The Armour Archive

Cap'n Atli

An interesting article forwarded from Lydia, one of our LSCo and Camp Fenby crew:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 091540.htm

Cap'n Atli

"Laziest apprentice I ever had!"

An excellent argument for a sturdy anvil stump and tie-downs.

Cap'n Atli

Hey; give it a try and let us know how it worked. At the worse, we'll learn not to try it; at the best, you will learn a new application for the technique that you can sell on Saturday Morning on a paid programming cable channel.

Cap'n Atli

Excellent work! The soldiers and peasants just need a little dirt and wear and tear for the full impression. Living and working in the clothes will change them (and also reveal any mistakes in their construction).

Very well done.

Cap'n Atli

I do know Thorhall stuffed the head of his with kitty litter to provide both weight and some degree of impact absorption. I used kitty litter in a heavy sock, on a monkey-chained line, for one of mine. (This was about 25 or so years ago.) Generally, in Markland, the goal was that if you could make i...

Cap'n Atli

Marco-borromei wrote:
Cap'n Atli wrote:We had some interesting results at Camp Fenby, this year, with brass/bronze poured into heavy plaster of Paris molds. I'll post some relevant details a little later.
can't wait to hear more about this!

Bouncing from pillar to post; I'll try to nail down details soon.

Cap'n Atli

We had some interesting results at Camp Fenby, this year, with brass/bronze poured into heavy plaster of Paris molds. I'll post some relevant details a little later.

Cap'n Atli

I caught it with a friend at the National Gallery of Art. I had a lot of fun pointing out all of the various forms of hand gonnes to her (it was just after I got a book on that subject). We also had fun with the details of the ships; that 500 years of evolution from the longships that we're used to....

Cap'n Atli

2009; that seems so long ago! When I get some more bandwidth next month I will have to watch the videos. Thank you.

Cap'n Atli

Exciting news from a nautical point of view! We've discussed sealskin rope and linen and suchlike; but plain old hemp is marvelous as ships' rigging, and now they found some in a Viking Age dig in Norway. For hundreds (and probably thousands) of years, hemp was for ropes and textiles, and any "drug ...

Cap'n Atli

I always squeezed the closure in the notch of the pliers to "set" each link. (Hard to explain, easy to show.)

Cap'n Atli

Kussnach is no where near Wisby , why would they even consider it as a Wisby helmet? Perhaps it was "close enough for government work?" Museums and art galleries (some of them, anyway) are just as prone to fill in the blanks as reenactors. So maybe it is to show the style of helm that might/would h...

Cap'n Atli

And galvanized is not a bad thing in a maritime environment. I once watched a new byrnie of unplated mail, on the warrior in front of me, go from bright silver to chocolate brown while marching in a parade in the rain.

Cap'n Atli

So, Thomas: Are they the proper species of flea; and were they vectored from Norway rats or black rats? And following up on J A III; I think it's most importance to know not only what can be done right, but what is (sometimes has to be) done wrong. ("Yes, we use copper rivets on the ship; the Viking...

Cap'n Atli

Tools, methods? Check out Eric Thing at: http://www.anvilfire.com/21centbs/armor/atli/atli-et01.htm http://www.anvilfire.com/21centbs/armor/atli/atli-et02.htm Both are posted, with other useful information, in the Anvilfire Armoury at: http://www.anvilfire.com/21centbs/armor/main.htm I hope you find...

Cap'n Atli

As promised, a response from my friend, Drey, on this thread. (He can't find his Armour Archive password, so I am serving as his lackey. :wink: ) "I have “been there and done that” with trying to discuss doing equestrian events with the SCA. Since some of the respondents seem to want to impose overl...

Cap'n Atli

As for tents, I view them as either a "private" accommodation for the nobility, or a communal accommodation for the crew. It's been my experience that when we've rigged any shelter on the ship, especially at anchor, a lot of crew manage to cram-in to the finite amount of space. (Of course, I'm known...

Cap'n Atli

HEARING PROTECTORS! WHAT? (Too much gunfire and blacksmithing does not do your unprotected ears any favors. Even some of the power tools will degrade your hearing with constant use. Jig saws on sheet metal make an amazing amount of noise! My favorite muff-style ear protector have a radio built-in s...

Cap'n Atli

Maximum Skill; Minimal Tools: There's an old blacksmith's saying (is there any other kind?) that if you make a hundred of something you'll get good at it. My problem is that there are so many things I want to make it takes a long time to get to that semi-mythical/mystical "100." Just providing a spa...

Cap'n Atli

On the other hand, you won't suffer from a zinc deficiency. We had one fellow who's friend did him a "favor" and plated his mail in cadmium! Now that would be a different story. :( Mine (14 ga., 3/8", 12,800 links, 22 1/4 lb. {10 k.}) has held up for about 38 years now; I guess I can't complain.

Cap'n Atli

The Markland Horse Guild has been integrating equestrian activities into our events for ages. Some of their ideas and practices may be useful: http://www.horseguild.com/ http://www.markland.org/docs/ruleshorse.pdf I've also forwarded this discussion to my friend, Drey, for his further consideration ...

Cap'n Atli

My late friend, Finnr, could do the nicest work with the least amount of tools of anybody I knew. Where I still strive for competence after 28 years of blacksmithing, he could handle leather, wood, metal or cloth with equal facility.

Cap'n Atli

Ah, but are they the right breed of chicken (or goat, horse, livestock...)? If you feed pigs on peanuts you can have Smithfield ham; but to be “authentic” for medieval Europe (instead of Virginia) you would have to feed them on oak mast. I would always joke about what types of internal and external ...

Cap'n Atli

Camp Fenby and Medieval Makers Shops Although not exactly the same as what you are proposing, we've been hosting Camp Fenby since 1993. The basic concept was to provide shops and facilities for people to teach and learn medieval arts and crafts in a laid-back atmosphere. No public to be authentic fo...

Cap'n Atli

Impressive!

Cap'n Atli

Two variables that occur to me: Location and period. You would really have to look for a center of population of like-minded individuals. If you build it, they do not necessarily come. (See: castles in the Ozarks and longships on the Chesapeake.) Everybody will love the idea; but how many will make ...

Cap'n Atli

A variety of stools, at different heights, have proven most efficacious in both the wood shop and forge.

Cap'n Atli

Good point on the flammability issue. Good thing I won't be doing a forge set-up, but I would like a shop that does double-duty for wood and metal projects. >>>SNIP<<< You still might want to segregate the operations to some extent. My wood shop has foot friendly plywood floors, while the forge has...

Cap'n Atli

If you go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in addition to the Kienbusch Collection ( http://www.philamuseum.org/pma_archives/ead.php?c=ROO&p=hn ), don't miss some of Sam Yellin's collection of medieval ironwork. There is a small gallery from his primary collection, and several other pieces, such a...

Cap'n Atli

Here is the simplified layout for the 12' X 24' forge. (Let's see if the scan comes through.) I have a separate woodshop, because a wood lathe and a blacksmith shop are a recipe for conflagration.

Cap'n Atli

I think you may be correct. Pomegranates were very popular as designs on woven textiles at the time this was painted. ...and they're loaded with symbolic meaning. Good call! Sometimes the "forbidden fruit" is identified as a pomegranete instead of the apple; and Mary is seen as the new, more perfec...

Cap'n Atli

And if all of the atlatl folks went to NW Washington for a compeition, and the winner got a year supply of beef - it would the the Seattle Atlatl Cattle Battle. I made one back in college and demonstrated it to my anthropology professor. I had it labeled with "The Attila Atlatl Co." I guess if I st...

Cap'n Atli

I love the Web Gallery of Art as a resource. The items look like the old wash basin and pitcher sets that folks used to use for washing-up, before plumbing. The location right by the bed is customary. My father grew up using them whenever he was down on the farm (including having to break a skim of ...

Cap'n Atli

Darrell Markewitz from DARC has some good contacts at LaM and is easy to work with.

http://www.warehamforge.ca/

http://www.darkcompany.ca/

Just keeping thatch on a very small sheiling was a problem; let me know how well the turf works.

Cap'n Atli

I do have that book. I have an oak stump that I carved out for dishing, but it is pretty charred up. And since I live in Las Vegas now, good tree stumps are hard to find. LOL "Road trip!" California isn't that far away*; and they have a goodly number of trees. Maybe you can make arrangements to mee...

War a money-spinner for rank-and-file soldiers in Late Middl

Re: High speed videos of hot work on the anvil

Re: Forging a knife - A new technique?

Re: Several costumes styles of ancient Chinese warrior&caval

Re: Society flail experiment??

Re: Casting bronze into clay

Re: Casting bronze into clay

Re: The Pastrana Tapestries: Portuguese 1470's (pic Heavy)

Re: The Art of Power: Spanish Royal Armor and Portraits DC

Hemp Found in Viking Context!

Re: Galvanized Maille

Re: Wisby helmet - reconstructed from what?

Re: Galvanized Maille

Re: The authenticity paradox

Re: Tool Choice

Re: Horses at Pennsic

Re: Re-examining Modern Viking Reenactor Beliefs

Re: Tool Choice

Re: Historical Hackerspace/Makerspace

Re: Galvanized Maille

Re: Horses at Pennsic

Re: Historical Hackerspace/Makerspace

Re: The authenticity paradox

Re: Historical Hackerspace/Makerspace

Re: Me and my friend's team

Re: Historical Hackerspace/Makerspace

Re: Show me your shop!

Re: Show me your shop!

Re: Armor museums to see near Maryland?

Re: Show me your shop!

Re: Can anyone identify the objects in this painting?

Re: Atlatl

Re: Can anyone identify the objects in this painting?

Re: Turf roofs

Re: Wanted: beginners tools