The Armour Archive

I'm tryin to get a hold of some cheap start armor. I'm going for an 11th-12th century viking kit, but anything will do.[/b]

What size are you? Thanks.

46" chest
40" waist
I'm 5'10" and 200 lbs.

What do you consider cheap?

Stonkeep is a good place to look.

Cheap is anything I can afford (or anything for free would be amazing lol)

An actual dollar range might be more helpful....


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Bran,

A little more information would probably help people guide you in the right direction, you post is kind of like saying "I'd like to buy a cheap car", it's all perspective - a cheap new car is $12,000 while a cheap used car is $1,000. A full kit with helmet can easily run over $1,000 so cheap could be $500... or cheap could be get me on the field for $200.

Are you looking for full, ready to strap on and hit the field or willing to do some work yourself?

Here are a couple thoughts to get you started.

If you're willing to do some additional work making cuisses & vambraces then you can get knee & elbow cops from either Stonekeep or Rough From The Hammer - both have great reviews and reputations here.

Check the yellow pages for a used sporting goods store in your area, go in and look for used hockey pants they offer great thigh protection and you can add a set of knee cops to them pretty easily.

Depending on how much protection you are looking for, and if starting out I recommend full armor, you can get away with a "body bracelet" if that's what you want to do. Get some leather, local or check out steffanleather.com (Linda is in the SCA and if you tell her you need leather for armor she can offer guidance on what to buy) or Tandy Leather, then add either plastic or metal plates. Often your local DOT will have damaged or out of circulation street signs they will give away or sell cheap then all you need is a jigsaw, a drill and some rivets to attach the plates to the leather.

For a cheap helmet you're not going to beat Hjalmr here on the archive, he can get your brain into a hat for $100 or less normally and can make you something Viking like if that's what you want. Shoot him a PM. If you're interested in doing it yourself check out Zweihammer he has a Valsgard 6 kit he sells.

Again "cheap" is relative and I know saying "I have $500 to spend on my kit" puts you on the down side of negotiation but it gives those interested in helping a better idea of where to point you then "what I can afford."

Remember, hide the ugly with a tunic & pants, the list field with thank you!

Hope that helps
Will

Thank you very much for the info your excellency, it did help me out a lot. I'm trying to put together a late viking age kit, because that's along the lines of my persona (11th-12th cen. Irish). Any suggestions for this look?

there is another thread with a link to an ebay auction for a complete starter harness for ~200

eta



http://cgi.ebay.com/SCA-Steel-Armor-Set ... 3efbe03337

I saw that, and I asked if individual pieces could be bought or if it was an all-or-none kind of thing

Hey Bran,

for Hiberno-norse, you may want to go with Lammelar. Many fine folks on the archive make Lam plates.

I can only personally report on the offerings from polar bear forge, who I have been very satisfied in the past, and will be purchasing from again in the coming months.

Depending on your personal size and shape, making your own lammelar body and shoulders might cut down on price a bit.
It also feels good to go out in armor you've assembled for yourself, tailored to fit you.

If you're looking for a helmet still, I have one to sell.

http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/ ... p?t=110537

There's no way to make an early period helm look at all realistic without spending huge amounts of cash on it, so IMO these viking-face style helms are the best low-cost compromise between the look of a real spangenhelm (and avoiding that ugly bar grill) and the required SCA safety.

Feargus wrote:Hey Bran,

for Hiberno-norse, you may want to go with Lammelar. Many fine folks on the archive make Lam plates.

I can only personally report on the offerings from polar bear forge, who I have been very satisfied in the past, and will be purchasing from again in the coming months.

Depending on your personal size and shape, making your own lammelar body and shoulders might cut down on price a bit.
It also feels good to go out in armor you've assembled for yourself, tailored to fit you.

That's the kind of torso protection that I was wanting to get, the only problem is finding a lam kit that doesn't cost over two hundred dollars lol

"If you're looking for a helmet still, I have one to sell.

http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/ ... p?t=110537

There's no way to make an early period helm look at all realistic without spending huge amounts of cash on it, so IMO these viking-face style helms are the best low-cost compromise between the look of a real spangenhelm (and avoiding that ugly bar grill) and the required SCA safety."

That is a pretty good looking hat, and I would like to get it...but, 130 is out of my price range =( hell, EVERYTHING is out of my price range because I have no money to put towards armor, what money I do have (very little) goes towards mundane stuff.

If your budget's really that bad, it sounds like you need to go to the yellow pages, find the nearest metal supply shop, and start making stuff yourself.

Best of luck to you . . . and it's worth pointing out that this is a hobby that has certain costs in order to participate. If you don't even have the $100 or so to get a cheap helmet, you might want to consider a different hobby. Not trying to be mean or antagonistic, just trying to point out economic reality.

I don't think going to a metal supply shop would be in my budget either lol

Bran_mac_Conlae wrote:I don't think going to a metal supply shop would be in my budget either lol

Don't you already have some Demi's and a Helm coming already?

Best of luck finding a job, then. Real life comes first, in all our lives. I had to ditch some awfully nice plans I had because I had to drop $1500 on car repairs all of a sudden.

Bran_mac_Conlae wrote:I don't think going to a metal supply shop would be in my budget either lol

I requested that they be made, and when it comes time to pay for them, I'll hopefully have the money, otherwise I'm going to look like an ass...

Hey guys, just go a head and ignore this thread...I've done and gone made an ass of myself again here on the archive, and I don't really think I deserve any respect or kindness from anyone. Maybe I should just stay away from fighting and go back to the archery line were I belong lol Anyways, like I said, pay no more attention to this thread.

Bran_mac_Conlae wrote:

Bran_mac_Conlae wrote:I don't think going to a metal supply shop would be in my budget either lol

I requested that they be made, and when it comes time to pay for them, I'll hopefully have the money, otherwise I'm going to look like an ass...

I think you may asking for the moon and stars here.

If you can't come up with a couple hundred dollars ($200+) then I don't really see how you are going to be able to afford even the most basic/simple of armour for SCA fighting.

I know, and this is why I should just stick to the archery line...I already have that equipment

There is no reason you can not do both, it just sounds like you need to save up more money before you start looking to purchase.

I have been in your shoes and I bet many others have. There are two things you will have to get some armor which is money and time. When I was a starving college student, I had more time than money so I bought what I could and used the time I had to put a kit together as best as I could. If you save say $50 dollars a month, buy some materials and ask for some help, you can make a decent fighting kit. The main expense is the helm. There are some reasonable helms just make sure you do not get a cheap knock off, your head is very important to protect. You need something for your knees and elbows I reccommend metal but other materials can be use pretty well too.

Heck, 11th - 12th c Irish you could still start out with mostly hidden armor under a leine. Really, the most exposed part would be the helm (and 1/2 guantlets/ gauntlets).

As your financial situation improves, the same does for your portrayal, and you can add more/better armor.


Hidden armor is mostly dependent on how much effort you want to put in, more than cash.


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Bran_mac_Conlae wrote: I requested that they be made, and when it comes time to pay for them, I'll hopefully have the money, otherwise I'm going to look like an ass...

Don't screw the people who have invested their time and their materials (which equals $) into your order. That's very uncool.

Well lets see..

Rough from the Hammer:

• Fanless elbow pair $12
• Fanless knee pair $13
• Spaulder A $12
• Kidney Plates $20

Hjalmr:

• One of your choice helm 80-140$

Truehearth Armoury:

• Standard gorget $40

Bokalo’s Armoury

• Demi Gauntlet $20

Ashcraft Baker

• Basket Hilt $15
• Shield Basket $15

SO you could get on the field for about 300$ with shipping if you really wanted to.. You wouldn't look awesome, but you'd be able to fight ;0).

Rana wrote:

Bran_mac_Conlae wrote: I requested that they be made, and when it comes time to pay for them, I'll hopefully have the money, otherwise I'm going to look like an ass...

Don't screw the people who have invested their time and their materials (which equals $) into your order. That's very uncool.

I'm going to pay, come ragnarok or high water, I WILL pay...

In regards to the Lammelar:

The BEST part about a lam kit, is that you can buy it $40 bucks at a time over a year.
Buy a square foot of material, lace it, and then buy another square foot of material on your next paycheck, rinse and repeat.

While I can understand the "get on the field NOW" urge, you can probably borrow or use loaner armor from someone local while you get your own kit in order.

Another option, as stated, is Ye olde Plastyk Barrel. That, a Jigsaw, and "possibly be careful" some heat and you can form yourself some hidden armor till you can get on the field in style. Plastic barrels can frequently be found in and around your local Carwash, as that's what the soap is delivered in. They may or may not care if you take them. You should ask, and move onto the next Carwash if they say no.

Sadly, in lieu of cash, DIY is your best option to get on the field.

and even then, the helmet is an unavoidable cost.

Hjalmir is your man there as has been said, but you'll want a wire wheel and some elbow grease to get the inside all set for your head. His stuff is rough from the hammer and sometimes needs some slag cleaned off the inside from the welds.

It's the eternal tradeoff, If you have money, you can save on time and effort. Without money, you need to put in more time and effort.

I wish you where in my neck of the woods.

My wife and I are by no means wealthy but right now we are doing OK. I have been throwing armor together for any one who is willing to put in a little work right and left with the hope that they will stick around and play for a few years. Poor college students, unemployed new sca fighters, unemployed old sca fighters, pretty much any one who I can hand a hammer to. I think I have put together 7-10 complete suits of beginner armor in the last couple of years with little or no cost to the fighter in question. Right now I have a small stack of helmets and gorgets I have been collecting for a few new college student fighters, so they can get on the field, all I have asked of them is a little work on the lamellar and to come out and fight with me at practice maybe even let me give'em a ride to an event and feed'em so I have some people to camp with as well.

I hope you can find some help in your neck of the woods, life is too short to wish you where out there on the field. I just wish everyone felt that way.

So do I m'lord, so do I lol

You can make a suit for under 200 bucks. Its just your going to have to do alot of work your self and find alot of used crap. When i say crap i mean it. Ive found a BP that's made of plates and it literally looks like its falling apart and the guy asked for 25 for it.

Bran, you live in Augusta, so you are within a stone's throw of some amazing local craftsmen and other great guys who can help you get into gear.

I bet if you talk to Duke Valharic or Sir Grimr, Sir Brian, Master Vortigern, etc and humbly ask their help and volunteer your time towards them helping you put a kit together, they won't just tell you to pound sand.

All are good people and local to you.

Gotta jump in here

so how bout you build a kit that will get you fighting

and then you build your dream kit

That is what I did/doing, that is what Rohesia is doing, that is what Sir Bryan seems to be alway doing ,

I know you have a helm that you can use(I loaned it to ya), I said I have some legs that you can borrow(I will bring them this coming monday, bring a weightbelt or something), I will ask Wenzel if you can borrow the bazubands I borrowed from him a while ago. As for the chest maybe someone has something local or we make you a plastic chest plate for about 20 bucks,(you do the work, we just help you do it right)

you can borrow shields and swords till you get the money squared away to get your own,

So what you need to bring this monday is weightbelt(or something like it), knee pads, elbow pads, cup, and that helm padded to fit you.

You will swing a stick and get hit in the head this monday if you bring the stuff listed above.

and then you build your dream kit

That is what I did/doing, that is what Rohesia is doing, that is what Sir Bryan seems to be alway doing Very Happy ,

Frakin problem is my dream keeps changing. I think I will just have to have them all eventually.

bkillian wrote:

and then you build your dream kit

That is what I did/doing, that is what Rohesia is doing, that is what Sir Bryan seems to be alway doing Very Happy ,

Frakin problem is my dream keeps changing. I think I will just have to have them all eventually.

Sounds like you are talking about shoes, "I must have them all!!!!" Hehehehehe just don't start wearing dresses Bry... we might have to commit you to nice place with a great view and coloring books...
/snicker

~Roh