The Armour Archive

I recently (at Pennsic, actually) finished a Coat of Plates prototype. I made it to work out any kinks in the design. The outer shell is cotton duck and the inner layer is cotton broadcloth. The plates are HDPE plastic and the rivets are aluminum roofing nails. I fought in it at Pennsic and this sucker is super light and comfortable. I'm 6 feet tall and 290 pounds, and it has a bit of play in the sizing to go a little bigger and quite a bit smaller.





$65 plus shipping for this one- later "final" versions will be $80 plus shipping (and will be 3 layers of cotton duck and either aluminum or copper rivets, with plates covering the spine).

As always, I gladly take PayPal at m_kreitzer@yahoo.com

Thanks!


*A note on future CoP's- Learning from other's mistakes, I will NOT be taking mass orders for these things. I have NO DESIRE to be the guy who takes everybody's money and then can't complete the massive pile of orders and get my ass buried. NOT gonna happen . What I plan to do is have a waiting list, and take no money except for the first two names. Then it will only be 50% down, and the balance upon completion. This will let me ensure that I don't get swamped.

Just out of curiosity - why the lack of hip coverage?

Bendyness
The sides stopping where they do allows full freedom of movement.
Of course, if someone wanted to order a CoP with more coverage it wouldn't be too difficult to accomodate. It just isn't an area I ever really worried about covering, as I prefer a bit more movement.

Just out of curiosity - why the lack of hip coverage?

Coats of plates often don't have them. Like many torso defenses, they primarily focus on the upper torso. Maille would be worn under it and the shirt of maille would protect the lower torso, hips, and upper legs.

Steve

Can we get an interior shot?

Question: Would you offer spine plates as a cost option?

Yes, and yes. I will post an interior shot tomorrow when I get up, and spine plates are doable for this one if someone wanted them. They will be standard on future CoP's.

Will you be doing custom colors on these? (like blue ).

Nice work

'Coats of plates often don't have them. Like many torso defenses, they primarily focus on the upper torso. Maille would be worn under it and the shirt of maille would protect the lower torso, hips, and upper legs.

Steve'

That is only partially true. It is clear some did and some did not.

Thorgrimr,

Well done looks very nice.

RPM

Hrolfr- of course! Fabric color (and choice, for that matter) is only limited by what I can get my hands on. More expensive fabric will (naturally) raise the price though.

Here are some inside shots. You will notice that some of the plates have small holes in them- I was going to sew them in but decided against it.

We have sourced canvas painters tarps at home depot for our CoP lining, it comes in 8 and 10 OZ.. and compared to reg duck its similar and drastically cheaper.

Good to know. Thanks! I might have to use some for the inner layers on one and see how it works. That could bring the price down a bit of I can save on materials cost.

Add the spine plates and you can consider this SOLD!

Sure thing. pm sent

That is only partially true. It is clear some did and some did not.

Which is why I said: "Coats of plates often don't have them."

I don't think any of the Wisby finds had them.

We have sourced canvas painters tarps at home depot for our CoP lining, it comes in 8 and 10 OZ.. and compared to reg duck its similar and drastically cheaper.

That's a good idea. My impression these days is that fabric stores are no longer a place like thrift stores for frugal people to buy fabric to make their own clothes. Now it is sold as a luxury item for people with expensive hobbies.

Steve

Sold pending funds.

Hi there. Will you e considering plus-sizing the pattern for taller and bigger guys?

Sure will. I just need measurements (circumference at belly button, armpit to hip, throat to crotch, etc). More materials and time will translate to a bit higher price though.

Sure will. I just need measurements (circumference at belly button, armpit to hip, throat to crotch, etc). More materials and time will translate to a bit higher price though.

well duck cloth is around 10$ a year, for 10$ at home depot i got a 6x9 8 oz cloth(6 sq Ft) a savings of 50$. Sure it only comes in an off white. But i did purchase rit dye and will try dying it in the next few weeks to see.
I also plan to use the 8 oz. to cover my shield.

This stuff is great my buddy john found this, always keep your eyes open for alternate sourcing materials

Be aware: the color is gonna bleed out of that when it gets wet, and will fade fairly quickly.

Thorgrimr,

Excellent work, sir!!!...I've made and continue to make something very similar but using leather...just as an idea, not a critique,...depending on the kingdom you fight in, you might be able to get away with less and wider torso plates on the front, which would cut down on time for you and still be more than enough for your customers...also, just as a source for rivets I picked up some aluminium rivets from R.J Leahy, using a washer size that was comparable at home depot it really works out quite nicely...(I know you mentioned in an earlier post this was a prototype)..

I've been toying with the idea of using duck cloth myself however the addition of interior broadcloth is very smart....that was my problem with the duck cloth, it wasn't enough alone.

Did you machine sew the broadcloth and duck cloth togather or did you use some type of glue?...I've been thinking about something I THINK is called magic seam, it's a type of fabric glue...

Overall, very good work! You should be proud of yourself for this!!

Machine sewn all the way. Thanks for the kind words!
You're spot on with my thinking on the torso plates. My new pattern has fewer, wider plates all around. Still protected well, but less rivets.

Are you concerned about rivet blowouts on the front since you only have 3 in each plate? The standard we do for our quick CoPs is 5 on the front plates.

Not especially, but one of the things I've been considering is adding one or two more per plate, since the number of plates will be less. It will reduce the stress per rivet yet still have less rivets overall than the first one.

Thorgrimr wrote:Hrolfr- of course! Fabric color (and choice, for that matter) is only limited by what I can get my hands on. More expensive fabric will (naturally) raise the price though.

That's cool, because you and I are about the same size (I'm 5'11" and 275#)

In my experience, the painters tarps are hit and miss. I had a few that were really nice and a few that weren't too good. But, if you get good ones, you definitely save money.

Jace_ wrote:Are you concerned about rivet blowouts on the front since you only have 3 in each plate? The standard we do for our quick CoPs is 5 on the front plates.

I confess that somewhat concerned me as well. Only two rivets per flank plate makes me uncomfortable, as only one has to fail for the plate to move around. I would also suggest 5 per front and three minimum per plate. You might want to adjust your price for the additional labor.

Yeah, the flank plates worry me a bit. The final version's flank plates will sport 3 rivets each, and the torso plates 4 or 5.

I am interested in the "final" $80 version w/ the spine plates. How do I get on the list?

You just did. PM me with details. (Color, etc)
Thanks!

how big is the list and i may want on

So far: 1 in progress, one waiting... not a big list yet.