The Armour Archive

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Looks good. How does the funky shield (the oval with the vertical cutouts) handle in battle?

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

That sounds like a great way to make sure you dont get overwhelmed. I might suggest taking the money for the materials first, so as to cover your expenses. Just a business major talking.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Go for Crash Pads. They are well worth the money.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

No, actually, I am pretty sure that they were banned back when they were unsafe, and no-one has looked at them twice. There isnt enough pressure to look at them again, if they are going to be a rare weapons form at best. The other reason is that I have a feeling you can generate a lot more power wit...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Please dont get trigger. You can recognize it from across the field, your neck will bake, and it is a general pain. I would go with cotton duck, or the same weight in linen (which would breathe better), and you can find some of it online at [url]fabrics-store.com[/url]. It wont really be protective,...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

That looks really nice. Something about the red leather drape just seems to say Byzantine. Not sure why exactly that is, but it just does.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Hav you looked at some of the BMH styles? Add padding on striking surfaces, tape and you are good. Gives you a nice shape that you dont have to work towards.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Remember, sometimes portraying an Accurate man of lesser means looks more impressive than a so/so job of portraying a high noble. That being said, most people that are doing Dark Ages and such opt for a bit of armour worn outside (cause it is hard to get the right shape underneath). There is still q...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I have the same thing, and I have taken shots that would have hurt, if I hadnt had a bombproof chinstrap. Just make sure you actually replace them, when the snaps start to twist. That is bad.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Heavy weight cnavas, either cotton or linen (if you can afford it). I would mount it at the height of the cheeck/back plates. That way it hides most of the unhistorical aspects of it.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

How user friendly are the shoe patterns? I attempted shoes once, and have done a decent amount of leatherwork, but they turned out terrible. I would probably get the basic one, and the 12th century one as well.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Maybe it is just a regional thing. I personally just keep whacking someone until they fall down.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

According to Meridies, this is what it says about face/side thrusts: 3. A touch to the face with a thrusting tip is a killing blow. A slash to the face must be (at minimum) almost, but not quite, as hard as a good blow to any other part of the head or body. Likewise, a thrust to any part of the body...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I agree with the spirit of what you are talking about, but referencing Meridies Kingdom Marshalls Handbook, I found the following section under Single Combat: 2. In judging "injuries" the fighters are presumed to be fully armored according to the standards of Meridies, despite the actual armor worn ...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

From what I have always heard, a helm is a helm. Any shot to the helm with sufficient force is good. If it is swinging up, and hits the top of of my Norman, even though my head is there, it still is good. If my opponent tells me that in his opinion, I shouldnt call that, then I have an option. I don...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I would look into grey medieval dyes, and see if you can get some samples from different methods. Find a method that they used close to 1200, and use that as a basis.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I tried that with my first helm, and it didnt pull it down enough to cover my neck. I ended up putting the rivets almost in the center of my ears. I would have someone else in your group look at your padding and help you figure out what you should do. There are little tricks to everything.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Just for reference, the side of your helm has maille, the same as the rest of your body. Still lethal, just not as much.

At least, Bill the Marshall's gear looks like that.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Actually, if it hits your helm anywhere on your head, it counts the same (at least according to the Rules of the List). Roak, the biggest time we seem to get have gotten the brim, vs. hitting the facegrill, is either on slop (aka. we wouldnt have hit him, but caught the brim), or those overhead chop...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

And it makes such a happy ding when we hit it! Almost wants us to ignore those body and shoulder shots, and just go for the head. It does tend to deflect more onto the point of the shoulders, compared to my Norman, which puts it right next to my neck, about straight down. Edric has a White Mountain ...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

One idea I have heard, for givig the top a slight dome without much effort, is to use a bowling ball, and just pick it up and drop it onto the top. That way, it isnt completely flat.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

They havent been needed in Meridies for the last few years. Not sure about how long ago it was done away with.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

In the diagram, the red on black, and green on brown are having a hard time being seen. As well as the red/black combo bringing to mind all sorts of evil things (being a modern conception). I would try and make sure you get colors that can easily be seen from one another.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I got one from By My Hand. Great, heavy, and pretty cheap (I think it was under 30). My older one was too weak and I would push the ends together trying to open it.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I have tried straight paraffin, but it melted at Pennsic, when tied to the door of my tent. I just reheated it, and it was fine, but it wouldnt have held up with armour in my car.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I usually throw when in a combo, and try to "pull" the next shot after I hear good. If they dont say good fast enough, they get hit with another. Good reason to teach dying defensively, unless you want to die twice. Posing is just asking to get hit.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

As said before, especially with MythBusters, watch the tests, draw your own conclusions about the validity of the tests. Some of them, yeah I agree with them. Others are so off the mark they dont even need to be aired. I treat all "scientific experiments" (I use the term loosely to define a lot) the...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Two best stories I have: We were at Gulf Wars, stuck in the left side of the side hole in the wall. I was fighting with a neighboring shire, and there are maybe 10-12 guys in the whole crennelon. Me carrying a massive shield, I helped make the door (6 shields interlocked into the doorway). Cannon go...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I will say the hardest two shots I have ever taken were one in Atlantia in the mid 1980s from Sir Aerik and one in Meridies from Duke Boru. Aerik put me vertical before I hit the ground with a two handed mace and Boru with a one handed sword that spun my head. We call that getting a Boru-se (bruise).

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I personally use Lacrosse arms from Play It Again. Gives just a bit more padding on each side of the elbow.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Talk them into building barrel helms, if you cant find anything else. These can be uber-huge, and they can know they built it themselves.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Reading the description, sounds like the plastic is only over your tailbone, to help against breaking your tailbone/pelvis/spine. Not over the legs.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Aside from that, they proved that you could split along cedar grains, but neglected to use straight grained arrows. It split off about 1/2-2/3 down because the grain "lines" ended there, and never bothered to get arrows that the grain ran the entire length. Kind of a "We have these, so that is what ...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

http://www.sca.org/ti/articles/1994/issue110/BlowCalib.html According to a survey of over 600 fighters from throughout the Known World*, 80% of all fighters would agree that a "good" killing blow should deliver the ball to a point somewhere between the inner and outer circles. From what I have hear...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I think I have the 1600 ones. They tend to protect pretty well, as well as having the back covered for those Ducal Wraps.