The Armour Archive

I'm getting married in the Fall of 2018 and we are planning on doing a Renaissance wedding. Both of us want me in full plate armour ( I got a great one right??) I would like to get some ideas on prices and lead times. We're mostly looking for a German Gothic suit but we're also open to suggestions.

Not a single hit? Do I have to go to facebook? Can anyone point me in the right direction?

I don't know about wait times, but gruber at the Surly anvil will do amazing work, and these Ukranians: Art armour, mike Tutov, Armour Al-Master, and Art of Steel. You can find them all on Facebook.

This isn't an exhaustive list; it's just the ones I know off the top of my head.

Good luck!

Thank you Sir Nino!!

No problem!

Also Andrei Galevski can do anything. I haven't seen him do any German gothic recently, I'm sure it would be beautiful if he did.

Ckanite wrote:Not a single hit? Do I have to go to facebook? Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Well as I am sure you probably know your question is tough to answer without more info.
It is almost like saying where can I buy a car.
You at least told us you want a sporty German ar but...

Ball park budget? I know that this may not be something you want to mention but the list of places to go are very different for $30k, $10k, or $5k

Eventual usage plans after the Wedding? Solid Lance Jousting, Living History, SCA, HMB, HEMA, something else.

Any examples of what you are thinking of? Art or extant?

Without the above info I will go ahead & tell you to take a look at these guys on Facebook:

North American guys:
Jeff Wasson
Jeffrey Hildebrandt (Royal Oak Armoury)
Eric Dubé (Armure Dubé)

European Guys:
Jiří Klepač
Per Lillelund Jensen
Piotr Feret
Roman Tereschenko
Old World Armoury
Oleg Yanchuk

You're also going to need all of your arming garments before an armorer can even start on your project. Commissioning those is step number one.

It will surprise nobody on this list that these latest answers are better than my answers.

Thank you Tom! Honestly, I'm looking for between 5 & 10k. I would really like to get into the SCA combat scene after the wedding. As for examples, I'm not 100% sure. I think I would like a much more toned down version of the St. Florian's armour like Mac is working on. What he's doing, while absolutely beautiful, is a bit over the top for me.

Ckanite wrote:Thank you Tom! Honestly, I'm looking for between 5 & 10k. I would really like to get into the SCA combat scene after the wedding. As for examples, I'm not 100% sure. I think I would like a much more toned down version of the St. Florian's armour like Mac is working on. What he's doing, while absolutely beautiful, is a bit over the top for me.

A couple of things I have learned over the years about acquiring a top notch kit:

#1 Be careful of making compromises. Sometimes these are necessary, but if in the end you are not happy with the item and will need to replace it any savings were a false economy.
This also can apply to non-economic compromises just as easily.

#2 This is sort of related to #1. It never hurts to ask for a quote or at least a ballpark price sometimes you will be pleasantly surprised. Several years ago I was looking for a high end reproduction of a specific dagger from the KHM. There were a few commercially available but they were not quite what I wanted. I took a chance and sent an email to a guy who is one of the best custom medieval weapons makers. It turned out that the cost for the custom dagger from this guy was less than some of off the shelf items I was considering. It almost never hurts to ask.

#3 This one should probably have been first, RESEARCH. As much as you can figure out what you want. This is not easy but if you don't have a goal how can you get there.
Keep the kit as coherent as possible. Try to keep everything from a specific time and place, ideally from one source. Luckily there are lots of resources now available.

Try contacting Rob Valentine, he is located in Las Vegas. Haven't dealt with him for some time, but as I recall his pricing was very reasonable. Believe Rob also had some rental suits available at one time, maybe he still does. Agree with others, work up a reasonable looking soft kit. It more than doubles the overall appearance.

Cheers,
Dan