The Armour Archive

Mac

Wow! I want to know the story behind this armor, that seems really unique. It's weirder than you suspect. The decoration on the gorget doesn't match. There must have been another armor with diamonds to match the gorget. There are also fragments of another armor with pyramids. I think it may be at t...

Mac

How about the foot combat helmet from Thuns? https://pin.it/nofzbhz7ahfnjx https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/56215545_782696948784174_1690795012297588736_n.jpg?_nc_cat=110&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-2.xx&oh=c674a7f0e8e67ab4b6d22d609b15d0b9&oe=5D036B4C https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1...

Mac

I'd also be a proponent of a kastenbrust--I've yet to see a reproduction that hasn't taken a number of liberties in design. As far as I know, nobody has really attempted later kastenbrusts (1450-65), such as those seen in the altar paintings of Conrad Laib: laib3.jpg I sometimes wonder if those lat...

Mac

How bout a big branch out. Do something Roman in bronze. The classic breastplate of Caesar Augustus as depicted in so much statuary. I don’t know if it was hardened leather or bronze but I bet it would look great chased into bronze. The hinges at the top suggest it was Metal. I built a couple of Et...

Mac

I had never paid much attention to chapes, and am surprised to see the typical method of closing the end like a bell. This is certainly the nicest of them. https://finds.org.uk/images/smaslin/medium/xSUR997ED7.jpg.pagespeed.ic.-bfeKfPNt7.jpg I would look for brass between about .7mm and 1mm. The sha...

Mac

Woodswork Armory wrote:
I found something similar to what I mean :

That's a small armor, but a big project.

Mac

Mac

Note the externally slotted sliders in the gorget on the Lindenholz helm. That is a detail too wonky for an artist to have made it up. There is also a German effigy with sabatons that show such a thing; wish I could find it in under an hour. I've been keeping an eye out for external slots. It seems...

Mac

Here are some more ideas or maybe just what would be my shopping list if I had the funds :wink: That's a nice list! The enclosed arms might be fun, but probably not right now. I also have a soft spot for the helmet with the forked beard accommodation. I'm supposing that it rotates on that collar, b...

Mac

Chris Gilman wrote:Yes, the heavy work was why I wasn't going to post it. But if one were to exist, I would likely not be able to resist obtaining it. I love this as a sculpture.

It is a lovely object, but I think jousting weight stuff is better suited to young armorers, or ones with helpers and power hammers.

Mac

Mac

There are a shit-ton of bad ones out there, and very few respectable examples. Even the ones that look OK have some little point that's off. I'm not sure I have ever seen one that used the correct method of joining the central plates. Kastenbrust are very under-represented while CH13 is very over-r...

Mac

In the end, I suppose it comes down to your ability to sell the item after you make it. As much as I would love to learn from you doing the things that interest me, :D , I learn something from everything that you do. Go with what you think will help you to make more projects in the future. From a p...

Mac

I was going to post an image of a really cool breastplate I found but I can't seem to find it.. the breastplate has a bunch of raised spots similar to a gauntlet with a raised knuckle piece. That would be cool Are you referring to the effigy of Günther von Bünau? Dated 1431 Church, Droyßig, Saxony-...

Mac

I have never seen a good one of these: https://imageapi.khm.at/images/374791/HJRK_S_XI_201307_01-400.jpg You taunt me, sir! I haven't seen one I really like, either. This doesn't really qualify for my next project, though. It's a lot of (heavy!) work, a lot of decoration, and a vanishingly small ma...

Mac

Gustovic wrote:
Bust a kastenbrust sounds exciting too!

A second vote for a kastenbrust!

Which one do you favor?

Mac

Mac

I second the motion for the Churburg 13. Of course I'll suggest the CH13 breastplate, since one day I'll make one and it would be wonderful to know what people get wrong about it. Hmmmm.... two votes for the Ch13 breast. This is certainly a thing I'd like to do. There are a shit-ton of bad ones out...

Mac

I personally wants to see you build Philip II bifurcated gauntlets. But a bicoque could perhaps be fun? Philip's gauntlets really need all the etching and gilding to look right, and that makes it a rather involved project. A bicoque might indeed be fun. I've always had a thing for the one in Berlin...

Mac

It would have to be a kastenbrust. - They're far too underrepresented on the various fields these days; - I think they're poorly understood; - The art at the time does not do it justice, so people don't have a good idea how cool it can be; and, - Dare to be different. Some sort of kastenbrust would...

Mac

You know me Mac, I would love to see anything Maximilian related! I was going to post an image of a really cool breastplate I found but I can't seem to find it.. the breastplate has a bunch of raised spots similar to a gauntlet with a raised knuckle piece. That would be cool I don't really find mys...

Mac

So... the Palazzo Ducale Bascinet is done, and I will be returning to the gauntlets in a couple of weeks. In the mean time, I'm working a bit on my various telescopes and thinking about what armor project might be next. I have no real plan as yet, but I have a sort of nagging desire to build somethi...

Mac

Excellent!

Mac

Mac

Another side of this is that they sometimes show things that they can and do build. These things are mostly crap, but people still buy them. The only thing we can do about that is to try to educate people about what is, and is not, armor. That only goes so far, though. Many people just don't care if...

Mac

Yes, it's fraud. These dogs show pics of things they can't possibly build, and gullible or innocent people send them money. It robs those people of their money, and it robs respectable armorers of credibility and dignity. The problem is that the perpetrators are protected by distance and national bo...

Mac

I feel pretty powerless to bring these dogs to heel. The folks at Nauticalmart picked up on the black armor I made for Dr Toby several years ago. I lodged a complaint with Ebay, and had some communication directly with the sellers. The upshot is that Ebay is not interested in dealing, and Indian mak...

Mac

I got a start on a new piece for the helmet stand yesterday, and the first coat of poly was dry this morning. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pVLQx-LJZws6UnRa9spVd8kGKC548OrwY6EjN9eYPNbHk0SZo1CDcwbIVLTg6aGz_tAQU1JtLVEBrmb_03ACxq8nCqcx1GU_evxYkxgTYZzRsGKokFI-QTrPSD2IuGKeDHZk1A8B7tZXtu2F-lMAa_q6UaqV...

Mac

If I did that, I'd probably have to cut them off the other piece as well, and replace them all with felt pads. I'm going to have to think about this a bit before I commit to it, since there's no going back once I do it. Mac It's pine. Pine is the cardboard of the woodworking community. You waste pi...

Mac

Now... that does leave me with the question of what to do with the other stand. Even if the pics are taken on the pedestal, the crossed wood stand supports the helmet without taxing the lining at all, and is probably better for long term display. As such, it will be the stand that comes with the hel...

Mac

Thank you all, guys!

It looks like the consensus is that he pedestal makes for better pics of the helmet.

Mac

Mac

Here's a nice example of butt-covering-split-hosen, not quite covering the butt. https://i-h1.pinimg.com/564x/65/1f/26/651f26f842fc1db70b0929c61fa647b0.jpg The important thing, of course, is that a decently dressed man will have all of this covered by some other garment. In this case it's an early g...

Mac

Gustovic wrote:Here's some very short doublets from an Italian manuscript that I'd date around 1390-1400 about horse breeding and training, from the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Vat.lat. 7228 M.

Full manuscript here https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.lat.7228

You have found a treasure here, Augusto!

Mac

Mac

By contrast, here are some pics with the helmet on a pedestal stand. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/43xdRRj6k2iSk_gn56K4kgzJNd1QN3ij6owLgS9hTkvlCAGWqA388o6wFlJliyFXnRV6MTXIm5bpA4eJF6h0AypUJkuXTEW88rEG24_VUVI1OSrUQzD7VlS7gVro-7gkoMWao7Ml3FRDjnhfbyF73aumYtrWzWW4p8IsjVCe9HfZ9SZzdjzoZNtPM7OdxWj3cFwWu...

Mac

We'll be there on Saturday... noonish, I think.

Mac

Mac

Thank you for showing us this. I had no idea...

Mac

Mac

I took some pics this morning. The white table with the white backdrop seems OK, but I'm not sure that I like the way the stand looks. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/cBxh62voPRsq-moHy5rO227J4J2WFvIZA5noJ6H54WqhkJ7S0ZxfTF8kM-DcjXwHBDIl_SfYnHFmPnXOLOuqE9ggyi-LJOAxArH9_seH9vSh71lNk4gHko-oOw9mqrdGgVI...

Mac

One thing is for sure. A Robert Macpherson reproduction is likely to grow in value. One of the things I know something about is early American furniture. Over the years there have been a few guys whose faithful reproductions became quite valuable. The thing is, there is no substitute for true craft...

Mac

When you do decide on a price, please let us know! I'm sure a few here would love to have it in their collections. I WANT it....but..I doubt I have enough money. OTOH, if it takes you a good while to decide on the price, maybe I could raise the funds! LOL It is a work of art. Like all your works. I...

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