The Armour Archive

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Heavy Leather: stiff, oak-tanned leather at least 1/8 inch (3.2mm) thick. Often referred to as belt leather or 11oz. leather. I never understood this, as I always was under the impression that each oz. of leather was supposed to be 1/64". Hides will vary, so they are sold within a range of oz., suc...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Well, since the SCA is all nobility, we should not have many poorly armoured combattants and frankly should not have many if any archers for an accurate portrayal of Medieval European nobility in tournaments. Even in war most nobles and knights did not shoot other nobles and knights with arrows in ...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Question: why is CA the ditch fight so one sided at Gulf Wars? The best anti CA is another CA. Meridies has a culture of hating CA as a kingdom. We brought 10 archers, and one of the other kingdoms (Ansteorra?) we were facing had around 130. No doubt archers were effective, they killed lesser armor...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I made the mistake of picking up Spear for the first time in melee in the BGDD this last GW. It was worse than normal, apparently. I was a nobody, was horrible with a spear, and barely lasted 10sec on a line. This was also when we were facing around 200 CA with about 30, and outnumbered 2-to-1 in He...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

$7.50!! I bid 7.50!! Plus shipping! Looks like a good sword, slightly fantasy-ish (reminds me of LOTR swords).

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Have a wallhanger that looks ok. Not sure how totally period it is (got it when I first started in the SCA), has about a hand-and-a-half grip, 3' blade, the quillions are kind of small, and the pommel looks like a whale tail. If you want pictures, let me know. Theree is one small fold/bend in the bl...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Just make sure you get the holes punched when ordering, or you might be going through a bunch of drill bits. And make sure you get them right the first time...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Personal opinion here, but I think it to be true. I believe that the armor standard is exactly like the armor worn by Duke Henrik. The problem is the "playability" of the standard. Can you imagine the litigation on the field where someone would say "I would have called that shot if it hit just 3mm ...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Had an army chinstrap that should have been replaced earlier. Fighting a new guy, got legged, he steps in and loses his balance and ends up shield punching me edge on in the grill. Got a nice cut above my eye from the welds. Nothing wrong with the fight, he just slipped, and was fighting in tight.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

One idea for you, Cat, is seeing an arm in them, so people who are concerned with coverage could see how much they actually do. I would do one straight-arm, one slightly bent and one +90 deg.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Get some suede stain resist/water resistance stuff. Check out shoe places, it runs about 5 dollars a can of aresol. Should be more than enough. Do not think it will stretch too bad when hit (but the duct tape might leave some undesirable marks.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

One of my friends had one break on him at Gulf Wars this year. We had heard of a couple of other people breaking theirs as well, so we stopped by the booth. His Grace was not there, but the gentle working the shop listened politely, and when my friend asked if he could get another (with a slight dis...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I would use expanding foam (like a cauk gun). Should be pretty easy to do, but might want to try a couple of other things first, as it might be hard to get out.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Lots of fun was had by all. Great pics, thanks Amos. What I really find inspiring, is there were 3-4 of us who jumped out of the Novice Tourney so we could be here. We are proof that a historical kit can be done within 2 years of fighting (never did anything like the SCA before this, personally). I ...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I am very suprised at the tradition of holding the sword over the head because that could easily be an en garde position---or am I misunderstanding? This is a very vague desription of what is meant, Tim. When holding over your head, the basket (for me) is behind the point of my Norman helm, and the...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I would also look at lamellar of the time. By 1200 scale was very low class, compared to maille and lamellar. Most people attach pretty wide shoulder straps to lamellar, but I am not sure how accurate it is.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Yeah, but Murdock, you left out dessert. Fried Twinkies (genuine guaranteed heart attack), fried Oreo's, fried Moonpies, etc.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I have a feeling once the "lines" are drawn, and each group starts to hold stuff, units will be fast tracking behind the lines moving relics to different places.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

So it turns into the attackers killing the bridge, and then waiting around for the siege engines to do their work, before coming in and killing the center. I seem to remember reading earlier that attackers could res. Did they change this, or am I just not remembering correctly?

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Where and when are you more specifically?

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I usually dont check ebay for baskets. Most of the time I spend wading through random "SCA LARP GOTH etc" sh*t. I have only picked up a couple, and those were from local guys or where I could handle them. I am also very picky (comes from trying to get a good balance on swords for me).

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Evil, Evil!! Right when I am broke for Pennsic. Otherwise I would be all over these (especially the third one) for my lady. Oh, well.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Street Hockey Gloves. Basically gloves with padding on the backs of them. They are strong enough to just take the sting off by themselves, but they are by no means legal unmodified. Unfortunately the ones I have are red, so they dont look the best, but neither do my clamshells. They are almost exact...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I have used the soaking wet and pound as well as the wax hardening. To me, I like the look of natural leather, and I used saddle skirting to begin with, so the wet-pounded one was more than enough protection. I have handled the boiling and the baking, and they give about the same results (the baking...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

What were they sending it to a smith for? The boss? I would have thought they had carpenters make the "blanks" and then have some servant paint, and get a boss from a metalworker. I definately agree though, that they were not mass produced to the same specifications. Most of the shields we see hit t...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Hi Thorald, I agree with some of the other things already posted: make sure you're getting enough fuel, go hard one practice, slower and more precise at the other, etc. What I'd add is make sure you get some protein and carbs (other than beer ) immediately after practice and try some sort of massag...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

What is the first picture for? Cool Factor?

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Congratulations, you have hit your second big milestone. The first was getting authorized. The second is feeling like you can trust your armour, and that will improve your fighting on a whole different level. I still remember the first time I really felt comfortable in mine (it wasnt that long ago )...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Looks wonderful!! What is the inspiration for the etching on the nasal? Is the bottom plate set closer to the face compared to the top, or is that just the photo?

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Hey Robin, if you still have not found a chinstrap you like, I have an extra army one I could bring to Pennsic. Found out ball hitches make great anvils for getting into helms.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I second the army chinstrap idea. I would head to the local PX Freiman, and see what they have for attaching to kevlar helmets. I think that is what mine is supposed to be for . The way mine works is it is tough nylon type fabric, and is riveted, has a tightener, chin cup, tightener, snap, other sna...

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

They both link to the spaulders.

PS: Hey Halberds, are you the Fox?

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Wal-Mart.

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

Quick Question: Mild or Stainless, and what gauges?

Oswyn_de_Wulferton

I know Tandy sells paint that is designed to be used on leather, but I am not sure what type it is.