The Armour Archive

I am thinking of buying a few helmets and a full suit from Valentine Armouries. Is it worth it or can I find better quality historical replicas somewhere else?

Val does some nice work from what I have seen. The only consideration is that if you plan on using the suit for combat (sca, etc.) the material that Val Arms uses is closer to historical weights which are often too thin to meet minimum safety requirements.

I want as close as recemblance/feel/weight/metal etc to that which Knights would have used. I do not want this armor for combat but more for my one plesure in wearing and displaying in my house.

Hi Armourlover,

If you want it quick and reasonably Historically accurate, Then Rob is usually the quickest. Mac, otherwise known as Robert Macphereson is arguably the best in the World - longer wait from him. Close second is Jeff Hedgecock (Historic Enterprises), again, a long wait. Peter Fuller Medieval Reproductions is also a fantastic armourer - this covers the States.

Stirling-Brown is probably the best in England, and The Armourers used by "The Company of St. George" And the Guild of St. Olaf (unknown to me), are also among a handful of armourers in this class.

Rob gives you probably the most bang for your buck, with the quickest turn around time. He is a great armourer, but he is not the very best (he does not raise - to my knowledge). If you want it good and fast, go to him, but the others I mentioned are as good, or better in most cases. Be prepared for a wait.

Hope this helps.

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Bob R.

If your looking for historical armour Rob is pretty good and a nice fellow to deal with also. You could get the same thing from me but I cannot guarantee delivery will be near as quick since I am only one person. Rob has several working. It is very good stuff though and he checks all of it personally if not doing it himself.
There might be an occasional place that needs planishing a little more but everything is top notch stuff. It is light 18 gage though
so if you ever do decide to wield a stick
it wont work. By the way if you plan on going to the Texas faire Rob will be there the first and last weekend of it. I'll be the one
filling up on coffee and trying to steal his patterns.HAHA
But all in all, its good stuff for historical purposes.

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Flatfork Armouries
davidk_h@yahoo.com

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by chef de chambre:
<B>Hi Armourlover,

(he does not raise - to my knowledge
</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hello,

yes he does. I've seen a sallet made by him from a single piece of steel. As far as I know it's impossible to make those with pure dishing.

But you're right. Robert does make almost everything with sinking and stretching techniques.

To me he is definately one of the best armourers in the world especially in case you want a late period armour such as a 16th century armour.

Especially for helmets there is one guy who seems to be the very best in the world to me. He names Eric Thing and doesn't consider himself as a master. Actually he doen't make helmets for profit so I don't want to add him to your list of armourers.

Holger

Valentine Armouries seems to have a very good reputation and good, quality armour.

As an alternative, William Hurt is also good, at least from the pictures I've seen. He has several suits in stock -- check him out at www.ageofarmour.com (for more pictures, go to http://www.crosswinds.net/~ageofarmour/ )

-Dmitriy
(no, I don't get paid to do this )

A few months back I received my T-face barbute from them. It is INCREDIBLE! (I have seen many of the armourers around here do just as well). But this is where I ordered from. This helm has all the right curves and fits great. And on top of it all it was ahead of schedule.I would highly recimend ordering from them.
RAndall