The Armour Archive

schreiber

Now bear in mind that I am not a physics person, but: Change in force = mass x acceleration If force is going to go down, that means acceleration has to go down, since mass is a constant. I'm pretty sure I remember that when it comes to ballistics, the effect of gravity on acceleration is negligible...

schreiber

Aren't there several really decent armories in Czech? Isn't that a pretty short distance from where you are? At least, that's one avenue I'd pursue. Other than that I'd suggest that if you have any room on the sides, you could try to smash it width-wise. Stick it in a large vise and see if you can s...

schreiber

www.ironmongerarmory.com is the one place I know where you can get stakes and forms and hammers, but shipping from PA to WA might be a little steep... Punches: I only have one Whitney #8 and one #5jr, and I wish I had two more #5jr's, another #8, and a #XX, so I didn't have to swap tooling all the t...

schreiber

If it's a dream, then no tools are necessary. I would need to have the abilities of your average Kryptonian resident alien. With the powers of Superman: -you can cut any thickness of steel with laser vision -the same vision can be used to heat -you're invulnerable, so every part of your body is a st...

schreiber

Well, to take this in a different direction: making armor generally isn't like working on a lathe. If, as I suspect, your eye is picking up on a couple thousanths of an inch difference with this planishing hammer, then no, it's not going to make a difference. I think you could consider anything less...

schreiber

Braveheart? You mean the one with the scene where they burn a bunch of English dignitaries inside of a Scottish countryside house, and one of them is wearing a celata which is about 175 years early? For some serious suggestions, all available on NetFlix: 1) With Fire and Sword -- Ogniem i mieczem (1...

schreiber

Ditto on getting the shear. When it comes to cutting, IMO you're not going to find anything electric powered that's going to do the job faster or better than a shear. And sometimes it's more expensive. And it's really nice to have at least one operation in your shop where you aren't wearing the mous...

schreiber

I cut my 4x8's into 2-3 2x4's, and the rest into 2x2's. Waste is waste, but not only do I need the conveniece of dealing with pieces myself, I only have a carport's worth of space to start with, so storing 4x8's is not an option. I do it as soon as it gets home, in the driveway. Nowadays I use the B...

schreiber

If you have pipes for air, it's more likely to be a coal/charcoal forge, and not electric or gas. Ditto on insulation not being top priority. If you have insulation, it's probably because the metal is too thin to withstand high temperatures without sagging. People who do a lot of forging will argue ...

schreiber

Man, I love armor, but I'm not going to date it.... that's some kind of crime against nature, isn't it?

I think that helm can be very accurately dated to circa 2006.

schreiber

Well, speaking from experience, if you wear leather you can't have it contact with your skin anywhere. Even a layer of cloth, like a t-shirt, is sometimes not enough to keep it from rubbing your skin clean off. I'll bet you hate your vambraces because they rub your wrists. In my experience, it reall...

schreiber

I'm with Hal - I cashed out the remnants of my college fund last August in order to start the shop. If you have some startup capital, stakes and B2's are really nice - so is a big honkin' whitney, like a #8. If you don't have much startup capital, the one thing that I've been absolutely in love with...

schreiber

If all he is interested in is SCA stick fighting then get some pickle barrels and hockey gear. You make it sound as if that's ok. Not trying to pick a fight here, I just want to posit that there are those in the SCA who think it's not ok, even if it is legal. But we're agreed on the main point: he ...

schreiber

OK, so I have to say something first about working with 20 gauge. 16g and 20g steels are chemically and structurally the exact same other than thickness. As in, it has the same plastic qualities. If it's so much harder to work, then why in the world do custom auto body workers seem to use 20g as a r...

schreiber

Wait a second, nobody can say what's appropriate or not without knowing the use to which he's going to put it. Are you and your friends swinging over the head with 2x4's at each other? In that case I'd say 14 g is pretty appropriate. The gauges mentioned are good for SCA use, but that also depends o...

schreiber

Yeah, Cat, you gotta check out onlineindustrialsupply.com. $7.95 per 10 pack for anything 120+.

schreiber

What do you have, a 1x42? I just started using my 1x42 recently and I had to do 120, 240, and 320. Who are you getting belts from? I found mine at www.onlineindustrialsupply.com - they seem cheapest, although they only go down to 320. mcmaster says that they can custom order belts, but they're more ...

schreiber

If you're looking for quantity, then leather/tack stores are not the best idea. I've seen some charging $3 US each for a 1" sandal buckle. I've also gotten the same sandal buckle from a custom shoe shop at $1.25 each. Or if you happen to be fortunate enough to be close to a shoe repair supply wareho...

schreiber

The examples I saw at the RA a couple months ago (the ones you're used to looking at in AAOMK) didn't wrap at all. They just sat on the outside of the arm, and the inside was covered with mail. 'Course we can't do that, but if you're talking originals, there are at least two cases at the RA where it...

schreiber

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this nugget: Especially for heavy leather, getting a hole punch will go a long way. Tandy and other leather places will sell them with variable numbers of punches - I usually get by fine on an 8 hole and a 4 hole. The problem with them is the fact that they are chisel sh...

schreiber

Dagorhir is still around? Haven't heard about them in about 10 years. Ditto on the magnet. Although, if it was in grease, it's a pretty safe bet that it's mild. That, and it sounds like it's of Indian origin, and I haven't seen anything come out of India in stainless yet. Regardless of what it is, I...

schreiber

Slightly anal nitpick: Cordwainers. Cobblers specifically use clinching nails, which AFAIK are a 17th century development. It really depends on what you're stitching. If it's a shoe or a garment, I'd stick with the known stiches - in addition to the above link, it would be worth your while to invest...

schreiber

Ditto on the better info: this is one of the better documented processes. However, everyone does everything differently. Armoring is like handwriting - the tools are the same, but what you do with them isn't. Working metal cold is a lot like working it hot, except that it takes a lot more effort, yo...

schreiber

I'll go beyond the question. Instead of what you should sell, I'll tell you the three things that made me cash out a mutual fund and start working 6-10 hours a week in my own shop. 1) I only buy off the peg. I have only bought one piece of my current kit as a commission - my helm. I worried the enti...

schreiber

Hi, Alcyoneus, it's been about 10000 posts or so, I think.... Yep, they actually do sell on their website. Type O only, I think. I stocked up for my #8 a couple months ago. I also emailed the RW site with a "where the heck are prices on everything else then", and a local distributor got back to me. ...

schreiber

Well, first let me say that when you get done with your project, regardless of the grade you get everyone here will be really appreciative if you post your results. As far as which steel, I would go with a couple if at all possible. There are distinct advantages and disadvantages to using each type ...

schreiber

Bump... I've been blackening recently with a propane torch. I preheat the piece a little bit, then dip into said dirty motor oil, then light it on fire with the torch (not while in the oil!). I then let it burn out. The preheat seems to be pretty necessary. If you don't preheat it, the heat from the...

schreiber

I put a lot of research into this recently... I had bought cratex wheels, which I love, but have a limited purpose for polishing. The problem with these or any other wheel is that you can't match the surface of the work. A convex shape against a convex shape means you're only working a very small su...

schreiber

In my circle of friends, we have the "baby rating" - how many babies said tool could dismember, bisect, eviscerate, etc... my whitney #8 only gets a 3 baby rating, so you're not much with the hand punches at all... When I spoke with the guy at Pennsic who was selling Ti scales, he suggested getting ...

schreiber

Wood actually burns hotter than coal. Coal burns longer, and is easier to transport and store. it's a tradeoff. Maeryk I think this is a key argument... I was told that if you wet coal before throwing it on, it cokes more readily. Wet charcoal is not quite so useful... but in contrast, even though ...

schreiber

If you don't find it soon enough, just get lump charcoal - a lot of smiths I've talked to prefer it, even though they go through tons of it. It's much cleaner. I've gotten coal by jumping around in piles of tailings up by my brother's place in PA, but from what I understand it's not great for forgin...

schreiber

You can afford whatever you put your mind to affording. If you need a B2, get a B2. There are plenty of ways to get a cheaper shear, there are plenty of ways to get alternate tools, and there are plenty of ways to afford a B2. Although in honesty, there are things that the unishear will do that the ...

schreiber

Hi Jacob, Hi Vlad - haven't seen you in a while. Regarding compressing oxygen, I ran that idea on another forum before I got the concentrators, and the response from some people made me think I was talking to my parents. "You're gonna blow yourself up! You're gonna kill yourself! You're asking for t...

schreiber

I was really upset at the gas and welding suppliers in the area for refusing to give me old tanks. Then I thought about it - if a supplier is willing to skirt the rules and give me a tank, then I probably don't want to get gas from that place. What other rules are getting ignored? I found some recen...

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Guillaume2: that's exactly what I'm doing with it. Acetelyne is only in my shop in case I need to cut with the torch. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I always thought the weed burners were very similar to the Reil-style burners, in that they basically burn a buttload of propane and end up heating a 3-4...