The Armour Archive

schreiber

I can't think of how many times I've been mowed down by a line of guys that outweighed me by 100 lbs each, or been part of a dogpile three bodies deep. In conditions like those, the decision as to whether to have a 3' long 90 degree lever on my wrist doesn't seem like rocket science, legal or not.

schreiber

The pickings have once again dried up on Ebay.... I'm looking for a stake plate (bench plate) for use with many different stake sizes. There are a few out there that were made by pexto/niagra/whitney, but every one I find has damaged sockets... at this point I'm willing to entertain getting one with...

schreiber

Straight shears make a 4x8 sheet of steel fit into a smaller vehicle quite well.
If you don't do that often, don't waste your money. Check auctions and want-ads and get a unishear. Or save up for the Beverly.

schreiber

Acetylene may also run you into trouble depending on where you live. If you rent, the owner won't appreciate it. If you're bound by any kind of covenant, it's probably a no-go. I use oxy-propane, when I can get the f*($&ing oxygen. If you can afford a huge tank, and can get to a supplier during busi...

schreiber

Check out ironmonger as well at www.ironmongerarmory.com . A household sister just bought a helm from him at Pennsic, and she's got a really tiny noggin even for a female fighter. Fit her perfectly. She got it at a reduced price too ($125!!) since it was painted silver instead of finished properly (...

schreiber

Very interested, very good for it, and very PM'ing you.

schreiber

Yeah, I've looked at those, but it's mostly going to be lumber that I'm storing. I think I'll need a 3500# axle.

Thanks for the info, though.

schreiber

I know it's a longshot, but the web isn't turning anything up.... My household needs an enclosed cargo trailer which is at least 8' long (12'+ would be better). It has to be towable with a normal hitch (no goosenecks). It has to travel about 300 miles, and after that I don't care about its roadworth...

schreiber

If you're just looking to get on the field, and not worried about period, then any thick all-leather belt will suffice, but there's one important point: Do NOT fit your legs so that the belt sits on your waist. You WILL regret that. It digs into your hipbones. The belt should sit lower, on your hips...

schreiber

Yeah, there are machines that will do it. I don't know what they're called though. A friend of mine used to work in an HVAC shop, and they had a machine that would put a 90 degree lip about 1/4" wide in a piece of 14 guage mild. He showed me a piece that he had curved to be a gorget which he had put...

schreiber

I'm in Woodbridge and have the equivalent of a 1-car garage worth of space. I'm in the process of trying to figure out how to work with heat. I can't claim to be any kind of armorer as all I've managed to produce as a finished item is spaulders, but I have space, the necessary tools, and a beer frid...

schreiber

Here's the quick route there: 1) Become a marshall yourself 2) Find a like-minded individual I've had one too many experiences where rules that are specifically enumerated and outlined, leaving no room for guess work, were not sufficient for marshalls. I actually had one case where a marshall flunke...

schreiber

My two cents: I'd only trust a portrait if I had a date. There are plenty of portraits out there of 19th century folk wearing armor as part of the Victorian revival. Victorian repros are not necessarily accurate. We are, after all, talking about the same time period that started the myth that knight...

schreiber

Lamellar for the body would be early period. I can't personally vouch for the authenticity, as leather tends to disintegrate when it's thrown in a mass grave: I personally know of no extant examples of leather lamellar, but the general assumption is that it existed. Now I'm going to go out on a limb...

schreiber

m This guy sells stainless flares. Truth be told, I think it's worth the $10. Also gets cheaper if you order more. I have one on a Reil right now, I consistently get the tip to orange, and it hasn't warped yet. Oxy-propane is a lot easier, and I like the relative safety of propane over other gasses....

schreiber

How do the bars work? The first helm I wore had a bar going directly across my eyes, annoyed the ever living *$&! out of me. Seemed like I was always tilting my head back or forward to get a good view of things. Looks like this helm could probably have a little padding removed in order to get it to ...

schreiber

It's a bit far for you, but I deal with Potomac steel in Springfield, VA. The last time I bought a full sheet it was about 5 yrs ago, but it was about $40 or $45 for a 4x8 of 18 g mild. They offer cutting but I own a full size van and have never taken them up on it. But the best thing about them is ...

schreiber

I got burned. I bought some fabric from Bonnie's tent at an Atlantian event in May 2004. Some we walked away with, some had to be shipped - a two week window was cited. Pennsic came and went. At Pennsic, a friend who bought fabric at the same time said he had to call her and gripe about not getting ...

schreiber

What year? If it was built between about 82 and 96 or so, the paint should be mostly off already. Other than that, auto paint is pretty much designed to stay on. I couldn't say. The first experience I ever had with pounding steel was the lid from a dryer. I just worked it with the paint on, but I wa...

schreiber

Well, mainly because I live in the DC area, where there's scant industry, and I have to either drive to Baltimore or Fredericksburg, order online, or take a day off of work in order to get the parts (mainly the bell reducer). Plus I have to invest a good 45 minutes per burner to put everything toget...

schreiber

I also have questions about this. I'm used to dealing with my ron reil style burner, so: -how easy is it to heat up the end of the weed burner, and what effect would that cause? (My reil burner gets at least cherry red once I stuff it inside a pile of firebrick, but I don't care 'cause it's just pip...

schreiber

That's pretty much what I do with my gothic floaters. Strap around the joint and thong attachments to the vambrace /rerebrace. Works pretty well, although I'm eventually going to go with a gambeson with points - if you had heavy enough hose I imagine you could do the same thing. On a side note: SO Y...

schreiber

Thanks to everyone for the info! It looks like it should (authentically) be mulberry or other bark paper, and either consist of lots and lots of pleats, or lamellar construction.... But I'm guessing that I'd have to learn Chinese in order to find out anything else, and I don't think my chances would...

schreiber

Paper was expensive in the west. I hear tell it was so expensive in the east that they were making doors and windows out of the stuff. You don't make houses that blow over in a frequently-occuring Pacific gale and also pose an incredible fire hazard unless the material is cheap. I believe the mulber...

schreiber

The aforementioned site is probably m No, this is a serious request... the Chinese made actual armor out of paper strengthened with resin or laquer or something, and thousands of them staked their lives on it being able to stop the weapons of the time. I made a composite test piece using white glue ...

schreiber

I've been running some experiments based on anectodal information I got on this board a couple years ago. I'm trying to refine a process for making armor out of paper. The problem is that I don't have any frame of reference for what this stuff is supposed to look like. The only oriental armor I can ...

schreiber

Thou shalt not drink beer from a copper cup.

Whether it's poison, I don't know. It sure tastes nasty, though, and is a waste of beer.

That goes for any alcoholic (and aforementioned acidic) drink.

schreiber

The first thing you need is some spring steel.

This sounds stupid, but if you look around for some, you may, like myself, be content to work in mild for a while. It gets pretty pricy when it has to come in the mail.

HELMUT

schreiber

There are also belt enders that make a semicircular shape, too. I wouldn't recommend trying to use the cheap strap cutter for vegetable tanned leather of any thickness (read over 7 oz). It's a dream on chrome or oil tanned stuff, but vegtan is going to require you to change blades pretty often. I do...

schreiber

From what I've done with torches, I'd tend to say no, at least not with propane. I suppose it's possible with oxy acetylene, but when I give it a whirl I'm sure gonna want at least a forge to do it in. I don't like the idea of trying to keep something as small as an elbow cop at the same temperature...

schreiber

http://www.kingmetals.com/Pages/Page10A.html

Not as big as 4", and I don't think they're heat treated, but these guys are pretty good, and would be able to tell you if they have what you want.

They're really good for nick nacks and such, but they do primarily decorative banisters and such.

HELMUT

schreiber

mr_luc: as an aside, I'd like to mention that you won't be doing any armoring with that sewing machine. They lend themselves quite well to leather hats, garb, favors, quivers, pouches, and other small projects, but for something that you're going to fight in, it just won't cut the mustard. However, ...

schreiber

Regarding covering hammers with leather: I was using this arrangement for some time, with very good results, although I was using rawhide instead of leather. There is one very simple problem. After the very first time that you hit something that is in the least bit sharp, it is only a matter of time...

schreiber

Some friends and I did some testing with tennis balls and slings. We've actually done a lot of work trying to make slings that pack as much punch as possible- not staff slings, the simple cord and pocket kind. Getting hit with a rock out of one of these things would seriously hurt, and lead would de...

schreiber

I was asking about them a while back, and got directed to the brand name "cratex" as well... I haven't been able to justify a set of $40 wheels to the wife yet (try paying a mortgage in N. Va.)... but I will eventually. I've seen these things take mild steel from a powdery coating of orange rust to ...

Looking for a stake plate

Looking for a trailer

floating cops

Thanks all

Clarifications

Anyone know anything about paper armor?