The Armour Archive

Cap'n Atli

For contrast, here is the old forge building on the "sold" part of the farm:

Cap'n Atli

Well, here is the latest picture of the new forge. More door hardware is being forged, and latches for the shutters, on dark and stormy nights when I can't do other work. The semi-decorative work on the gable end actually reinforces the roof edge at the overhang. A simplified version is at the other...

Cap'n Atli

Now let's see if I can run the stupid .tif file (new scanner only does .tif! Crummy format... grumble, growl...) Nope! Stupid thing won't size-down or convert. A part of the push to wrap it up (besides really wanting to get the shop up to full capacity) is that my "landlord at sufferance,"...

Cap'n Atli

I've mounted the door (picture forthcoming), and mailed in the payment to the Southern Maryland Electrical Cooperative! I might make November after all!

Cap'n Atli

Well, we've had the Fyrdraca in as early as March, but usually for a special event. (Ask me about the March Good Friday in the light snowstorm, on the way to BaltiCon, when I ended up in Baltimore harbor saving the sinking tow boat, which we ended up towing in... No, never mind- too long a tale. I s...

Cap'n Atli

Soundproofing and Hot Work: Be selective in anything you use for soundproofing if you're going to do hot work in the area. Stuff like carpet and foam and egg cartons that are no big deal in their normal environment are killers when mounted on vertical surfaces. Can you say "flame spread" a...

Cap'n Atli

Report soon; lots of nice pictures at/by Hussites.

Cap'n Atli

If you are in the Mid-Atlantic in the next month or so, the Longship Company will be embarking on four more training voyages this season. Guests are always welcome (thereâ€™s no fee to go out on the ship; you are considered to be a volunteer crewman), and you may find that going viking is to your li...

Cap'n Atli

Friday through Sunday, October 17 through 19 at the Colonial Pennsylvania Plantationâ€™s â€œMedieval Daysâ€

Cap'n Atli

My favorite: People looking at youth armor and deciding that "...medieval folks were much smaller than we are."

Cap'n Atli

Axes and Hafts

Itâ€™s sort of one of those imponderables. It is perfectly possible, but without some evidence (probably an illustration) impossible to prove. I know I have hafted axe heads on longer hafts to use as a â€˜weaponâ€

Cap'n Atli

I've had good results with dried moss in olive oil. It also worked with bees wax in an open bowl lamp, with the advantage that you could very light levels by lighting a number of wicks. I seem to remember good results with dried shelf fungus, too; but it's been a while.

Your reality may vary.

Cap'n Atli

A new what?

Curb your tongue, knave!

Cap'n Atli

Somewhere over at Anvilfire (link on signature line) there's been an extensive discussion of compressor/hammer requirements. Try the power hammer page, the archives, or just ask the Guru to direct you.

Cap'n Atli

Samâ€™s Sea Serpent Iâ€™m taking the liberty of posting this under both bulletin boards. You see a lot of weird things on the water. Some stuff you can identify, and some stuff is just a mystery. On the SÃ¦ Hrafn and the Gyrfalcon we rely on our oarsmen as stern lookouts. There is a â€œproper lookou...

Cap'n Atli

Sure, I've done it before. P.O.s the wif a bit, especially when I apply wax afterwards. Is it an electric oven or a gas oven? What's the max temp on the dial? Generally, you want it up there over 450 degrees. Most ovens will actually run hotter than shown, and the location of the piece in the oven i...

Cap'n Atli

Hmm, plus the squirrel cage ventilation blower for the shop exhaust...

Cap'n Atli

Of course, those who gathered and transported the wood tended to be on the lowest rungs of the commercial chain. This applies up into the early modern period where the woodcutters and colliers were the low men (and sometimes women) on the ironworks totem pole. The attached illustration is from Scien...

Cap'n Atli

GPO Bookstore: m All sorts of fascinating publications by the Federal government. (Note, my father put in 43 years with the GPO, starting in the 1920s.) It doesn't look like it's in print at GPO, but you may be able to pull it on an ILL. If not, PM me with your surface address and I'll make a copy; ...

Cap'n Atli

And here is the front door, with the recycled hinges and awaiting further hardware from the forge:

Cap'n Atli

More Progress. Here's the east end, including the masonry surround for the smoke stack for the coal forge:

Cap'n Atli

Bingo! Crosscut Saw Manual by Warren Miller; June 1978, revised May, 1988; U.S. Forest Service, USDA Technology & development Center, Missoula, Montana; fir sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402; GPO 1988-593-748 This has everything you ...

Cap'n Atli

The National Park Service still uses these in back country official "wilderness" area where the sound of a chainsaw is not to be heard. Useful for clearing trails when the really big stuff blocks the trail. Somewhere in my home library I have a paperback on the care and feeding of these sa...

Cap'n Atli

I was under the impression that tanged arrow heads were used with reed shafts. Which sort of read was never designated by the source, but it might be an interesting area of research.

Still, with a reed shaft, you don't have to drill.

Cap'n Atli

It is my understanding that "by hook or by crook" originates with the firewood that was allowed to be taken by peasants in the lord's woodlands; primarily deadfall limbs. The lord held the lands for timber and fuel, but some customary use of the "small stuff" was permitted. I'll ...

Cap'n Atli

I have a chest based on Mastermyr that I bring both as a display piece and for practical reasons. The most used items are: Cross pein hammer, 2# (mostly used for tent pegs and other "fine adjustments" around the camp) Two pair of pliers (hand wrought) Riveting hammers (straight and cross p...

Cap'n Atli

"... you steal away to the lapping waters,
to look at your ship in her winter quarters."

There's something about the fine lines of the hull which just evokes the love of adventure and good friends and the challenges of seamanship. She's just a small coastal raider, but she's ours.

Cap'n Atli

The other thing to consider was how well armored, or unarmored, your opponent might be in this period. You're not always going up against a legionary; even in the Roman period. Lot's of lightly armed auxiliaries about. In later periods "a man's arms are a spear and shield" so once again, y...

Cap'n Atli

Closer to renaissance, but you might want to try an ILL for "Il Cuoco segreto di Papa Pio V" ( The Private Chef of Pope Pius V ) by Bartolomeo Scappi, Venice, 1570. I'm familiar with its illustrations (which are numerous and detailed) through an old copy of A Culinary Collection from the M...

Cap'n Atli

Anthracite is usable in a forge, with a few changes from normal practice. 1) The air flow has to be steady. This is no problem with an electric blower, but a hand-cranked or bellows needs a lot more attention. You just can't walk away from it. 2) You have to build the fire a lot deeper, more like a ...

Cap'n Atli

Yeah, Ragweed carries very nice LIGHTWEIGHT throwing axes. Note the weight of axe and haft is about a pound. Stickers, not penetrators. Unless, of course, it's sticking out of your head; or face, or other unarmored part of your body. Even if it doesn't penetrate, it would still be a heck of a distr...

Cap'n Atli

Pictures or illustrations, please?

We've actually debated this in terms of an appliquÃ©d device for our sail(s); I wouldn't even think of this for an overdress or apron.

Inquiring longship skippers want to know.

Cap'n Atli

period or not I wouldn't let my dog wear that on his butt.. lol.. That's 'cause it won't fit on his butt; Avedon! Then again, it doesn't look like it would fit on his head, either. It looks awkward on either man or beast. What were they thinking; and are there any illustrations or illuminations of ...

Cap'n Atli

Cooking and Forges Too much going on in a one man shop; I just bring a snack and plug in the electric teapot or grab something out of the mini-fridge. However, Sutton mentions that, in the pre-WWII shop he started in, the kettle was always on the corner of one of the forges for a spot of tea as need...

Cap'n Atli

Some closeups of the anvil...

Only Four Voyages Left This Year on the SÃ¦ Hrafn

Medieval Timeline (Hastings XXXX) 10/17-19