The Armour Archive

I'm wanting to build a glaive for use under the Midrealm rules, and am a bit confused on what would be allowed in its construction. Ideally I'd be making something along the lines of what is pictured here:

viewtopic.php?p=1758980#p1758980

Now the Midrealm rules state that:
"4. Polearms over 6 feet must be unpadded."

Whereas Society rules state:
"3. If the weapon has a head, it shall not be constructed of solely rigid materials. The head shall be firmly and
securely attached to the haft. The head shall allow at least 1⁄2 inch (12.7 mm) of progressive give between
the striking surface and the weapon haft. Laminated or split rattan construction techniques do not require
1⁄2 inch (12.7 mm) of progressive give, so long as their construction imparts striking characteristics similar
to an unpadded weapon constructed of a single piece of rattan."

If I wanted to make my glaive, say, 6.5', would I be able to construct the blade from 13-15oz leather with a single layer of foam, similar to one of the axes Vitus makes? Or would that be considered "padded"? As I see it I can't simply omit the foam because the leather itself would be considered "rigid", correct?

Apologies if this is unclear; I'm a bit confused by what I see as something of a contradiction in weapon construction rules. Any help would be much appreciated.

As long as they are not LESS restrictive, Kingdom Rules supercede Society.

.

In a nutshell, always defer to your Kingdom rules.

And as Diglach mc Cein said above.

So would that be a yes to an all leather blade in this case?

Good question... I guess I should find out the answer to this as well, considering I just made a bladed spear... I hope it's legal lol




Marcus

Simple, go to your Kingdom's web page, look up the KEM send him an email. He can answer it best.

Thor-

Thanks all. I think I've actually just decided to go with a 6' glaive and make it with leather and a strip of foam, as that would likely be more suitable for my height anyway.

Orazio Valori wrote: As I see it I can't simply omit the foam because the leather itself would be considered "rigid", correct?

I think you are going to have to go with the 6' or less option.
My understanding of the reasoning for the unpadded >6' rule is to reduce the weight, so your leather head wouldn't fit with that.

Tom

Orazio, are you familiar with these:

Orazio, I had a 7.5' split rattan (like the picture in Thomas' post). I also have and use a 6' split rattan on a regular basis.

The 'splitters' are legal in the Middle, tho fairly rare.

Count Alaric is our KEM, his email is on the Kingdom website.

I have seen pictures of the split rattan weapons. Would something like that typically be as durable?

Orazio Valori wrote:I have seen pictures of the split rattan weapons. Would something like that typically be as durable?

My 6' is 8+ years old. Granted I am a slacker, but it has hit a LOT of people

Drop me a pm

To confuse things further for you, a few months ago the KEM stated in "The Pale" that By My Hand Design weapon heads (and only BMHD weapons heads) are now legal without any additional padding. The caveat being; don't break your friends, there will be a learning curve.

I made a head from Windrose's white architectural foam before buying one from By My Hand. In my opinion, the By My Hand head is stiffer. But, by the rules I have to pad the Windrose head... Them's the breaks I guess.

I haven't seen a retraction or additional information about it in "The Pale" since that was published. I don't recall which issue it was in at the moment. Seems like it was last fall, maybe October or September.

I would think a leather head would be conditionally legal. As long as the leather is cared for (doesn't get wet and unintentionally harden) and has "some" give in the striking edge: in other words equivalent to a legal By My Hand head. Inspection by a competent marshal (regional or KEM) should be done; and for the sake of drama avoidance, a black and white approval from the regional or KEM kept in your armour bag.

I'm just starting with pole myself. If I can get some damn shop time to finish my gauntlets, I'd be putting my poles to the local marshal test at pratices.

Albrecht