The Armour Archive

Mrs. W

Kass--I think you should tell the gal to quit harping on this.

HAHAHA! I can't believe no one beat me to that. [img]http://forums.armourarchive.org/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

-Woolery

Mrs. W

Oh, man, THAT is funny! His descriptions are just priceless:

"These handmade beauties are just what the "Ren Fair Doctor" ordered."

Only if it's Dr. Kervorkian.

And what's with that sunny smiley-face thing? Does he worship Mithras?

Thanks for the laugh!

-Woolery

Mrs. W

I took a good look at your beautifully shaped helm, then clicked the link.

HA HA HA HA!

They may be trying to rip you off, but that helm is no threat to yours.

-Woolery

Mrs. W

This is good! I am glad to know that my "little" 1 pounder is not so unusual, after all! Signo wrote: "As for tires : power is nothing without control! so i prefer to make some more passes but puttin all the hammer stroke where I want.. and not where the hammer want." Yes! That is just what I found ...

Mrs. W

For other women who make armor, (and you men who have worked with women, feel free to answer this too): Do you find that you need a bit (okay, a LOT) lighter hammer than the guys? Patrick is showing me how to make my breast and back (modified Churburg 13). He handed me his 2 pound hammer, and I had ...

Mrs. W

If you are able to recruit young women, I am surprised that the young men don't follow...

It's just surprising, based on the men I know. [img]http://forums.armourarchive.org/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

-Woolery

Mrs. W

Awww, man! Just when I thought that Combat and R & A had managed to avoid whatever caused this problem. Rats.

-Woolery

Mrs. W

Cu Chulainn was called Setanta as a boy. His uncle was Conor mac Nessa, king of Ulster at that time. At the age of seven, Setanta killed the fearsome hound of Culann the smith. Culann was King Conor's host for the evening, and he was very angry at the loss of his hound. Young Setanta offered to make...

Mrs. W

Look at the white horse. He looks Crazy! Look into his EYES!!! Ha, ha! And I was just thinking, "That guy has the dippiest looking horse since Dudley Do-right's!" It so lloks like the white horse is saying to the other horse, "Don't be suck a gloomy Gus! Put on a happy face!" From that tired,...

Mrs. W

Check Le Poulet Gauche's website: http://www.lepg.org/ Scroll down to "Tavern Life." Their information is based on a 16th century French tavern. I guess that the group used to run an actual tavern at Pennsic, but they haven't done it for years. Too bad! It sounded like a great place... -Woolery

Mrs. W

Heh. I had a pair of leather soled "girls' fashion" boots in high school. Slick as anything on the polished linoleum floors of the school. I loved them: I would skate down the halls in them and slide to a stop in front of my next class. Do try to stretch out your shoes, then wear them around the hou...

Mrs. W

So, now that Gwyneth, and maybe others(?) are getting into fighting, Patrick and I are motivated to finish my armor and get me out there, too. Cool! So, I now have a gambezon, and Patrick is planning on cutting me out the pieces for a Churburg-based breastplate. Please don't vomit, but we're plannin...

Mrs. W

For more about medicinal leeches and other fun stuff, Honey, Mud, Maggots, and Other Medical Marvels: The Science Behind Folk Remedies and Old Wives' Tales by Robert Root-Bernstein, Michele Root-Bernstein is a fun read. The authors are a bit partisan, but they do present some interesting fact...

Mrs. W

If what you teach people helps them to understand that people from the Middle Ages were not a bunch of barely sentient primates, then you will have succeeded. Seriously. You all know what I mean. At some point in your lives, you were probably presented with the idea that people living more than abou...

Mrs. W

Thank-you for asking this question! I had wondered about red onions, myself. Interestingly enough, I am going to do some yellow onion skin dyeing this weekend. I will try to record measurements and post to a website so that people can see the results. In the meantime, try this Adobe download for one...

Mrs. W

Yeah, what Gwen said. The word "corn" was around long before Europeans colonized the Americas. It was just a generic term for grain. I have read books written in England from around 100 years ago that still use the word "corn" to mean "grain", which is not surprising. That is its original meaning, a...

Mrs. W

"Willful freakishness." That is a good turn of phrase. I must work it into my daily conversation. Jehan is cool. http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/smile.gif One of the sources of these horrid personae has just got to be The Known World Handbook. I have the third edition, and on page 105 there ...

Mrs. W

"How long was the stairwell between landings?" Irregular, and there were no landings, per se, because it was a circular stairwell. That is why the longer weapons wouldn't work: the curve of the outer wall was too tight to allow them to be used. Overhead room was also close: as I mentioned, I could ...

Mrs. W

Okay, I should have seen this right away: the problem with using a spear in that stairwell is that the haft is too long. Anything with a haft longer than about a meter would not be weildable within the curve of the outer wall. Spears and halberds would be great in the open spaces; just not the stair...

Mrs. W

No problem: sounds like fun! http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/smile.gif As far as causes of obesity go: I believe that activity level has as much and more to do with the problem as diet. I saw plenty of chubby people in Ireland, but no hugely fat ones. They eat plenty of yummy, rich food, but they w...

Mrs. W

Back from a week in Ireland. I got to see a bit of Bunratty Castle over by Shannon (built 1425). The circular staicase in the NW tower did, indeed, run counterclockwise (if you're going down), but it was close in there. It was only about a meter wide, if that, and not much headroom. I'm 5 feet 5 inc...

Mrs. W

I worry that a woman who thinks SCA fighting is "real" will have too much confidence, and take on someone when she could run away. I re-read my posts and am not sure where you picked this idea up. Are you meaning me, or someone you know personally? To clarify: I consider "hands-on" self-defense to ...

Mrs. W

Joaquin has a good point. I have done Shudo-kan (briefly, many years ago) under a Sensei Scott, and he was great. However, much of the newbie training in his school is not done by him any more, but by his seconds. I respect him completely, but I have heard that the students in his school have a repu...

Mrs. W

I guess that I should clarify: the person in question would not attend events, just come to fighter practice...

-Woolery

Mrs. W

In one of his books, Mark "Animal" McYoung says that the SCA is a great place to learn how to fight with a stick. He is looking at it as a form of self-defense training. How would you feel about someone doing SCA fighting for the purpose of learning stickfighting as a western martial art? Provided t...

Mrs. W

(something green)

That sounds interesting! I have only been to local SCA feasts, and I never saw anything green at those! Hmmm!
(Smirk, smirk.)

Actually, it all sounds tasty! Thanks, Gwen. You guys are spiff.

-Woolery

Mrs. W

Cooley. Or Connor.

Seriously, seems like half the stuff in the Red Branch legends is pronounced one of these two ways.

-Woolery

Mrs. W

Go see our stuff! Team Woolery strikes again. That's Patrick on bandsaw and keyboard, April on html and Photoshop. http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/smile.gif Also, Patrick would really like to get a recording of the original Jorvik pipes being played. There was a recording available at one time. Doe...

Mrs. W

You probably can tell that any time Patrick or I refer to "the book," we mean Cindy Jenkins' book. See if your local library or stained/art glass supplier has Lewis Wilson's basic glass bead how-to video available for loan. This is just as step-by-step as the Cindy jenkins book, but has the benefit ...

Mrs. W

A couple of on-line sources of inspiration: http://www.taaffeite.com/sold-beads.htm# The above site is not as user-friendly as the next one: http://www.ancienttouch.com/ancientbeads.htm Tons of bead pics here. Not the best documentation, but it will give you plenty of ideas. Echo says: "Yeah, buy Ci...

Mrs. W

Quote: I will probably try to make one myself this summer- not because I know how to play it, just because I like to make new things out of wood. Thanks, Ivar! I hope that lots of people share your response. What appeals to me most about the SCA (outside of my local branch http://www.armourarchive.o...

Mrs. W

I posted the third image, that of the funerary shield of Edward, the Black Prince. It is made of poplar, a lightweight, fairly weak wood. I am guessing that this was because it was never intended to be used. I realize that none of these look like the judicial shields you are thinking about making (i...

Mrs. W

Alas, I do not know what gesso was made of in period. My knowledge of it is strictly modern. But check Erasmus' link to the Cennini text: what I have had time to read (part of section 5) looked promising. As far as use of gesso on period shields, I was only able to find three pictures in the Woolery...

Mrs. W

Gesso (pronounced JESS-oh): either plaster of paris or gypsum prepared with glue for use in painting or making bas reliefs; or a paste prepared by mixing whiting with size or glue and spread upon a surface to fit it for painting or gilding. Discussion of the first type of gesso: Gesso used in the re...

Mrs. W

You guys are awesome. Thanks for the information: I knew that this was the place to ask. I have sent Emelisse the url for this site.

Woolery

Women making armor

Helmets and footwear(SCA)

How cramped was my castle...

SCA combat question

Viking Panpipes, or Patrick's been busy