The Armour Archive

schreiber

Does anyone else remember Johann Blau? Until about five years ago, he was one of the last armorers from whom you could buy a helm for under $150. He also did pretty nice barbutes, if I remember correctly. Then all of a sudden he disappeared, right off the map. Last Pennsic, I saw a Johann Blau helm....

schreiber

Well, my brother and I know a couple of things: I do computers and he does physics and chemistry. I'm going to see if we can build a laser cutting table. 4x8 would be excessive, but nice in that I could put an entire sheet of steel on it... ideally I'd like 4x4 because of space concerns (and because...

schreiber

Since it's a spangen, I'd make the upper part first. Pad your head with something and take some measurements (I'd do across the horiz and vert axes of your skull down to just above eye level, and around at eye level). Then build the skull before you build the lower parts. put it on, see how it fits,...

schreiber

I've got a kickarse idea, but I'm going to need what I think is called an xy plotter within the next five years or so. Basically I need a 4'x4' table (has to be a table) with a positionable element on it, perhaps some kind of pen or knife assembly... what it actually was used for is unimportant, as ...

schreiber

Marachino cherries... I've heard that these also will never decompose, and if it's a wive's tale, I believe it. (rant on) I went under the knife for the second time four years ago, first time awake. Since then, I keep hearing things like honey for wounds, and that they're finding something new that ...

schreiber

Upon seeing an example of what the slats would be like, I retract my earlier opinion about using 12 gauge- I'd use it for mild, though... I somehow had it in mind that there would be a 7/8" gap in between. I would still not use 16g. I would use 14. But I live in a hard hitting kingdom, and I'm not m...

schreiber

Hold on... you're going to put 16 gauge slats on it to protect the back of your head, but you're going to use 3/8" bars for your grill? I would not use 16 gauge for the slats. I'll grant that you generally don't get hit very hard in the back of the head, but that's just too light, and it will get be...

schreiber

So, this begs the question of how one sterlizes his own honey. Does anyone know if boiling/ heating it would reduce its effectiveness, or does it have to be irradiated?

HELMUT

schreiber

I bought a pair from him at Pennsic... oooh... 27? (I think that was the war where I found out Pennsic has mornings...) Anyhoo, it was pretty close to his start in things, as I understand it. My gaunts are of a design I don't see him making anymore: they're pretty milanese looking, and back then he ...

schreiber

Wow, thanks a lot Joris... And I agree with Joaquin that the information should be suspect. The authors are very careful in many places to add words like "conjectural" and "purely hypothetical" though. If you all can find them, I'd suggest getting them, if for no other reason than for the fact that ...

schreiber

I have two books in a series by Lilliane and Fred Funken (I know, I laugh every time I say it too). Apparently they did at least three books on armor from the "age of Chivalry" as they put it; basically these cover the time between about 600 and 1600. It's no wonder then that I bought them so readil...

schreiber

Plumbing flux would definitely work... for that matter you could use plumbing solder, since it's 95% tin anyway.

HELMUT

schreiber

I don't know if you're doing this for a profit, but you really should get some experience with hand sanding: if not on metal, than on wood. I always get a big sense of personal satisfaction from it, and I think the finish is better for it. I don't know if you have an orbital sander (normally used fo...

schreiber

My dad always swore by oil of wintergreen... but then again he was more interested in breaking nuts loose on a brake drum or such. If indeed you're talking about acetone, it's mainly used as a degreaser, such as with leather or woodwork. It'll take off tape, but I don't know about rust. The best thi...

schreiber

Ok, slight gear change. I didn't mention that the stick welder I have is a 230v... the problem is that I'm in a place that doesn't have easy access to a plug. I'm pretty good at telling the difference between a good and bad weld. The only real problem I have with the stick welder is the pits it leav...

schreiber

When I was young and didn't know any better, I bought a stick welder. It's a great welder, but I'm sure you all realize how sad it is for making armor. So I'm thinking that I want to buy a mig. Here are my questions. I learned to arc weld in an afternoon from the 8 page instruction booklet that came...

schreiber

I was recently going to undertake a full suit of maille, gloves and all.... I wanted to do it in aluminum for weight concerns, but have recently had to reevaluate my ideas as a piece of the stuff virtually exploded when struck with a rattan stick... Anyway, my plan was to use a combination of leathe...

schreiber

Ideally, for metalworking you're only going to need a drill if you're drilling holes where your whitney punch won't reach.

HELMUT

schreiber

Janos: I agree with Buran, check codes, or ideally, go where there aren't any. Also do some searches on Papercrete. As to thatch: there were plenty of other roof materials used, were'nt there? I would personally not use thatch, since it's such an incredible fire hazard. Anyone got the dope on wooden...

schreiber

complete gear change.... I fight because mosh pits are dead. I used to go to shows where the object of slam dancing was to get rid of your aggression, not to injure people. If someone fell down in one of those pits, there were eighteen hands grabbing him (or her!) and trying to get him back on his f...

schreiber

This is all crap. The knight wins, period... and here's why. Answer this question: will there be a sunrise tomorrow? The real answer is a definite maybe. Before tomorrow morning, the sun could burn out, the earth could explode, the nukes could be launched, &tc. But we all know that THE FRIGGIN SUN I...

schreiber

Sorry, didn't see the thickness in the orig. post. Here's my advice, for the 2Â¢ it's worth. I have had very little luck with oven hardening. I find it to be a lot trickier than immersion in a double boiler. Oven hardening also scares me, since it's messy and flammable wax gets all over everything. ...

schreiber

You need to tell us what thickness the leather is. It's also helpful to know whether or not you're using vegtan. If this is your only chance, forget it, you're going to screw something up. Mind you, this is realism, not pessimism. Hardening leather is not something you can just do any more than maki...

schreiber

dkaardal: it is just you. mix that up with some really smooth plate arm defenses, hourglass gaunts, bascinet with aventail....

as homer would say, mmmmmm... transilicious.... ggggaaaawwwwww.....

HELMUT

schreiber

I'm really interested... Are these what they call "depth spacers" or something like that? I've seen them in 16g, about 1" diameter, but never like you've described. I'd like to know where your local Chase Pitkin is. We don't have them in Northern VA. I'm thinking if I blackened them with heated oil ...

schreiber

Here's the deal on materials: Low carbon steel is the cheapest thing you're going to find for armor dollar wise. You're going to spend a lot more money in tools, though. Stainless is more expensive (almost double the cost) in dollars, and is more expensive in time as well. You can use the same tools...

schreiber

Go to the garden section of Walmart or such places and look for kneeling pads. They're about 1" thick. Cut three or four discs 3" wide. Tape these discs one at a time to the endcap. Then use some light but strong leather in cris- crossed strips across the face of the tip, taping it down to the shaft...

schreiber

I'm trying to make maille, 1/2" ID in 12 gauge ALUMINUM. The only place I've been able to find it so far is in electrical cable that feeds breaker boxes. This stuff has a two cables with what I assume is ground wire wrapped around it. The ground wire is 16g aluminum, and the inner cable is probably ...

schreiber

There's a medieval miscellany pattern that has a really nice gambeson pattern in it. I was extremely pleased with the one my wife made me... but make sure that it's not too form fitting. Six months after a trip to Ireland and a new found love for Guiness, I can't fit into it anymore for some reason....

schreiber

Ok, bear with me, read this all through, and email me if it doesn't make sense. 1. With the padding on, put on your helm and mark places for four holes: one at each temple, and one at each ear lobe. 2. Make two straps, about 5/8" wide and about 12" long, out of ninja strong boot leather. (Don't skim...

schreiber

Yes, but that is what we affectionately call a "Landing Platform"....

schreiber

People more experienced than I feel free to pipe in here... Part of the reason it's such a pain to shape after the roll is the fact that I'm trying to bend the steel with a rawhide mallet that I normally use for leather. I'm not letting it touch any steel in the shaping process, thus the rolls can't...

schreiber

I've only done it a couple of times, but one of the reasons I had luck was the fact that the hammer I was using was not fully hard tool steel. I forget where I picked it up, it's an ancient tiny cross pien... it polished really easily, and hitting dead soft metal puts dings in it. I was rolling my v...

schreiber

It's always cool to find out how many other intelligent people have had similar experiences with those evil machines...

schreiber

Helms: check out all the armorers you can get info on. There are too many to list here. That's bizzare that two different armorers returned your money. But thank you for the info... I have a brother in Indianapolis, and now I know there's a local group he's not fighting with... grrr... If all esle f...

any ideas where i can find an xy plotter?

Why call it a hauberk?

Welding Question

I give up... where do I get wire