Questions on leg armor

[NorwegianTyrant]

hey there I'm and up and coming armorer and I've made some thigh plates out of some 16 gauge steel only thing is its been getting dented pretty easy in my fights and i havent went against any super heavy and crazy stuff so was curious if anyone had some advice on what to do or if maybe this is just normal. Oh and a side note does anyone have like some gauntlet patterns just simple mittens?

[Kel Rekuta]

Move your feet or your shield. Heavier armour doesn't stop your being hit.

[NorwegianTyrant]

thanks for the reply but thats quite not what i meant for this idc about getting hit and its not like the things hit so much its a dented piece of garbage just saying that i thought that the armor for body was about 18 gauge or so? and no one else i saw with supposedly the same gauge had barely any dents at all from about the same hits.

[Sean Powell]

Yes, 16 ga steel legs will dent but I honestly wouldn't recommend going any thicker. It could be you live in an area with someone(s) particularly strong or particularly efficient at leg shots. It could be that you need to move more and block better or it could be that your armor has been protecting you well enough from pain at impact that you haven't learned to ove ore and block that area better.

It could also be a poorer grade of random mild steel or it could be old legs that have been dented and reshaped multiple times until the steel is weak. Or it could have been sanded and polished thin.

Finally it could be the general shape. Many armorers rol a rough cone for a cuise and call it good enough. A properly fitted cuise however is convex over the thigh and saddle-shaped as it transitions into the knee cop. Both of these shapes will help resist denting. So will fluting.

If you can share some pics, info on the material and age and history, your location and frequency of practice, etc we might be able to better diagnose what is happening and how to prevent it... but every time your armor dents is one less bruise you have to heal. Some time you just accept that armor is used, damaged and replaced.

Sean

[NorwegianTyrant]

Yes, 16 ga steel legs will dent but I honestly wouldn't recommend going any thicker. It could be you live in an area with someone(s) particularly strong or particularly efficient at leg shots. It could be that you need to move more and block better or it could be that your armor has been protecting you well enough from pain at impact that you haven't learned to ove ore and block that area better.

It could also be a poorer grade of random mild steel or it could be old legs that have been dented and reshaped multiple times until the steel is weak. Or it could have been sanded and polished thin.

Finally it could be the general shape. Many armorers rol a rough cone for a cuise and call it good enough. A properly fitted cuise however is convex over the thigh and saddle-shaped as it transitions into the knee cop. Both of these shapes will help resist denting. So will fluting.

If you can share some pics, info on the material and age and history, your location and frequency of practice, etc we might be able to better diagnose what is happening and how to prevent it... but every time your armor dents is one less bruise you have to heal. Some time you just accept that armor is used, damaged and replaced.

Sean

thanks for the reply while im not sure about how old my opponets is who im referring to i made mine myself its basic it has the convex shape and rolled edges but no fluting not quite sure how to do that yet and its actually got all of 3 little dents in it i have really sanded or polished it other than to give it a nice little surface shine. i dont really ever get hit real hard anywhere but i mean theres some times for everyone someone just gets you good and those have been on that leg armor. the main thing i guess i was asking is like do most people temper these or anything? or it might be like you said just a lower quality mild steel. i practice with friends and stuff about 4 times a week and you know probably gets hit about 5 to 10 times throughout practice i havent really banged the dents out seeing how theyre small enough they dont really warrant it. i guess your right how it does get damaged and replaced i guess i just expected miracle armor thatd last years oh im in georgia btw. i think thats about it dont have photos though havent really thought to take a pic of it.

[Jan van Nyenrode]

Norwegian Tyrant,

Could you be so kind to use a bit more capitals and punctuation? Not all of the forum visitors are native english and your grammar is a bit harder to read and understand.

Possible the difference between your leg armour and others is that you have, as far as I understand, only bend your cuisse-plate instead of hammer it's entire surface. The latter would work harden the steel and make it less likely to dent.

Regards,

Jan

[stallari]

Part of the problem may be that what you think is 16ga steel may not be. The old thickness of 16ga in the USA is .0625", the current USA standard is .055". Bending strength varies as a cube of the thickness, so .010 thickness difference could have a great affect on bend resistance. In the past I have run into, sadly enough, American steel sheet, .0625 in thickness that was just total crap. Worked more like copper than mild steel and never got any harder under the hammer. I eventually threw it all out. My advice is to put a micrometer on you steel cuisses and find out the real thickness.

[Hrolfr]

Oh and a side note does anyone have like some gauntlet patterns just simple mittens?

http://www.armourarchive.org/patterns/

Gauntlet patterns are about 2/3 of the way down.

[NorwegianTyrant]

Thank you everyone for the replies I'm gonna measure the thickness and try to hammer the entire thing to harden it up. I didn't realize that that strengthened it. Thanks again and sorry for the grammer hopefully by later on today I'll be saying hey look my leg armor is alot stronger now. Of course now i got some patterns new project today if metal is thick enough is mitten gauntlets.

[Ironbadger]

I ran across an armourer recommending 14 gauge for the cuisse plate on the exposed leg due to denting- But for the life of me, I cannot recall the source.

I'm a lefty, so my left leg is exposed...But I wouldn't personally use above 16 gauge for cuisses.
I just assume I'll need to pound out dents once in while.

-Badger-

[NorwegianTyrant]

I ran across an armourer recommending 14 gauge for the cuisse plate on the exposed leg due to denting- But for the life of me, I cannot recall the source.

I'm a lefty, so my left leg is exposed...But I wouldn't personally use above 16 gauge for cuisses.
I just assume I'll need to pound out dents once in while.

-Badger-

Your a lefty but your left leg is exposed? I mean I'm a righty and my left legs the only leg that gets hit. Anyway though tried out what people recommended hammering the entire surface helped alot it barely even dents now. I made some gauntlets too and am in love with them custom fit stuff is always better you know. Bad thing is my friend actually broke my rattan sword on my thigh armor when testing it

[Ironbadger]

Yes.
My shield is on the right side. so a right handed fighter has to stretch way over to even target that leg, you know.
My left leg is on his sword hand side.

-Badger-

Your a lefty but your left leg is exposed? I mean I'm a righty and my left legs the only leg that gets hit. Anyway though tried out what people recommended hammering the entire surface helped alot it barely even dents now. I made some gauntlets too and am in love with them custom fit stuff is always better you know. Bad thing is my friend actually broke my rattan sword on my thigh armor when testing it

[NorwegianTyrant]

[quote="Ironbadger"]Yes.
My shield is on the right side. so a right handed fighter has to stretch way over to even target that leg, you know.
My left leg is on his sword hand side.

-Badger-

Oh i see you put your left leg forward instead of your shield leg makes sense now lol

[Ironbadger]

No, not really.

But its easier for a right handed opponent to reach the leg even if its back, rather than try to reach across to the other side, and then get past the shield.

Frankly, I get hit in the exposed ribs if I raise my sword too high far more often than the leg.

-Badger-

Yes.
My shield is on the right side. so a right handed fighter has to stretch way over to even target that leg, you know.
My left leg is on his sword hand side.

-Badger-

Oh i see you put your left leg forward instead of your shield leg makes sense now lol

[NorwegianTyrant]

No, not really.

But its easier for a right handed opponent to reach the leg even if its back, rather than try to reach across to the other side, and then get past the shield.

Frankly, I get hit in the exposed ribs if I raise my sword too high far more often than the leg.

-Badger-

Yes.
My shield is on the right side. so a right handed fighter has to stretch way over to even target that leg, you know.
My left leg is on his sword hand side.

-Badger-

Oh i see you put your left leg forward instead of your shield leg makes sense now lol

if i saw it id understand at the moment its foreign to me but thats how it goes sometimes

[Johann Lederer]

I ran across an armourer recommending 14 gauge for the cuisse plate on the exposed leg due to denting- But for the life of me, I cannot recall the source.

I'm a lefty, so my left leg is exposed...But I wouldn't personally use above 16 gauge for cuisses.
I just assume I'll need to pound out dents once in while.

-Badger-

I believe I saw that in the TOMAR