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Proper hinging for 14th century armor?Help!
Posted: Sun May 18, 2003 8:06 pm
by Shane Smith
What is a proper hinging method for 14th century-style full greaves,arms/lower cannons etc.? Are surface mounted hinges okay or should they be mounted internally?What is historically accurate?Thanks.
Posted: Mon May 19, 2003 1:00 am
by Konstantin the Red
Interior hingeing will give you a smoother line, as less of the hinge sticks up. The only part of the hinge emplacement that takes more work is that you need to put a notch in the plate edge to accommodate the hinge barrel.
Some plate hinges, such as are on greaves, might be served best by one interior and one exterior hinge. I think this sort of thing is done on an as-required basis.
If you want to totally scream 14th-century, though, make self-hinges: metal tabs integral with and extending from the plate edges to be rolled over into hinge barrels and a hinge pin inserted.
Unless you are hand-building your hinges yourself, you will probably prefer to bury them deep in the work. A little filework on the hinges can go a long way to minimise the impression of modern manufacture. The hinge leaves will need curving, usually, to fit them to whatever pieces of armor they are supposed to join. Exposed hinges should get lots of filework to shape them into something medieval. The other solution is to get all Martha Stewart and make the things out of 14ga and 1/8" round stock, Brian Price TOMAR style. Again, bend or dish the hinge leaves to fit the armor's curve snugly.
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