The Armour Archive

You may have read my rave about Truhearth's Carlo Carignan in a previous review. This will not be different.

http://www.truehearth.com/

Carlo is a strange mix of great talent and limited scope. His pieces are great, but he could benefit from many more commissions, not only to help to keep him armoring (he is in the military and does this for love of armoring) but also to let him explore more crazy stuff.

Carlo has an extraordinary eye for human proportions and an incredible knack for getting those proportions translated into metal. What this means is that of you take the trouble to take good measurements, his armour will fit you like a glove.

I received from him a set of Stainless "shovel greaves" , that is combined greaves+knee cops. The work is excellent and again (this is the second set of greaves he has made me) they fit very well, though my size has changed a bit. I have been blessed with well developed legs and muscular calves, so gutter greaves leave me looking like Goliath in the Maciejowski Bible....
http://www.medievaltymes.com/courtyard/ ... 28va&b.gif

Not here. The greaves are perfectly anatomical and fit just right.

Carlo does not do mirror polishing, but he knows his metal very well and I am sure he would make excellent shaped 14th century vanbraces and cased greaves if the customer takes the touble to measure right.

Though I don't have one yet, look at the incredible hilts for SCA swords that he builds.... wow

His communication and general business demeanor were top notch.

I would warmly recommend Trueharth Armories to anyone who considers doing business with him. You will not be disappointed.


Rowan

I bought one of his "teardrop" greathelms years ago, and I have to say that it's the perfect loaner helm. You can make several rectangles of foam for the sides, and 2-3 teardrop shapes for the top, and by adding or taking out layers you can fit damned near anybody into a solid, protective medieval-looking helmet with no bargrill. The way the helm's shaped the padding won't shift, even if not taped in.

That's not meant to demean it as only worthy of loaner gear - I wore it myself for a while and it was one of the most comfortable hats that's been on my head. Also, also, it looks badass.

How is his turnaround time?

Noe,

It was more than reasonable. By this I mean the following: every time I ask anyone to make anything for me, be that armour, soft gear, etc I ask "when can I reasonably expect to receive this?"

I measure the actual turnaround from the discrepancy between the stated date and the date completed/shipped/received. Carlo was WELL within the time bracket he mentioned (I thing it was like a month or six weeks, from initial message to my receiving the armour.) One cannot really expect more from a craftsman.

That was not an issue in my view as I was not in a rush and I made it clear to him. I am sure Carlocan do rush jobs, but one should reasonably expect to pay more under those circumstances.

I hope this helps.


Rowan