The Armour Archive

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Ernst wrote:I've always been fond of this German miniature in the British Library from the late 13th. Notice the square front coifs, and the apparent poleyn within the cuisses.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... erman_.jpg

Sweet! If the hands are greater than 1.25" diameter, can I use a baby as an SCA weapon?

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The Maciejowski Bible was commissioned in 1250 and the illuminations finished in 1300, so it's not going to be too far off... and there are examples of padded armor in it.

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Ok, here's an answer to your incredibly open-ended question.... The splints should be laminate, probably pattern welded D2 with a spring temper for impact resistance, and they should have a surface layer of tungsten carbide for abrasion resistance. The problem is going to be the fact that the carbid...

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http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/cid=45/k ... ng-Coating

Their website isn't usually the best IMO but their service is hard to beat.

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I really don't think you need sliding rivets. If you have a conical cuff, then that will accommodate most of the up-and-down wrist movement (meaning moving the hand in the directions of the pinky and the thumb). If you watch your hand as it moves up-and-down you'll notice that you don't get anywhere...

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Who made it?

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Looks good!

There is a large gap in the back - did you just put a kettle on top of another helm?

Is this the pattern from the pattern archive?

What gauge is the brim?

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Gwydion Caithnes wrote:Obviously from "the Armouries of Freddy Kreuger..."

Just when you thought you'd seen some weird pieces...

I was thinking these are strictly for time travelers who previously had to chop off their own demon-infected hands with a chainsaw.

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I would suggest this is the completely wrong mindset. You do not know you are going to loose. Yeah, something I'd add along these lines is that you should try all styles. I was a terrible front line shieldman (all 150lbs of me) but then I went to an event in Meridies, where there is only one author...

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The key to using clecos is getting the exact right size. If you use 5/32 drill or punch you need the 5/32 cleco. If you use one that is slightly too small, you may have problems with them pulling through or not holding tightly. I periodically load up the whitney #8 with a 3/8" or 1/2" die...

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Yeah, that dish looks awesome... but the hammer is what's causing the moonscape. If you grind a really shallow curve on a small sledge, that'll be more what you're looking for. Broader head with not as much curve on it. Of course the problem with a metal hammer like that is that if you're not hittin...

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I got mine on ebay, which was a $25 set that contained 1/8 and 3/16. I use them almost every single time I'm in the shop. I sometimes wish I had 5/32 as well. They are not great for helms, no. But for articulated pieces I use them a lot. It's really fast to have a poleyn with pre-punched holes, wher...

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Did you consider option 1? Cut the outside fan of your plastic knees so they look like the inside fan. Sew up a big ol' pair of pants. Wear the pants over the legs. Here are some of the most helpful things I've had to learn the hard way. Your hammer and your dish should be as perfect a match to the ...

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Yeah, the problem is that the Icefalcon site pic is a perfect example of medievalesque. I mean "perfect" in the sense that it is pretty much the top of the medievalesque game, but it is still very much medievalesque. For instance, if I were to analyze this kit from a historical standpoint:...

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Those guys in Excalibur were more likely than not cussing up a storm in between takes. Most of what is worn in the SCA - that's right, most - is medievalesque. And it's been a long time getting to that point. I started fighting at the tail end of things like carpet armor (literally wearing carpet on...

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In his in-game galactic space tongue, "anglo-saxon" is actually an unrelated noun meaning "impossible knee joints".

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I don't want a bunch of straps going across the fingers, but I can't figure out how to get the gauntlet to work just by stitching gloves into them. I also don't want to end up pinning the fingertips to the last lame, because SCA style gauntlets are so often designed for the thumb to be enclosed in t...

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I really like great helms, and have a few sheets of 14 gauge to go through and practice. Some of my friends also want me to make them great helms. I plan on making a few bascinets in the near future but I don't have any 12 gauge steel yet and money is tight. Oh, don't underrate 14g for helms. In so...

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Yes, it does look like you've learned quite a bit from the other two. I would add some advice, though. You've probably figured out the nose problem. We get hit in the front a lot, especially in war (spears), and I believe great helms suffer from a fundamental problem of not being that great for prot...

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Malcolmthebold wrote:i have always hated the look of these helmets, but the craftmanship is fantastic. you are well on the way to a magnificent work.

Yes, very well done.
But I dare you to put a white plume on the top.

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Roller blades! Brilliant!
I've seen build threads where people are trying to insert blocks of nylon into a square pipe... it always looked ridiculous. Now I know it actually is.
That idea would also work for a small pullmax style machine, which would be better I think for planishing.

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It's all a matter of economics. If there were millions of people wanting helms, you'd see a variety of deep-drawn, robot-welded helms - perhaps 5 or 6 different types - and they'd all be less than $100. There are not millions of people though - there are at most tens of thousands. Also, consider tha...

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Not dryer lint. Get a pair of your jeans. Reach way down in the pocket. Pull out the hard, crusted crap in the bottom. Picture that much bigger, being the only thing between your head and a sheet of steel which has just been cranked by an Atlantian superduke. If you can find wool roving, I like that...

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So... what other capabilities do the metal sintering machines have? Like for heat treating?
'Cause if a home unit is ever $1k, that's less than the $1600 it'd take for the M1A I've been eyeballing.

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Hm... have you thought about doing padded? If you sew 1" channels into canvas and pack them as tight as you can with dryer lint, it ends up being about as protective as 16 oz leather (hard to believe but it's hard stuff). If you choose something that wicks a little easier, like a heavy trigger,...

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Sir Thorfinn, if you're not doing anything with undercuts, you should look into petrobond casting sand. It's super easy to work with once you know the basics of sand casting, and the detail... well, I've cast coin with it before.

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I think building a helm like that would be asking to get bounced. The SCA system relies heavily on individual appraisal. The rules are so hopelessly out of date at this point that it's pretty much up to the marshal's judgment, and that judgment is only going to be consistent in cases where they've s...

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Yeah, of course they can be melted down. As far as melting it... you can get/ make the equipment to melt copper and its alloys for pretty cheap. It's possible to do it for about $20 in materials if you build your own charcoal foundry and seriously scrounge. m From my perspective, I'm not getting int...

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Huh, didn't know you could get that 10g unishear for under $350. I'm at a loss for what you'd do with the jeweler's torch. If you're welding 1/8" maille, maybe. Not sure what it has to do with cutting at all. If I was making the choice, it'd be unishear hands down. You tack $50 more to the cost...

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The second pic looks like it might be a mirror image copy of the first pic. They are not the same but they are pretty close. Here's what this amateur would add. These look like they could be ECW era. I'm not seeing a whole lot of evidence that people still wore full armor into battle by then. So if ...

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So... why doesn't anyone build a thing setup with the burner on the bottom? I never understood why forges are often built with the burners going straight down, either. Seems to me that you get around the huffing problem by moving it to the bottom. There's a Gingery book about building a propane forg...

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Andrew, will you tell us what you used for refractory in that setup? The other setups I've seen use kaowool (I presume for weight considerations), and I'd be interested in knowing if something else works as well. If it were mine, I'd just zip tie the hose along the entire top, all the way to the ove...

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Well, I should explain myself. My time in the shop is incredibly limited. I'm lucky to get 3 hours a week. So my whole mindset is geared toward protecting the time I do get in the shop. I can't get into a process that takes 55 seconds to heat. True, it's less than I remember it being... I'm pretty s...

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Here's what I did, because I had stuff lying around from burner projects... Get a black pipe plug like McMaster P/N 44605K229. Get a pipe coupling like McMaster P/N 4513K68. Get a pewter mug or plate from a thrift store. Must say "pewter" somewhere on the item, to be sure it's not aluminum...

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Talontwoswords - Do you have a picture of the set up your friend uses? A force air propane burner seems like it would be an excellant way to heat steel for armouring. I've seen several bladesmiths who use it, but not see a sucessful rig for armouring. the frankenburner has been the most sucessful t...

Clamshell finger strapping?