The Armour Archive

Cap'n Atli

A shallow draft steamboat, the Major Brown , made it as far as Loredo in 1846, and was then stuck for a year. The accepted head of navigation was further down river at Roma. Somehow, portaging the ship (or even the faering) from Loredo or Roma to New Mexico seems obsessve. Maybe we can just go with ...

Cap'n Atli

How could I forget Franco Zeffirelli's movie version of Romeo and Juliet (1968)? It begins with a civil riot and climaxes with a rapier and dagger duel. In previous Hollywood and stage versions, the swordplay was sort of an athletic fencing match. In his version I watched people seriously TRYING TO ...

Cap'n Atli

A pity heâ€™s so far from a navigable estuary.

Cap'n Atli

The anvil isn't too low; I'm too tall (6'1")! It worked just fine for the rest of the smiths and those assisting me.

If I was at it every day on that one, I would get a taller lower stump (it breaks down for transport).

Cap'n Atli

SNIP but it's probably a bit much when you're plowing a field in france somewhere. SNIP You don't wear a sword when you're plowing a field; you wear it while watching somebody else plow a field; preferably your people plowing your field. The whole idea is that you don't have to plow fields. Your jo...

Cap'n Atli

James B. wrote:
>>>SNIP<<<

I sometimes wear a sword if it is an outdoor event and I am portraying a Viking but most of the time I wear a dagger, knife, or nothing.

Dear me!

Cap'n Atli

(You may notice a slight resemblance to the layout and pose from the Tubal Cayn picture I posted, above. The layout is on purpose, but the pose just comes naturally.)

Cap'n Atli

On the ship, if we're doing an historical display you're usually allowed one sidearm, which is normally stowed. Spears are stowed aft, just like you see on the picture stones. This keeps them behind the officers, and (more importantly) out of the way of the deck hands when coming into the dock. Kniv...

Cap'n Atli

Here's my favorite, which we use for our Camp Fenby group on Yahoo Groups- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CampFenby/

Tubal Cayn, circa 1360

Cap'n Atli

1) Don't take yourself too seriously! 2) Don't take any other source, or organization, too seriously; use a discerning eye on all of their conventions. See what works for you, and what seems to match the historical context. NOBODY has a patent on the truth! 2a) However, if you're going to doubt ever...

Cap'n Atli

Well, no matter what period you chose (at least during or a little after the Viking Age) you have an excuse to come out on the ship. Later on these would evolve into chaikas and other Russian craft on the river network. Sorry we don't have any Byzantine dromens, we're somewhat limited to smaller ves...

Cap'n Atli

More rick burning: Jack Daniels has it a little fancier, with pollution control, (since they do it on an industrial scale) but the principle is still the same:

http://jackdanielsfriends.com/the-disti ... -mellowing

http://www.bourbonstreetphotography.com ... 2174_HVg4h

Cap'n Atli

Rick Burning There are a variety of methods listed at Anvilfire's coal and charcoal FAQ: m My favorite, simple method (due to an abundance of wood that needs to be cleared from encroaching on the fields and windfalls) is the rick method. 1) Pile up branches and wood scraps in safe, convenient locati...

Cap'n Atli

That particular book cuts off around the Norman Conquest. However, the dig excavated strata (in diminishing amounts, due to later intrusive cellars &c.) through the 16th century or thereabouts. There may be a book cataloging the ironwork from the later periods (and out of my specialty) available...

Cap'n Atli

Matt: Charcoal takes a little more attention than coal does. I find myself constantly applying the whisk, a small soaked broom, to sprinkle water on the outer edge of the fire to keep it small and concentrated. (Doesn't sound like it works, on paper, does it?) With coal, once the fire is going, I us...

Cap'n Atli

James B already brought up the leatherworking book for knife sheaths, but for a very wide variety of A-S and Viking knives there's nothing like Anglo-Scandinavian Ironwork from Coppergate by Patrick Ottaway; ISBN 1 872414 29 X; from the same series. Almost 100 knife blades, all sorts of forms and co...

Cap'n Atli

If you are interested in the use and context of medieval fechtbÃ¼cher, I explore it in detail in my introduction to Agrippa. (Caveat: I am a professional academic and fencing instructor, and so may have no idea of what I'm talking about.) Now if you'll excuse me, I need to do 100 lunges for posting...

Cap'n Atli

who is going to have the upper hand- the guy with a sword in his hand, or the guy with a hilt in one hand, and a blade in the other? Well, that could go either way as I don't see either as being especially unprepared to fight. It depends upon whether the first guy is holding the sword, or whether h...

Cap'n Atli

Which 15th c. chest? Inquisitioning minds want to know.

Cap'n Atli

Thomas Powers wrote:I've been reding "Plagues and Peoples" and have been amused by his reference to Vikings as "Macroparasites" of course he refers to governments with the same term...

Thomas

We prefer to think of the danegeld as an innovative program of the Department of External Revenue!

Cap'n Atli

June, 2011 for the results? Cool, be sure to bounce this in June for us!

Cap'n Atli

Industrious squires and pages are a most efficacious method of dealing with rust on any alloy of steel. It's all a matter of proportion; how much protection vs. how much labor (and availability) for the maintenance.

If it is an issue, there are a number of stainless alloys that may suffice.

Cap'n Atli

Rowing down the moonglade.

Cap'n Atli

...and cruising along under oars.

Cap'n Atli

A few more pictures posted; these from a series of moonligh shots taken at Hastings 41 by my eldest son, Michael Blackistone:

Cap'n Atli

As promised, a picture of our very small "Great Room" with my wif's LOTR swords on prominent display. Also note one of the floor-to-ceiling book cases (with a 10' ceiling).

(Edited for dimensional correction; 'cause I'm fussy.)

Cap'n Atli

Explanation of Obscure Visual Pun

On longships, the spaces between thwarts or major frames were call... "rooms." So, the picture of the stern of the ship shows a... room.

My apologies to all.

Cap'n Atli

Here's my quarters, occupied (in this case) by a "handsome cabin boy" from Canada. It's where I eat and sleep and get some work done. At home, the wif rules, so the gear is in closets and outbuildings and barns and forges and other locations as size and usage dictate. However the (very sma...

Cap'n Atli

Ship Projects:

Power-wash (again) and scrape bottom; recaulk bottom after finding this yearâ€™s â€œpersistent leakâ€

Cap'n Atli

Here's how I make spears. http://www.celticclans.org/spear101-1.html http://www.celticclans.org/spear101-2.html Although I use a mixture of period and modern techniques and equipment I cover the period option in the text when my technique strays to the modern. Also, you should note that the less mo...

Cap'n Atli

Vuk: I pulled these off the ABANA list- anybody near you? THE BADGER BLACKSMITH Pres: Paul Branch 1310 - 216th Ave. New Richmond, WI 54107 (715) 248-7788 pbranch@frontiernet.net Ed: John Grump 5890 Prill Road Eau Claire, WI 54701 715-835-0894 johngrump@att.net You can check ABANA at: m for further s...

Cap'n Atli

"Okay; who put the leftovers all the way in the back of the cupboard?"

Cap'n Atli

If you don't believe me, try signing your name with your non-dominant hand, and get back to us when you can sign it legibly with both hands at once. Done Cite. When I see Leo do it on a clip or in real life, I will be very, very impressed! How many others out there can sign with both hands simultan...

Cap'n Atli

I've given this some thought, and even kicked off a "Two Sword" thread years back. To my mind it seems to boil down to two facets: The historical record does not seem to record a large number of successful "double handed" warriors. If two weapons were normally superior to one, th...

Cap'n Atli

Craigslist Forge: Looks like a fair deal (although I'm sure Master Thomas can do better

). It seems to be missing a grate, but those are easily made.

Where are you located? If you're anywhere near me, or a few of the other smiths, a couple of sessions at the forge may be quite enlightening.