The Armour Archive

Noe

I've posted this before, but I figure it bears repeating: Lanotech, a lanolin-based product, is one of the finest rust preventatives i've ever worked with. It's perfect for our purposes: it goes on easily, dries to thin, slightly waxy coating that isn't messy at all, and has a not-unpleasant odor. M...

Noe

I picked the next to last option because I am willing to allow for hidden reinforcement, if it is used to supplement authentic armour. This does not mean that plastic armour is fine, so long as it is covered with a tabard. What I mean is that some might require a little more stomach protection than ...

Noe

Dmitriy gets it in one. It was pretty confusing. Authentic sword techniques are pretty non-instinctive, and my writing was, in retrospect, not my best in places. But I had emphasized to the boss how important it was for me to work closely with the translator. Now for the funny part: It turns out tha...

Noe

heh. I just got a message from Mikiko. She is still so mad about how badly they screwed up the article that she wrote them a message in Japanese telling them, essentially, that they screwed up, and that they should get with the program and find me a translator who can actually speak English. Weasel-...

Noe

Believe me, I would if I could. I know that i could rely on her to get it right. It's just a matter of her not having enough hours in the day. I was doing good to get two hours for her to just look over and compare the tanslation. Last week she got home, on average, at or around midnight. You've got...

Noe

Magmaforge: Good idea. Even better, I can use a picture that we put in a previous article that emphasizes the development of armour down through the ages. I will take it with me to the meeting tonight. Effingham: I sure wish that I could. My spoken Japanese is still not good; my written a complete m...

Noe

I wasn't sure where to post this -- off topic? Fighting and weapons? -- but finally decided "Authenticity" the the proper place. Correct me if I am wrong. I have a good gig that I'm going to complain about. "Hiden" a Japanese martial arts magazine, has offered me space to do a semi-regular article o...

Noe

Bob, you are my hero. Man, that's the kind of kit I want to wear out on the field. I'm working on, though...

Just out of interest, where did you get the helm?

Noe

I regret to say that I wear a kidney belt with my chainmail. It is not one of the super^wide ones, but it is nevertheless regrettably inauthentic. I am working to come up witha system that looks better. I never like how it looks when I put plates underneath the chain, either, although I know I could...

Noe

Well, here is a picture in me in my basic fighting kit (sans great helm). I don't wear the coif under the helm because I am still working out the padding and fitting issues. m Underneath the chain, I wear an aketon of one layer canvas, two layers cotton wool batting, and one layer linen (to protect ...

Noe

I've already placed my order, although I think I screwed up on the sizing. It's so depressing when I order on-line. I'm not _that_ big -- 6'2", 225lbs. -- why is it that I always feel like Frankenstein's monster when I try to buy clothes? grumble, grumble ... wanna doublet... grumble, grumble. In an...

Noe

Re: Steel Fighting -- So cool! I want to play! I'm happy to hear that there is a group in Missouri; when I go back, I would love to hook up. Unfortunately, I'm mired in Japan for the time being, with their insanely restricting sword laws. Re: Larps -- It's a different game. I do not feel any particu...

Noe

My goal is to be able to dress according to taste. You know: "Let's see, today I feel late 14th century transitional... German, I think." [img]http://forums.armourarchive.org/ubb/smile.gif[/img] ------------------ The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to understand why everyone ...

Noe

Magmaforge -- Well, three or four, if they are all the right sizes and I'm feeling generous enough to loan out the good stuff.

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The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to understand why everyone else is not a fanatic.

Noe

Well let's see: 1 Houndskull bascinet 2 Great helms 1 barbute 1 very old spuntop sallet (well made, though) 2 pairs of L sized gauntlets At least two pairs of half guants 1 chain standard 3 snap on gorgets 1 leather and aluminium gorget 1 pair of stainless steel legs 1 pair of stainless steel greave...

Noe

I can't my pictures now, but I found pictures of standards that buckled at the side, and at the back. I'll try to track them down. My place is a bit of a wreck right now. In my version, I put a collar of hardened leather under the mail to make it SCA-legal. It works well. ------------------ The defi...

Noe

Just for the record, I've always considered plate pretty much proof myself -- as a matter of fact, I just wrote an article mentioning that fact -- but I was looking over Froissart again and realized how many people were weilding one-handed swords. Of course, in several cases, itis apparent that the ...

Noe

So how accurate is Froissart? I see an awful lot of sword and shield being used against plate (particularly from horseback), yet many people have claimed that one-handed swords weren't much good against plate. Thoughts? http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/manuscrits/aman1.htm ------------------ The defini...

Noe

Sedric, Well, smaller, for one thing. http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/smile.gif We've only got, oh, ten members fighting regularly, and various others scattered around. We aren't even the size of a household. On the plus side, we have an entire nation to expand into. It is going very wellright now....

Noe

I agree with both of you: I try to create learning situations for them, and then in freestyle practice, I try (and I do mean try) to stay just ahead of them. I think if we go full on with htem all the time, especially with newbies, we tend to crush their spirit. Lately, one thing I have been doing b...

Noe

Will do. We will have a mix of Avalon and SCA, so I will be hearing from folks who have never fought that style before.

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The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to understand why everyone else is not a fanatic.

Noe

We'll be having a series of counted blows tournaments this weekend at a demo. The crowds love them because the action is quicker and much more understandable than regular fights. There is usually less talking between the combatants as well, which I like. We have several versions of counted blows rul...

Noe

I was considering the problem just the last practice. We have several folks who are relatively unskilled, but who still manage to gack me in training. I think there are several answers: 1) For me, I know that I am not playing with my game face on; I'm in teacher mode. This takes away some of your ed...

Noe

It is just as Rainald said. We also have a bilingual page -- avalonjp.org -- and a bilingual community page:

http://groups.msn.com/Avalonjapan

I don't have the SCA page offhand, but I will find Lord Cadogan's email and send it your way. He will be thrilled to have two new fighters.

Noe

And to answer your question, several guys in our group fight in what amounts to chain over heavy gambeson. They ("we" at times) are referred to as the Chain Gang. Our harmony sucks, but our percussion is just fine. http://www.armourarchive.org/ubb/smile.gif ------------------ The defining characteri...

Noe

A new fighter!? With armour?! Whoo-hoo! Aaron, bring everything you've got. I swear to you that you will get use out of everything, or I will die of exhaustion trying to make it so. It's an easy promise to make, I usually run right up to the redline anyway, particularly around event time. The massiv...

Noe

My buddy and I were talking the other day, the topic of posture came up. The things is that each of us had noticed an improvement in the way we held ourselves compared to the years before we practiced heavy combat. Anybody else notice this? Other benefits included improved coordination -- I had no w...

Noe

Aaron: There is a middle ground. We tend to play it they way many handle groin shots. We don't target it, but if they get hit we take the shot. It works fairly well.

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The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to understand why everyone else is not a fanatic.

Noe

A/B is the best source of low-cost munition armour around. Their gear is of good quality for the price; more importantly in my mind, they are quick and reliable. These days I put in big orders with them in order to get the bulk discount, resell the rest to the newbies who need armour (no markup), an...

Noe

Put it on, even if you never plan to use it, especially if slim line thrusters are legal in your area. I've never understood why SCA went this route, making thrusting tips optional; it increases the sport mentality. You are supposed to be using a real sword. Can you leave the point off of a real swo...

Noe

Okay, I'm not Mr. Smooth on the computer. How can I print this wonderful document, for which I give many thanks? When I print, only a part fits on the page. Yes, I know, I'm thick. ------------------ The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to understand why everyone else is not a ...

Noe

A couple of guys in our group have them. Overall, they seem very pleased, and the arming jackets look great. The only problems were that they seem to fit tight on the shoulders and the aforementioned button problem. They need to use a more robust thread. Some people complain about stiffness when the...

Noe

Geez, you guys are going to end up making me cautious or something.

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The defining characteristic of fanaticism is the inability to understand why everyone else is not a fanatic.

Noe

Two layers of siloflex? I can't help but flash back on the time we experimented with throwing short rattan spears (5'). I said, "Toss it at me gently." Then I said, "urk, gack, ur." Further experimentation -- on other volunteers -- did not prove any less painful. I would love to make some thrust and...

Noe

My half-gaunts. I haven't used them in years. In fact, most of Avalon seems to lean toward guants. More flexible weapon choices, more grappling options, and smoother tournament play since we don't have to do the "you took my right arm so wait five minutes while I borrow a guant to fight with my left...

Lanolin -- worth a second look

reality vs. popular knowledge, plus translations: a rant

Froissart and one-handed sword and shield

Side benefits of fighting