The Armour Archive

Mac

I find it a little strange that none of the heraldry in the painting is the Malatesta arms. Otherwise, it's a pretty compelling explanation.

Mac

Mac

Thank you all for your kind words! Ya' can't even *buy* reviews like that!

Mac

Mac

Apollonia,

We will certainly bring them to Pensic, along with all our usual goods as well as our other new goods.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Mac

Mac

Thank you Paulus!

I'm having trouble understanding how the belt fastens.

What's you take on that?

Mac

Mac

Mac, They are very commonly seen in art of the very late 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. There was a definite switch from the previous centuries military belts with the applied plates and aprons. The "ring" buckles are also found with square and rectangular shapes. The first photo I posted is a...

Mac

Folks whose orders came in yesterday,

Your badges shipped today.

Mac

Mac

Paulus, How common is "commonly" in this context? Do you mean one buckle in five, or one buckle in a hundred? Do they ever appear in art without tongues, or is this reconstruction based on an archeological example.? I'm not on a witch hunt here.... I just want to know. I'm not really worri...

Mac

I cast up another batch of these last night.

Mac

Mac

Tasha et Chef, While you are discussing the finer points of what a martial over-garment was called, is there any historical precedent for the expression "angle wing" with respect to sleeves? I have always assumed that it was a SCAdyism. If it *is* a period term I will have to take it off o...

Mac

Maeryk wrote:There's an image somewhere.. i think it's a painting? That shows a white ring belt, and does not indicate a tongue, floating over the head of someone who is (presumably) being Knighted.

Mearyk,

I am unfamiliar with that image. Will you try to find it, and post it for us?

Mac

Mac

Doug, I know of no authentic examples of belts which end in tongueless round rings. There are round rings *with* tongues. There are buckles of all shapes from archeological contexts, whose tongues have rusted away. There are rectangular buckles with pivoted catches which fetch up against rectangular...

Mac

Martin, I think that both of these faces are artistically powerful. If you want to do faces that are more naturalisticly proportioned, you should spend some time drawing faces from life or from photos. Practically any art book will give you some guidelines to proportion. If you want to do faces in a...

Mac

Knowing how to use a scraper is a valuable life skill. It doesn't take long to learn, and it is a very powerful tool.

Mac

Mac

Hi All,

I have just sent a note to everyone (I hope I didn't miss any one) who expressed an interest in the badges. They are in stock an ready to ship.

Mac

Mac

Ladies and Gentleman,

Thank you for your interest and support!

I have just posted the ordering instructions over on the classified board. I'll try to remember to "bump" it every now and then to keep it from falling off the front page too soon.

Thanks!
Mac

Mac

Ladies and Gentlemen, We have a special offer for the Armour Archive badges, with reduced shipping charges. The shipping price for any number of Archive badges in the US is $2.50. So: --For 1-11 badges, multiply the number of badges by $5 and add $2.50. --For 12+ badges, multiply the number of badge...

Mac

chef de chambre wrote: and in at least one instsance, you can see the retaining strap for a seperate spauldier.

Which one is that?

Mac

Mac

I'm still having trouble with "mallius interruptus" and "annulus opertus" I expect to have it under control in another couple of hours work, but I'm quitting early today. @Snaebjorn They're going to be $5 plus shipping (to be announced on the classified board) Mac please forgive...

Mac

It's finally casting reliably! I will try to post ordering info by Friday. We have ordered some smaller, less expensive mailers to make the shipping cost be less than our usual minimum. they should arrive tomorrow, and then we can see what the PO will ship them for. The pic shows it pinned to some f...

Mac

It's finally casting reliably!

The rim was .042" on the anvil side and only .037" on the hammer side. Deepening the hammer side to about .044" fixed the bulk of the trouble.

Mac

Mac

Hi Mac, I see that you cut vent lines across the entire back of the piece. Do vents that do not intersect with the design help? -Derian. I'm not sure I understand your question. The vents must conduct air from the mold cavity to the outside. Vents which do not quite reach the mold cavity help some,...

Mac

JT wrote:You have a PM.

And that said, I'd be interested in somewhere between several and a bunch.

Thank you for your "vote of confidence". You get yours gratis, of course. (PM returned)

Mac

Mac

I'm still having trouble with "mallius interruptus" and "annulus opertus"

I expect to have it under control in another couple of hours work, but I'm quitting early today.

@Snaebjorn They're going to be $5 plus shipping (to be announced on the classified board)

Mac

Mac

I made a couple more rounds of test casting last night after diner.

Mac

Mac

Hirsh, There are a number of surviving St. Martin badges, in various states of decrepitude. If I recall correctly, none of them is complete. St. Martin is on our list of "saints we must do". Here is a link to a valuable online resource. m If you click on the little British flag, you can se...

Mac

Here is a link to a fifteenth century book about fly fishing.

http://www.amazon.com/Treatise-Fishing- ... 160096446X

Mac

Mac

I made the first test casts at about 5:30, another at 5:45,and again at 6:00. I expect to have it under control sometime this evening.

Mac

Mac

The three pieces are cut and the mating surfaces are ground flat to well within a thousandth of an inch. If I lift one of the blocks, the others will "stick" to it for perceptible length of time.

I will now prepare the blocks for their location pins.

Mac

Here's the next step. I've decided on the sprue, and drawn the outlines of the mold around the design.

It's going to be a three part mold.

You can see the locations of the locating pins and the vents.

Now I'm going to go and cut the stone and surface the pieces.

Mac

Mac

I'll start on the mold this afternoon.

Mac

Mac

I'll start on the mold this afternoon.

Mac

Mac

Here's a quick sketch of what I have in mind.

It would have a loop on top, and a medieval style pin on the back. We, or you could nip off which ever of those you didn't want.

Yes? No? Suggestions?

Mac

Mac

Here's a quick sketch of what I have in mind.

It would have a loop on top, and a medieval style pin on the back. We, or you could nip off which ever of those you didn't want.

Yes? No? Suggestions?

Mac

Mac

Ladies and Gentlemen, This is a cross-post from the Interpretive Recreation board. Piers brought up the idea of a pewter Armour Archive badge. We at Billy and Charlie's would be delighted to produce such a badge. If people are interested, we could have the prototype ready to show in a day or two. It...

Mac

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We at Billy and Charlie's would be delighted to produce an Armour Archive badge. If people are interested, we could have the prototype ready to show in a day or two. It would be available as a pin or a pendant.

I will cross-post this on the Classified board.

Mac

Re: Tongue-less belt buckles

Armour Archive badges?