The Armour Archive

I am looking to get a set of mittens gauntlets that I want to be able to use in both SCA and ACl. The options are 16 and 18 gauge, both stainless steel. Which is the better gauge to go with?

I mean, if you were going to, I'd say 16 gauge. But there's a reason they almost to a man use Grettir's gauntlets or so I've heard.

Caius705 wrote:there's a reason they almost to a man use Grettir's gauntlets or so I've heard.

Yup. I likely should have mentioned that these would be for training/sparring ACL, and if I see myself getting more serious, then I will upgrade.

Ah, ok. You'd put BotN in the title, instead of ACL, which threw me off. It's a common thing, but it's a bit like saying I'm going to go play World Series (as opposed to baseball). But yeah, I'd still probably go 16 gauge. But I need dexterity in my fingers for work so I can't have them get hurt.

Fixed it.

Hope I didn't sound too much like a pompous ass ( a little bit is ok)

You want 18 g. spring steel. To get the strength of 18 spring out of mild steel, you would need 14 g. mild steel or 16 stainless. Craig Nadler has a post in the construction section that gives the relative strengths of these metals.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=161852&p=2485129#p2485129
Consult this thresd. My numbers above were very conservative.

It depends too on how you want to use your hands. I had a light spring steel pair and a heavier mild steel pair. I chose the heavier set for punching. Hand speed is important in ACL singles fights, but much less so in melees. Concussive momentum does make a difference. Notice how pretty much no one fights with a slender single handed arming sword.

Gaston, So in a singles fight you would use your spring steel ones?
My main goal is preventing any and all injury to my hands and fingers. After that is met, I would be looking for versatility, Jack of all trades, master of none is fine with me.