Tassets: their construction and usage (long)

David Cox · Post by **David Cox** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 5:21 pm

A little background first:

I have just completed work on a set of articulated, full-length (hip to knee) tassets for use in SCA fighting. The period ones I found articulated like a clamshell gauntlet (i.e., rivets sliding in slots) but scuttlebutt was that trying to go to your knees in them had the unpleasant effect of driving the upper portion into your body armor or body.

So I modified the design to be more like "leg spaulders," in which overlapping plates are suspended from 2 leather straps that hang down the inside. They fit great, look cool, and I can take a knee without lacerating the love handles. I have them suspended from a belt that hides beneath my body armor but I could also hang them from a breastplate, in period fashion, should I so choose.

My question is this: why were the period tassets done the way they were? The period design has the upper plate sliding behind the lower, which would seem to have the (possibly desired?) effect of grabbing and holding a downward-swinging blow rather than shedding it as mine would. My design also allows greater range of motion (I think), perhaps at cost of rigidity, although rigidity could be important factor given that the 2-handed weapons of the day might hit with force enough to break a femur if the force were not well-dispersed by armor.

Anyway, anyone with thoughts or experience on the matter is encouraged to chip in. The research has answered no questions, only created them.

I love that.

Sincerely,

David Cox

Sasuke · Post by **Sasuke** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 5:47 pm

Consider that you are sitting on a horse and someone is swinging a sword or charging with a lance at you. Which way would the lames of the tassets be oriented to best advantage?
Just my thoughts on the matter.

Sasuke

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www.oaksarmoury.com

Stephen · Post by **Stephen** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 8:23 pm

Alot of the spaulders and or pauldrons I have seen on jousters have had the placement of the lames the opposite way then people who do ground work. This way a lance shard or even the broken whole shaft of a lance will not go into the shoulder. I would like to think a tasset could be done the same way. The only thing I could see is the tassets might have to be more movement wise.

Stephen · Post by **Stephen** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 8:25 pm

http://freelancers.faire.net/images/ripper.jpg

Guillaume2 · Post by **Guillaume2** » Wed Oct 22, 2003 11:14 am

my tasset and shoulder are done this way,upper plate under lower

I'm curently making left spauler,kind of lager type whit 6 plate,leather,pivot and sliding articulation.....what a fun to do:P

Miguel · Post by **Miguel** » Wed Oct 22, 2003 3:20 pm

David, would you please post pics? I'd like to see how you hung the tassets from a belt but still managed to integrate them with the breastplate to allow movement. Thanks.

Miguel

woodwose · Post by **woodwose** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 2:15 am

the tassets in the back of AAoMK are articulated with sliding rivets on the outside lines, a leather strap down the inside of the middle, and one on the inside of the inner line (towards the inside edge of the leg). they are not quite the long knee length tassets, but they are from about the same period. They also have rivets visable along the inside edge of the legs, which makes it look as though they are articulated by rivets, but as far as I can tell, those rivets are just filling holes that were made during construction.

I made a pair of knee length tassets that I use for fighting with rebated steel and did the articulation like the ones in AAoMK. They work great and I'd use them for SCA if I was not so worried about the fauld getting dented to hell, and about the turning pins that connect the breastplate to fauld being beaten and breaking off.

one thing I found after wearing mine for a bit... you can get a lot more mobility in the legs if the very top plate of the tassets (right next to the codpiece, just below the last lame of the fauld) is not attached to the leather strap thats closest to the inside of the leg (but still articulated by the center strap and outside line of sliding rivets)

I personaly find things like this that are only articulated on leather to look a bit sloppy, and have noticed that these types of articulations only seem to look worse with age. sliding rivets along the outside lines of the legs will also make it a lot more rigid along that outside line which does not need as much flexibilaty as the inside lines of the legs

David Cox · Post by **David Cox** » Wed Nov 12, 2003 3:07 pm

Miguel,

I don't currently have the technology to upload a picture, but I can describe it.

I put belt loops at the top of the leather straps by simply cutting the straps about 6 inches longer than necessary then looping them back upon themselves to rivet. The belt is worn beneath a breastplate and the tassets extend from beneath the breastplate. People who know how it was SUPPOSED to be done know the difference but it passes a quick inspection and is SCA legal.

I can, of course, always just hang 'em from the breastplate by switching to buckles. If I had a breastplate.

David

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Miguel:
David, would you please post pics? I'd like to see how you hung the tassets from a belt but still managed to integrate them with the breastplate to allow movement. Thanks.

Miguel<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>