The Armour Archive

Anyone got any kicking around?

I'm 6' - 210.

Gwens' prices are good so if I don't get a response I'll just buy some from her. I hate using them for fighting though...seems a waste to burn through them for that reason....

Padded cuisses, would love some sewn with just layers of linen and tubes for stuffing with hose or some such.

Galvyn Lockheart's wife did my padded quisses. Good stuff.
Contact Count Galvyn here and he'll pass it along to her.

Ewan wrote:Anyone got any kicking around?

I'm 6' - 210.

Gwens' prices are good so if I don't get a response I'll just buy some from her. I hate using them for fighting though...seems a waste to burn through them for that reason....

Padded cuisses, would love some sewn with just layers of linen and tubes for stuffing with hose or some such.

Contact Sir Gareth at Gambesons.com. He has recently been working on padded cuisses.

I use historic enterprise's hosen and brais.

I recently purchased some padded cuisses from Therion Arms. Price is right but the smell is not. I'm not sure what it is but mine smell to high heaven, kinda like a oil/solvent smell even after sitting outside for three weeks. It's become a running joke at my house "Did the dog pass gas?" "Naw, it's the cuisses out on the back porch."

They are going to the laundromat as I'm afraid to put them in my washer/dryer...

I am a GDFB dealer thru my dealer status with CAS Iberia and I want to let everyone know that all of GDFB clothing has that smell to it. They make really nice medieval clothing and arming garments and thier prices are cery good as well. But MAN the smell! The shirts and such have a slight smell but the larger garments have that solvent type smell that does NOT like to go away. I got in one of thier new million button gambesons for a customer and could not wait to get it out of my place. But like I said above, the stuff is really cool looking and very servicable.

I wish I could say it was just Therions stuff but alas it is not.

All my softkit is from Historic Enterprises & BlackSwan. Looks and feels good, and fits the way it is supposed to.

My good gambeson (meaning for tourney use), is by Galvyn Lockheart's wife and was worth EVERY penny. I think she is swampped right now because I haven't heard from her in a bit.

I have been wearing HE chausses and braies for a couple of years to fight in... tourney and practice. I go through a pair of chauses about 14 to 16 months...

I have both HE braies and ones I made in a similar pattern that I wear... The cost to buy HE stuff and to make it makes it pretty even.

Which reminds me that I need to buy some more when Pennsic rolls around.

Thanks folks.

I have holes in my hosen and my brais split open this weekend. I'm not a sewing person and neither is my wife. I love them, but I it just seems too hard on them. Maybe was the used set I bought.

I don't use HE hosen and brais because my wife makes mine but I've seen several pair my friends have purchased. They are top quality and a good price.

Ditto on the HE for your under armour gear. Been wearing them for awhile under my hard kit and they hold up great. Normal wear and tear (and that's mainly the 'toe seam' but it's easy to do darn them up and makes for a great 'camp life' scene during demo's. I can't recommend Gwen's gear enough if you don't have the time/ability to make them yourself. Sturdy, fit & look well and great customer service.

Hi guys!

I was distracted by the other thread so I'm just reading this now.

I'm working on a mid-month sale flyer, and trying to figure out what to put on special. I think I have a great idea now!!

Thanks for all the kind reviews. Always good to hear the stuff holds up well, it means we're doing our job.

Gwen

I'm going to be in the market for a new set of hose too....

I have to admit... I bought my first pair from revival. They are cotton. But they used to be a lot cheaper... now for an extra $15 I can get wool from HE.
BUT... Gwen... you don't do them in yellow!!!

Well, the difference in approach to colour is one of the differences between BSD and Revival.

Revival works with a set palette of primary colours, so you can always count on your clothes to match, and know the range of colours the garments are available in. This is awesome for folks trying to outfit a wedding, or match their heraldry.

I do small batches (under 12 pieces) of mostly of secondary colours which are matched to natural dye samples. These colours all go with one another (think fall foliage), but rarely if ever match. I do try to mix in some primary colours for those customers who like the deeply saturated colours. I always offer a range of colours in each production run, but we don't have 'stock' colours per se.

Coincidentally right now we're working on a run of mostly deep colours:

Red
Straw gold/yellow
Dark green
Navy blue
Black

Next week we'll be making wool chausses in:

Walnut brown
Steel grey
Black
Plum
Spruce green

I'm going to hold off on the sale until next month so we have all these colours and fabrics in stock. Waiting also gives anyone not on the mailing list a chance to sign up......

Oh, and Matt, I think you need to check prices. I just did, and the regular price for our linen chausses is $12-$22 cheaper, and the wool is $11-$21 cheaper. Wait for the sale and you'll save even more.

Gwen

Black Swan Designs wrote:Hi guys!

I was distracted by the other thread so I'm just reading this now.

I'm working on a mid-month sale flyer, and trying to figure out what to put on special. I think I have a great idea now!!

Thanks for all the kind reviews. Always good to hear the stuff holds up well, it means we're doing our job.

Gwen

If they do go on sale let me know, I just ordered mine last night but I would love to get a set of wool!

Cant wait to see what the dark purple looks like!

Black Swan Designs wrote:Straw gold/yellow

Yes Please!!

Gwen's wool chausses are the best product out there, IMO. Great fit and durable.

David de Clermont wrote:I recently purchased some padded cuisses from Therion Arms. Price is right but the smell is not. I'm not sure what it is but mine smell to high heaven, kinda like a oil/solvent smell even after sitting outside for three weeks. It's become a running joke at my house "Did the dog pass gas?" "Naw, it's the cuisses out on the back porch."

They are going to the laundromat as I'm afraid to put them in my washer/dryer...

I bet they came from an Indian supplier
I know a guy who got a geteld from a Indian source
It smelled of curry and decomposition
His guess was a body was wrapped in the material before is was made into a tent:)

LOL

Im jumping on the 'me too' train

Love my HE stuff but hate to be so rough on it (ie to wear it to fight)

Halv

If I can get a pair of these yellow/gold ones I will use them for my dress ones, and use my old ones to fight in. after I darn the holes in the toes!

Every pair of chausses/braies that I have ever owned have come from Gwen. All of them are exceptional. Though once I had a pair of braies that didn't have the eyelets sewn into them so my chausses kept falling down all day. And if you plan on fighting in the braies, do yourself a favor and order a couple pair. They will "blow out." Just sayin'.

BSD had always been a pleasure to do business with and I will be sending more money thier way soon.

And if you plan on fighting in the braies, do yourself a favor and order a couple pair. They will "blow out."

Dude, that's what happens when you eat Mexican before fighting!

Seriously, the braies were never designed for the rigors of fighting. I'm working on a new design that gives the wearer a lot more 'stretch' through the crotch. Should have them ready to go in under a month.

Gwen

That would be wonderful!!!

Halvgrimr wrote:

David de Clermont wrote:I recently purchased some padded cuisses from Therion Arms. Price is right but the smell is not. I'm not sure what it is but mine smell to high heaven, kinda like a oil/solvent smell even after sitting outside for three weeks. It's become a running joke at my house "Did the dog pass gas?" "Naw, it's the cuisses out on the back porch."

They are going to the laundromat as I'm afraid to put them in my washer/dryer...

I bet they came from an Indian supplier
I know a guy who got a geteld from a Indian source
It smelled of curry and decomposition
His guess was a body was wrapped in the material before is was made into a tent:)

LOL

They do come from India. They use old wool army blankets.

Gwen,
Do you think the linen or wool chausses would hold up better under plate armor? I need to work on fitting my mail, but for now its armor on cloth.

Thanks!

Wool, absolutely. Wool has the 'cush' that linen does not. The feet don't wear out of wool chausses as fast, either.

Okay so the consensus is wool instead of linen for fighting in?

Gwen, would love to be on the list for dark green hose/chausses (I never remember the right terminology)

Thanks!

I use linen during the hot summer months but it does chew up faster so I try to limit the times I use it. A good weave (i.e. what Gwen uses) is durable and has just the right balance to keep it from being too hot (i.e. it breathes) along with giving a good feeling of padding to take the bite out of armour. In my norse/earlier harness it works great even during the Pennsic month for my pants and winnigas. If you get stuck out in a rainstorm with a cool breeze you won't get chilled with wool either ... it just feels ... normal.

By the Sword has these for $45

Crusader Upper Leg Padding Large

I'm going to hazard a guess that these are made by Depeeka.

And the points are in the wrong location IMO.

Thor.

Black Swan Designs wrote:

By the Sword has these for $45

Crusader Upper Leg Padding Large

I'm going to hazard a guess that these are made by Depeeka.

Wow, what a great thread!

I fight in HE's linen chausses, have for about a year now. Works great for me. No issues with the braes, either, but I'm a pretty slender build. And maybe just lucky so far.

If you get that new "fighting braes" design out, count on me for a couple pairs, Gwen. And after reading this thread, I think I'll give the wool a try for the chausses, too.

For padded cuisses:

Honestly? You can make these yourself. It's NOT rocket science. I am a moderately crafty person with fairly weak sewing machine skills (can use machine; had to get wife to thread machine for this project - although I think I remember how now). I managed to make a set of nice, durable, good looking padded cuisses that pretty much rock with my light fighting kit.

1) Wear old jeans. Use duct tape to cover area of jeans to be covered with padding. Use several layers (holds together better with at least two layers).

2) Cut tape off the leg at the inside seam of the leg. I used med/surg scissors for this; blunt tip and sharp as heck, cut right through without poking into the jeans or into ME.

3) Lay out tape pattern on posterboard. Trace. Allow one inch margin around upper and lower ends, and two inch margin on the inseam (where you cut the tape).

3) Cut out two layers of heavyweight linen (bought for $6 a yard at fabrics-store.com) in the form of the outer pattern. Allow for some sort of loop at the top, too (to point to belt, or however you want to do that). I actually didn't do that, and added a long linen strap, sewn to the top of the cuisse, that I tie into my belt through my hip plates (hidden, nice to have IMHO). Whatever method works is fine for pointing.

4) Cut out one layer of batting - use COTTON, not POLY! Buy the more expensive pure cotton, or use some other sort of batting. Don't use cheap poly stuff; you'll regret it. Cut to the *inner* pattern. You can use more than one layer, if you prefer.

5) Sandwich the layers, batting inside the linen shell. Pin together. Use a straightedge to put vertical chalk lines on the piece, everywhere where there is batting - mine are about two inches apart. Sew the long vertical lines down the whole thing, just like you see in pics.

6) Fold over the top and bottom seams to get a nice edge, pin, and sew the edge. Get help here if you're new to sewing - there are fiddly bits involved in removing pins and turning corners that can cause frustration to learn the hard way.

7) Put the thing on. Inseam is NOT sewn yet. You have four inches allowance here, remember? This is the key spot to making it fit. Tape it, pin it, whatever (having someone else help here is good). Move in it. Can you bend the knee? Do you get full range of motion? Once you get the seam just right, take it off, cut away any excess fabric, and sew the seam.

End result - you get some *really* nice linen padded cuisses for the work of a single afternoon and evening. If you're new to sewing, they may not look perfect, but if you use the same color thread as the fabric, imperfections will be hard to spot. And you won't be wearing something "stock" that everyone will recognize - you'll be wearing armor you made, which is pretty darned cool in its own right.

(Nota bene: I added to this project by sewing hidden pockets to the inside layer. Three per leg. These hold two inch wide plastic splints with a thin layer of high compression foam glued to the back. You can't really see the splints much when worn, and they add quite a lot to the protection. They also come out easily when you want to wash the cuisses. Up to you - it's your design, make it what you need!)

Appreciate that Owyn, but I've come to realize that what little free time I can devote to this game is going into fighting or actually playing the game. I'm much better off paying someone to build me what I need so I can focus on what I enjoy.

Thanks!

Ewan wrote:Appreciate that Owyn, but I've come to realize that what little free time I can devote to this game is going into fighting or actually playing the game. I'm much better off paying someone to build me what I need so I can focus on what I enjoy.

Thanks!

+1!!!!!!!!!!!

If it's not too much trouble, Let us know when you get some new wool chausses made on here (I don't always check my email). I would really like to get some burgandy or red chausses in XL. The most common color of legs in manuscripts, and I can never seem to get them.
(I sew and could probably make my own, but HE's fit perfectly so why mess up a good thing? With the cost of wool, and finding a good weight, it's worth the extra $ to just get them made correctly.)
I'm not waiting for any sale price either. If/when you get them in, they are MINE.
-Cian

Cian of Storvik wrote:(I sew and could probably make my own, but HE's fit perfectly so why mess up a good thing? With the cost of wool, and finding a good weight, it's worth the extra $ to just get them made correctly.)

No argument there. Perfectly happy to purchase those; HE does a great job with their stuff, *way* better than I could do myself on something as finicky as chausses!