The Armour Archive

Patrick

I am turning into a champion for steel, here! I can buy a sheet of 16 guage steel for $33 last time I checked (a year ago). From that, I can make two suits of armor to fit me (6', 242 pounds, 42" chest) sans helms. The helms I make from 14 gauge. Tools: -jigsaw -file to deburr edges -drill -hammer (...

Patrick

How would we analyze rigidity of articulation? ___________ Well, we could look at whether the joint articulation flexes in a direction it should not. For example, does it flex sideways? Articulated steel will not. Plastic that is tied together with parachute cord will. Skillful articulation (Dietric...

Patrick

www.jastown.com has two types of lance heads. They are rough forged, so if you want fancy shiny, you will have to look elsewhere. I have been pleased with the service I got when ordering from them.

-Patrick

Patrick

quote: I am uncertain if a normal knee would see much extra protection from the weight of steel that it wouldn't also lose with the extra strain of carrying that weight. We are talking about winged knees right? Beyond a small benefit in standing inertia, I fail to see how you can substantiate your o...

Patrick

The rigidity of articulation in the steel armor is part of the protection, as well. I have had knee surgery. I was out of fighting for a full year due to an SCA fighting injury. I am firmly of the opinion that a plastic leg harness would have left me with even worse problems. I remade my legs to emu...

Patrick

Well, I didn't feel that anyone in this conversation was being rude or disrespectful, so there is certainly no offense in my corner. ___________________ For Japanese armour plastic approximates the look, feel and performance of the original. ___________________ Ummm, actually, read what is posted ab...

Patrick

QUOTE: With due respect to TRM, did They, or Their armorers pound out the steel they wear, or is it cold rolled modern metal? Cold rolled armor does not look like "period" european harneses either, I might point out. SNIP Not everybody in the Knowne world can make their own armor. They have to get w...

Patrick

Ii! Good to see you here, buddy! Long time, no talk, eh? Still, much as I love you personally, I have to disagree with a little bit of what you are saying. I am against the open use of plastic in any venue that claims to represent history before the the use of long-chain polycarbon materials. Simple...

Patrick

I once saw a fellow with aluminum cuisses covered with suede leather. Now, suede is a split leather and as far as I know, not actually authentic, but it sure looks better than roadsigns. He also had decorative rivets around the edges of the cuisses, which served to hold the leather even more than th...

Patrick

For me, what makes an event fun is having more to do than fight. I could fight at fighter practice. I really don't care much about winning (I never have won much, but I honestly don't mind). I do care about having a good time. To me, the audience was always what made fighting fun. I used to make a p...

Patrick

Well, not to stick pins in your idea, here, but there's something pretty close already and it is free. When you open up the Archive, click on Patterns and see what you get. Body armor, gauntlets, gorgets, arms, legs, more helmets than you know what to do with... The patterns represent a lot of work ...

Patrick

I like Fahrenheit. It is what I grew up with. I also like the smaller degrees because a plain old number means more accuracy than with centigrade. I don't want to have to use a decimal in order to retain the level of accuracy I already have, thanks. I also love Fairbanks. So what if we get brutal wi...

Patrick

-21 centigrade? What's that I hear? Violins? Boo hoo. Here in Fairbanks, it is currently -37 degrees Fahrenheit. For you Canuckians, that's -38 centigrade. For a little bit of trivia, -40 is the only place on the two scales where they both read the same. We get to see that every winter... I'm just m...

Patrick

I am going to disagree with a lot of folks here. I think the best helm for learning to fight in would be a flat-topped great helm. Learn to avoid being hit on the head before you learn to utilize the glancing surfaces of a bascinet. I am not kidding here. When you can fight effectively in a "disadva...

Patrick

Years ago, I read about a fellow who would get new fighters outfitted in a couple of weekends. He had one standard helm pattern. It was a rectangle that had an extra bit to cover the throat. The way it went together was it was bent in a big circle, welded up the back, then the eye slots were cut wit...

Patrick

I have used 16 gauge for every pair I have built for SCA combat (including one pair of 16 gauge stainless for a knight in Eskalya - oof what a lot of pounding!). I have fought in gauntlets a lot more than with a basket hilt and I have been hit on the hands a lot, too. (I never was a very good fighte...

Patrick

Okay, found it. Page 74 of Arms and Armour of the Medieval Knight. Check out the dude in the red CoP with the flag showing the red rampant lion on the yellow field. Look at his arms. Cool, huh?

-Patrick

Patrick

Just a note about bazubands: In AAMK, there is a great picture of a knight in the 14th century section wearing a coat of plates and bazubands. This is Europe. I'll have to check at home for the page #. Still, you can look it up yourself, if you have the book. No mention in the text, just the picture...

Patrick

Kyle- It just seems like there has to be something wrong with that idea. The odd part is that I can't think of why it wouldn't work... I would tend to think that the fact that the gauntlets are made of wire would mean they are less rigid than they ought to be. Not sure, though. Dang! If I could weld...

Patrick

I have used a lot of roofing nails for leather-to-steel attachments. They work great. I prefer to use a thicker shaft (3/16" dome-head rivets) for anything that I am going to stick my melon into and have it whacked by my smelly, mouth-breathing, pipe-hitting, thuggish friends. Think about it. I boug...

Patrick

I suspect a lot of folks have videos of tournaments and such. You might be able to trade a blank tape for a copy of the tournament. You would have to pay postage, but for the price of a videotape, you don't have the loss of resolution that most online video sources suffer from. Just a thought. I'm n...

Patrick

Well, I don't think that a camail would be accurate, strictly speaking. However, you might also look into a helm design that protects the neck. Something like a close helm or an armet with integral gorget would do it well. If you honestly can't wear a gorget, you might want to consider strongly whet...

Patrick

Trying to reintroduce moisture into the wood may be a bad idea. Make sure you don't have a plastic or lacquer coating on the handle, then just let it sit and acclimate to your local conditions for a couple of weeks. It might take a lot less time, but be safe. I personally finish all of my wood handl...

Patrick

AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! My eyes! My eyes! Actually, I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry. I actually enjoy some of these. I'm not posting mine, though. Since I am no longer in the SCA, I don't need the prize. Anyway, I've already been beaten a couple of times. Hobgoblin the Helmet will have to wait for an...

Patrick

quote: Conrad, is authenticity a matter of a "look" ? Or is it a matter of closely approximating the actual manner of the time in question ? Which is more "authentic", 100% cotton "sweat pants" or cotton/lycra blend "hosen" ? __________________________ While neither of the examples is actually authe...

Patrick

I have handled a recent piece by MRL. It was purchased about 2 years ago. The generic medieval sword. It looks good, but I really felt it was too heavy. It also just didn't feel like it was real. I didn't like it.

-Patrick

Patrick

http://www.armourarchive.org/patterns/simple_elbow_rainald/ http://www.armourarchive.org/patterns/simple_knees_rainald/ These patterns from the Pattern Library of the Archive should be capable of conversion to leather pretty easily. Sew or rivet up the dart and harden the leather however you prefer...

Patrick

Cheval, I tend to agree with you pretty strongly. Loaner armor is a way that the SCA continues to be "all-inclusive". By making it possible for people to participate in fighting without even having to get thier own armor, we can allow anyone who is able to get into the loaner gear to get on the fiel...

Patrick

The ABS stuff is not armor. It is sports gear. We agree on that. Instead of trying to turn it into armor, hit the exposed parts. Go a little easy on them, don't power through the hips or anything. But take the shots you see. If they want to find out how to avoid it, tell them about how well authenti...

Patrick

Well, the stop-sign char-aina is my article. I wrote it up about 6 years ago when I made one for local loaner gear. The entire purpose of it was to prove to some local yutzes that making armor is not hard. I wrote the article in the hope that some of the guys wearing the loaner and sort of turning i...

Patrick

Someone asked a while back about sallets that could be made without welding. I mentioned a picture I had seen in a friend's book on the Negroli armoring family. I finally got in touch with him and he was kind enough to put up some pictures. http://modzer0.cs.uaf.edu/~mrbob/sallet.php WARNING! These ...

Patrick

The local marshal recently told me that there are now 11 fighters showing up to baronial fighter practice. Since I could only remember about 4, I asked a couple of questions. Turns out, the 4 I remembered are the only ones who have armor, and the other fighters all share the loaner gear. My question...

Patrick

nutritious and flavorful than rolls made only with refined white flour. It also gives them FILL OUT THE BLOOD-SUGAR SYMPTOM TEST 325 Chapter 17: Ten Low-Calorie Success Stories so that you too will come to understand what I have been reading about and an - combs in shampoo and tepid water Salmon 3 o...

Patrick

Okay, here's how I'd change SCA combat if I could do it: 1) Require an authentic and attractive appearance on the field. No plastic that can be seen. No ratty, moldy, old, threadbare tabards failing to hide said plastic. And the basket hilts would be constructed of steel or at least covered by leath...

Patrick

I have to track down a buddy of mine. He used to post here as Harald Thordson. He has this great book about the Misaglia armor works which has all sorts of wonderful pictures. Including one of a sallet that has a spangen-helm top! This is the only such example I have ever seen, so you'd be recreatin...

Sallet without welding

When does a person become a fighter?

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