... (just need the boots)...

Russ Mitchell

Our experimentation showed that mail definitely bounced arrows. It was also defeated by arrows, and "trivially defeated" by arrows. Prof. Hidan and I basically came to the conclusion that there's a lot of grey area involved.

Russ Mitchell

http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/frown.gif I ripped apart/pseudo-organized my books this weekend, can't find my Portuguese reference at all. Sorry, I guess I have to withdraw that remark into the "read it somewhere" category... can't find my copy of Talhoffer, either, though, so maybe my wife just ...

Russ Mitchell

Oh, missed the other part of your question: yes, the term "authentic," and all the baggage that carries with it, gives me the shivering fits.

Russ Mitchell

Um, this got longish... bear with me. All work from historical sources must be peer-reviewed. It is especially difficult in this type of work the "wissenschaftlich," sciences rather than in the "hard" sciences, because if I work with polymers, and you work with bizarre sulfides, I can still look at ...

Russ Mitchell

Since you have not revealed that you have used this technique in other than an SCA context, and the SCA prohibits the most obvious close-order counters of grappling and shield punches, I suggested that your conclusions are prejudiced by SCA conventions. ...

Russ Mitchell

I agree with you 100%. There is some discussion in this area whether Bob's next seminar should be focused on wrestling and dagger or on sword techniques Hi there. We're in the final phases of preparation before I make the big formal announcement for Feb...

Russ Mitchell

Gentlemen! Please, for the moment, let us set aside the ambiguities of whether the various strikes described as "winden" in the "German"-tradition manuals can be compared to wrap shots. The tradition taught by Fiore is clear and unambiguous: no winding, hence no likelihood whatsoever for a wrap shot...

Russ Mitchell

That's the puppy... I just wondered whether it was glued, lashed, sinew-tied-n-glued... what method was used for the attachment point between sling and staff...

Russ Mitchell

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Effingham: Speaking as a professional historian of premodern Japan (i.e., before 1800) I gotta ask: what battle are you talking about and what book is it recorded in? Cause [b]...

Russ Mitchell

Cool, glad to hear it. Mine will have to be more rigid, as it's not designed as an undergarment/foundation garment, but as the primary defense. Good to hear that you were mobile, too...

Russ Mitchell

SWEET, Tim, I still like it very much... one day I'd love to put something like that around a klappvisored pukelhelm...did you wear a gorget under that, or was it actually stiff enough to absorb the shock when the marshall beat up on you?

Russ Mitchell

Two quick points, just because sometimes it's FUN to whip a dead horse... 1. We don't have to fantasize about what happened when europeans met Japanese in combat: all we have to do is read up on Portuguese history, and the answer is that the vast majority of the time, the Japanese got slaughtered. 2...

Russ Mitchell

EXACT agreement with Egfroth.

Russ Mitchell

Do what Dmitry said... but hold it near the butt end reverse gripped, like the ancients did. Will develop your wrist strength like nothing else, and when you're strong enough to wield a spear like that... well, I knew a guy who could, and sparring him was like sparring a sewing machine, PLUS he had ...

Russ Mitchell

How would you build one, Egfroth? I have some dowels in my garage that are long enough... but I don't know how the rest is done. Was just reading Bernie Bachrach today, reading about these guys... in North and West Texas, a lot of sling use happens... with practice and under the right circumstances,...

Russ Mitchell

The cuts are stronger, as well. I first learned to use a knife from a palestinian guy who used the sword grip. It was pretty good: I was very down on reverse grip. But after having done sacatripas with it the other way, I'm a convert. Plus, the reverse grip gives you the leverage to use it for throw...

Russ Mitchell

The point was and is most of us are psychologicaly unprepared to kill a man with a sharp object right at this moment. The hesitation we would have would be what would make for the poor show. There's obviously no right or wrong answer on this thread, as ...

Russ Mitchell

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by flonzy: First I want to say that comparing SCA combat to medieval combat is like comparing paintball to Army Ranger training. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Hey! Army Rangers taught ...

Russ Mitchell

Nice work. You ought to take commissions strictly for the patterns... I'm slowly but surely working on a similar project during times when my t.v. comes on (rare).. it looks like you have fairly shallow shoulders, though: may I ask how much freedom you have in the arms? I'm curious because the one I...

Russ Mitchell

Excuse me, Gascoing, I should have said "citation," not "documentation." And I have seen time and time again where the french authors have not installed the huge apparatus of footnotes that are standard elsewhere; when I was going my first m.a., and when I was helping others in their research, I ran...

Russ Mitchell

You really ought to take a look at Duby and Le Goff, even if you don't agree with their approach to the subject. The Annaliste school of history has been exceedingly influential, both pro and con. While I do not personally consider the approach valid on all historical topics, I also have to admit th...

Russ Mitchell

Very, very well done. Perhaps if the author had more time he could have related said game to what we now know about operant conditioning, as well... they're not parrying or dueling here, but being taught to strike, as hard as they can, at someone who is striking them... in some respects much like Ch...

Russ Mitchell

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Secondly; http://gallery.the-exiles.org/view_photo.php?set_albumName=armour&id=aba Weird pauldrons. Anything like this elsewhere? Sword is interesting too.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> The sword is simp...

Russ Mitchell

D*MN... David, what a really nice try. First of all -- congratulations on the attempt. More of this sort of thing needs to happen. If you want to do this, you'll need to do some reading first, though. For an overview of hwo difficult it is to set this up correctly, I strongly advise you read the for...

Russ Mitchell

Vermin is simply asking to set up a logical test. Take a reproduction bow and some reproduction armour and fire a reproduction arrow at the damned armour in a scientifically controlled study with logical substitutes for a real human beings body and undergarment...

Effingham: can't find my source.