The Armour Archive

I just bought these bazubands:
[img]http://i9.ebayimg.com/07/i/001/08/9e/9fcc_1.JPG[/img]
They fit well without an elbow pad. Would it be better to wear an elbow pad under them?

The leather is thick and stiff. Should I pad under the forearm as well?

Lastly, they have straps across the forearm, and they came with straps across the elbow. They seem pretty solid without the elbow strap. Do you think that they are necessary?

Thanks!
Tally

Definitely use padding. Thick leather will still transmit force to your body which will be painful and possibly injurious.

You can wear an elbow pad or place padding in the bazu itself. I use shearling remnants from Tandy. I know folks who use thick felt, neoprene or camp mat foam.

My current forearms are leather with three or four steel splints, and I have never had a problem with them. THese seem thicker, but it's all leather. I could put in some blue foam or maybe some shearling. I had never thought of that before. There are also forearm hexpads that I might try. Does anyone use these?

If you want to go without padding, go ahead. I think it will suck to be you at some point though. You can get your arm broken doing this.

Hexpads are fine.

My only padding was the sleeve of my cote, but if you dont wear a padded cote then definatly put something in there

They are splinted with another layer of leather. They seem as tough as my metal splinted ones, which I wear without padding.

A) If you don't want to pad them, don't. It's your armor and your body. Your money paid out if you get broken.

B) Why ask for advice and then argue with it?

Why come to a forum such as this and listen only to the first person who gives you advice? Thanks for your advice. I am sure the advice was sound, but there might be others on this forum who have other input.
Thanks

I didn't say not to listen to other people or to listen only to what I have to say. It's just rude to ask for advice and then argue with what you're given.

I don't give a damn what you do.

I lined my (metal) bazubands with sheepskin.

I also wear elbow pads, but that's a comfort/fit issue.

As long as your kingdom reqs don't specify that you have to have padding (which they might, double-check), do what feels safe, I guess. I generally find soft+hard protection to be the best combination for elbows and knees.

As far as straps, I'd definitely use the elbow one -- it might not be necessary when you are trying them on, but when you are swinging a sword, you want an anchor there, since it's the center of at least one of the planes of rotation.

Totally unsolicited advice to keep you and audax from getting too irked at each other:
If you ask advice and then argue with it, it seems like you already made up your mind and makes the person who is giving you said advice feel like you are wasting their time. If you are truly looking for advice, but aren't sure about the quality of the advice you are receiving -- which totally normal -- a better (from a human psychology point of view) approach is to frame your concerns in the form of further questions or requests for clarification, not outright disagreement. People are finicky.

-D

Dmitry, you are most wise.

Clever idea I stole from my squire brother: Cut the small forearm cuff off of a pair of lacrosse arm pads. Put on the lax pad with the hard plastic elbow cop inside the "bell" of the bazuband, leaving the "rerebrace" of the lax pad above.

Not sure if I described this right, but it gives you super light, super strong elbow padding that also leaves a bit of rigid protection on the upper elbow if the bazuband gaps.

I am in the East Kingdom. Does anyone here know if there are requirements for how to pad bazubands?

Currently I use elbow pads under my arms, but there always seems to be one missing. I like the idea of using a pad that is attached, like shearling, so I don't have to hunt for the pad. So far I am liking shearling or blue pad. An elbow pad that I could attach might be okay as well.

Don't glue in blue foam pad, it will look tacky. Plus your skin will breathe better with some other material there. If you do, cover it with some thin (garment weight) leather That looks cool, esp. if you take the time to sew the liner on instead of just lacing or riveting.

I've seen regular elbow pads attached to leather bazubands by poking a couple of holes in the pads, matching ones in the bazubands, and running cord through (tie on the outside). That works, though that also looks generi-SCA and should be avoided.


-D

Windrose makes some sweet black foam that is cut 'n stick. Worked great on my leather greaves.

For whatever it is worth, I use a combination of cotton covered elbow pads, and cotton covered forearm pads. These are the type most usually associated with Martial Arts practice.

They are versatile in that they are two pieces and that allows for better adjustment, and they can be washed, even at an event, and they will dry for the following morning. And they are easy to replace on the spot, as opposed to fixed/glued padding.

http://www.karate-mart.com/sparring-gea ... -gear.html

As they are also inexpensive, you can keep an extra set in the armour bag in case of failure or loss. Two is one and one is none.

Lastly, some of these are available in colors that may match your armour or heraldry, and they squeeze ok under garb, depending on your persona. So you can make them more or less invisible with a little of work.

Hope this helps.

Rowan of Needwood

Two good options!

Rowan's forearm pad is only 6.99.

Euric's peel and stick pad sounds cool. It is pretty cheap as well, about six bucks a sheet.

http://www.windrosearmoury.com/zc/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=93

Doesn't the SCA have a rule of "hard over soft" for all mandatory armoured areas? I'd think that padding underneath wouldn't be optional.

Louis de Leon wrote:Doesn't the SCA have a rule of "hard over soft" for all mandatory armoured areas? I'd think that padding underneath wouldn't be optional.

Yes.

Dmitriy wrote:If you ask advice and then argue with it, it seems like you already made up your mind and makes the person who is giving you said advice feel like you are wasting their time. If you are truly looking for advice, but aren't sure about the quality of the advice you are receiving -- which totally normal -- a better (from a human psychology point of view) approach is to frame your concerns in the form of further questions or requests for clarification, not outright disagreement. People are finicky.

-D

Exactly

First of all, the thread is called "How do you pad Bazubands" which of course means I want advice on how to pad them. Secondly, the comment which aroused her ire was "They are splinted with another layer of leather. They seem as tough as my metal splinted ones, which I wear without padding."
If this seems like argument, than I must offer my apologies to the lady and others on this thread. My comment was not meant to be argumentative.

Now back to the question at hand: hard over soft is the rule, but that would only mean padding at the elbow, right? I may pad the forearm as well, but it is good to know the rule.

Tally wrote:First of all, the thread is called "How do you pad Bazubands" which of course means I want advice on how to pad them. Secondly, the comment which aroused her ire was "They are splinted with another layer of leather. They seem as tough as my metal splinted ones, which I wear without padding."
If this seems like argument, than I must offer my apologies to the lady and others on this thread. My comment was not meant to be argumentative.

Now back to the question at hand: hard over soft is the rule, but that would only mean padding at the elbow, right? I may pad the forearm as well, but it is good to know the rule.

Yes, you are required to pad the elbow.

I wear thick leather bazubands. i wear an elbow pad. I would never dream of padding my forearm and i have taken full speed pole arm shots to them. it stings for a second but gos away.

Now that I see that karate pads again, their FLAT cloth hand pad looks just dandy to wear under gauntlets....


Rowan

audax wrote:I didn't say not to listen to other people or to listen only to what I have to say. It's just rude to ask for advice and then argue with what you're given.

I don't give a damn what you do.

You and I are more alike than you think...

-Donasian.

edited.

Tally is a stand up guy that I have never seen be anything but a gentleman, courteous through and through. I have the advantage of spending a week at Pennsic with him, so my bias is of course through my friendship.

Audax assumed his words were that of someone being stubborn. I knew it was just Tally being Tally, asking for a ton of advice before he commits to an action. For that he is wise, and I look to emulate him in the future in that regard.

Euric, your coming to my defense here reminds me of standing in the shield wall in the woods battle and watching you run by to pummel the guys from the mid!

I have apologized to the Lady, and she and others have given me great advice on this thread. Thanks to one and all.

in response to the original question,
Sheep skin fluffy side up we padded my ladys Bazubands all the way done from elbow to wrist and the work great, Plus all those "period snobs" (said in a joking way) wont hassle you about your blue foam padding harshing thier medieval mellow all weekend. plus with the sheep skin you dont have to wear elbow pads.

Acctually as I finishd writing this ypu may check on what your kingdom rules are about "blatent" mundanities is, some kingdoms have standards that don't allow modern looking items to be seen, including padding.




Rhys

How would you attach the sheepskin, hot glue? Speaking of hot, isn't it, um, hot?

Ahhh, what pretty bazubands. He who made them must have been a stand-up fellow, a true purveyor of ... oh, wait, nevermind. It was me.
Hi Tally.
Hope they fit well and you're enjoying them?

The inside of the elbow was indeed padded with the adhesive foam from Windrose and worked splendidly. I removed it prior to sale because I figured you wouldn't want my elbow sweat as part of our transaction.

Let me know if you have any questions.

PS "Sheep skin fluffy side up" is what I use in my full gaunts and it works damn well, probably the best I've ever experienced. I've never had an injury with them on. Well, I did break my thumb at the Ravine Battle this year during Gulf Wars but that had more to do with my thumb getting caught outside the gauntlet rather than inside the gauntlet. Silly me.

Tally,

While I don't use sheepskin, I use the 3M spray glue for that type of job and it works very, very well.


That being said, sheepskin will not be necessarily hotter than the "blue foam of death" because it surely breathes better.

Personally, I suffer greatly from the heat and try to avoid blue foam as body padding and anything that may retain heat excessively.

Rhys has an excellent point in that one needs to strive to keep the padding hidden or period looking. When I wear the pads I mentioned above I try to wear them over an under-armor undershirt and under a light shirt if I can. That prevents chafing and keeps the pads hidden.

Rowan

That is sound advice from Rowan. I always wear a long sleeve under armor shirt (black) under my armor. It has reduced armor bites and friction burns down to near zero.

The only drawback I have found is it makes your vams spin or slide on your arm.

I'll have to try that 3M stuff, as Gorilla glue does not stand up to foam the way I would like it to.

rhys wrote:in response to the original question,
Sheep skin fluffy side up we padded my ladys Bazubands all the way done from elbow to wrist and the work great,
Rhys

Rhys,

How do you attach the sheepskin? And to be clear what does fuzzy side up mean? the wooly part meets your arm and the skin is glued to the inside of the bazuband? I have a wooly sheepskin from Ikea. (As opposed to the shaggy kind, which I also have.) Would this work? Do you have to trim the wool?

Thanks!

Hey tally..
bear and I both fight with bazubands.
both of us have that thin black foam you get from windrose.
easy stuff to get/use and you are set my man.
the only other thing that Bear does is he has a neoprene sleeve and I have a sports sleeve on my elbow. I wear it most times but it doesnt really change much if i am not wearing it.
check em out on thursday.

Another vote from Lord Joe for the cheap and easy black foam. I don't have a tandy around. Where else might I get the shearling? It sure sounds neat.

Lucian, thanks for the great deal. By the way, did you ever use the elbow strap?

Tally wrote:Lucian, thanks for the great deal. By the way, did you ever use the elbow strap?

Oddly enoguh, Tally I put it on there and never really used it. I had it 'riveted', as it were, with Chicago screws but it never really added to (or took away from) the fit of the bazubands, so I eventually went without it but reattached them for the sale. Try it out!