The Armour Archive

Patrick

Somehow it looked a lot more brutal in person than it does in the photo. I honestly don't make a practice of beating on new fighters, but for my wife, I make an exception! Seriously, I am pleased at how game she is about it all. I guess having kids can prepare you for anything. I doubt it will be lo...

Patrick

Dave- My wife and I do sell our beads, but I don't take custom orders as a rule. I make what I want to make and if people buy, that's great. Otherwise, I still have fun making what I like to make. Most of my sales are from one local bead shop and the occasional craft bazaar. For colors, I suggest lo...

Patrick

Reviving this because I only just saw it. I have been making beads for about 8 years now, all with a Hot Head torch. I'll warn you that other beadmakers will start to look down on you if you tell them the torch you use, thinking it is a beginner's torch. Frankly, I make beads that people don't think...

Patrick

That's so cool! My wife and I got to do a demo for the local library, too. We both wore armor, fought a bit, talked about subjects like making dyes from local plants, weaving (inkle loom), early music, and so on. All around, we had a great time. I also made up a handout with a list of books the libr...

Patrick

Hal- I give you my word that I will not make any sword kits, nor would I compete knowingly with you in such a venture. My interest is mostly for making some simple swords for my own fun and possible gifts. Your kit concepts are a really good way to get folks into armor and now swords. I just have no...

Patrick

Am I missing something, here? What's the price on these? Also, have you considered offering just the blades for those of us who might want to fabricate our own hardware? And, just in case you are willing to divulge, what is your source on the pre-treated 5160? And here I was planning on buying music...

Patrick

A good friend is taking some Engineering courses this semester and has a really great project to do. He gets to build a ballista. Cool, huh? One catch. He has to document and explain all of it in real math-type calculations. In fact, he has to build it based on those calculations, not just fudge the...

Patrick

First, Thomas, please actually read what I said about the equivalent prices of helmets and gauntlets. I did not say that the cheaper gauntlets cost as much as the better helmets. Here is what I a actually said: I'm basing that on the cheapest and most expensive of each that I have seen, so don't try...

Patrick

Yeah, what Steve said. A basic kit will get you out there and fighting. I have gone through a couple of kits so far because with my first, I was not sure what I wanted. Only by fighting in it was I able to decide what aspects were great and what were lousy. The price of gauntlets is roughly equivale...

Patrick

Well, here's one fighter's take on it. Half gauntlets with a basket hilt would be what the majority of folks use. It is a fairly inexpensive and very protective way to go. If your goal is to look period, this won't really work for you. If you just want protection, this is probably the way for a begi...

Patrick

I never did make a guard. Since all my experience was with a Squarewheel until I bought the Bader, I was used to having a guard. I intended to make one, but found that I really like having access to so much of the belt. Now, it would just get in my way. I have had the machine throw belts at me a cou...

Patrick

Well, regarding the problems with the Bader, there is only one I have not managed to fix, so far. Thing is, there is no support when you call the company about it. They told me to ask another person who has one. I seem to be the only one in this part of the state, though. The tracking was erratic. I...

Patrick

It all depends on what you want to do with it. I have a 2x72 Bader BM2. I bought it because it has a 2 hp motor on it, while the Wilton Squarewheel and Burr King only had singe hp motors. I had used a Wilton in the past and liked it, but found I could bog it down. Never managed to bog down the Bader...

Patrick

Atli always knows his stuff. From the viewpoint of a spare-time knifemaker who has never actually done any serious forging, I can give you a little further advice. I started with Tim McCreight's book Custom Knifemaking. It is still the one I suggest to new people. Do not follow his heat-treating inf...

Patrick

I'm really unclear as to what your message is all about. With no capital letters and no punctuation, it just isn't possible to read it without getting a headache. Interesting topic, though. Been meaning to try to make one in my spare time, just for hoots. I tend to belong to the school of thought th...

Patrick

It all depends on why you are in the SCA. Is it to fight? Is it to armor? Or is it just to have fun? For me, the fun is the whole point. I know people who I don't think have had fun with the SCA in years, but they keep plugging away at it. I quit the SCA when I quit having fun and have only come bac...

Patrick

I was also going to suggest a Serpent. This is the bass member of the cornett (or zink) family of instruments. To buy a decent reproduction is pretty spendy, but to make an acceptable substitute can be done for fairly cheap. m This guy came up with a method of making serpents out of plywood. Wild. m...

Patrick

It?s going too slow. If I?m patient, I?ll be successful. I can wait maintaining bone density, it can be preventing phytochemicals and is very nutritious and flavorful. Kohlrabi tin has shown very encouraging beneficial one end five copies of these grafted coat survival and migration,J. Biol. Chem.27...

Patrick

Geoffrey hits on something very important. When I was fairly new (a few months in armor) I added a fauld and tassets to my breastplate because I was sick of the bruised hip (I wanted to use that round shield and would prefer to change the armor over switching to a heater - possibly dumb of me). I fo...

Patrick

Well heck, I could make that blade. Not sure on the pommel. Was it just screwed on? Mostly I make hunting knives and general utility, so I am not volunteering for this job, but if you just check a local knife shop you should be able to find a local knifemaker whose work will be adequate. -Patrick

Patrick

Well, if you are concerned about a plastic habaki, why are you looking at an aluminum blade? I think I don't really get it, so what are you planning on using this for? I have to say that the Valentine sword is not a very pretty piece of work. It is an interesting idea and probably great for the sort...

Patrick

Bumpity Bump!

I'd still love to see pics, if T-Bob has time and is feeling any better! Or was Jerry Springer just so much better than you expected that you forgot all about it?

-Patrick

Patrick

How small a forge do you want? You can make one for a few bucks if you already have a propane torch. Take a soft firebrick, drill a 1.5" hole the long way through it with a spade bit, then do a 3/4" hole from the side. Direct the flame of a plumber's propane torch (5-20 bucks depending on options an...

Patrick

My suggestion, if you have not already done this, is to have a full suit as an example. If possible, use a period picture and make an SCA armor to match it. It is so much easier to learn if the teacher is showing examples, rather than just describing them. I want to see that the result actually look...

Patrick

I plan to make a great helm pretty soon (shortly after Mrs W gets her breastplate done so I can get some shop time, too) and T-Bob's strapping sounds really interesting. T-Bob, do you mind taking a picture and either posting it here or sending it to me? I would really be grateful for it. patrick_woo...

Patrick

Go to a sewing store and buy a pattern for a bra in her size. These are made to have cloth fit nicely, so they ought to work for leather. you might want to use one cup size larger than her chest so she can actually wear something under it. Why reinvent something that's already out there?

-Patrick

Patrick

Okay, the safety aspects are reasonably well covered, here. Good. Remember that you only get one set of lungs and you don't get to do "do-overs" when you mess them up. The tiny metal splinters you breath in will do bad things. They get in your lungs and cut until they are encased in scar tissue. Thi...

Patrick

Just got this e-mail. Since folks here had such fun with the last one, thought y'all would like to do it again! ____________ Dear Viking friend, Some time go I sent you an email about a strange artefact that we have found at our excavation of the Viking Age harbour on the island of Gotland. I couldn...

Patrick

The cool part about it all is that Mrs W looked over at me after she started rolling her edges and said "I don't know what I ever got out of doing the girly stuff in the SCA!" I think it is awesome that she wants to make armor for herself. She already has mentioned the idea of a portable stump and a...

Patrick

Owen-

I am not going to back up and do Roman, but if I were sitting on the fence, that picture would have made up my mind. Wow.

-Patrick

Patrick

Winter's Gate has oodles of loaner gear. Some of it is even functional. The way it has tended to work is that people will finally ditch some old moldering bit of armor and donate it to loaner gear. I fought exactly once in loaner armor and then spent a year learning how to make armor (pre-Archive da...

Patrick

Wayne Goddard (knifemaker) uses the salt water electric etch to mark his knives. Look for his book "Wayne Goddard's $50 Knife Shop" for details. Essentially, he uses a DC supply and has a Q-tip dipped in a strong salt solution at one end of the electrics, with the knife at the other. His resist is a...

Patrick

Well, actually, He was raised by a carpenter, so it is more reasonable to assume he learned carpentry, not smithing... There was an article a couple of years back in Tactical Knives magazine (yeah, I read it, so what?) that talked about Toshishiro Obata using a sword made by Michael Bell to cut into...

Patrick

If you don't mind the greasy look of it, Crisco or other vegetable shortening works pretty well. Rub on with a paper towel. This is probably best for storing the blade. I use it on kitchen knives, too. The idea is that it won't come off as easily as light mineral oil or olive oil, both of which I ha...

Patrick

Okay, I know that this has been covered many times. I just never kept a copy of the replies because I didn't think it would matter to me... I remember someone saying that scale could be removed with muriatic acid from a pool store. Well, in Fairbanks Alaska, there aren't any. Especially in January. ...

Ballista question

aust posts world record!

Another Viking Artifact!

removing scale from mild steel