The Armour Archive

Steve S.

I hope that some of you can find the time to come and join us at least at the local level. It is not as dangerous as you think if you wear proper gear. I dunno - every BOTN I have watched (2 years now) has had injuries. And I saw a picture of one helm literally rent open. Now maybe all of these wer...

Steve S.

It also occurs to me that some quenching mediums might vaporize more readily forming a vapor barrier between the metal and the quenching medium, which slows down heat transfer dramatically (which is why water droplets will dance for some time on the surface of a griddle). This won't necessarily be a...

Steve S.

Fear of injury - I think that's a bigger issue than fear of death, actually. And in a sense, that fear probably relates directly to the cost issue. Can I afford to be out of work for weeks because of an injury from BotN? Aside from lack of martial ability, this is the most significant thought that ...

Steve S.

The heat treating pocket book I have is the same as the link I provided above.

Steve

Steve S.

My son Catlin and I are both combatants, and Jana blogs and takes photos while we travel. That brings up another point: children. If you've got school-aged children you've got to work around school schedules, unless you want to go off and do your thing and leave your family behind, which again, can...

Steve S.

The cost issue does have a particular angle to it: My family spent $7500 buying an RV. But that's something we use as a family . The tents and things we bought for SCA participation we use as a family . But when I got into N-SSA shooting, I probably dropped $3-$4000 into it, but it's an activity onl...

Steve S.

I think part of the issue is that people who swing a stick on weekends, and are, well, honestly, way, WAYYY out of shape, think they are, in fact, in shape. Like most extreme hobbies, it's not for everyone. or even most people. There's a level, below which, you won't be able to do it. And I think t...

Steve S.

An impossible level of dedication.

Steve

Steve S.

Is there anything other than cost, and say the danger of death keeping people off of the field? It just seems like you have to have an impossible level of fitness and martial prowess. It feels like an impossible goal to strive for. It would be like trying out for the Olympics. If you suck at SCA co...

Steve S.

How about this?

http://www.secowarwick.com/en/infocente ... data-book/

Steve

Steve S.

There is a neat little pocket book on heat treating that you can get for free. I forget the details. I will try to remember to dig it out tonight when I get home.

Steve

Steve S.

I guess a set of deep-reach calipers could be used to measure thickness.

Steve

Steve S.

It is an industry standard to state the thickness of the metal armor is made from not what its been made into. I think that's about the best you can reasonably expect. Metal stretches while being worked, and gets thinned when sanded and polished. I'm not even sure how you could reliably check the t...

Steve S.

The Authentic Campaigner, a Civil War BBS, has a list of "Approved Vendors".

They had a spat with NJ Sekela, a merchant, and made it so that any time someone types that name in a message the word is replaced with ******.

Steve

Steve S.

I love the period 2-finger point Sir Guy is using.

Steve

Steve S.

Wow, that's exactly what my hosen ties look like!

I basically make "straps", about 1/2" wide, using folded strips of linen.

Steve

Steve S.

This is cool! Do you just pour a plaster of Paris block and carve into it to use as a mold for the metal?

Steve

Steve S.

I think it turned out awesome.

In the future, if you want to match panels like that, just fill in the recessed area with painter's masking tape, then use an exacto knife to cut them along the edges of the plates, and then peel out the tape. You will have a precise pattern for what you need.

Steve

Steve S.

What is the prod made of?

Steve

Steve S.

Bronze is also heavier than iron.

Steve

Steve S.

The absolute best leg harness suspension I used was when I made a form-fitting tailored arming coat and pointed to that. Such a garment is almost as much a girdle as anything else. Because it is so tight fitting, the load is distributed over the whole body, across the chest and upper back, and not j...

Steve S.

Make them a coif of maille.

Steve

Steve S.

You can also lose weight. Since April I have lost the weight of my maille shirt. I now get to wear it for free.

Steve

Steve S.

It's not my shirt, it's a friend who wants me to fix it.

I have tried Icefalcon, they don't have them.

I'll try GDFB.

Steve

Steve S.

Was it riveted or butted maille?

I wear a haubergeon of maille over my arming coat and under my coat of plates. Other than the weight, of course, I do not find it restrictive at all.

Steve

Steve S.

What do you mean?

Steve

Steve S.

I have an aluminum riveted hauberk that needs repair. The rings appear to be 3/8" ID and made from 16 GA wire. Only the ends are flattened and they use round rivets.

Does anyone know a source for rings and rivets?

Steve

Steve S.

I have found over the years that if a reconstruction doesn't work right it probably isn't done right.

Steve

Steve S.

I like the plastic wrap idea better than hose. You don't want anything that is stretchy or else when you cut it away from the leg it will shrink on you.

Steve

Steve S.

I'm a little leery of the idea of "grounding out" finger lames on finger gauntlets. As long as they only ground out on rattan, you're in good shape. But get some flesh caught under it and OUCH.

I don't know which idea scares me more - getting my fingers crushed or guillotined.

Steve

Steve S.

Thanks for the picture!

The thing I like about having a sleevless vest under my cote to tie my hose to is that after fighting I can take the cote off without my pants falling off.

Steve

Steve S.

I would not trust 14th century articulated finger gauntlets to protect my fingers. Even if I wore them, I would use baskets on top of them.

I have this cringe phobia thing about squashed fingers.

Steve

Steve S.

But there are similar martial garments, correct? If so, how do you reconcile pointing both the hose and the armour to the same garment? Would there be a lower row of points for the hose, and then a higher row of points for the armour, so that you would put on your hose first and then your armour? St...

Steve S.

I have been burned buying armour through measurements. I don't know if I just screwed up on the measurements or if the armourer screwed up. But it was a costly mistake putting me out $600. One of the key attributes to effective armour is that it must fit very well. The less well it fits, the more of...

Steve S.

This has probably been covered before, but how do you know that those points shown are for hose and not armour?

Is this a martial cote?

Steve

Re: Battle of the Nations- Team USA

Re: i bought a kiln, how do i heat treat and temper ?

Re: Battle of the Nations- Team USA

Re: i bought a kiln, how do i heat treat and temper ?

Re: Battle of the Nations- Team USA

Re: Battle of the Nations- Team USA

Re: Battle of the Nations- Team USA

Re: Battle of the Nations- Team USA

Re: Battle of the Nations- Team USA

Re: i bought a kiln, how do i heat treat and temper ?

Re: i bought a kiln, how do i heat treat and temper ?

Re: Please read if you have purchased a helmet from Clang Ar

Re: Please read if you have purchased a helmet from Clang Ar

Re: we need a warning area

Re: Pennsic pics

Re: Hosen ties?

Re: Custom made wax seals - at such a rediculously low price

Re: Trying to pimp my old helm

Re: New Crossbow

Re: Bronze vs Iron

Re: "Hanging your legs" question

Re: Finding a craft that suits me

Re: Fought for the first time in maille tonight...

Re: Where to find aluminum riveted rings?

Re: Fought for the first time in maille tonight...

Re: The War Shouldn't Be Over in June

Where to find aluminum riveted rings?

Re: Avoiding the 'Diaper' Look

Re: Chausses

Re: What 14th Century style gauntlets would you fight in?

Re: Avoiding the 'Diaper' Look

Re: What 14th Century style gauntlets would you fight in?

Re: Avoiding the 'Diaper' Look

Re: How difficult is it to get plate armor that fits?

Re: Avoiding the 'Diaper' Look